“Everyone has the ability to make a profound impact on the lives
of others. That’s the message I try to get other people to
realize. Whether the cause is water or something else, just be
naïve enough to think like a First Grader.” Wishing wells, in
folklore, are thought to be sacred places where people go to
speak a wish and have it granted by the deities residing in the
water—the source of all life. In 1998, then-six-year-old Ryan
Hreljac spoke a wish: that he be able to raise enough money to
help build a well in Uganda so that other children his age would
have easy access to clean water. The following year, his wish
was granted; a well was built at Angolo Primary School in
northern Uganda, and it continues to serve thousands of people
to this day. That one wish caused a ripple effect around the
world, and its effects have continued to reach far and wide. In
2001, with the help of his family and community in Kemptville,
Ontario, Ryan formed the Ryan’s Well Foundation. Since then, the
Foundation has helped bu