Thirst for Knowledge
When the water starts flowing, they will be unstoppable

A doctor, a dancer, a teacher, a banker. There’s nothing these girls can’t achieve.
We’re in Lahan, south-eastern Nepal, 100 miles east of the capital Kathmandu. This is a typical secondary school, where girls and boys aged 5 to 18 learn together.
They may sit in the same classrooms and share similar ambitions, but their experiences are vastly different.
Theirs is a classroom divided by water and by toilets.

There are 475 pupils here, 58 percent of whom are girls. Yet between them, these girls have just one functioning toilet at school. Without running water for cleaning, it gets very dirty and becomes all but unusable. The consequences are far-reaching – pitching girls to the back of the class and making it harder for them to achieve their potential.
When girls miss out on water, they miss out on the knowledge to create change. That's why we're launching Thirst for Knowledge this winter. Through it and with your support we can bring clean water and decent toilets to tens of thousands of girls around the world, so they can focus on their learning and their futures.
So how do dirty water and toilets keep girls behind? Let’s hear what the girls themselves have to say.
After all, this is their story.
I am Puja
I study in grade 7 in Lahan. My favourite subject is maths.
There is water at the school, but it contains iron and it stinks. I have fallen ill by drinking the water at school.
People use the toilet at school, but don’t bother to flush or clean when there is no water. Some of them go out as well, but I go to the toilet no matter how dirty it is.

Mina, 14, another student at Puja’s school, covers her mouth against the smell inside as she exits the one functional girls' toilet, while her friend Urmila, 17, waits outside, April 2021. WaterAid/ Sailendra Kharel
Mina, 14, another student at Puja’s school, covers her mouth against the smell inside as she exits the one functional girls' toilet, while her friend Urmila, 17, waits outside, April 2021. WaterAid/ Sailendra Kharel
No water, no lessons, no choice
When girls menstruate at school, it affects their studies as they return home. It’s not good to leave the class, but they are compelled to do so since there are no pads, toilets and not even drinking water in our school.
They are absent for one or two days and then they come to school again. They come to school wearing pads but they can’t change it. It is not good, but they have no option. I feel bad when my friends have to miss classes and they can’t perform well in exams.
We need water to do everything
There should be proper management of pads, toilet and drinking water. If these were well managed, menstruating girls wouldn’t have to miss their classes. Life is not possible without water, since we need water to do everything like drink, cook, clean, wash.
We go to school to study and gain knowledge which will help us become somebody we wish and spread knowledge to others.

WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
According to Puja's principal, 15% of girls’ absences from school happen while they’re on their period.
And their experience is far from unique...

In sub-Saharan Africa, one in ten girls misses school during their menstrual cycle. By some estimates, this equals as much as twenty percent of a given school year.

I am Sandhya
I am a 10th grade student in Lahan. I like to create videos and dance.
On my first day of school, I wondered as to what sort of school it would be. There was no provision of drinking water and no toilet, and even the teaching was not good in those days.
I want my school to have a clean toilet.
The water at school is poor. There is no facility for purification. We have to wait for a while to let the mixed contamination sediment.
I wish I should not have to drink such water, but I haven’t complained to the teacher. Nobody is ready to complain about it. So how can I go alone and complain? I drink the well water which comes from the electric motor. I haven’t fallen ill yet – but I don’t know about others.

HOLDING IMAGE - WILL INSERT SANDHYA's VIDEO HERE>
HOLDING IMAGE - WILL INSERT SANDHYA's VIDEO HERE>
TikTok queen
During lockdown, I created TikTok videos. I made at least 30 TikTok videos daily. I think it has been around three years since I started creating TikTok videos. My friends … have even told me that I am about to become TikTok Queen.
I would like to continue dancing, but my professional aim is to become a nurse, focusing on my studies. If time allows then I will continue both simultaneously. TikTok is a way to pass time when my patients are not available.

WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

In 80% of households in the developing world, girls are forced to walk for hours every day fetching dirty water which impacts their health negatively. The inequality between girls and boys lasts for generations.

No girl should have to sacrifice her education, health, and dreams for a basic human right like clean water.

I am Arbind
I am Kailash
My name is Arbind, I study in class 9.
My name is Kailash. Arbind is my best friend.
I like Kailash’s quiet and peaceful nature.
Arbind is helpful and gets along with everyone.
Girls and boys should be treated equally
Girls should study as well as doing household chores. I haven’t done these kinds of chores. My sister, mother and sister-in-law do these works. These tasks are not just for them though.
Boys and girls are treated differently in our society. Girls have to work at home, but boys are always roaming and playing. It is not right.

PLACEHOLDER IMAGE. WILL INSERT KAILASH BY KAILASH FILM HERE.
PLACEHOLDER IMAGE. WILL INSERT KAILASH BY KAILASH FILM HERE.
If I had been a girl, I don’t know what would have happened but I think I would have to do like what my sisters do... if we switched souls, I would not be able to stay like that. We need to change things. We can change it by creating awareness among people regarding gender equality, living in harmony and equality.

Arbind (left) and Kailash. WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
Arbind (left) and Kailash. WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

Arbind (left) and Kailash. WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
Arbind (left) and Kailash. WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

Arbind (left) and Kailash. WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
Arbind (left) and Kailash. WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya

Arbind (left) and Kailash. WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
Arbind (left) and Kailash. WaterAid/ Mani Karmacharya
One thing is clear:
Girls can never reach their full potential while locked into the cycle of walking long distances to collect water.

Clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene can help girls around the world get the education they need to transform their futures.

This winter, your gift can provide:
- Taps at school so children can easily wash and drink without missing lessons.
- A water point near home.
- Handwashing stations.
- Disposal facilities for sanitary pads.
And most importantly, unlock girls' potential.