The Very First Day

Well here we go!! First blog post about the first step of the first day of my crusade for clean water in Tanzania and my quest for Mount Kilimanjaro!

For those out there who haven't been a part of this whirlwind of a day, here's the scoop:

My name is Chris Crown, from Springfield Illinois, and I'm a sophomore at Illinois Wesleyan University. As an Environmental Studies major, I have been learning so much about the degradation and deficiencies of the water systems in developing countries. I truly believe that clean drinking water is a basic human right and the lack of social justice in this area is staggering.

Upon further research, I got really excited about this great group that is growing rapidly in their success, called Charity: Water. Simple as that. They are a charity...that gives water. Done.

Well not THAT simple. They use donations not only to provide clean drinking water to underprivileged communities around the world but also install lasting infrastructure to actually solve long term problems.

I am all for this cause. We take clean water for granted here and I would love to help make it available to as many people in need as soon as possible. Enter: Tanzania.

Tanzania has a mostly semi-arid landscape and, anyone out of range of the mere three lakes that border the country cannot access sanitary water. They are left no choice but to drink surface water that is often polluted by bacteria and human waste. I need to be a part of this change.

I also want to GO to Tanzania and experience the lifestyle there, myself. Not only am I seeking this adventure, but experiencing the living conditions there will help me in my further water-rights pursuits.

Finally, I have been dreaming of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro my whole life. I see this campaign as a great way to provide lasting change to communities in need and also get me up that mountain!

So, in this very lengthy first post, I will walk anyone interested through my first day's push toward my goal.

After realizing that I might be able to catalyze this fundraiser, I contacted several professors and staff in my school that might be able to help me. I also wrote to Charity: Water and several fundraising campaign websites to get more information.

I also started walking through a game-plan with my two good friends who will be helping me on this journey and did research on Tanzania, their water crisis, and gear I might need down the road.

More news soon!

Peace, Water, and Climbing,
Chris