Children at St. Yared’s School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo: YouTube screenshot.

Israel announced on Friday that it had donated humanitarian aid kits to students at a school in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, as a contribution to the African nation’s effort to counter the spread of the coronavirus.

In a post on Twitter, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the kits had been sent to 250 families at St. Yared’s School “in an effort to supplement the government of Ethiopia‘s efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus & symbolizing the strong Israeli-Ethiopian relations.”

St. Yared was a sixth-century Ethiopian musician who composed the sacred musical traditions of several Christian churches in the Horn of Africa. The school named in his honor, and the recipient of the Israeli aid, aims to “provide an excellent education to talented, impoverished children from the poorest suburbs of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.”

“Our goal is to empower our students to break free from poverty and to become future leaders in their communities,” the school’s website explains.

Ethiopia has registered more than 18,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus so far.

The Embassy of @IsraelinET donated humanitarian aid kits to 250 families of St. Yared School in #AddisAbaba, in an effort to supplement the government of #Ethiopia's efforts to contain the spread of #coronavirus & symbolizing the strong 🇮🇱🇪🇹 relations.https://t.co/B5z39pCJGE

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) August 7, 2020