Nasou Via Afrika, a publisher of school textbooks and literature such as Ace, Isiseko, Sonwabile, Learning can be fun and New Nation series, has donated more than 2000 lapdesks to Manezi Primary School and Qaqamba Primary School in the Eastern Cape.
The lapdesk, a South African invention by The Lapdesk Company, is a brightly coloured, plastic platform printed with educational information such as the alphabet, multiplication tables and the words to the national anthem. Semi-circular in shape, the lightweight, ergonomical design makes it wide enough to accommodate a textbook and a writing pad, yet small enough to fit easily on a learner's lap to create an effective writing surface.
Desk shortages continue to affect almost 30% of all learners in South Africa, particularly at schools in rural communities and outlying areas. This is a total of over 4 million. The desk shortages are not only a local problem. More than 400 million children in emerging markets worldwide, of who 80 million are in Africa, have little or no use of a desk.
