André Sousa and Manuel Cabral, ISEP students, formed two teams to help children in need in Morocco. They participated in UniRaid, a humanitarian action, and traveled over two thousand kilometers in a car over 20 years old to distribute school supplies and essential goods to the most isolated villages in the desert.

This is the 9th edition of UniRaid and this year it received around 150 teams of university students from Portugal, Spain and Andorra.

The adventure ran from the 15^th to the 23^rd of February. Each group took at least 40kg of material. Participants crossed Morocco towards the Erg Chebbi desert in seven stages along mountain roads, trails and dunes, with different tests throughout the trip. Electronic GPS devices are prohibited, as they were only able to navigate with a road-book, a map and a compass.

André Sousa, 2nd-year student of the master's degree in Electrotechnical Engineering - Electrical Power Systems at ISEP, joined João Rosa, a student of CTeSP of Automotive Technology at IPL, in the team “Bigodes do Deserto” (Desert Moustaches). “The basis of this adventure was born from engineering, the taste for cars and the desire to build. Of course, our training makes us look at these projects in a different way and have more knowledge to prepare an action of this magnitude ”.

For Bigodes do Deserto, this experience was enriching at various levels, but above all, it allowed them to know the living conditions and the reality of these people. In addition to school supplies, they distributed oral hygiene kits so that they can also contribute to better hygiene practices in the daily lives of these children.

The car was one of the biggest challenges. The organization determined that participants could only compete with a car over 20 years old, without four-wheel drive and with a maximum capacity of 1300 cylinder capacity. They are more reliable, robust cars with reduced repair and fuel consumption costs. “Unfortunately, we didn't have any old cars in our families and we had to buy one. We searched for three months on the internet, through friends and acquaintances. We were able to buy a 1992 Toyota Corolla Hatchback for € 200 and a pack of beer! ”.

The “Cabral on the Road” team participated with a Nissan Sunny 1.4 16v from 1991. For Manuel Cabral, 2nd-year student of the degree in Mechanical Engineering at ISEP and Alexandre Campello, photographer and student at the Faculty of Law from the University of Porto, “choosing the car would have given a good soap opera”. It was restored by professionals, but the passion for the automotive world has been in Manuel's family for 3 generations and, as such, he had the help of his father in the preparation of the vehicle, to endure what was coming.

Manuel and Alexandre already knew each other and have always been linked to social projects. "It is impressive the number of people who look with reserve for what we are preparing, but this experience ends up as a reinforcement of everything we have learned over the years in the projects in which we are involved".

Currently, these teams are focused on getting involved in dynamics that help to change the world. And that is why UniRaid was more than an adventure in the desert.