Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to sit-in and critique several high school students on a presentation called Baraka: An Inquiry-Based Project through Millennium Development Goals. (Baraka is a word that means 'blessing' or 'water of life' in many languages). The assignment was to focus on one particular goal as identified by the World Health Organization and propose solutions that would allow human societies in developing regions to remain sustainable. One of those main goals is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, and as a component of that, the idea that clean water should be available to everyone on this planet.

Did you know that there are people who have to walk many hours a day fetching unsafe water from remote areas? Every single day, people of these developing nations such as Central African Republic do just that in order to retrieve contaminated water that will most likely make them sick and maybe even kill them. And the time spent collecting this water prevents children from being in school and women from pursuing economic growth. Not having access to clean drinking water perpetuates the cycle of poverty.

Because of the opportunity given to me to listen to these students, I was introduced to charity: water, a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. They use 100% of public donations to directly fund sustainable water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person clean water for 20 years.

Scott Harrison, the founder of this organization said it best: 'for me, charity is practical. It's sometimes easy, more often inconvenient, but always necessary. It's the ability to use one's position of influence, relative wealth and power to affect lives for the better. Charity is singular and achievable.'

Having been inspired by the students and by this organization, I am participating in the September 2010 campaign (which also is my birthday month). Please consider joining me in helping to bring safe, clean water to the people living in Central African Republic by making a contribution. Any amount you donate CAN and WILL help change lives.

'What we do for ouselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.'
~Albert Pine