I am turning 28 this January. For my birthday, I ask you to join my annual birthday campaign to raise 500 dollars to give the gift of clean water to underprivileged communities.

Around every minute, a child under the age of five dies from diseases stemming from unsafe water and poor sanitation. Water related diseases kill 16,000 people every year, more than all forms of violence, including war. Improving access to water is key in female empowerment in certain communities. In Africa alone, women spend 40 billion hours a year walking for water, a chore that keeps teenage girls away from school a week out of every month.

The donations will go to mycharity:water, an NGO dedicated to increasing access to clean water. 100% of the donations are sent directly to needed communities to build or rehabilitate water sources. Donations from previous birthday campaigns were sent to Ethiopia (2013), Kenya (2014), Mali (2015), Uganda (2016), and Mali (2017).

Thank you for your support.