Eldana

At twelve, Eldana is more than just a student—she is a leader among her peers and a young woman with big dreams. Each morning, as she steps into her school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she carries something more powerful than books: knowledge that can change lives.

But just a few years ago, the simple act of drinking water at her school came with an invisible risk.

A Daily Struggle for Clean Water

Eldana still remembers the frustration she and her classmates experienced when using water at school.

The old concrete handwashing stations were always breaking down and cracked from wear, and their taps often ran dry. When water did flow, it wasn’t always clean. The school relied on storage tanks, but water sitting stagnant for too long could be contaminated. Sometimes, students drank without knowing what was in their cups.

And then there was the sickness.

"Some of my classmates got sick from the water," Eldana recalls. For Eldana and her classmates, it was a fact of life but one that no child should have to accept.

A Transformation Begins

Then came Splash—and with it, a profound change reshaped how Eldana and her classmates experienced using water at school.

Gone were the unreliable old sinks. In their place stood vibrant blue and orange plastic handwashing and drinking water stations—bright, modern, and built to last. Designed for durability, easy maintenance, and safe water access, these stations ensured that students could wash their hands properly and quench their thirst with clean, reliable water daily.

But the most important difference wasn’t just what they could see, it was what they couldn’t.

With Splash’s water filters in place, every drop of water reaching the students was safe to drink. The invisible dangers that once lurked in their drinking cups were gone. For Eldana, this was a revolution.

Stepping Up as a Hygiene Champion

One day, Eldana’s teacher announced that the school’s Hygiene Club was accepting new members.

She didn’t hesitate.

To her, this was more than just an extracurricular activity—it was a chance to protect her classmates to make sure no one else had to miss school because of preventable illness.

In the Hygiene Club, Eldana learned that diseases don’t just spread through the air—they travel by touch, by water, by the things we share every day. She learned the right way to wash hands, conserve water, and keep toilets clean—and, most importantly, she learned how to teach others.

Now, at lunchtime, you’ll find Eldana standing proudly by the handwashing stations, reminding her classmates to scrub their hands properly before eating. She watches over the drinking stations, making sure kids fill their cups with safe, filtered water instead of risking their health.

She is no longer just a student. She is a leader.

A Future Engineer with a Vision

Eldana’s ambitions go far beyond her school. She dreams of becoming a civil engineer, designing and building structures that help communities thrive—just like the water stations that transformed her school.

At home, she’s the middle child between two brothers, a dedicated student, and, in her own words, “always happy.” But at school, she is something more: a role model, an advocate, a protector of health.

Because of her passion, leadership, and the work of organizations like Splash, Eldana’s school is no longer a place where unsafe water threatens a child’s future.

Now, it’s a place where students like Eldana thrive, dream, and lead.