It's not often that I see a video on YouTube that has me reaching straight for my credit card. But that was exactly my reaction after seeing Scott Harrison's (charity water’s founder) 31st birthday video - in which he asked all of his friends and family to donate money to his clean water project in lieu of buying him presents.

I couldn't believe how one individual could single-handedly start the ball rolling on such an enormously important project and for so much amazing work to be undertaken in such a short space of time. Most of all I was blown away by the millions of lives who had been saved or benefited immensely from Scott’s genius idea.

I realised that I wanted to do something to help.

For thirty years I've been fortunate enough to have never gone a single day without access to clean drinking water. I have never known the hardship and suffering that one billion people (1 in 8 people) are forced to endure as part of their every day existence. They say that by the end of your 20s you come to some pretty stark realisations about your life. Mine has been quite simple, I no longer want my life to be about taking more than I need when so many people are living with nothing at all. If I am fortunate enough to live for another 30 years, I want those to instead be defined by what I am able to give back.

Given that I live so far away from most of my friends and family I am hoping that those who would have been at my 30th birthday party in July 2011, and who would have bought me a present for the occasion, will instead give generously to this amazing organisation so that other people in the world might go to have 30 more years as great as the ones I have been so fortunate to live.