Ryan's Well Foundation

Ryan Hreljac (born May 31, 1991) is a Canadian activist, who established the Ryan's Well Foundation to bring water to people in developing countries. By 2015, there were 900 water and sanitation projects benefiting 824,038 people. The 1,000th well was dug in the fall of 2015 in northern Uganda.

Hreljac is the son of Susan and Mark Hreljac of Kemptville, Ontario. He has three brothers. Jimmy Akana was first Hreljac's pen pal from Uganda. Jimmy's parents disappeared during the country's civil war and he was raised by an aunt. He used to get up at midnight so that he could fetch water for his aunt before school. The two boys met during Hreljac's visit in 2000 to the Angolo Primary School in Uganda, where the first well that he funded was drilled. Jimmy was later abducted by a rebel group, Lord's Resistance Army, and then escaped to the home of an aid worker. The Hreljac family paid for his schooling for a couple of years, and then brought him to Canada. Ryan's family adopted Jimmy, and he became a Canadian citizen in 2007.

The brothers both graduated from high school in June 2009. After his graduation from St. Michael's Catholic High School in Kemptville, Ontario, Hreljac graduated in 2013 from University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia; his field of study was International Development and Political Science. Hreljac was employed by Youth Ottawa, a nongovernmental organization, after he graduated in 2013. About 20 people sit on the Ottawa Youth Engagement Committee (OYEC) to represent the interests of young people in the capital city's politics.

While six years old, Hreljac learned in school that many people in Africa have a very hard time getting access to clean water. Hreljac began raising money for those affected by the global water crisis by doing household chores, which netted him $70 over a four month period. Doing more chores and fund-raising, within twelve months he had raised $2,000, which was the cost to build a well, according to WaterCan, a non-profit organization that provides clean water to poor countries. In January 1999, he sent the money to WaterCan, who had the first well drilled in northern Uganda alongside the Angolo Public School. It was built by the The Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) that year.

In two years, he raised $61,000. The Canadian International Development Agency heard of Hreljac's efforts and matched $2 for every dollar that he raised. He told his story on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

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