When Splash first launched Project WISE (WASH In Schools for Everyone) in 2019, the goal sounded almost impossible: to bring clean water, safe toilets, and hygiene education to every public school in two of the world’s fastest-growing cities – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Kolkata, India – as well as in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

For years, crowded neighborhood schools struggled with intermittent and unsafe water, inadequate bathrooms, and a lack of handwashing facilities. But you believed change was possible, and helped Splash prove it.

Together, we transformed the daily experience of learning for more than 850,000 students and teachers across 896 schools in three cities. Independent research confirmed what you helped make possible: The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found significant drops in respiratory illness and kindergarten absences in Splash schools. Handwashing with soap increased by 22%. And girls reported higher confidence and comfort in managing their periods.

Every improvement – each tap that runs, each child who can stay in class – exists because you took a chance on a big idea. You didn’t just fund infrastructure and education; you funded proof. You showed that a city-wide school water and hygiene model can be affordable, sustainable, and locally led. Behind every data point is a child who can drink clean water before lunch. A teacher who no longer has to send students home sick. A girl who no longer misses school because of her period. This is your impact – reaching classrooms and communities, changing the lives of thousands of children every day. Because of you, governments and local partners now see that an even bigger transformation is possible. Phase II of Project WISE builds on that foundation, scaling through local organizations and aiming to reach 1.5 million children by 2030.