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At 6 years old, Ryan Hreljac decided to build a well in Africa and turned a school initiative into a foundation that has already provided clean water to millions of people.
At 6 years old, most children think about toys, cartoons, and games. For Canadian Ryan Hreljac, a first-grade lesson completely changed his view of the world and gave rise to a humanitarian initiative that decades later would reach millions of people.
Upon discovering that children in some regions of Africa had to walk hours every day just to get water, often contaminated, Ryan decided he would do something to change that reality. What seemed like just a childish gesture ended up becoming one of the most well-known organizations in the world in the fight against the water crisis.
It all started when a teacher explained that many children fell ill due to lack of clean water
According to the Ryan’s Well Foundation, Ryan was only 6 years old when his first-grade teacher explained that millions of people fell ill because they did not have access to clean water.
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The boy was impressed to learn that some families walked several kilometers daily just to collect water unfit for consumption.
At the time, Ryan believed that building a well would cost only US$ 70, the amount initially informed in the classroom.
Determined to help, he began doing extra household chores for his parents for four months until he managed to save the necessary money. According to the foundation, this was the first step of a journey that would change thousands of lives.
Soon after, he discovered that a well cost much more than he imagined. According to the Ryan’s Well Foundation, the real cost was approximately US$ 2,000, enough to drill a supply system in Uganda. Instead of giving up, Ryan started visiting schools, churches, and community clubs to tell his story and raise donations.
The first well was built in Uganda and changed the routine of hundreds of students
After months of fundraising, Ryan managed to gather the necessary resources to finance the drilling of the first well at Angolo Primary School, in northern Uganda.
According to the Ryan’s Well Foundation, the project was completed in 1999, providing clean water to hundreds of students and local community residents. The initiative had a direct impact on school attendance, as many children no longer had to spend hours each day fetching water far from home.
The project also created a friendship that spanned continents. During a trip to Uganda, Ryan met Jimmy Akana, a student at the school benefited by the well, who later became a close friend of the Canadian family.
The small school project became an international water access foundation
The success of the first well transformed a children’s initiative into a permanent organization. In 2001, the Ryan’s Well Foundation was officially established, an institution dedicated to funding water supply and sanitation projects in developing countries.
According to the foundation itself, the work expanded far beyond Uganda, reaching communities in Africa, Central America, and Asia.
According to data released by the Ryan’s Well Foundation, the entity has already benefited over 1.6 million people, supporting around 1,800 water projects and 1,300 sanitation projects in 17 countries.
The impact reached such a magnitude that Ryan became the youngest person in history to receive the Order of Ontario, one of the highest civilian honors of the Canadian province.
Today Ryan runs the foundation that was born from a first-grade class
The child who believed it was possible to solve the global water crisis with just $70 grew up, studied International Development and Political Science, and returned to lead the organization he helped create.
According to the Ryan’s Well Foundation, Ryan currently holds the position of executive director, participating in projects, field trips, and educational programs aimed at raising awareness about water, sanitation, and hygiene.
His story continues to be presented in schools, universities, and international events as an example that seemingly small initiatives can lead to large-scale concrete changes.
Ryan’s story shows that some of the greatest transformations begin with simple questions
Ryan was not an engineer, did not have financial resources, and did not understand the global dimension of the water crisis.
He was just a child who discovered that other children were thirsty.
Years later, that childhood concern transformed into thousands of projects, millions of people benefited, and an internationally recognized organization. Perhaps the greatest lesson is precisely this: some changes begin when someone decides not to accept a problem as something normal.
