Ryan's Well Foundation is an international funded foundation, which was formally established in March 21. By 22, Ryan's Well Foundation had drilled 3 wells for 8 countries in Africa. Why is this foundation called "Ryan's Well"? In fact, its source is a touching story.

One day in p>1998, just after school, 6-year-old ryan hreljac couldn't wait to rush into the house, held out his hand to his mother piteously and said, "Mom, give me 7 dollars. I want to build a well for African children so that they can have water to drink. " Sounds like it must be a dream, a dream of a 6-year-old child, an impossible dream ... Who will take this kind of fantasy seriously?

five years later, this dream has become a cause in which thousands of people have participated. This ordinary boy has been called "the soul of Canada". On September 3th, 22, he accepted the National Medal of Honor awarded by Canadian Governor Clarkson. In October, as the only Canadian, he was selected as "Top Ten Young Heroes in North America".

On March 15th, Ryan made a short stop in Beijing on his way to Japan to attend the Third World Water Forum. In the hit program "Tell the truth" of CCTV, the guest from afar was welcomed.

The host announced that the "Ryan's Well" Foundation has raised 75, US dollars. There was an overwhelming applause in the audience.

This ordinary boy, thin, quiet, white face is flushed-how can he have such shocking power?

"I didn't take his words seriously at that time. Children's minds always change "

In January p>1998, Kemputville, Ontario, Canada, a city 5 kilometers away from Ottawa.

Nancy prester, a teacher at Holy Cross Church School, is giving a class to the first grade children. This school is carrying out a donation activity to help developing countries. She talked about the living conditions in Africa that day and how to help them.

"In Africa, children don't have toys, enough food and medicine, and many people can't even drink clean water." Nancy said, "Thousands of children died because of drinking polluted water."

6-year-old Ryan's eyes widened. He simply doesn't believe that there will be people in this world who don't have clean water to drink and will die because of it. "I'm so sad. No one should live like that. " He told about his feelings at that time, and his blue eyes were as clear as the lake.

"Every penny can help them." Nancy told the children that one penny can buy a pencil, 25 cents can buy 175 vitamin pills, 6 cents can cover a child's medical expenses for two months, one dollar can buy a hearty lunch, and two dollars can buy a blanket. "If we have 7 yuan, we can help them dig a well."

all day, Ryan's mind was filled with the idea of "7 yuan for a well". "I must dig a well for them." He thought, "I will bring 7 yuan tomorrow."

In the face of Ryan's request, mother Susan just smiled and said, "Fine, Ryan."

"No, I didn't take his words seriously at all." Susan recalled the scene and said, "He wanted to help others, which was very good. But you know, children's minds always change from time to time. "

Susan is an adviser to the Ontario Civil Rights, Culture and Recreation Commission. Ryan's father Mark is a policeman. This is an ordinary family of five. Besides Ryan, there are my brother Jordan and my brother Keegan.

at dinner, Ryan brought it up again.

"No, Ryan, 7 yuan is too much." Susan had to tell him directly, "We can't afford it."

The next day, Ryan came back from school glumly and mentioned it to his parents again.

"You don't understand at all!" He cried, "People don't have clean water to drink, children are dying, and they need the money!" "

"oh, my god, he's driving us crazy those days!" " Susan painfully put her hand on her forehead and said to me exaggeratedly, "As soon as she has time, she asks us, as if he can't live without giving him the 7 yuan."

Susan and Mark had to discuss this matter seriously, and then they announced their decision: "We can't give you this money. If you really want it, you can earn it yourself. "

Susan put an old cookie box on the refrigerator and drew an integral table for Ryan with 35 lines on it. For every two dollars added to the cookie box, Ryan can erase one box. Susan said, "Ryan, remember, you can only earn this money by doing extra housework. What you do every day now doesn't count."

"ok!" Ryan broke into tears and smiled.

Ryan's first task was to suck carpets. Jordan and Keegan both went out to play. Ryan worked for more than two hours. After Susan "checked", she put two dollars into the biscuit box.

"When I finished, my back couldn't stand straight, and it hurt for several days!" Ryan said, "I usually only do the work of making the bed and walking the dog. I never knew it was so tiring."

A few days later, when the whole family went to the movies, Ryan stayed at home and cleaned the windows for two hours, earning the second two dollars.

gradually, everyone knows Ryan's dream. Grandpa hired three brothers to pick up pine cones; After the snowstorm, the neighbors asked him to help pick up the fallen branches; Ryan got a good grade in the exam, and his father gave him a reward. Ryan stopped buying toys from then on ... All these were put in the old biscuit box by Ryan.

"To tell you the truth, I thought Ryan would get bored soon!" Susan said, "But he kept at it for four months."

"Why not just give him 7 yuan?" I asked.

"7 yuan is a lot of money for a six-year-old child. If he wants it, he should make efforts instead of simply taking the money from his father and handing it over to the teacher. " Susan replied.

one day in April, before going to work, Susan suddenly found that the scorecard was almost full. "After saving enough money, who will give it to dig wells in Africa?" She began to worry.

the school did not provide relevant information. Susan turned to her friend Brenda for help, who works in an international development organization. Brenda said: A small non-profit organization in Ottawa seems to be doing this. They not only raise money, but also are responsible for digging wells in Africa. The name of this organization is "Water Tank".

Brenda called the pitcher: "7 yuan may not be much, but the child worked hard to earn it. I think he should give it to you face to face."

one morning in late April, Ryan solemnly put on a suit and tie, holding an old biscuit box full of two small change on his chest, and handed him over to Nicole, the person in charge of the "pitcher" at that time.

"There's still five dollars left," Ryan whispered. "I'll give it to you, too. Maybe I can buy a warm meal for the digger."

"Thank you so much, Ryan!" Nicole smiled and said, "You are really a big help." Then, she explained to Ryan their "clean water" project in Africa. Finally, she said shyly that 7 yuan is actually only enough to buy a water pump, and digging a well costs more, almost 2 yuan.

"oh, good!" Ryan had no idea what 2 yuan meant. He just said excitedly, "Then I'll do more work to make money!" "

Susan and Mark fell silent that night. "He has come so far," Mark said. "We can't tell him: Son, you have tried your best, but you really can't change anything."

they don't know what to do in the future. They expect Ryan to forget about it as time goes on. "We really want to help him." Susan sighed and said, "but how can a 6-year-old earn so much money by doing housework!" "

"Ryan prayed before going to bed every day: let everyone in Africa drink clean water. I can't tell him that's impossible. "

A turning point appeared.

Brenda was moved by Ryan's persistence. In the following week, she sent emails to her family and friends, telling them that there was a child who was doing a great job to help children in Africa have water to drink.

Soon, a cousin who is an accountant wrote back: "I am very touched. I want to donate some money to help Ryan. "

Others wrote back to Brenda and told her that this is an exciting story and should be published in the newspaper.

Brenda did this. Soon, Ryan's story appeared in Kemputville's "Forward", titled "Ryan's Well". In September 1999, the Ottawa Citizen published the same report. Ryan's story began to spread quickly throughout Canada, and TV stations kept asking for interviews.

a week later, a strange letter appeared in the mailbox of Healy Jack's house. The envelope said: Ryan's well in Kemptville, Ontario. There is a check from 25 yuan in the envelope with a note: "I wish I could do more."

not long after, another check arrived. The recipients this time are: Kemputville, Holy Cross School, Ryan's well. The denomination is 2 yuan.

A group of drillers in eastern Ontario watched Ryan's program on TV and donated 2,7 yuan for Ryan's Well.

Some high school students raised 228 Canadian dollars by selling bottled water and sent them to the "Water Tank" in the name of "Ryan's Well".

Donations were sent to "Water Tank" in the name of "Ryan's Well" from all over Canada.

At the same time, the Canadian International Development Organization (CIDA) said that if "Ryan's Well" received a penny donation, they would donate another two cents to support him.

donations were quickly raised.

At the end of September, Gitz, an engineer from the Uganda office of CPAR, flew to Canada to discuss with Ryan how to build and maintain water wells.

As soon as Gitz saw Ryan, he hugged him tightly: "I know you donated a well to us, thank you!"

Gitz brought a list of places where wells are needed. In Uganda, only 46% people have access to clean water. This is a long list, which scares Ryan. He asked Gitz: Can you build the well in a place near the school? Gitz studied it carefully and told Ryan that there was a suitable place near Owater in northern Uganda, where there was an Anglu primary school.

Angkor region has suffered from 13 years of rebellion, perennial drought and AIDS. The nearest water source is a pond 5 kilometers away. Children with bellies full of intestinal parasites can be seen everywhere in the village, where a quarter of students suffer from cholera, typhoid fever and other serious aquatic parasitic diseases all the year round. There are more than 31, residents, but there is no doctor. One fifth of the children died before the age of five.

Ryan listened carefully to Gitz and said nothing.

Gitz explains to Ryan how to dig a well: "Manual shaft sinking is an arduous task, and it takes about 2 people 1 days to complete. We really want to have a drilling machine, which can dig many wells quickly. "

without saying a word, Ryan suddenly said, "I'll save money to buy a drilling machine." His voice is small but firm: "I want everyone in Africa to drink clean water."

When she got home that day, Susan said to Mark, "Great, our goal now is to save 25, Canadian dollars to buy a drilling machine." Neither of the couple spoke again.

"We were thinking, maybe we are pushing the child to failure and despair step by step." Susan said to me.

"Why not persuade him to give up?" I asked.

"I can't!" Susan told Ryan and his brother not to make noise and smiled lovingly. "Ryan prayed before going to bed every day: let everyone in Africa drink clean water. I can't tell him that it's impossible. "

She paused and then said, "Ryan has done a lot. We feel that as long as he is willing to persist, we will support him. "

"Ryan just let me know that as long as everyone makes efforts, they can change the world."

At this time, Ryan is in Grade Two. His classmates are all proud of his dream. Lynn, the head teacher, asked the pitcher and CPAR to help their class develop a communication activity with Anglu Primary School.

The first batch of correspondence was sent from Canada in January 1999. Two months later, Ryan and his classmates received a reply. The letter Ryan received read:

Dear Ryan, my name is Jimmy Ankana. I am eight years old. I like football. Our house is made of grass. What about America? Your friend, Jimmy ankana.

CPAR staff also took a photo of Jimmy and sent it with the letter: a thin black child, grinning.

Ryan is so excited: he has an African pen pal now! For many days, he was thinking about his new friend. "Mom, can I see him one day?" He asked. Susan touched his head: "Maybe, maybe when you are 12 years old, we can save enough money to let you go to Africa."

Ryan was so happy that he wrote back.

Dear Jimmy, it must be cool to live in a grass house! I am eight years old now. Do you drink water from my well every day? What's your favorite subject at school? When I am 12, I will go to Uganda. The house where I live is made of bricks. Please write back quickly. Your friend, Ryan.

The news that Ryan was going to Uganda at the age of 12 was spread by Jimmy. This matter is being discussed in every corner of Anglu Primary School. All the children wrote to their pen pals: Do you know that Ryan is coming to Uganda at the age of 12? Will you come with him?

On New Year's Day that year, Ryan's neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Pernt, gave Ryan a special gift-a one-way air ticket for three people to Uganda, "Let Ryan see his friend Jimmy and his well." Mr Pernt said.

"We couldn't believe it then." Susan said, "It's very kind of them. They love Ryan and want him to be happy. "

Immediately, the Ottawa Citizen published a message to collect the mileage for Ryan's return flight (free air tickets), and the whole country took action.

Shortly after Ryan's first well was repaired, on July 27th, 2. Ryan and his parents took a truck and bumped all the way to Anglu.

The village gradually came into view, and several children found it, jumping and shouting: Ryan! Ryan!

Ryan's eyes widened in surprise. "Mom, do they know my name? ！”

Gitz, who went with him, said with a smile, "Son, everyone in Fiona Fang knows your name for several kilometers."

When the car drove into the village, everyone was shocked: more than 5, children gathered at the roadside in two rows, clapping their hands enthusiastically, calling to Ryan and waving their hands.

Ryan got out of the car shyly and greeted everyone shyly. A tall, thin black boy came up and held out his hand and said, "Hello, I'm Jimmy."

"Hello, Jimmy." Ryan also answered.

They were standing in the eyes of everyone, embarrassed. Everyone looked at the two children silently and smiled.

Jimmy and Ryan are surrounded by children all the way.