Two Year 5 students from Horizon English School in Dubai have demonstrated how young people can make a meaningful impact beyond the classroom. By creating and donating 100 educational workbooks for children in Malawi, they helped support literacy and numeracy development while inspiring wider community involvement across their school.
Students Create Global Impact
The project began as part of Cognita’s global Student Challenge, Making a Difference. Inspired to support children in Malawi through the Sparkle Foundation. Marc Serras Maksoudian and Myra Jain spent a school term creating 100 workbooks focused on reading, writing and mathematics.
Marc Serras Maksoudian, Year 5 student at Horizon English School said,
“We wanted to help children have access to learning resources that could make a real difference to their education. We realised that something small from us could have a big impact somewhere else.”
Along the way, they developed new digital design skills, managed the production process and helped organise the delivery of the resources. Their work highlights how student-led projects can build practical skills while making a positive difference in the lives of others.
Myra Jain, Year 5 student at Horizon English School said,
“One of the biggest challenges was organising the campaign and making sure the workbooks were engaging and useful for the children receiving them. It took a lot of teamwork and perseverance. Watching the thank-you video from the school in Malawi was probably our favourite moment because seeing the children smiling and thanking us made us feel incredibly proud and emotional.”
School Supports Malawi Learning Resource
What began as a project between two students soon brought the wider Horizon English School community together. Students, staff and families donated stationery, notebooks and classroom supplies to accompany the workbooks.
To encourage involvement, Marc and Myra organised donation drives and spoke to their peers about the initiative. Their efforts inspired others to get involved and showed how young people can lead positive change within their communities and beyond.
A Message from Malawi
The project’s impact became especially meaningful when students and teachers in Malawi sent a personal thank-you video. For Marc and Myra, seeing the children using the resources they had created was a memorable and rewarding moment.
Martin Cole, Principal of Horizon English School, said that the students demonstrated remarkable leadership, compassion and determination throughout the project. They identified a genuine need, developed a practical solution and inspired their community to contribute. Their achievement goes far beyond their age, highlighting the impact young people can have when given the opportunity to lead meaningful change.
Why This Matters for Schools
The initiative highlights the positive impact student-led projects can have both inside and outside the classroom. It encouraged empathy, teamwork and a sense of global responsibility, while showing how young people can turn ideas into meaningful action.
