Ryan+and+Jimmy

by Herb Shoveller


 * Booktalk**


 * Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa That Brought Them Together**

When Ryan was in Grade 1 his teacher was talking to the class about problems facing people in other parts of the world. She told them that one of the most serious problems was the lack of safe drinking water. Bad water was causing thousand and thousands of people, including children to become sick and even die. Ryan thought that sounded crazy because at his house all you did was turn on a tap and you got as much water as you needed. Then his teacher old the class that many people had to walk as far as 20 km every day in search of water. She said it only cost about $70.00 to build a well in Africa that would supply a whole village with safe drinking water. No problem, thought 6 year old Ryan. He would ask his parents for $70.00 and help build a well in Africa. His parents liked his idea but said he would have to earn the money by doing chores, if he REALLY wanted to build a well in Africa. They figured in a week or two he would give up on this idea, because he was only 6 years old. But Ryan did not give up. He worked and worked and worked doing everything from washing windows to picking up pine cones. It took him 4 months to raise the $70.00. His mom and dad took him to the offices of Water Can an organization that helps provide safe water to poor countries. They would give the money to this organization to help fulfill Ryan’s dream of providing a well. The people at Water Can were impressed with Ryan’s hard work and determination. They told him that the $70.00 was enough to buy a pump for a well but it cost $2,000 to build an entire well. Ryan said “I guess I will do more chores.” More and more adults started to learn about this determined little boy and soon there was a story about him in the local newspaper. People started to donate money to his cause, and Ryan began to get requests from organizations to speak to them. By the end of 1998 the 2,000 had been raised. Ryan’s well was built by Angolo Primary School near the village of Agweo in Uganda. Ryan didn’t stop there. He kept on raising money for more wells!! Ryan’s teacher decided to do a pen pal project with the kids at the school in Uganda where Ryan built his first well. That’s when Ryan meets Akana Jimmy, and he actually goes to Uganda to meet his new friend. These two boys forge a remarkable friendship and the events that make these two boys brothers is an amazing story. Ryan is a very famous Canadian boy who has been on the Oprah Winfrey show twice, has meet many celebrities like Shakira, and has spoken all over the world. This is a true story of friendship, compassion and how one small person can make a big difference in our world. Read Ryan and Jimmy And the Well in Africa That Brought Them Together. You too will be inspired by this story!!