UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 18 April 2008 --  When Ryan Hreljac was just six years old, he set on the task of raising enough money to build a well to bring clean water to people who needed it. Today, aged 16 and relentlessly pursuing his childhood dream, Ryan's Well Foundation has built 365 wells - serving over 500,000 people with clean water - supported sanitation, health and hygiene services in 14 countries around the world, is working with partners such as Matt Damon's H2O Africa Foundation, and has been featured on CNN Heroes and Oprah.  

Marisha Wojciechowska-Shibuya: Ryan, since the age of 6, you have been an avid advocate for supplying water to people who need it. Tell us your story.

Ryan Hreljac: As fast as you can snap your fingers people are dying because they don’t have clean water. In places like Canada, most of us have easy access.  We drink it.  We use it to brush our teeth and wash our clothes. We have proper bathrooms and a place to wash our hands afterward so we won’t get sick.  Some people even water their lawns to keep them green.

But one in six people on the planet aren’t as lucky.  Every day 6,000 children die needlessly because of waterborne diseases.  That’s like 20 full jumbo jets crashing every day of the year.  And that’s just the kids. Too many people are talking about what we should do but not enough people are taking action.

There is no reason for so many people to die just because they don’t have the most basic necessity of life – clean water.  When I was six years old, I decided to change that.  We should all want to change that.   My Grade 1 teacher sparked something in me when I was just six years old that made me want to help.  It was a simple message that I have tried to pass on to others.  It has grown ways that still surprise me.

Recent natural disasters such as tsunamis, floods, and hurricanes remind everyone that the balance of the environment is fragile and that clean water cannot be taken for granted. The UN’s Millennium Development Goal to cut in half by 2015, the number of people on the planet without water, is also getting people motivated. The Ryan’s Well Foundation is a small Canadian charity that was founded in 2001.  It is part of the team that is changing people’s lives by giving children and families access to safe, clean water.

As a six-year-old living in Canada in 1998, I learned just how lucky I was to be living in such a fortunate country.  Up until then I thought everyone walked just a few steps to a tap to get a drink of clean water. One day I was sitting in my Grade 1 classroom just being six.  We were talking about people who live in poor countries without all the things that kids like me had and took for granted.  My Grade 1 teacher, Mrs. Prest, explained that people were dying because they didn’t have clean water.  They walked for hours in Africa sometimes just to get dirty water and all I had to do was take nine or ten steps from my classroom and I had it.  She said that $70 would build a well in Africa so I decided to raise $70 to solve the problem.

I went home and begged my mom and dad to help but they really ignored me at first.  Finally, after days of pestering them, they finally gave me a chance.  They told me I could do extra chores to earn it.  I worked for four months to earn my $70.  Then I learned that $70 was not going to be enough and that it was going to cost more like $2000 to build a well so I just said I would do more chores.

Once in awhile I forget what it felt like when I first started all of this but I don’t think I ever doubted myself.  If you want to do something and if you try hard enough I think you can do just about anything. I do remember that I was pretty sad when I learned that people had to walk not steps but thousands of steps, often to get to a source of dirty water so I was very determined to make the world a little bit better.  I thought I could solve the problem by building a well. The problem turned out to be bigger than I thought.

As I grew I learned the truth of the need for clean water for more than a billion people from around the world.  After I started fundraising my classmates decided to help me.  My school raised money the next year and in other years too.  As a result we were able to do a lot more.  Then the message began to spread and the rest is history.  I learned all about the ripple effect and how it just keeps on growing.

This project has changed from the wish of one small kid to hundreds of thousands of people helping from around the world.  It didn’t happen overnight but it happened.  We have been working at this for ten years now.  I have learned so much.  For example, I’m not as naïve as I was when I was six.  I understand now the importance of working together with other people.  I also understand the powerful role the media can play in telling a person’s story.  The media and the internet have helped us bring clean water to almost half a million people in 14 countries so far.  We’re not a huge organization but we have some amazing people who care and who have supported our work for years.  It always feels better when you can bring clean water to another person just by telling your story…and telling it again.  In Africa they have said for years and years that “water is life’.  It’s written on the buildings.  It’s everywhere.  We’re just learning about how precious water is now in developed countries.
 
My work has allowed me to travel around the world.  One of the most interesting places I have travelled in my young life is Africa.  I got to meet my pen pal Jimmy Akana back in 2000 when I was just nine years old.  Jimmy traveled to Canada in March 2003.  He has been living with our family now for almost five years. My brothers and I call Jimmy brother. He is part of our family.

I have met many people over the last 10 years.  I laid a wreath with Prince Charles in 2001 and I met a seven year old girl who has been making pottery jewellery in support of Ryan’s Well for many years.  I have been lucky enough to have people like Oprah Winfrey tell my story (Jimmy and I were featured on her show twice).  I met people like Raffi, Jean-Michel Cousteau and Dr. Jane Goodall who all believe in the work of youth-they are all patrons for the Ryan’s Well Foundation now.  I’m a pretty lucky teenager to have had all these opportunities to travel and meet people.  I think I’ve been to almost 30 countries to tell my story so far.  I don’t mind telling my story because often it means that we will be able to complete more water and sanitation projects and that is what is most important.

M.W.-S.: How many wells have you helped build through your fundraising efforts?

R.H.: With lots of help from people right around the world, we have worked together to help complete 329 water and sanitation projects benefitting almost 500,000 people in 14 countries on three continents (Africa, Asia, South America).

M.W.-S.: Have you seen any noticeable progress in the communities where you have built wells? Are your first wells (built nine years ago) still functioning?

R.H.: I have heard too many stories about organizations going in and building wells and then a few years later they are broken down.  We work very hard to plan and implement projects with our partners in developing countries and with people who live in the communities themselves.  Because of that we have had success in wells still functioning years after they were built.  We did have some wells that had to be rehabilitated due to the rebel activity in northern Uganda over the years but the rehabilitation projects have been completed.  When people are involved in planning water and sanitation projects for their communities and when they pitch in to the project, it helps keep the projects functioning.

M.W.-S.: From your experience, what is the biggest hurdle to bringing safe drinking water to the world?

R.H.: I think the biggest hurdle is people who have given up.  We need to find determined people to do more than just talk about solutions.

My goal is for clean water for people on the planet.  Some people say that is like wishing for world peace and it’s not realistic.  But we can’t ever give up hope.  We need to keep educating young people and we need to keep the pressure on governments to play a role.  Non governmental organizations need to work together – big and small ones (like Ryan’s Well) can and do make a difference but the difference is even greater if we all work together and speak with one voice.

One of the Millennium Development Goals is cutting in half the people who don’t have access to clean water by 2015.  Another one is cutting in half the people who don’t have access to sanitation.  We’re on track for the water goal but we’re way off on sanitation.  By continuing to act on issues like clean water and sanitation, more people will be inspired and will want to be a part of the solution, especially young people because they will keep helping throughout their lives.

M.W.-S.: You are now 16 years old, and this year you had the opportunity to join the Class Afloat program (Canada), which includes sailing on the Earth’s oceans for 6 months. You are in fact currently in South Africa, after having sailed down along the coasts of South America. What is this voyage bringing to your already broad perspectives on water issues?

R.H.: There are many challenges in the world today but having sailed along the coast of South America and across the Atlantic Ocean to Africa on the tall ship “Concordia” I can tell you that whenever I look across the ocean, I am reminded of how important water is to every single person on earth.

I am not an expert in water issues but I know that more than a billion people on this planet still don’t have access to clean water.  And 2.6 billion people, almost a billion of them children, do not have access to sanitation in the world. Toilets shouldn’t be a dirty word.

These are pretty disturbing facts.  They are unacceptable.  Young and old people need to work together to develop solutions.  We all need to roll up their sleeves and do something.

M.W.-S.: The Ryan’s Well Foundation has recently struck an interesting partnership with Matt Damon’s H2O Africa Foundation. Tell us about this project.

R.H.: Last year, Ryan's Well Foundation announced a $700,000 partnership for clean water and sanitation projects in Africa with the H2O Africa Foundation. The H2O Africa Foundation, founded by Matt Damon, agreed to MATCH funds raised by Ryan's Well to DOUBLE THE IMPACT for both organizations and accelerate benefits for children and families. We’re already making huge difference in Uganda and our partnership continues to grow and make a difference.

When I thanked Matt Damon for his action to help people get access to clean water in Africa, he said “Back at you.” I was impressed that someone who is so busy finds the time to give back. He’s famous as an actor (and yes, I’ve seen the Bourne movies) but I like him for a different reason.  He’s a role model for all because he’s taking time to help make the world a better place.

M.W.-S.: Are you still hopeful that we can make significant progress in providing safe drinking water to all in the world?

R.H.: I think I was born hopeful and although I am not as naïve as I was at the age of six, I know we can solve this one.

I’m not saying it will be easy.  Change is really hard work. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it works best when everyone works together. The world is depending on us.  No matter how old you are or where you come from, always remember to believe in your dreams.

Hey, if a six-year-old kid can convince others to provide water to almost 500,000 people in 14 countries on three continents, just imagine what you could do!

About Ryan’s Well Foundation 

http://www.ryanswell.ca/

Ryan's Well Foundation is a registered Canadian charity with a mission to provide clean water, improved sanitation and related hygiene education to citizens of developing countries impacted by the global water crisis through engagement with local partner organizations. Ryan's Well supports activities to BUILD safe water sources, EDUCATE individuals, schools, corporations and other service organizations to create awareness of water related issues and those with limited access to resources and MOTIVATE present and future leaders to realize their own global citizenship. To date, Ryan's Well has helped almost half a million people through 329 water projects in 14 countries.

Labels: United Nations, U.N., MaximsNews WATER, water, sanitation, water and sanitation, water news, water sustainability, water resource, water management, global water crisis, Ryan Hreljac, Ryan's Well Foundation, Millennium Development Goals, MDG, well, drinking water, Africa, Canada, Matt Damon, H2O Africa Foundation, Marisha Wojciechowska-Shibuya   

 

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