ryan’s well
by Tim Willmott : Comments Off on ryan’s well
After hearing about the water crisis in parts of Africa, six year old Ryan Hreljac, from a small town near Ottawa, decided to try and help. His teacher told him that $70 would pay for a well, which Ryan raised in four months through doing extra chores for his parents.
After delivering his donation to the Watercan aid programme, Ryan discovered that $70 would only pay for a hand pump, but $2,000 would drill a well. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) agreed to match funds by 2:1 and Ryan raised the rest, collecting donations from friends, family and local schools. The well was subsequently dug near the school at Angolo in north Uganda, a village whose closest water used to be five kilometres away. That was in 1999 when Ryan was seven.
Ryan’s original $70 fund-raising has now grown to a foundation worth $750,000, serving over 621,000 people with 502 wells in 16 countries.
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Article by Tim Willmott
Tim is the creator of sustainapedia.com and heads digital publisher Treading Lightly. His interests include nature and wild places, cooking, film, sport and music. He is a poet, writer and commentator.
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