The solidarity adventure " Children's Desert" has counted in its XVI edition with the presence of Leopoldo Satrústegui, who has inaugurated several wells of the action "Water in the Desert"

Hyundai España vuelve a Marruecos con el “Desierto de los Niños”

The "Children's Desert" is one of the most beautiful initiatives that Hyundai España carries out among its many solidarity actions. After two years of forced hiatus due to the pandemic, the Korean brand has been able to resume this adventure that takes place in Morocco, and, given its importance, this year its general manager, Leopoldo Satrústegui, did not want to miss the opportunity to participate and accompany the caravan of 25 cars that has travelled more than 2,000 kilometres through North Africa. 

Hyundai was represented on the expedition by all the models in its 4×4 range: KONA, TUCSON and SANTA FE, as well as the new STARIA MPV, which made its debut in the desert with surprising results. And it did so outside its usual Easter dates, which have been changed for the end of summer, so the heat was one of the main protagonists of an edition that had water as a common thread, a very scarce commodity in the remote desert populations. 

The route of this sixteenth edition of the Children's Desert began by the sea, in the Caves of Hercules, near Tangier, a place where, according to legend, Hercules rested for a night before carrying out one of his twelve labours. A cave from inside which you can see the sea through an opening that has a shape similar to the map of Africa. 

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Continuing with the theme of water, on the way to the desert, a lake was visited high in the Atlas Mountains, at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres. Once in the south of Morocco, oases were visited, orchards in the middle of nowhere thanks to water, and one of the great solidarity actions of the trip was the inauguration of a series of wells in Kankimia, a small town in the middle of nowhere. 

Thanks to the initiative carried out by the Hyundai Dealer Network "Water in the Desert", the money was raised to bring water to all the houses in the village, providing them with fresh water wells, pumps, solar panels, pipes, a tank, etc. Everything necessary for the inhabitants of this small nomadic population to be able to have this basic necessity, both for themselves and for their animals. The "Water in the desert" project was conceived at the beginning of 2020 and had not been inaugurated until now, although the wells have been active since then. 

This project has been joined in 2022 by the new initiative "Bicycles for all", which aims to improve the mobility of children in small desert villages. Throughout the year, local associations that collaborate with " Children's Desert ", without whose help it would be impossible to manage the solidarity actions, will look for small schools whose pupils live far away.

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Many children find it difficult to go to school because their homes are several kilometres away and they have no means of transport to get to school each day, so in most cases they have to walk. Thanks to this Hyundai Dealer Network project, they will be given a bicycle to go to school. In addition, and thanks to an initiative of the RACE, these children will receive a reflective waistcoat that will allow them to be better seen on their night-time journeys, improving their safety. 

This year, all kinds of routes were enjoyed, including the one that ended in the town of Ouzina, which was reached by a complicated sandy area, which added a spicy touch to the route. In addition, to avoid the hottest hours of the day, the start was later, so that the arrival in Ouzina took place at night. It was quite an experience to see the whole caravan roll in the darkness of the desert. 

Leopoldo Satrústegui, General Manager of Hyundai Motor España, declared that "Hyundai has always been a company that has always shown solidarity, as demonstrated by the fact that, in 2004, when companies were not yet talking about these things, Hyundai was already supporting the most disadvantaged people in the Moroccan desert, especially children". Leopoldo Satrústegui also "wants to thank the Hyundai Dealer Network for its contribution to The Children's Desert thanks to different actions carried out to raise funds to be able to carry out the different actions undertaken in the last editions, such as building schools, water wells with their respective electrical installations or the supply of bicycles to favour the mobility of the children". In short, "companies have to give back to society what society gives them", he added. 

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Eye examinations

In addition to the deliveries to schools and associations made by the trip's organisers, one of the most important works of solidarity that " Children's Desert" leaves behind in the area is the work carried out by the Alain Afflelou Foundation's opticians. This year, six opticians accompanied the caravan, together with a local person from the Foundation, travelling in one of the STARIA minivans, which is one of the most eagerly awaited vehicles on the trip. 

This year more than 700 check-ups have been carried out among the local population, both children and adults, of which more than 500 will need glasses, which will be delivered over the next few months by the Desert for Children Association to the local associations that have managed the work of the opticians. 

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