Creativity and potential fill the kinder classroom of the Serrera community school. Profesora Thelma’s students are fueled by safe water and sunshine. Under her care and kind direction, they grow and they thrive.

“Everything has changed,” Thelma shares. It’s a common refrain from those who have known a before and an after. Time and again, it proves to be the go-to no-nonsense way to express that access to safe water permeates all aspects of one’s life, marking a clear before and after in time.

Thelma’s own before included much sickness and worry. As a health volunteer, she had a front row seat to the effects of unsafe water – the stomach problems, the dysentery, the pain. Thelma’s after brings her comfort as a teacher, confidently providing the simple refreshment of safe water without worry to her pupils (though no water is allowed inside the classroom — that would get messy, she grins with the wisdom of experience).

Student art hangs in every corner of Thelma’s classroom, at times just barely (masking tape does not adhere well to cinder block walls). But Cova circuit rider, Brayan, knows that what students learn inside the walls will stick. He’s been in their shoes. He’s been behind their desks. He once sat in the tiny chairs of Thelma’s classroom, his own masterpieces hanging precariously from the walls.

In a reversal of roles from student to teacher, it was Brayan who nurtured Thelma’s creative spirit during her own tenure as president of the Serrera community water board, collaborating to improve water quality through chlorination. As a former student of Serrera School, this before and after hits a little different for Brayan.

Today, Brayan—Thelma’s one-time student turned circuit rider—is just a phone call away as Cova continues its work with the community to ensure a sustainable safe water supply for Thelma’s current students. Full circle. Strong bonds.

Supporting safe water for more students is just a click away.
It really does change everything.