F/O Ray Scott (Delta) with members of the Universal Wonderful Street Academy students and staff.

Traveling broadens our horizons, exposing us to new cultures, environments, and—sometimes—life-changing opportunities—as has been the case for F/O Ray Scott (Delta). As the founder of Wings Around the World, Scott and his organization have been able to make a positive difference in the lives of those less fortunate.

The New York-based B-767ER pilot has been flying to Africa since 2010. “Accra was the only trip my seniority could hold,” he divulged, adding that he’s routinely flown to the coastal Ghana capital. “I quickly discovered just how accommodating, friendly, and approachable the local people are,” he said.

However, many Accra residents live in poverty, and Scott began bringing clothes and school supplies for the children of the hotel staff who work where he and the crew stay.

One day while on a layover, Scott and his captain went exploring. “We stumbled upon this school I’d never noticed before, the Universal Wonderful Street Academy, and we walked in.” Located in Jamestown, one of the poorest districts in Accra, the academy offers free classes to impoverished children ages 6 to 16, in a country where education comes at a cost. With the knowledge and skills they acquire, and the financial backing they receive, these students can look forward to a better quality of life.

In short order, Scott began sitting in on some of the classes and sometimes assisting. Although the official language in Ghana is English, some speak Twi, so he relies on teachers to occasionally translate.

One day, Louis Yeboah Womder Doe, one of the school’s administrators, suggested Scott instruct a class on how airplanes fly. So on his next visit, Scott and one of the flight attendants donned their uniforms and gave a “career day” presentation, using a model of a B-767 to point out the aircraft’s features. “After the class, Louis said to me, ‘You’re not a helper anymore, you’re a teacher,’” said Scott.

For more than five years, the Delta pilot has been using his layovers to instruct at the school and has brought with him approximately 30 pilots and flight attendants, many of whom continue to work with the academy, even when they aren’t flying with Scott.

Wanting to do more for the school and several other children’s organizations that he’s encountered in his travels, Scott set up in 2016 Wings Around the World, a not-for-profit charitable organization, to raise funds. On the organization’s website (wingsaroundtheworld.org) he noted, “Sharing time with local friends, their families, and villages, one gains the appreciation and understanding for the value in even the smallest, often-taken-for-granted needs. I’d like to introduce to you the people I meet who are working directly every day, making a difference.”

Scott, center, and two of his three Delta pilot compatriots climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the academy.

Finding a new way to make money for the academy, Scott and three other Delta pilots took pledges to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania last January. “It was the most physically demanding thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he acknowledged. The group worked with an excursion company called Crew Treks, operated by an American Airlines flight attendant, to scale the 19,000-plus-foot peak and in the process raised $3,000.

To put this amount into perspective, the cost to sponsor a child at the school is about $13 a month, Scott said, adding, “A little bit of money goes a long way in Ghana.”

Wings Around the World also supports Helping Hands Healing Hearts Ministries, which operates an orphanage and a recovery unit for sick children in the Philippines.

Scott will be upgrading to captain soon and likely won’t be able to hold the Accra trip, so he hopes to pass the “Universal Wonderful Street Academy torch” to another altruistic airline employee. However, he’ll continue to serve Wings Around the World, noting that “layovers can be more than a nap and dinner. We’re fortunate to be able to travel to some far-off places. Why not make the time and energy to contribute something to the local community?”