At Klout, our community outreach is through a program called Klout for Good. The goal is for our users to leverage their influence to make life better for others. In March, Klout for Good had a partnership with Charity: Water where you were asked to donate your birthday. Rather than gifts, you pledge to ask for donations, which goes towards providing clean water to people in need. Not giving much thought to it, I clicked on the ‘Donate Your Birthday’ button and filled out the little form with my birth date and email address. After that, I went on about my business.
Months later, exactly one month before my birthday, I received an email from Charity: Water reminding me that I had pledged my birthday. I decided to take a peek at what this “donating your birthday” entailed. After perusing the Charity: Water website, I was compelled to actually donate my birthday!
Each September, Charity: Water takes on the water crisis in one country. This year’s September Campaign, they’re focusing on Rwanda.
What’s the Water Crisis in Rwanda?
Up to 70% of rural Rwandans rely on local rivers for their drinking water. Sadly, most of these rivers are contaminated with pollutants from villages upstream and bacteria that can cause diarrhea. The time it takes to collect this water and the toll it takes on people’s health means missed work, missed school and missed opportunity. For many Rwandans, it means an unbreakable cycle of poverty.
The Rwandan government aims to cut poverty in half by 2020. To do this, the country must first grow its economy. That means the people of Rwanda must be healthy and productive. For that to happen, everyone needs to have clean, safe water.
70% of people in rural Rwanda lack clean water
What’s the Solution?
Charity: Water’s September Campaign will go to help support the Rwandan effort of Water for People, a global nonprofit focused on the development of sustainable drinking water and sanitation facilities.
Water for People has partnered with the local government in Rwanda’s Rulindo District to launch the Everyone Forever campaign. The goal is to achieve district wide access to clean water by 2014 through a permanent infrastructure solution.
How is Charity: Water Helping?
Charity: Water is seeking to raise $1.7 million to support the Everyone Forever campaign’s construction of two new large-scale water systems in the town of Ngoma and rehabilitation of five run down systems in the town of Shyorongi.
$65 is enough to give one person in Rulinda clean water
How Can We Help?
This year, I’m donating my birthday to Charity: Water. Instead of giving me presents or writing on my Facebook wall, please donate money to Charity: Water’s September Campaign. 100% of the money we raise will directly fund the water project costs in Rwanda and Charity: Water will prove every single dollar.
Go to my campaign to donate: http://mycharitywater.org/michelles-donating-her-birthday
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than by giving the gift of clean water to people in need. Please join me.
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