Archbiship Emeritus Desmond Tutu hands over desk to needy Cape Town school

It was gorgeous sunny day in Cape Town on the 21st July-I think the Archbishop must have put in a word to the big man to arrange this for us-considering all the rain they’ve had Smiling faces were everywhere as the Archbishop arrived at Lwazi Public Primary School in Gugulethu to honour the contribution Huletts has made to education in SA through their sponsorship of over 100 000 Lapdesks to previously disadvantaged children over the past 5 years!














For Zethu Sithole-Brand Manager of Huletts the day was an awesome one that will never be forgotten-her smile beamed across Gugulethu as she was greeted by the Archbishop and was envied by many an onlooker.














The day consisted of 1000 Lapdesks being handed over to the pupils of Lwazi Public Primary School, and incredibly motivating speeches by both Zethu and the Archbishop encouraging the children to focus on their education and that no dreams were too big, as the Archbishop said “so you want to be the president-why not?”, “you want to be an Archbishop-why not? “reach for the stars” he said “never think your dreams are too big-focus on them and they can become a reality”.














The children had prepared an awesome traditional dance which all the guests enjoyed, especially with the Archbishop adding his enthusiasm and joining into the fun! The 21st July will be in will forever be engraved in the minds of everyone present that day-thank you Huletts and thank you
“Arch” for always touching our hearts!

Interview with Prof Mayathula

YouTube - Prof Mayathula.mpg

Lapdesk video on You tube

Huyndai 2010 Handover Miracle

Elitheni Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto, was given Lapdesks and caps, through the generous support of Hyundai.




The occasion was attended by very special guests, including Professor Shepherd Mayatula (a retired member of the SA Parliament and retired chairperson for the Portfolio Committee on Education and the National Assembly in the SA Parliament, 32 students for the McCombs Business School, University of Houston, Texas.

Top Brass from Hyundai also attended, in the form of Mr. Alan Ross (CEO) Mr. Albrecht Grundel (Operations Director) Mr.Francois Marais (Marketing Manager) Jacques Geurtse (PR Manager).

The kids were whipped into an excited frenzy by Vusi Molefe, Lapdesk National Field Operations Manager, and an old hand at creating magic with children.
They are encouraged to make the Lapdesk their own, and are lead in chanting 'this is my desk!', to enforce this feeling. They are left feeling empowered to embrace their own destinies.






The school choir entertained all with song and dance, and it was soon evident, that the gratitude from the school was genuine and heartfelt.



Prof Mayatula addressed all present, noting on the need of schools in our country, and how ventures such as Lapdesk, and enablers like Hyundai, are true champions of the children of our country. He ended off his address by including the Texas students in his thanks, and making sure they felt pride in their involvement in this event.







The kids were in a for a real treat, when Mr. Alan Ross addressed them fluent Xhosa, and therefore was able to impart a message, they are sure to take to heart, and impact on their young lives.




Just when the children thought the fun was over, they were sent into madness by the arrival of World Cup 2010 Fifa mascot, Zakumi, who hugged children, and had them beside themselves with excitement. He gave them a little dance, and was kind enough to help with the distribution of Lapdesks to the eager children.


Zakumi sharing a moment with Mr. Alan Ross (CEO) Mr.Albrecht Grundel (Operations Director) Mr.Francois Marais (Marketing Manager) Jacques Geurtse (PR Manager).





LTR Shane Immelman CEO The Lapdesk Company, Renee Zerle MD The Lapdesk Company, Zakumi, Hlumelo Biko, Peter Golding







Zakumi giving Lapdesk the thumbs-up with the Hyundai team, Prof Mayatula, Lapdesk Field ops team (Hendrick, Sam and Tshiamo).










The McCombs Business School students, receiving some African warmth with Zakumi.






Shane Immelman and Zakumi showing solidarity for our children's education.

Social Innovator:

Shane Immelman

CEO: Lapdesk International

Why is Shane a Social Innovator?

Faced with the frightening statistic of over 4-million children in South Africa attending school without a desk, Shane took the simple idea of a portable, ergonomically designed lap desk and turned it into a smart business model that can bring companies and communities together in aid of young learners.

The model is simple, yet innovative - each Lapdesk is printed with a design and message that is meaningful to the Lapdesk sponsor, turning the desk into a portable media platform that effectively delivers social messages to the most distant rural communities.

With plans in the pipeline to take the product into South America and beyond, Lapdesk is a smart African innovation that is helping to address a serious global issue.

Fast Facts

* Over 4-million school children, almost 30% of all students in South Africa, attend school without a school desk.

* On a global scale, the number of children who attend school without a desk is around 600-million, mostly in Latin America, South-East Asia and the rest of Africa.

* Without a desk, a person will struggle to write, their handwriting skills will be compromised, and there's a knock-on effect into every other area of their learning.

* With a proper writing surface, a person's concentration levels are improved between 60 and 80%.

* In the first two years, Lapdesk International provided over 300 000 children with lapdesks.

* The desk weighs less than 1kg and is completely childproof.

* Shane was a business and product developer who started Lapdesk as a hobby.

* Desmond Tutu is the patron of Lapdesk.

In his own words...

"In the early stages of Lapdesk there were 500 reasons why the project would never work, but over 4-million reasons why it had to."