Kemptville, Ontario, Canada. 1998.
A six-year-old boy named Ryan Hreljac sat in his first-grade classroom when his teacher shared a lesson that would quietly rewrite history.
She talked about children in Africa.
About villages where kids walked miles just to fetch water.
About water that made them sick.
About children who died simply because clean water didn’t exist.
Ryan raised his hand.
“How much does it cost to bring them water?”
The teacher mentioned an organization called WaterCan and estimated a well might cost around $70.
To most six-year-olds, that might as well have been impossible.
To Ryan, it sounded like a solution with a price tag.
After school, he went straight to his mother, Susan.
“Mom, I need seventy dollars.”
“For what?”
“To buy a well for kids in Africa. They’re dying.”
Susan could have handed him the money. Instead, she gave him something more powerful.
“If you want it, you’ll have to earn it.”
Ryan went to work. Extra chores. Long hours. Vacuuming, yard work, washing windows. A dollar here. Two dollars there.
His brothers doubted him. Seventy dollars felt unreachable.
Ryan didn’t quit.
Four months later, he reached his goal. Proud, hopeful, ready to change lives, he walked into the WaterCan office with his savings.
That’s when he learned the truth.
The $70 covered a hand pump.
A full well system cost $2,000.
For most children, the story would have ended there.
Ryan didn’t blink.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll just have to do more chores.”
What followed surprised everyone.
His brothers joined in. Neighbors offered jobs. His school organized fundraisers. The story of “the boy saving for a well” spread across the community. Donations grew. Media noticed. Momentum built.
By late 1998, Ryan reached $2,000.
January 1999.
A well was drilled at Angolo Primary School in Uganda.
Ryan was seven years old.
Clean water flowed for an entire village.
But the story didn’t stop.
Through a pen-pal program, Ryan met Jimmy Akana—a student at the school his well served. Jimmy wrote about life before the well. Long walks. Sickness. Missed school. And how everything changed once clean water arrived.
Ryan asked a simple question.
“Can we go meet him?”
In 2000, the Hreljac family traveled to Uganda. When Ryan arrived, hundreds of villagers lined the road, chanting his name.
“Ryan! Ryan! Ryan!”
Confused and overwhelmed, he asked why.
“You’re the boy who brought us water,” his guide said.
Most childhood projects end there.
Ryan didn’t.
In 2001, at just ten years old, his family founded Ryan’s Well Foundation. As Ryan grew up, the mission grew with him. While other kids focused on fitting in, Ryan traveled to Africa, spoke at conferences, and met with leaders about water access.
Today, Ryan—now in his early 30s—still leads the foundation, actively involved in projects around the world.
The impact:
1,700+ water and sanitation projects
17 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Over 1,000,000 people served with clean water
Long-term sustainability through local training and education
Jimmy Akana later came to Canada and lived with the Hreljac family. What began as a well became a lifelong bond.
Ryan’s story isn’t about superpowers or luck.
It’s about action over despair.
Starting small instead of standing still.
A six-year-old didn’t know he was supposed to feel helpless—so he didn’t.
One child.
One question.
One million lives changed.
