You made us feel that we matter.

Before Universal Promise existed, way back in 2010, we visited Samkelwe Senior Secondary School and immediately noticed that there was something wrong with the school restrooms. To put in bluntly, the smell was brutal. When we formally partnered with the school at the end of 2019, nothing had changed. All the student toilets were broken, the water system did not work, and they were a hotbed of unhygienic conditions and disease. When we confirmed that the restroom renovation would be at the top of our fulfillment of their Top Ten Wish List, the student body cheered wildly.

That in and of itself was moving, but even more so was when a Grade 9 student approached us and gently tugged on one of our sleeves to whisper, “Thank you for fixing these toilets for us. Really. Last year, I got a disease from them, and I went to hospital and missed too much school. By doing this project, you made us feel that we matter. We know you care. We know Universal Promise cares. It is hard to tell you how much this project meant to me. To all of us, really.”