The smallest among us have it all figured out

“My pitch as a 7 year old was essentially, ‘This isn’t fair.’ Here I am, a 7-year-old child, and there are seven-year-old children in a different country dying because they do not have access to a basic human right. It felt like, ‘I have clean water. They should have clean water, too.’”

— Max S

“I’m living in D.C. and interning on Capitol Hill. That’s where this has led me to. And I think that’s probably true for every child when you support their passion to change the world. It’s going to evolve into even more meaningful things as they get older.”

— Riley

“Spending the first four years of my life drinking dirty water in Ethiopia, and losing my baby brother because of it, made me want to help make sure no more kids die. Working with charity: water over the past 11 years has helped me feel like I’m helping.”

— Tariku

“charity: water is so special to me because it opens up the opportunity to better the world to anyone. Even when I was little, it gave me the chance to have a real, positive impact on people’s lives across the world. That’s pretty cool.”

— Bridger

“In fourth grade, a teacher talked about World Water Day, and another teacher talked about wants versus needs. So when it came to giving up birthday gifts—sure, every 8 year old wants the new Nerf gun or the new action figure—but it’s not about ‘wants’ for people without water. You need water. I took those lessons to heart and decided that I could give up my wants if it helped somebody else get what they actually need.”

— Nathaniel

“charity: water was my way of giving back to my people in Ethiopia by helping change their lives. I may not save every life, but I will fight for them all!”

— Mussé

“To me, being a Tiny Hero means that you’re someone who is willing to make a change. You’re someone who sees a problem that someone else has, even if you don’t know who they are, and you want to help them. You’ll sacrifice your time, effort, and resources in the hope of bettering others. It doesn’t matter how much money you raise or how many people you help. The only thing you have to do to become a Tiny Hero is to help solve a problem that doesn’t affect you.”

— Arav

“Missing out on presents is a bummer, but helping others is actually better. Seeing my brother do it inspired me, and I hope reading this inspires you. Seeing smiles on the faces of those we helped gives me a warm heart.”

— Aadhya

“I liked how I felt involved and that I could actually make a difference. And I liked when people came up to me, smiling at this kid that was actually trying to make a difference. I hope I inspired them to know that everyone can make a difference.”

— Maddie

“Seeing kids without access to clean water made me both sad and angry. How is it possible that we all don’t have clean water to drink when water is such a necessity for life? I’m so thankful my parents introduced me to charity: water and gave me a way to raise money.”

— London

“I hope that some of those people I was able to help might now have a chance at a future that, before, was not possible. It was fun. It made my heart so happy knowing that I was able to help some people.”

— Cosette

“charity: water has made me feel very proud. I feel honoured and privileged to have worked with them. I felt like I was part of the charity: water team and like I was making a difference to more than just a couple of people.”

— Lula Grace

“If someone said that kids are too young to make a difference, I would go get my siblings and tell them, ‘Watch this. We’ll prove you wrong.’ Even though we’re small, we can do a lot.”

— Noa

“Here’s my message: Kids can make a big difference. Kids are strong. Kids can do what a kid’s gotta do. You don’t need to do something big and fancy. Just do what you need to do. This water crisis is huge. People need water. They don’t want it; they need it. And you can make a big difference.”

— Nora

“I love charity: water because of how they work to advance the world.”

— Herbie

“After the sudden death of my baby brother, I wanted to help others in his name and leave a lasting legacy. I plan to do whatever I can to help kids everywhere get clean water.”

— Charlie

“I like giving money that I make from my recycling business because I think everyone in the world deserves clean water. Even a little bit of money can make a big difference.”

— Josiah

“All kids deserve clean water.”

— Nanami

“What's better than helping other people by doing what you love? Thanks to charity: water, I got to do that and you can, too!”

— Neekta

“I saw that other people don’t have fresh water, and I felt sad. They must be thirsty. So I decided to raise some money to help them.”

— Olive

“Clean drinking water is not a privilege, it is a basic human right.”

— Supriya

“Over the last year, we have built cabinets, bookshelves, barbeques, desks, beds, and even gym equipment. If we can help by sharing what we’ve earned, then we want to make sure we do.”

— Jala & Aalia

“People want to do helpful things. Sometimes, they just need to hear about it in different ways. I loved seeing how people came together, and that they were so interested.”

— Jordan

“All of us on Team Orange believe it is important to help others. We are very lucky to have access to clean water, and we hope other kids in the world can have this basic need.”

— Ian & Team Orange

“Giving is sharing what we have, and I gave everything in my piggy bank.”

— Oceane

“So many people die because of poor sanitation. Anybody in the world [can start a campaign]. Even people that are mean. They can start it, too.”

— Jack

“Having access to clean water changes lives. And changing lives is the legacy we want to leave behind.”

— Beth, teacher