We sympathize with African children who often do not have even the most basic necessities of life, such as water or food. But few people provide effective assistance to those in need, and not just show compassion. But this story is a very pleasant exception to the rule… Ryan Hrelyak was an ordinary Canadian boy who was very impressed by the story of a primary school teacher.
The boy was sitting in Mrs. Prest’s class and couldn’t believe what he was hearing! A first-grader simply could not imagine that African children get sick and die because they do not have clean water! How is it possible, Ryan thought, for someone to have such problems in our time! After all, man has already flown into space, achieved so much in terms of technology, but still has not solved the problem with the lack of drinking water. 
Meanwhile, Mrs. Prest continued her tragic story about poor Africans who are forced to drink some dirty slush to escape from thirst. It was in January 1998, when Ryan was only 7 years old. The boy left the classroom and started drinking water from the school fountain, thinking about how unfair the world is. After all, African children were deprived of such an important and simple thing that was available to him, a little Canadian.
Ryan realized for the first time that not everyone lives like him! And he decided to do something about this situation. First he went to his parents to convince them to help. Mom offered Ryan to run small errands, for which he could receive money. The boy was sure that he could earn enough to build a well with drinking water for the unfortunate African children. The first grader worked for four months, and earned $70 during that time. 
But then a huge disappointment awaited him, because the child found out that it takes $ 2000 to build a well in Uganda. It was just a huge amount for an ordinary Canadian boy! That’s just Ryan’s determination to help the unfortunate Africans has not become less! The boy began to raise funds for his first well in Africa, which was to appear at the Angolo Elementary School in Uganda.
Ryan told everyone about his dream, offered to donate money to a good cause. First, friends, parents, police officers, classmates of the boy joined the charity, and then the neighboring school, gradually funds began to flow from all over Canada. And so Ryan managed to raise his first $2,000 to build a well in Africa! 
And a year later, the Canadian, together with his parents, attended the opening of a water source in Uganda, and local schoolchildren chanted his name, thanking the boy for his help! Incredibly, little Ryan managed to achieve his goal! Gradually, a small first-grader’s project grew into the Ryan’s Well Foundation. The organization became more and more respected and well-known!
In total, the foundation managed to raise funds for the construction of more than 700 wells throughout Africa, as well as Asia and Central America! Thanks to his perseverance, Ryan was able to provide a constant source of water for more than 800 thousand people! That’s how effective compassion really saves people’s lives! Khrelyak made helping those in need the goal of his life. He graduated from King’s College in Canada, majoring in political science and international development. 
This helped the guy to reach a new level of interaction with the right people, opened up new prospects in terms of fundraising. Ryan is also the executive director of his Foundation, travels around the world, talking about the importance of changing the situation with drinking water. It is worth telling another amazing story related to the Canadian. Ryan has a pen pal from Uganda whose parents disappeared during the civil War.
A guy named Jimmy had to get up in the middle of the night to provide drinking water for himself and the aunt who raised the boy. And in 2000, Ryan personally met his friend. Moreover, the Hrelyak family officially adopted Jimmy, who became a Canadian citizen in 2007! Ryan’s incredible story proves once again that even one person with a pure heart can change the world for the better! The main thing is to believe in your ideals, purposefully go to the goal, not to be afraid of difficulties!