“Our dream is simple: To have access to clean water, enough food and safe schools” said Ameer 16, from the West Bank. Along with several other Palestinian children, he reminded the participants of the 2025 European Humanitarian Forum (EHF) about how the current conflict has disrupted their education, mental health, and sense of normalcy. But they also spoke of how education programming, when combined with psychosocial support and protection, can turn schools in places of safety, hope, and healing.

For years, the residents of Mundanya Village in Manyinga District faced a harsh reality—children and families risking their lives fetching unsafe water from the crocodile-infested Kabompo River. Safe drinking water was a distant dream, and poor sanitation hindered their health and well-being.

In a significant public health and community development milestone, World Vision Zambia officially handed over vital healthcare infrastructure and water systems during a ceremony held today at Kadama Rural Health Post. The event culminated in substantial investments to improve maternal health, sanitation, and access to clean water across eight healthcare facilities in the region.

This article is a powerful story highlighting how a modest intervention, a personal plastic cup, greatly improved hygiene, hydration, and learning conditions in four schools in the Lualaba province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It recounts the longstanding lack of potable water at Amani Primary School in Mutshatsha and the transformative impact of a borehole installed in 2022, which gave over 1,600 students access to clean water. However, without drinking containers, students were still unable to hydrate safely and effectively. In early 2025, a donation of 3,625 plastic cups across four schools allowed students to drink water hygienically and comfortably. This simple addition significantly reduced water waste, improved hygiene, and helped students stay focused in class. The initiative, part of World Vision’s Gifts-In-Kind (GIK) program, illustrates the profound impact of addressing overlooked details in development work.

A regional children’s crisis in Sudan and beyond—hunger, displacement, and broken systems demand urgent global action. Read World Vision's findings.

Watch Djawahir’s Story: Learn how World Vision’s WASH efforts are rewriting stories of struggle into tales of triumph in CAR.

Discover how Deya’s life changed with clean water as World Vision brings hope to communities in CAR.