Aguera is 20 years old, and knows she doesn’t have that much time. In just a few years, she’ll have children, household duties, and fewer opportunities. In Burkina Faso, this is her last chance for education. It’s now or never.

She’s doing it for her future. A profession in her hands means she will always be able to earn a living. That she won’t have to ask anyone for help.

When the exam results are read out loud, Aguera holds her breath.

On June 12th in Gourcy, a small village where dust mingles with hope, seven women sit bent over sewing machines. Behind them are three years of study; ahead of them lies the prospect of a normal life. They are taking the most important exam of their lives.

The silence feels like in a cathedral—or in an operating room. On the table lie the prizes: two sewing machines and tailoring supplies. Needles move, machines clatter, threads tangle and untangle, and patterns take shape under trembling fingers.

Then come the results: three names are called, because three young women earned the highest award. For Aguera, we bought an extra machine—she deserved it through her hard work. Three new lives. “Tomorrow I can open my own workshop!” she shouts with joy.

The others don’t leave empty-handed. They now have a profession, can work for others, and save for their own machines. This isn’t the end of the road—it’s the beginning.

In the evening, dancing and celebration. Younger students from the first and second year sing for their older colleagues. Their songs are filled with congratulations, but also with something more—determination. “Next year it will be us standing here,” sings one of them, spinning in her patterned dress. “With a machine in my hands. I’ll sew many dresses like this.”

The circle closes, the story repeats—but each time, someone new gets a chance.

One day of training means several hours with a machine and a textbook. It’s a concrete step for a woman who no longer wants to ask for money, but instead wants to earn it herself.

Great change begins with small gestures—with one day of training, with one sewing machine, with one woman. Give the gift of a day’s training, and begin another story of transformation.