We don't know what to expect on August 18th when we get married. One thing we do know, however, is that there will be water. Water to drink, water to wash hands with, and water to irrigate the lawn at the reception with. We use water in this country like it is an unlimited resource, because in this country, it mostly is.

In less fortunate countries, however, they can't even take care of the basic drinking part. There are almost A BILLION PEOPLE in the world without adequate access to clean drinking water. That's twice the population of all of North America.

These people are carrying up to 80 pounds of water in fuel cans miles and miles every day to provide for their families. They are often digging for water in sand or waiting 8 hours at a time behind other families at an overcrowded well.

For our wedding, in lieu of accepting gifts, we -- together with all of you -- are going to help save a village by funding the construction of a new well. If we raise $5000, we'll build one well which can provide clean water to approximately 250 people. If we raise more, we'll build a gaggle of them.

CharityWater, the organization who runs this site, has a unique model in which ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of our donations will go towards well-building. The organization's overhead and expenses are paid by other benefactors. We don't know where our well(s) will be constructed yet, but we will after they get built. For a map of completed wells, make sure to check out: http://www.charitywater.org/projects/map/

Thanks so much for your support, and feel to give as little as a dollar. There is no "suggested amount" and no gift is too small. Also, feel free to check the "anonymous" box if you don't want your name shown below... we're not keeping track of who donated, who didn't, and in what amounts.

Best,

Chelan and Mike