(Ontario, Canada, 1991)

When he was six years old, he was shocked to discover that millions of children in Africa had to walk several kilometres to collect drinking water. A year later, he managed to gather enough support to build a well in a school in Uganda. Today, at the age of 21, he is a passionate and committed campaigner for water management and sanitation. Since it was founded, Ryan’s Well Foundation has helped to build more than 700 wells and 900 latrines which have improved the sanitary conditions of close to 745,000 people. Ryan also gets local schools and communities involved in correct water management through educational programmes. His message is that if everybody works together, whether children or adults, we can help to improve society and make a difference.