For many children in Zambia, hunger once stood between them and an education. Classrooms were quiet because desks were empty. Many learners stayed home. Those who attended struggled to concentrate.

For years, a rural school in Mhlangatane faced severe challenges due to the lack of safe and reliable water, affecting children’s health, education, and overall wellbeing. Today, through World Vision’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme, access to clean water is transforming the school, improving learning conditions and giving learners renewed hope for their futures.

This article highlights how the Elimu Kwa Wote project is transforming education in Idjwi territory by creating safer, more inclusive, and child-friendly schools. Through teacher training, improved sanitation facilities, hygiene support, and child protection initiatives, the project is helping students regain confidence, improve learning conditions, and strengthen community engagement around education.

*Shufa (*name changed to protect identity) is 15 years old. For the past three years, she has lived in a camp in South Sudan with her mother, Amal, and her siblings. For *Shufa, each day begins not with lessons, but with work. Instead of books, she carries firewood, helping her mother sell it at the local market to feed the family.

Hope has been restored for 14-year-old Sarah after she lost her home from the earthquake in Syria, and at the same time faced bullying at school.

World Vision’s Citizen Voice and Action (CVA) initiative is instilling hope in 16-year-old Evelyn as she aims for selection into a national boarding secondary school after the 2026 PSLCE examinations. Through improved access to learning materials, better teaching resources, and strengthened education services at her school, Evelyn’s confidence and academic performance have improved, bringing her closer to her dream of becoming a nurse.

Mofati Village in Malawi has seen a major shift following the installation of a safe water facility by World Vision. Families no longer share unsafe streams with livestock, reducing the risk of waterborne diseases. Children now reach school on time, while households save time for productive work. A community water committee has been formed to maintain the system, promoting shared responsibility. Health workers report expected reductions in diarrhoea and cholera as sanitation practices improve. Over 1,000 people are now accessing clean water. The development is improving health, education, and livelihoods, creating a stronger foundation for sustainable community growth and dignity.

Through a home-schooling programme supported by World Vision Malawi in Malawi’s Machinga, children like Hasina are improving their reading skills, building confidence, and strengthening their foundation for future education.

Integrated WASH and school meals in Kalemie improve clean water, hygiene, and nutrition, boosting pupils’ health, protection, attendance, learning, and dignity.

Across schools in Zambézia and Nampula provinces, students are gaining hands-on agricultural skills through newly established school gardens. These gardens are not only learning spaces, but also vital sources of nutritious food that will contribute directly to daily school meals. The school gardens are expected to benefit 10,862 people across 20 schools in Nampula and Zambézia. With support from the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS), which provides essential commodities from American farmers and producers, such as rice, lentils, and fortified vegetable oil, the program is strengthening school feeding systems.