“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

On June 4th, I'm turning 24 years old.

Last year, I had the help of family and friends to celebrate my 23rd birthday by raising $711 for clean water projects. After realizing that $711 went to help 35 people in the DR of Congo and Ethiopia, I am pledging my birthday again to this celebration. It is hard to celebrate a birthday in any other way after I found out that millions of children don't even live to see their 5th birthday. And why? Because they didn't have access to clean, safe water.

Birthdays are usually celebrated to ring in an individualized concept of 'a new year' - a fresh start, if you will. This can be combined with an ideology of a purification factor, a cleansing. Purity is natural. We come into this world with all the right instincts. We are innocent and perceive things as they should be, rather than how they are. Our conscience is clear, our hands are clean and the world at large is truly beautiful.

However, while focusing on the beauty that surrounds us, we often forget of the individuals whom we share this world with. These individual's do not experience that sense of purity by it's inexistence in the one thing they need to survive - water. We all have the opportunity to help these individuals rise from this unfortunate circumstance, and help create a fresh start for them, as well. The difference between what we do and what we're capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.

So, I'm asking for $24 (or at least $5) from everyone I know - and every penny of the money raised will go directly to fund freshwater projects in developing nations. I know everyone might not have $24 to give, so I am asking for even $5 from if you can! Even better, every dollar is "proved" when the projects are complete, and photos and GPS coordinates are posted using Google Earth. My goal is to raise $240 by my birthday...or by the end of this month. Please consider this charity and see the difference YOU can make!