Let’s face it birthdays are a pretty selfish day. It’s a day about one person and giving them presents and having a party. One might argue it about celebrating the birth of that person and it is. Being born and living to each birthday is something to celebrate.
But what if we celebrated by helping our world be a better place?
This year I’m turning sixteen. This is one of the birthdays I like call the “rite of passage” birthday along with eighteenth and twenty-first birthday. (or being coming of age birthday). A sweet sixteen party is usually held for a girl becoming sixteen mostly in North America these parties can be any where from a casual dinner party to a full blown giant party where everyone you know and have ever meet is there.
Instead of having a party or asking for presents I don’t actually need. I’m asking for clean water.
Yes clean water we take for granted having water ready at the tap if we’re thirsty we go to the sink or fridge and fill up a glass. But imagine walking a mile or more spending hours lugging heavy water everyday to get a drink. And the water you have worked so hard for is dirty filled with bacteria that can make you sick.
3.4 million people die each year from water related disease. That is almost the entire city of Los Angeles. And 780 million more people lack access to clean water.



That is just about a billion people affected by dirty water. It mostly affects in developing countries where the importance sanitation is not well know. And only a few doctors are available for surgeries and medical aid.
Charity water was started by Scott Harrison who got paid to party and drink. After ten years of this he turn his life around. How? By doing the complete opposite of what he had been doing. This mean’t spending a year giving back and after many rejections Mercy ships gave him that chance. Scott took pictures of face tumors, flesh eating fungus, surgeries, ECT. And after another year of seeing people go from death door step to full life again even seeing peoples eye sight restored from complete blindness. He got the idea for charity water.
Charity water is an organization that builds wells in developing counties for fresh clean water. You can use a special event, run a race or be creative and use a lemonade stand to raise money and that’s not all. You can also give up your birthday. By asking for your age in dollars who knows how much money you can rise for a water project. And the best part 100% goes to the water project. Yes all the money you donate will go to your water project!
Water, everyone needs it to live. Water doesn’t just affect our health but the way we live too. So lets make a difference in peoples lives by giving them clean water that can help them live a better life.



http://www.charitywater.org/about/scotts_story.php (Scott Harrison talks about his life and how charity water was started)

http://www.charitywater.org/whywater/ (more info on the water projects)

http://mycharitywater.org/birthdays (pledge your next birthday or start a campaign to raise money for charity water)