You guys.  It’s birthday time!  I’m turning 40!  And I’m giving up my milestone birthday as a fundraiser for charity: water!  Here’s my project link:

A Little Music.  A Lot of Water.

Why?

I was inspired to do this by a talk that Scott Harrison, charity: water founder, gave at the 2012 World Domination Summit.  Here are the highlights:

Scott Harrison’s Highlights from World Domination Summit 2012 from Chris Guillebeau on Vimeo.

I had never heard of charity: water before.  I learned that diseases from unsafe water kill more people than all forms of violence.  I learned that 1 in 9 people do not have access to clean water.  That’s ONE BILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.  And that many of them, including women and children, walk for hours a day, LITERALLY HOURS A DAY, to have access to water that looks like this:

 

I learned that the jugs they carry are 40 POUNDS when full.  I tried to imagine my 7-year-old carrying a 40-pound jug of water for 1 minute, let alone walking for miles with it.  I imagined what kind of impact that would have on his education, on his body…  And so many people in the world live like this, every day.  It’s completely overwhelming.

I learned that charity: water uses 100% of dollars from fundraising campaigns like this for water projects.   I was so impressed with Scott Harrison’s approach to transparency in fundraising, to making sure that people knew exactly where their money was going.  I was impressed with how they’re using technology like Google Maps to show where in the world their dollars are going.

And their success looks like this:

causes well in Kurit Achera, Ethiopia. from charity: water (special donors) on Vimeo.

I got home from WDS to my house, where we were doing a kitchen renovation project.  We had no running water in our kitchen for 3 weeks.  Before WDS, I might have found this to be unbearable.  But now, knowing what I know…wow.  At least:

• I had water in my bathroom.
• I could take a shower.
• I could flush the toilet.
• I could brush my teeth.
• I could drive to the store and buy bottled water for cooking.
• I knew the water was safe.
• I knew the inconvenience was TEMPORARY.

They say you don’t know how good you have it till it’s done.  I certainly could see this.  But what about all the people WHO HAVE NEVER HAD CLEAN WATER IN THE FIRST PLACE!?

HOW?

Let’s celebrate my milestone birthday together.  If 250 people donate just $4 each – see, you’re buying me a drink for my birthday! – we will reach my goal.  50 people will get clean water!

As a thank you, I’ll send you a super-secret, unreleased mp3….details on my project page.

Help me make a dent in the water crisis.  Donate to my birthday campaign.  Here’s the link again:

A Little Music.  A Lot of Water.

charity: ball 2012 opening video. from charity: water on Vimeo.

Get inspired.  Get involved.  Give.

Thank you for listening!