Providing TutuDesks for South African School

“I was a barefoot township urchin. I went to school where there were no desks. We sat on benches and when the teacher told us to write, we knelt down on the floor and used the benches we had been sitting on as desks…”

The late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu pulled no punches in summing up of the state of his South African school. In Sub-Saharan Africa 95 million school children do not have desks. He was the proud patron of the Tutudesk Campaign which is committed to providing 20 million portable Tutudesks for children in South Africa.

During the pandemic in June 2021, Helen Westmancoat, President of Knaresborough Rotary Club joined a meeting of Northcliff Rotary Club in Johannesburg via Zoom and learned about the project.

Knaresborough’s International Committee raised just over £2100 in eighteen months and successfully applied for a District Grant. The money was enough to completely equip Sunduza Primary School in March 2024 with 260 Tutudesks. 

A mere drop in the ocean, however, since there is still a need for these portable desks in South Africa. The District Governors of the Southern African Rotary Districts of D9210, 9350, 9370 and 9400 have teamed up to support the project with the help of participating Rotary Clubs.

‘Tutudesks are made from a high-grade, child-safe, proprietary polymer that won’t shatter like other plastics if dropped. A Tutudesk weighs under a kilogram and rests comfortably and stably on our childrens’ laps, providing them with an even, steady surface to write on, whether they are sitting on a chair or on the floor.

The Tutudesks are issued to the learner and with the cut-out handle, they can easily be carried home and used for doing homework and projects.

They are locally produced in South Africa and the polymer accepts printing that is durable and wear-resistant. This makes it ideal for imprinting educational and social messaging, as well as corporate branding.’

Source : Northcliff Rotary Club website: https://northcliffrotary.co.za/tutu-desk-campaign/

Helen Westmancoat, PHF, President, Knaresborough Rotary Club
John Westmancoat, International Acting Chair, Knaresborough Rotary Club