Education institutions globally are increasingly expected to explore avenues for the implementation of service-learning into their curricula. A second-year undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory experiment, in which the undergraduate students make azo dyes, can provide a vehicle for a service-learning module in which university undergraduate students then teach students from resource-limited secondary schools how to make azo dyes. Evidence is provided to show how the theory is reinforced for both sets of students through a shared practical experience. The practical application of chemistry is conveyed through the use of the synthetic azo dyes to dye t-shirts. The results of this study show that the service-learning experience clearly assists undergraduate students to appreciate the role of chemists in the broader society while at the same time increasing awareness of the inequalities in school education systems. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)