Grab Bag Friday: Michael's Birthday Well

Remember my friend Michael who was in Sri Lanka the last time I wrote about him? Well, it was his birthday recently, and instead of gifts, he has asked his friends and family for a well.

There is a great project called Born In September that Michael is taking part in. Last year, people born in September asked their friends and family for birthday donations to charity:water, an organization dedicated to bringing clean drinking water to the 1.1 billion people in the world who don't have access to safe water. They raised enough to bring clean water to 150,000 people. According to charity:water,

• Each day, millions of people drink unsafe water infested with leeches and worse.

• Each day, millions of children walk miles to collect drinking water instead of going to school.

• Each week, 42,000 people die from drinking unsafe water and living in conditions with a lack of sanitation. 90% of those are children under the age of five.

There is something simple we can do. Bringing safe drinking water to a community can make a real, concrete difference in the world.

If you know someone who is born in September, please consider giving a donation to charity:water in their honor. If you don't know anyone born in September, please consider a $32 donation in honor of my friend Michael's 32nd birthday. 100% of your donation goes directly to the costs of construction and maintenance of the well.

This video gives a great explanation of the project:


The September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.