ryans well

Ryan in Uganda

..Ryan Hreljac of Ottawa, Canada

was six years old when he thought of helping people in Africa get safe, clean water to drink. This happened in January 1998 when Ryan's grade one teacher talked about people in Africa having difficulty accessing water for human survival.

Ryan asked his parents for $75 dollars to give to the people of Africa. He earned this money by doing chores around home. Little did he know that this amount was not enough to drill even one well.

Instead of giving up, Ryan offered to do more chores around his home. After a few months, he finally got enough money and sent it off to WaterCan, an agency who work to provide water relief in Africa.

With WaterCan, the Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) drilled a well in January 1999 beside Angolo Primary School in northern Uganda, with funds raised by Ryan and many others. Ryan went to Africa and visited the primary school during the summer of 2000 where five thousand people lined the road, chanting "Rayan" as he and his parents made their way to the well.

In the four years since Ryan began raising funds for the drilling of the well, Ryan has become well known, appearing on the cover of Reader's Digest all around the world. He has also met talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, renowned scientist and chimpanzee expert Dr. Jane Goodall and human rights crusader Craig Kielburger. He has also met Prime Minister Jean Chretien and has featured in a one hour documentary called "Ryan's Well".

When matching funds from the Canadian International Development Agency CIDA) are factored in, Ryan has helped to raise over $750,000 for the thirsty nations of Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Nigeria.

Ryan is still helping Africans get running water.
If you want to help Ryan contact him at www.ryanswell.ca

Ryan watching a well being drilled