American service members deployed to Camp Lemonnier repaired desks and delivered picnic tables at a primary school earlier this month in Ali Oune, Djibouti.

The 450th Civil Affairs Battalion, which led the renovation project, works with the Djiboutian minister of education to build libraries in schools across the African nation, according to a statement from the battalion. The team worked in tandem with the 294th Engineering Support Company, which provides force and general engineering support to the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

The two units were delivering libraries when they noticed students needed more desks.

“We’re trying to make their educational experience a bit better,” said U.S. Army Maj. David Ewing, Civil-Military Operations Center chief of the 450th Civil Affairs Battalion.

Volunteers played games and practiced English and French with children during the table delivery, Ewing said in the statement.

Abdichakour Robleh, an English teacher at the school in Ali Oune, said in the statement that three or four students had to sit in the same chairs because there were not enough prior to the volunteers’ work.

“When all the students came here and noticed that all the chairs were fixed, they were happy, and it made me happy for them,” Robleh said.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Joshua Guevara, assigned to the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 364, said he knows the students will appreciate the work the volunteers did for them, motivating them to pursue both their educational and life goals.

The Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster and Civic Aid funds projects led by the 450th CAB in Djibouti, and both the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Africa Command have to approve the projects.

To save time and money, the team gets creative with resources, Ewing said. The 294th ESC used repurposed woods and metals from Camp Lemonnier and personal funds to finish the project.

“This project gave us the opportunity to see our work make an impact at the personal level here within our host nation of Djibouti,” said U.S. Army Capt. Trey Maevers, 294th ESC commanding officer. “It also gave our soldiers more awareness of the culture of Djibouti, specifically the educational environment. We built it, we delivered it, we installed it, and with the help of Civil Affairs, it became a tangible product that our soldiers can be proud of.”

Next up, the units will work on providing the Ali Oune school with a clean water source, and also combat flash flooding in the region, the statement said. Ewing said the team hopes to support sustainability for the children.

“My goal is to provide something for the kids to have,” Ewing said. “They are the next generation and we care about the people of the community.”