Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, has donated essential supplies and limited-edition, handcrafted backpacks from its ‘Aircrafted KIDS by Emirates’ collection to four non-profit organisations in Zambia and Zimbabwe, to help address inadequate access to resources, a barrier for children and young people.
In Zambia, the Kucetekela Foundation and Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE) Zambia serve local communities by creating a nurturing and inspirational space for financially disadvantaged youths to continue their education. In Zimbabwe, the St. Marcellins Children’s Village Trust and Rose of Sharon serve local communities by playing a similar role.
With a longstanding legacy of supporting youth, and a particular focus on education, Emirates aims to support the four organisations’ students with their schooling by providing practical, stylish backpacks and stationery supplies. The initiative reinforces the airline’s commitment to ‘connecting communities’ by building enduring relationships and making meaningful differences in the destinations it serves.
To ensure the organisations received exactly what they needed for each and every student, Kucetekela Foundation and ACE Zambia placed an order for a variety of bags from the ‘Aircrafted by Emirates’ collection, accounting for children of all ages. The backpacks were then handmade by Emirates Engineering in-house, with materials upcycled from the airline’s iconic A380 and 777 aircraft. In Zimbabwe, Rose of Sharon and St Marcellins also handpicked the specific bags they required from the ‘Aircrafted by Emirates’ collection, accounting for children of all ages.
In addition to the 789 bags donated, Emirates provided school supplies such as pens, pencils, erasers, calculators, notebooks and more, to the students of the four organisations.
Through the Emirates Airline Foundation, Emirates has a long history of supporting children’s welfare programmes, and ‘Aircrafted KIDS by Emirates’ is an extension of this work. In total, more than 50,000 kg of materials from 191 aircraft slated to undergo the airline’s interior cabin retrofit programme are expected to be recovered and repurposed.
Video Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C06mCt-z-rI&t=4s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CuH_G1eQ9M
