Pledge to make a difference, together.
Zetu Foundation's Mission is to provide basic classroom equipment for children in remote and refugee primary schools across Africa to sit comfortably and write properly during classes by using SeatPacks: $15 school bags that turn into bamboo classroom chairs with writing surfaces (and menstrual toolkits for adolescent girls inside).
This mission is inspired by 3 core reasons:
1. Over 95 million African school-children today attend school lessons without a place to sit comfortably and write properly directly discouraging their interest in school. This is due to the high cost of tree-timber furniture (average $100 per unit to sit 3 students).
2. Replacing tree-timber furniture with sustainable bamboo furniture using SeatPacks can greatly combat Climate Change at scale over the next 20 years.
3. Giving adolescent girls a menstrual toolkit in each bag increases school attendance all year by 20%, creating equal gender opportunities for girls in rural communities to define their futures.
The SeatPack has been locally designed and proven to directly address the above 3 issues.
SeatPacks are used daily by 2,200 children in 32 schools across Uganda alone (East Africa) and are designed, produced, and delivered by a local team with local leadership all living in Uganda.
Our goal is to gift 1 million African school children by 2030 the daily experience of sitting comfortably and writing properly during classes so they can make their future dreams come true. Meeting this goal means:
1. Together, we improve learning and future opportunities for 1 million children in remote and refugee communities.
2. We combat climate change by conserving up to 1 million trees through replacement of bamboo as the key furniture material for classrooms.
3. We create equal opportunity for adolescent girls by reclaiming up to 20% of their school year attendance previously lost due to menstrual hygiene challenges that encouraged school dropping out.
The SeatPack was designed by the Zetu Africa team primarily for the Zetu Foundation to bring it to 1 million school children by 2030. The SeatPack is 100% locally produced in Uganda with local artisans and bamboo farmers. Research and design development started late 2019 under the for profit named Zetu Africa and 17 iterations have been tested with child and teacher feedback. The Zetu Foundation has been established to fund SeatPack production and distribution for children from the poorest communities at no extra cost to the children or their families.
The SeatPack is:
1. Personal and Mobile; making the classroom a natural extension of every child, with sitting and writing functions possible wherever they choose to learn (Indoor and outdoor).
2. Light weight; at 600 grams each unit is less than 10% the weight of a 6 year old girl with one main pocket to limit heavy load intentionally.
3. Non-chemically treated bamboo and canvas, replacing tree-timber as the sustainable alternative material for classroom furniture.
4. Gender equality conscious with a menstrual toolkit for female adolescent students to stay in school all year round.
5. Durable with a 5 year working guarantee. Canvas and bamboo lends all-weather material strength, with no zippers or buttons for easy repair by sewing if torn.
6. Low cost at $15 per unit versus the $100 tree-timber furniture unit traditionally used by well to do schools.
Amongst many testimonials, some rural and refugee school comments to-date have included;
Teacher feedback: "Outdoor classes have been easier to carry out due to the mobile nature of each SeatPack." "Students increased attention during classes because of upright sitting." "Consistent attendance of girls even in their period because of menstrual purse in the SeatPack."
Student feedback: "Class is nice to go to". "Easier writing because of my own writing surface". "We study outside more in afternoons now".
Parent feedback: "They are excited to go to school after receiving SeatPacks". "When can we have more units".
Together, we are keen to gift 1 million African school children in 20,000 classrooms by 2030 the daily experience of sitting comfortably and writing properly during classes with 1 million SeatPacks so they can make their future dreams come true.