Grade 7
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
A letter from
My name is Rayna H., age 14. I am in grade 7 at Edget Primary School. I love physics and want to be a pilot. I am raised by a single mother and have a younger sister. I, my sister, and mom are living in a small house in Addis Ababa. My father passed away in my early years. Since then, my mom has struggled to raise both of us. As an elder sister, I have many responsibilities at home to take care of my younger sister and help my mom. My mom is very supportive of my education; even when I should support her with chores, she gives me time to focus on my studies.
At school, I am a member of the hygiene club, and I help with different hygiene education activities with my friends in the club. I have been at Edget since grade 5, but this year is so different: our school got a water filter and beautiful colorful stations — so exciting! Previously we only had one source of water for both drinking and washing. Sometimes there was no water at all in the compound, and it was very difficult to eat in the school. Going to the toilet for the girls was worse, too.
What Splash has done in our school is a great opportunity for children like me who have no chance to go to a private school that has better facilities. I feel so proud that I am a hygiene ambassador — I like to put soap in the stations and guide the children on where to drink and wash. The training I received from Splash was awesome. I have passed the lessons on to my mom and my younger sister as well. The games are interesting and educational. I want a humanitarian organization like Splash to help all kids improve their life.
