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Ryan
Hreljac journeys to Uganda to visit Ryan's Well at Angolo Primary
School and meet the students
WaterCan’s young hero, nine-year-old Ryan Hreljac will remember
the summer of 2000 for a long, long time.
While his playmates back home were jumping through a backyard lawn sprinkler and enjoying some cool refreshing fruit juice, Ryan was meeting his newfound friends at Ryan’s Well in the remote village of Angolo in rural Uganda.
At first glance, Ryan is just like any of his classmates at Holy Cross School in the town of Kemptville, an hour’s drive from Ottawa. But spend a little time with him and you soon know that Ryan is a remarkable young boy who is truly making a difference in the lives of hundreds of children.
When Ryan learned from WaterCan that other children his age did not have clean water to drink, he simply decided to do something about it, and his dream of Ryan’s Well was born. He began by saving the small change he received for doing household chores and putting it aside in a cookie tin. When his teachers and classmates learned about Ryan’s Well, they too wanted to help. As word spread, many others joined in. And this summer Ryan and his parents stood at Ryan’s Well and sipped a drink of cool, clean water near the Angolo school in far-off northern Uganda.
But
for Ryan the well near the school was just a beginning. Through his
efforts and the example he has shown to others, he has made it possible
for WaterCan to purchase a drilling rig that is being used to bring
the precious gift of safe clean water to many other village children
in northern Uganda.
Two precious gifts flow from Ryan’s well…WATER and TIME. Village
women will set aside a 50lb.water barrel and say good-bye to the grinding daily
trek to the waterhole. They plan to use this gift of time to plant and cultivate
small, community vegetable plots that will continue to flourish even if the
rains fail.
Here
at WaterCan we are often asked. “Does our help make a difference?” and “What
do the people in the villages think about Canadians?”
When young Ryan arrived at Angolo school, the roadside to the school building,
about 300 yards, was lined three deep on both sides by a welcoming “committee” of
every child in the school—over 2000 students! As their young friend from
Canada got out of the jeep, the sound of hand clapping and shouts of welcome
began building to the kind of unbounded enthusiasm that only children can generate.
This was their thank-you to Ryan.
Does WaterCan’s help make a difference? You bet it does!
What do the people overseas think about Canadians? Ryan’s heartfelt welcome by his new found friends in Angolo and his lifelong memories say it all.
Ryan has started his own foundation called Ryan's Well Foundation. To check out the Ryan's Well website, go to www.ryanswell.ca. WaterCan works in partnership with Ryan's Well Foundation. Donations made to WaterCan through the Ryan's Well Foundation are directed to water & sanitation projects.