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Meet Neha

A woman with a vision for change

By FOREFRONT Charity

March 8^th, 2016

EDUCATION IS AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE TOWARD PROGRESS.

You’ve heard the statistics: those who learn more achieve more. But first, kids need to get to a place where they can learn more. And that place is school.

Yet, many children in India remain absent from the classroom. According to the UN, only 50% of children in India make it to secondary school. The reasons are as vast as the country itself.

But one of the reasons kids don’t make it to school is water.

Neha, a local Indian woman in Tenali, explained to us how lack of water and toilets are barriers to education. Because children are spending time either gathering clean water or being sick from unsanitary water, they sacrifice critical time at school.

LESS STEPS TO WATER, MORE STEPS TO SCHOOL.

“With access to clean water, we can encourage one more step ahead toward education.”

As we heard from Neha, investing in access to clean drinking water means investing in education.

We didn’t have to look far to witness this firsthand. A community at our first well was spending 6 hours a day fetching water. With access to FOREFRONT’s well, they now only spend 5-10 minutes per trip. And the possibilities afforded to re-invest their time are endless.

progress is not just about inputs.

Neha grew up in a typical middle class family and studied engineering. After college, she got a job at a bank, and is able to support her family. She was given an opportunity to succeed with education—an opportunity not available to all. And she is an encouraging glimpse into the full classrooms we want to see.

Despite her success, her schools did not have proper facilities to make her and other girls feel safe or sanitary. In addition to water, schools in India often lack proper toilets to encourage student attendance. With a passion for encouraging environments where children learn and thrive, Neha dreams of seeing more students succeed by reducing barriers like unsafe water and toilets.

In addition to meeting physical needs, she believes progress is not just about inputs like installing a well or building a school.

REAL PROGRESS INTEGRATES ALL OF A COMMUNITY’S NEEDS, AND MAINTENANCE IS KEY.

FRUITFUL GROUNDs FOR CHANGE

Neha shared with us that india is booming with opportunity.

We saw this with our own eyes, too. FOREFRONT is inspired by her message, and the chance to see the fruit of integrated investments — like clean water and education — in an empowering environment. We have already seen how a community is re-investing their time because of access to clean water.