At Flow, we take great pride in every project we work on; that’s the way we roll. But every so often, there’s one that really blows us away.
Chalkbound Futures: How Changed Schools Change Lives, a beautifully written, lavishly illustrated book on the fantastic work being done in the education space by the Adopt-a-School Foundation, is just such a project.
Adopt-a-School, an initiative of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, has its origins in the late 1990s, when the man who is now our country’s deputy president visited his old school to donate a fax machine. He was struck that the need was much, much greater than that, and he resolved to do something about it.
Hundreds of struggling schools in rural and economically depressed places, their teachers and more than 700 000 learners have since been transformed by Adopt-a-School, in both South Africa and Lesotho.
This is how Adopt-a-School’s communications manager, Nicola Brown, describes the book’s rationale: “Our impact is told through the stories of success and growth that we hear and see every day. From the child who can now see the chalkboard, to the educator who feels once again the passion and commitment that led them into the teaching vocation, to the school principal who leads their school with a vision of success not only for the learners, but for the community as a whole.
“We are proud to see many more of our learners enter tertiary education and graduate to become young and proficient leaders, community members being upskilled through building projects, and parents being empowered to provide more support to their children.
“In light of this, in celebration of our teachers, parents, community members and learners, we created Chalkboard Futures, a book that tells their stories. It is a collection of portraits that provides astounding insight into our education system and society.
“It is a story of an African school; what it is, what it has been and what – with effort, collaboration and commitment – it will surely become. It is a story of hope, and portrays the change that Adopt-a-School Foundation works tirelessly to achieve.”
Writer Howard Drakes and photographer Bram Lammers were commissioned by Adopt-a-School to record the stories of several schools, their teachers and students, and their communities. What the pair captured in words and images are, by turns, heartbreaking and uplifting.
They showcase transformations that are extraordinary and people who are equally extraordinary, and they offer hope – not only for those who are benefiting from Adopt-a-School’s critical interventions, but for all of us. One cannot read this book and fail to be touched by it.
Flow was contracted by Adopt-a-School to edit, design and print Chalkboard Futures. Project manager Ros Caboz led the team, artist Janet Berger provided illustrations, designer Elmarie Nel laid it all out, and I had the task of managing the copy.
For Elmarie and Janet, whose work primarily revolved around the visual presentation of the stories, the stunning content provided by Howard and Bram inspired the work they did.
“The concept was really built around the stories, and the people behind the stories. From a design point of view, we wanted to highlight the people as much as possible and really let their stories come to life, in the same way the schools came to life and brought hope to individuals and the communities that surround them,” says Elmarie.
“It was a great pleasure to work on this book, and also to play a part in something that really matters and telling stories that are worth telling.”
Janet comments: “The original concept for the book was built around making the most of the wonderful photographs we had access to. The narrative was very much about the stories associated with the schools, so we wanted a bit of a children's storybook feel to support this.
“To this end, we developed an illustration style that was evocative of a storybook: simple pencil sketches with splashes of colour. The palette of colour used in the splashes was used to differentiate the sections of the book.
“We feel that the addition of the illustrations, the typographic treatment and overall visual language make for an engaging book that is easy to read and appreciate.”
Ros is also pleased with the outcome, saying: “What a pleasure to work on such a rewarding job with such talented people. We are very proud of the work we have done to produce this beautiful book, and we'd like to thank everyone for their collective effort in helping us to do this.”
Just as happy with the finished product is Adopt-a-School’s Nicola, who says: “We're so grateful to all who contributed to this book: the writer, the photographer, the editors, the Adopt-a-School team and founding Board members and, most importantly, the school communities who shared with us their hopes and dreams, and opened up about the realities they face on a daily basis.”
