The school in the village of Makibasa, Ethiopia, serves a community of over 1,500 children and adults, attending for daily lessons or training courses held in the evenings. However, this busy school faces a fundamental problem, which is: Makibasa is off-grid, and therefore its school operates without electrical power.

Setting off on a mission to bring lighting and power to the school, Engineers without Borders of Germany took to the skies, flying Emirates to Ethiopia with Skywards Miles donated by passengers. The team installed pico-solar systems which would provide the energy required to light the school.

Seven modules, twelve lamps and two mobile phone chargers were installed at the school site, so that every classroom now has five lamps. The phone chargers were installed for use in the principal’s office. Thanks to this innovative energy solution, the hard work of Engineers without Borders, and the generosity of Emirates passengers, the future looks brighter than ever for the students in Makibasa.

To learn more about donating Skywards Miles to the Emirates Airline Foundation, log in at skywards.com and click "Donate Miles" under the "Earn & Spend" menu.