LET'S CHANGE THE WORLD TOGETHER! YES, I'M SERIOUS.

I know, it's a very ambitious statement, but please don't shy away from actually joining a big and audacious campaign! Please borrow me 3 minutes of your time to read through the following four paragraphs - I promise food for thought (and awkward attempts to be funny)!

OMID - WHAT NEW CRAZY IDEA IS THAT AGAIN?

The other day I had a powerful moment of realization of what a damn good life I have. When I worry, I worry about small things like whether I have enough miles to enter the Senator Lufthansa Lounge or if I should order a Bloody Mary or Virgin Mary for my truffle-covered Eggs Benedict brunch at this fancy restaurant down in San Francisco (examples are slightly exaggerated to make a point - I don't like Truffle for example).

While these are very mundane things, there are 800 million people in this world who worry every single day about getting clean drinking water. Why? Because they simply don't have it - seriously. Many don’t know or forget, but we have a serious water crisis in this world!

OK, GOT IT. WE GOT A CRISIS... WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT, OMID?

Legit. So, I stumbled across an interview with Scott Harrison, the founder of the organization "Charity: Water". This is a charity that operates as agile and innovative as some of the top-notch Silicon Valley start-ups. They make it possible to fund the construction of water wells in crisis-ridden parts of Africa. I therefore decided to launch a campaign with them to collect a minimum of 4,000 USD (the more the merrier). It might just be a drop in the bucket (pun intended) and it will not solve the crisis, but it will make a change in the lives of 200 people (it takes about $20 to provide access for one person). While I want to provide water to other people, I decided to refrain from alcohol in the next three months and to donate my savings (an estimated 500 USD) to this campaign. Water for them = water for me. In addition to that, I decided to participate in the probably toughest event of this planet, Tough Mudder! I just finished the challenge in LA!

... BUT CHARITIES ARE SUPER WASTEFUL AND DONATIONS NEVER REACH THE NEEDY, RIGHT?

Well, no. “Charity: Water” will allow us to track the progress of the project we are supporting via GPS, Video and Pictures. 100% of our donations will go to our project. There has never been a more transparent, accountable, and effective charity. Period.

ALRIGHT, I'M SOLD. HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Please consider a donation to my campaign - it's fast, easy and beautiful (well, maybe not necessarily beautiful but fast, easy ... and rewarding!). $20, $50, $100 or whatever you feel like donating. Please note that my employer Google will match whatever donation sum we will reach (YES!!!, they will double the donation amount - isn't that fecking awesome?!).

Chances are high (like veeeery high) that you recently walked up to a water tap and slaked your thirst with a glass of clean water. 800,000,000 have to walk miles and miles ... to carry back heavy containers filled with contaminated water. Water they need, but also water that exposes them to the nastiest diseases. Think about it. We live pretty awesome lives in comparison to many other people in this world. Time to do something about it.

Thank you so much,
//Omid.