Ryan Hreljac

Water is essential to all life. I hope my story is a reminder that we can all make a difference.

Let's imagine a perfectly ordinary canadian boy aged 6 sitting in a small classroom. He is chatting with his friends waiting till the lesson starts. After the class he's not anymore a perfectly ordinary boy. During the lesson, dedicated to Africa, he learned that there are same-aged children around the world that don't have access to drinking water. How is that possible? Why can he turn the water on whenever he wants and the others cannot? Isn't it outrageous?

Ryan Hreljac, aged 6, decided to act. He did extra chores for four moths and earned $70 but construction of a well in Africa costs $2000. He didn't give in and started a campaign to collect the money. 

Ryan graduated in International Development and Political Science. His actions resulted in establishing Ryan's Well Foundation. Our today's personality emphasizes that he would have never achieved his goals if it hadn't been for his parents and friends. There's one of them who makes this story even more moving. Ryan's Ugandan pen pal from school, Jimmy Akana, was kidnapped by a rebel group (afted his parents had gone missing during a war). He managed to get out and then Ryan's parents decided to adopt him. 

My advice to anyone is that in order to make a positive change in the world, you need to find something you are passionate about and then you need to take steps to act. For me, the issue is water and sanitation.

Ryan's Well Foundation website