Back to where it all started…(written by founder Sam)

Where is that? South-Africa! Back in 2014 the idea of Correctbook came up with me right here. Now I am here for the second time, ready to take the next steps forward to establish Correctbook Africa. And I’m not the only man on this job, I’m doing this together with Roel de Haas: co-owner of Correctbook Africa. I met Roel through Edukans.

Who is Roel? I will tell you more about that first. Roel worked for his own company for years, organising the logistics of development aid projects in different African countries. He made sure millions of books were produced at the right locations and were safely transported to the right destinations. He developed this responsibility to such an extend that he could even present track & trace codes for these transports! Awesome, isn’t it? I am super happy with Roel joining the team, because he brings in a load of valuable field experience and a network

My adventure in Africa, in Rwanda to be exact, hasn't come to an ending yet...(Written by founder Sam)

I’ve been on the road again, a special road, because I visited a Rwandan school this time. Through this trip I could see with my own eyes how the youngest kids use the Correctbooks. The pupils at this school are only three to six years old. And I didn’t go alone because my parents and girlfriend were very curious as well. The children happened to make the most beautiful drawings.

During my visit I discovered something striking. Of the total number of students, only a third was still present at school. The other kids didn’t come back after their parents had to pay for lunch. For them, all extra costs make a huge difference. Luckily, with the arrival of the Correctbooks they don’t have to pay for their writing material anymore; so one less thing to worry about.

Sam’s journey 

Correctbook opens an office in Rwanda (written by Sam)

Hurray! Correctbook now has its own office in Rwanda. The team has worked extremely hard the past months to make this happen and we opened the office officially in November. The upcoming years, we will conquer the Rwandan market with our products in order to make writing accessible to everyone.

A real office arose, where there was a flat and sandy area last summer. A drawing of our desired office was made by the developer of the building. After that, the office was built with the speed of light. The best thing is; it is just a few steps away from our local production facility in the slums.

In November, I came to Rwanda to officially

Sam’s journey 

Correctbook’s first order in Rwanda! (written by Sam)

It is October 2021 and the very first commercial Correctbooks are being produced in Rwanda. That means that these Correctbooks are not made to donate, but to be sold in the Rwandan commercial markets. Of course these sales serve the same goal, to make writing accessible to everyone.

Correctbook aims to make her writing materials last longer than normal pens and paper, so that people will prefer buying Correctbook materials, because it saves them money. If more people buy our products, our sales will increase and that enables us to donate more writing material to children who would otherwise not have had access to any writing material.

In Rwanda we also want to prove the sustainability and effectiveness of our materials to donors and NGOs. By doing that, we hope to convince

Sam’s journey 

Positive comments about Correctbook! (written by Sam)

Today, we are going to visit three schools to see the impact Correctbook makes with our own eyes. Two years ago we started a cooperation with the organization called EPR, to supply schools with our writing material. Visiting ERP’s office and three of the schools today, will be a perfect opportunity to check whether the schools are still using Correctbook in the right way.

The EPR headquarters are just one street away from our hotel. When we arrive in the early morning, the president and vice president are already waiting for us. Both of them are pleased to welcome us and the staff have coffee and cake ready for us to celebrate our visit. Vice president Pascal tells us how happy he is  about what Correctbook is doing. In two years time as many as 27.000 children have been supplied with Correctbook’s writing material!

After this meeting, it is high time to go into

Sam’s journey – 4th of October

A new production location in Kigali, Rwanda (written by Sam)

During my first week in Rwanda, we visited the production centre of our Correctbooks. Robert, our partner in Rwanda, went with me. Since 2019 we have produced 50.000 Correctbooks in his production facility. When we arrived, I read a sign on the wall saying ‘Official Correctbook production center’. I thought Robert had been kind enough to mention our name on the building. But then he explained that he had actually invested in a whole new building and in better machines especially for the production of Correctbooks! 

I was overwhelmed. The factory is situated in one of the slums near Kigali. A production location in a slum was a dream that suddenly and unexpectedly became reality! The place is based so remotely, a sandy route with big potholes has to be taken. The ideal location for a factory? Not at all, but we want to create employment in the most rural areas

After founding Correctbook, Sam van Tol started building his company in 2015. Friends and family helped in the attic to produce the product and even at the kitchen table the Correctbooks were packed before it was shipped. At the end of the day, he drove to the post office with a full trunk to provide Correctbooks to consumers. His dream soon arose to provide 1 million children in developing areas with erasable writing material in 2023 to reduce illiteracy.

Collaboration with Edukans and Blue Tree Group
In 2019 Correctbook was invited to participate in a collaboration with Edukans and Blue Tree Group. This collaboration is aimed at approaching education in Africa in a new and sustainable way and is called: Teaching With Impact. A great collaboration in which Correctbook offers the erasable writing material, Edukans the educational expertise and Blue Tree Group the logistical knowledge. Edukans received a contribution of 1,550,000 euros from the National Postcode