Featured Change Agent: Scott Harrison is Bringing Clean Water to Africa

Scott Harrison had the kind of life many people dream of leading: a glamorous, exciting, privileged life in the glitzy world of upper class Manhattan.  Scott was a party promoter, living in a luxurious loft and dropping hundreds of dollars on Grey Goose vodka.  But something didn’t feel right.  He wasn’t happy.  That’s when he asked himself, ‘what does the opposite of my life look like?’  After doing some digging, he found it and in that instant, his life was profoundly changed.

Scott learned about Mercy Ships, an organization that offers free medical care in the world’s poorest nations on ‘floating hospitals’ – surgery ships where hundreds of top medical professionals from around the world spend their time – and some of them, their entire lives – giving to others.  Scott joined Mercy Ships as a photojournalist, documenting the process of providing medical help to people off the coast of West Africa who were desperately in need.  It was then that he fell in love with the country of Liberia, and realized how good he really had it: he had food to eat, and water to drink. Clean water. Over the next eight months, Scott grew increasingly inspired to do whatever he could to help these people, and that’s how charity: water was born.

Charity: water is a nonprofit organization that has funded more than 600 water projects in 11 developing nations.  They fund local engineers who drill freshwater wells and teach basic sanitation and hygiene.  The wells cost between $4,000 and $10,000 each to dig.

Scott has been able to put his connections in NYC to good use, organizing fundraising projects that have helped bring in the money needed to pay for clean running water for the neediest of communities. Luckily, Scott’s friends wanted to help – and so have thousands of other people who have heard about charity: water’s mission.

You can help, too – whether you’d like to donate money, buy 5 charity: water bracelets so you can spread the message to your friends and family (100% of proceeds goes to building wells), or join Changents as a backer.  As a Changents backer, you can act as a fan, a buzz builder, or a volunteer.  You can also respond to Scott’s action requests to help charity: water continue to make a vital difference in Africa.

Link [Changents] + [Charity: water]

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