#Tutudesk - What a Piece of Polycarbonate Can Do for a Child

Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe, talking about the 'Tutu Desk' to the AllAfrica staff in Cape Town. (AllAfrica)

"We simply cannot afford more time", said Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, "without this simple, affordable provision." The Tutudesk Campaign aims to distribute 20 million lap desks to 20 million children by 2015. His eldest daughter, Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe - a clinical researcher and supervisor in medicine and health - is championing the ambitious effort, which AllAfrica will be following. Without a hard surface for writing, Africa's poorest children only become semi-literate, limiting their futures. 

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Transforming Classrooms with a 'Tutu Desk'

The Tutudesk Campaign aims to distribute 20 million lap desks to 20 million children by 2015. Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe - a clinical researcher and supervisor in medicine and health - is championing the ambitious effort that is championed by her father, retired Anglican Archbishop and Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu.



Students display desks with a water conservation message contributed by My School My Village My Planet My School My Village My Planet
Students display desks with a water conservation message contributed by My School My Village My Planet
Excited students examine their new Tutudesks La Informatio
Excited students examine their new Tutudesks


"I was a barefoot township urchin. I went to school where there were no desks. We sat on benches and when the teacher asked us to write, we knelt down on the floor and used the benches we had been sitting on as desks… I wish Tutudesks had been available in my day!"

Archbishop, Desmond Tutu


Globally recognised, and in partnership with the United Nations Special Envoy for Education, the Tutudesk provides the answer to the classroom desk shortage crisis experienced in schools in developing countries. Functional literacy — the ability to read and write — is almost impossible to achieve without a dedicated writing surface — a school desk. Over 95 million children in schools across sub-Saharan Africa have no access to a classroom desk and the prospect of compromised literacy development. Tutudesk offers children their very own workstation creating immediate, high impact and positive change in an instant, under any learning conditions. Made from a robust child-friendly blend of polymers, Tutudesk is designed to last the duration of a learner’s school career. At $0.018 per day / over three years, Tutudesk is a unique and portable solution to our most disadvantaged children, offering a sense of worth, dignity and ownership over and above the literacy and academic improvements. The Tutudesk Campaign aims to deliver at least 20million Tutudesks to leaners by 2020.

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