Last summer I went to Ethiopia, and learned a lot about the culture and life style in this African country. I learned how much progress they are making in the health areas. I learned how the nurses teach prenatal information and how they help the mothers with home birthing. I was fortunate to observe some grade school classrooms. During this visit, I noticed that many of the classrooms didn't have desks, chalkboards, or any of the other necessary tools that are usually found in schools. I also noticed that they didn't have any P.E. equipment.

The most shocking was to lear how they can survive without indoor plumbing or clean water. This was the saddest and most impacting part of my trip. I went to see the watering holes, which are the main way the villagers get their water. Many of the watering holes were really muddy, and bug and disease infested. Many villagers had to bath in the water or share their watering holes with animals. Many of the women spend most of their day carrying water, into their homes in Jerry-cans. This water is used for personal hygiene and cook.

In the schools they are teaching the kids the importance of wash their hands and how important clean water is. I got to see the process of turning dirty water into clean water. This water is stored in wells, that are able to be built because of donations. While I was in Ethiopia, I realized that not only can people like my dad make an impact with their donations, but that I too can make an impact in this way.

The initial idea that I came up with was to have my friends and family make donations to this organization in lieu of birthday gifts to me. However, my birthday has come and gone. The idea of the donation is still in my head. So I am asking any of you who are reading this to help me donate enough money to build a fresh water well for a village that can supply about 250 people a year.

Thank you for considering this donation.