From jealousy to joy: Eastern Cape schools embrace revolutionary wheelie bag desks for learning

Three hundred innovative school bags that convert into desks were rolled out to learners in the Eastern Cape this week. (Photo: Supplied)

By Estelle Ellis

21 Feb 2025

Three hundred innovative mobile hardcover school bags that double as school desks and can be wheeled home to serve as study stations with a solar light, were handed to learners in rural schools this week in a joint project by the Eastern Cape Department of Education, Old Mutual Insure and Midesk Global.

After first becoming really jealous when innovative wheelie school bags that convert into desks were handed out in Limpopo, the Eastern Cape Education Department’s Director of School Resource Planning, Sibusiso Lukhozi, said he had dedicated himself to bringing the innovation to his province.

This week he was able to hand out 300 wheelie bag desks and said his heart was full of joy. Lukhozi said the advantage of the desk was that it was sturdy enough that learners could use it from Grade R to to Grade 12.

He explained that the desk was made of a hard plastic and had wheels that make it easy for children to pull.

“Even the small ones can handle it easily,” he said. “Also, the desk can be folded up and pulled home where they can use it to study.” He added that a solar light was fitted to the desk, which helped learners in low resource settings without electricity to study at night.

Three hundred desks were rolled out to three schools in the most rural part of the province this week. Lukhozi said that while they were busy rolling out the desks they were also testing the children’s eyes and giving glasses to those who needed them.

“There is definitely an appetite for more of these desks,” he said, promising that they would soon bring the project to other parts of the province including the metros.

Great advantage

“I am very happy today. When I first saw these desks being rolled out in Limpopo I was so jealous,” he said, but added that he had started working to have them distributed in his province, too. Lukhozi said that one of the great advantages of the desk was that it also served as a hard case and thus offered great protection for books. “It will keep the children’s books safe and protect against water,” he said.

Siphiwe Mkhwanazi, a corporate social investment specialist from Old Mutual Insure, the donor for the project, said they had been partnering with the inventor and manufacturer Midesk Global for three years.

“This initiative speaks directly to our education goals,” he said. “A million children in South Africa do not have desks. We love the story of the desk. It is very inspirational.

“I think the big learning for us is that rural communities take good care of what they receive. It was heartwarming to see them waiting in so much anticipation. We are also encouraged that the desk can be used at home for studying,” he said.

Eager pupils try out their new desks in the Eastern Cape this week. (Photo: Supplied)

The built-in wheels allow pupils to easily transport the desks home. (Photo: Supplied)

The founder and inventor of the Midesk Global, Dr Farana Boodhram, said the idea for the desk started with a science project for her daughter, Talitha.

“The first one was made of cat litter boxes,” she laughed. After Talitha won a gold medal for her project, Boodhram looked into the issue of desk-less learners a bit deeper.

“I realised that three million children in South Africa did not have desks, 95 million in Africa and over 400 million worldwide,” she said. Boodhram explained that being without a desk had a tremendous affect on children’s ability to learn.

“That is why I think of our wheelie bag desks as a bag of hope,” she said. “It takes the children to a brighter future.”

Original design tweaked

Farana tweaked the original design a bit to add wheels, a fold-up chair and a rechargeable solar light.

“In this way each child has a desk at school that they can take home to use as a homework station,” she said. She said they had been manufacturing the desks with sponsorships from companies and corporate social investment funding.

“The desks come in two sizes; one for younger kids, and one for older children, but it lasts 12 years so a child would be able to grow with it.” She said the chair was suitable for weights of up to 180kg and was very sturdy.

Kholekile Nkewu, the school governing body chairperson for Jiliza Primary School where some of the desks were handed out, said they were very happy to receive them.

“We did not have enough desks for everybody, but I am most excited that this case will protect the children’s books from water,” he said. “We have promised to look after these desks very well. I wish everybody could receive one of these.”

Qiqa Lubisi (13) who is in Grade 7 said she was very excited about her desk. She said they were shown how it worked and she felt confident that she would be able to use the wheelie bag desk well. She added that she was very happy that it was blue because it was her favourite colour.

Miguel Maqoqosha (12) in Grade 6 said he was pretty excited, too.

“We did a lot of learning today and also had a lot of fun,” he said. He said he watched the demonstration on how to use the desk and he was confident that he would be able to use it and pull it home. DM

Categories:

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

South Africa

Great advantage

Original design tweaked