AIDA Cruise & Help aims to improve educational opportunities in the world’s poorest regions. Five years ago, AIDA Cruises opened the first school in Cebu City, Philippines. It was funded entirely by donations from AIDA Cruise & Help. Since then, numerous other schools in twelve countries have been added.

One of these schools is the Okanguati Primary School in Namibia. AIDA President Felix Eichhorn was able to see for himself the importance of this facility for the local population: Together with Reiner Meutsch, founder of the FLY & HELP Foundation and long-standing partner of AIDA Cruises, he visited the community and spoke with teachers and children on site. The school was opened in May 2020. It has space for 160 children.

“The curiosity and cheerfulness of the children from the Kaokoveld in Okanguati is precisely why AIDA Cruise & Help is collecting donations and building schools. We are very pleased that our initiative has already provided countless children in disadvantaged regions of the world with a permanent place in school. In this way, we are providing children and future generations with access to an education and thus with a real chance for a better future. The impressive commitment of our crew and our guests shows that we can achieve great things together,” says Felix Eichhorn.

With the funding of the 60th school, the AIDA Cruise & Help initiative celebrates another important success. All 60 projects, with a total capacity of around 7,000 sustainable school places, are in the implementation phase, with 40 schools having already commenced classes.

The focus is on the countries of origin of the crew and the regions regularly visited by the eleven AIDA ships. As part of AIDA Cruise & Help, the cruise company launched a project last year in which each AIDA ship is assigned a school project that is financed through raffles and auctions. As a result, every AIDA ship was able to finance at least one school last year. For example, AIDAsol raised money for a three-classroom school in Ambodiriana, Madagascar, and AIDAdiva funded a special school in Kodigipalli, India. AIDA works closely with the Reiner Meutsch Foundation FLY & HELP to collect donations for the construction of schools in a specific region.

In 2024, AIDA will continue to raise money for school projects around the world. The first fundraising campaigns are already underway. This year, the crews on board have once again the goal of funding their own school and bringing smiles to children’s faces.