I find it's easy to forget how lucky I am to be able to just turn on a tap and have clean water to drink. I even have the luxury of being able to be picky about my water, preferring one source over another based on flavor. I often don't think about the complex system that supports keeping my water safe and flowing.

I am lucky to have been born in a place where I can have that support.I would like more people to have that experience.

So many people in the world do not have access to safe water. It's astonishing (/disturbing) how many people die of water-related illness, most of them children. These are diseases that we don't even think about in the developed world.

It only takes $5000 to build a well so that an entire community can have safe water that doesn't make them sick, a well that is nearby so that they can stop spending time fetching water and spend that time getting education and earning money.

I have a lot of people in my network, people who care about being good to other people. This season I'm tapping my networks to see if we can band together and build a well for a community in need. How close do you think we can get? Any amount will help. Just $20 is enough to bring water to a single person, and every amount over that brings us closer to building that well. Help me spread the word. Let's bring safe water to an entire community!

p.s. For those of you who don't know: Charity:Water is an amazing organization and 100% of your contribution will go towards bringing safe water to needed locations all over the world. All overhead costs are paid for through sources other than donations.

[Photo of Ethiopian child drinking from Charity:Water well by Sacca http://www.flickr.com/photos/sacca/. Photo used under Creative Commons License.]