How one man is helping home schooled kids deal with a COVID-19 desk shortage

Local man creating desks for kids learning at home

LOS ANGELES - It’s not just toilet paper and Clorox that have become harder to find these days.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also fueled a shortage of desks, with so many more children home schooling.

But one man is helping to change that.

When Chai Hansanuwat’s job in the computer tech industry slowed down due to the pandemic, he figured he’d use his skills as an amateur wood worker to build desks.

Many of his neighbors suddenly had children doing home schooling on sofas, beds, kitchen tables, and he wanted to help by donating the desks.

Next thing he knew, the demand for desks on his Instagram page exploded, with hundreds of families saying they couldn’t find desks online, and those not on back order had jumped up in price.

“When you have your four grandchildren suddenly living and going to school with you because their parents lost their jobs how do you afford desks?” said one woman we interviewed.

Overwhelmed, Chai reached out for help, asking for carpenters that wanted to build desks. Again, he was surprised - close to a dozen people are helping build desks to donate.

Even people who can’t hammer a nail can actually help he says. Wood has gotten expensive and he’d love some help with connections to stores that could donate some of the raw materials.

The next step, as demand continues to grow and home schooling is not a short term option, is to help people with no real carpentry skills or even a saw to build their own desks. So he has posted this video online to help.