A Future Teacher in a Classroom Without Water

What we saw in JANA — and why it stayed with us

When we visited JANA Primary School this spring, we met a girl who reminded us what this work is really about.

Our staff member Patience with Aisha, who hopes to become a teacher one day.

Her name is Aisha. She’s in Class 5, and she’s one of those students you don’t forget: bright-eyed, focused, and confident. During our literacy assessment, Aisha stood out immediately. Her reading skills were strong, her attention sharp. We could see that something had clicked for her, that she’d already dis

covered the joy of understanding what’s on the page.

After the assessment, we asked her what she wants to become in the future.

She didn’t hesitate: “I want to be a teacher.”

When we asked why, she said she admires the teachers in her community. It’s as simple, and powerful, as that. For a girl like Aisha, who has clearly felt the impact of a dedicated teacher, it makes perfect sense that she’d want to pass it forward.

But here’s the part that broke our hearts.

The school has no access to clean water. The community fetches water from a distant dam, or waits for rain, or uses what they can find, even if it runs through the gutters. There are no nearby taps. No infrastructure in place. And yet, here is Aisha, showing up, thriving, dreaming of a future in education.

It shouldn’t have to be this hard.

Aisha is exactly the kind of student we want to reach, the kind of girl who has potential, who’s already taking her learning seriously, and who just needs the basics in place to keep going: water, books, pencils, trained teachers. Nothing extraordinary, just what every child should have.

Jana Primary School

Why This Matters

When we meet girls like Aisha, we’re reminded that potential lives in every corner of every classroom. But opportunity does not. And that’s where we come in, and where your support makes the difference.

We don’t just fund programs. We work in deep partnership with communities to make sure girls like Aisha have what they need to stay in school, believe in themselves, and grow into leaders.

Not one-off interventions. Not just handouts. A future.

Thank you for helping make that future possible, for Aisha, and for so many others like her.