In Africa, 61 million rural children do not have access to schooling. For the lucky ones who do, an absence of basic infrastructure and resources, sadly results in slow learning and a general lack of belief in the importance of education.

The Goedgedacht Trust is an organization that builds schools in impoverished areas throughout Africa - opening the door to success through learning.

We recognised an opportunity to turn a waste product into something useful; transforming everyday construction hoarding, which usually gets thrown away, into cleverly designed flatpack desks to furnish a classroom in need.

Local illustrators were commissioned to interpret the children’s dreams and aspirations, transforming their school desks into portals, with illustrations designed to encourage the children, to harness the power of education and ignite their imaginations.

We wanted to take the children on a journey through different scenarios in a world full of wonder and excitement, helping them to imagine themselves away from their challenging home environments and allowing them to picture where education could take them if they truly knew the importance of it.

Limited for space, these classrooms are often doubled up as aftercare facilities. Due to the flatpack design, the desktops could be hung up on the walls after class, repurposing them into inspirational posters for the kids during playtime.

Imagine if all construction hoarding was upcycled to create desks to refurbish impoverished schools. Imagine if all businesses embraced this innovative way of repurposing their waste.

Imagine the difference this could make…