Thank you for visiting this Charity:Water campaign which we’ve set up in honor of Martin J. Bergin who spent many years working in African countries where clean water was sparse. More specifically, in Burundi, Senegal and Ivory Coast – all developing countries where collecting water is primarily the work of women and children who walk for hours every day – oftentimes only finding water that will make them and their families very sick.

Martin Bergin’s wife, Nicole, and daughters, Nathalie and Christine, encourage you to donate to Charity:Water in lieu of flowers to help celebrate his wonderful life which started in 1919 and only just ended this October 2013. In so doing, you can participate in helping to solve the water crisis affecting so many.

You see, in Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year walking for water. Women and children usually bear the burden of water collection, walking miles to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely contaminated.

Time spent walking and resulting diseases keep them from school, work and taking care of their families. Along their long walk, they're subjected to a greater risk of harassment and sexual assault. With safe water nearby, women are free to pursue new opportunities and improve their families’ lives.

$2,500 – the goal chosen for this campaign – will bring clean water to 125 people.

100% of everything raised in honor of Martin J. Bergin will directly fund water projects. And when those projects are finished, charity: water will send us proof in pictures and GPS coordinates, so we can see the actual people and communities we impacted.

You can learn more about Charity:Water by visiting http://www.charitywater.org/d2p/.

Thank you.
Nicole, Nathalie and Christine