Ryan's Well

Sixteen year old Ryan Hrejac learned in first grade that people were dying because they didn't have clean water. That's when he decided to start raising money for people who didn't have clean water. He worked for four months to get his first $70. The fund has grown from $70 collected by doing simple chores to the support of non-profit organizations such as Watercan, CPAR, CIDA, and Free the Children to $1,000,000 in support of the people in Africa who need clean water.

The remarkable young man is now collaborating with actor Matt Damons charity "H2O Africa." They are working in the Lira and Oyam districts of Uganda to improve water, sanitation and hygiene standards in twenty schools with wells, latrines and hand washing.

In 90 more schools, they intend to educate the populations about healthy hygiene and sanitation. Together Matt and Ryan hope to raise at least $200,000.

Since Ryan first started raising money, his efforts have expanded, and only ten years later he has raised $1.5 million for 265 water sources in the ten water poor countries. He has also become recognized as an Ambassador for Water and has participated in several major global events such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

--Jessica Shaw, Of Note in Newnan Editor