When I chose to do Environmental Science and Engineering in university, I thought I was going to save the environment by learning about green stuff - green buildings, clean energy, climate change mitigation, etc.

Sadly no, that's not what ESE is about. We learn about waste management, wastewater engineering, air quality management, etc. Not exactly what I had in mind.

But now, I start to love what I study.

I start to realise that the availability of clean drinking water is a very pressing problem in the world we live today. We live on The Blue Planet, but only 0.007% of all water on Earth is available for human use.

Nearly 1 billion people on earth live without clean drinking water. Many (mostly women and children) walk up to 3 hours a day to collect water, water that is dirty and disease-infested, for drinking, bathing, washing.

(Watch the video to learn more. I don't say it as well as these guys do.)

In Singapore, we are lucky. We have clean, potable, drinking water flowing from every tap. Even the water used to flush our toilets is clear, unlike the glass of water in the profile picture of this page. We don't have to walk miles to collect water. We don't have to walk miles to collect dirty water.

This year, it's my 21st birthday. This year, I want to make a difference. This year, I want to give up my birthday, so that other people around the world can have clean drinking water. I want to give up my birthday gifts, in lieu of this campaign.

I chose mycharity:water to carry out this campaign because they provide tracking of donations and guarantee 100% of donations will be channelled directly to the people in need. Because I want you to feel happy in giving, and I want you to give with a peace of mind.

You can give $21 (symbolically for my 21st birthday) or 21cents, or $21,000. Whatever amount you choose to give, I thank you for it and I really appreciate it. (Do note that it's in USD)

People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. There may be nearly 1 billion people without access to clean water in the world today, but at least YOU can make a difference to the 40,000 people who will benefit from this new drilling rig to be purchased with the money raised from this campaign.

Today, when you give, you're not giving to me. You're giving to someone's health, someone's education, someone's happiness, you're giving to the empowerment of individuals and entire communities.

(Visit here to find out more: http://www.charitywater.org/whywater/)

Water is everywhere. Water sustains life.

Water changes everything.

*If you're facing difficulties transacting online, feel free to contact me to do it on your behalf. I will put in your name under donor's name don't worry!

**No obligations to give $21! I'm happy with any amount that you choose to give :)