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SeatPacker Special - January 2025

Discover Primary school children preparing for their final exams with their SeatPacks.
Discover Primary school children preparing for their final exams with their SeatPacks.

Greetings from Kampala - Uganda,


Thank you for joining us on our Mission to help more children from low-income families across Africa to graduate from a primary level to a secondary level education by providing them tools they lack to improve studying daily at school and at home. 


Exciting child requested updates to the SeatPack (a now $25 school bag that turns into a bamboo classroom chair and writing surface for study at school, with a solar lamp-kit for study at home after dark, and menstrual-kit for adolescent girls inside) for children in neglected classrooms lacking furniture at school and electricity at home. 


Thanks to you, SeatPacks continue to improve and are now in use by 3,000 children across 35 primary schools in Uganda alone. Learn more about the last 3 months below. Thank you for making this possible.


Arnold + Zetu team


BUDATU PRIMARY SCHOOL - EASTERN UGANDA

Before your SeatPacks


With your SeatPacks - 60 Children

Jackson Okello, a 28 year old teacher in Eastern Uganda who reached out to Zetu regarding the state of Budatu primary school - Iganga district. The school population of 250 children only had 5 working desks to share amongst the students. The bare floor or planks of wood were often used as furniture replacements. 


Thanks to the SeatPacker community, 60 children in primary 6 will have a place to sit and write comfortably for the next 4 years at minimum. At Budatu primary school we learned that the school and the community village are off-grid with no green electricity access. This means that every child cannot study after dark at home. Up to 80% of the schools across Uganda are off-grid at the moment. 


We have taken this feedback and upgraded the SeatPack to include a solar lamp-kit so that on the walk to school, children can charge their solar panel battery, and at home use their solar lamp to study after dark. This change has taken the SeatPack cost from $15 to $25 per unit and will become the standard model distributed starting this year. 


DISCOVERY PRIMARY SCHOOL - CENTRAL UGANDA

Before your SeatPacks


With your SeatPacks - 50 Children

Maria, the headteacher at Discovery Primary School in Kampala, Makindye Division is managing an orphaned school population of 300 with 7 desks shared amongst them all. Primary 3,4,5 and 6 received 50 SeatPacks with great enthusiasm. We visited the school before christmas break and found both a vibrant child population and vibrant teaching staff. 


In order to track the number of children using SeatPacks and investigate if there are any changes to their performance over time, we have embedded a unique code to each SeatPack and each child (legal consent by the school was received for data protection and child rights). Teacher training in how to scan and record weekly data on attendance and monthly data on performance was conducted with support from sharecard (a local data collection partner). 


Over the next 4 years, we would like to use these unique codes to remotely see whether the children using SeatPacks are thriving and graduating to secondary school level. 


OKERE ECO VILLAGE - NORTHERN UGANDA

No electricity means no continued study at home.

In response to feedback from Budatu Primary school, we  produced the first 220 Solar SeatPacks for Okere eco village in Northern Uganda. The school community's struggle with lack of electricity in homes has hindered good performance for the school children for many years. The solar SeatPacks feature 2 solar lamps inside so that one can aid study at home, while the second lamp can support household activities for mothers or light their small shop stands for longer selling opportunities. These bags are to be distributed early February (beginning of school term).


The New SeatPack includes a portable solar panel with a 6-9 hour battery for one 5v lamp.
The New SeatPack includes a portable solar panel with a 6-9 hour battery for one 5v lamp.

Thank you for a great close to the year 2024 and for all the futures you have supported. We look forward to celebrating the education of more children together. To become a frequent SeatPacker, we invite you to choose your subscription here: Become a monthly/quarterly SeatPacker!

Free report download below:


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