The man behind charity: water - My Friend Scott Harrison

People often ask me what they can do to make a difference.

They understand the huge need that exists in so many poor countries but they are afraid their donations will be wasted.

This is one of the main reasons why A Glimmer of Hope exists today – to provide a secure pipeline into the heart of Africa that ensures every dollar is used efficiently and effectively.

It is also why my friend Scott Harrison created charity: water and why he chooses to partner with A Glimmer of Hope today.

For those of you not yet familiar with Scott or his story, I think you will agree it is one well worth re-telling.

Just a few years ago, Scott was a nightclub and fashion event promoter in New York City. He was good at what he did and was very successful. But he felt unfulfilled.

Then, instead of continuing along a path that had already made him materially comfortable, he decided to become the change he wanted to see in the world.

He went to work as a volunteer photographer on the decks of a Mercy Ship documenting the work of doctors who provided expert medical care to the poorest of the poor.

The experience simultaneously exposed Scott to extreme poverty and Africa for the first time. He returned to New York with a plan and formed charity: water, an organization that would provide clean water to save lives in the poorest countries.

His natural gift for promotion, his creativity and his tenacity have kept charity: water growing at an exponential rate. In just three years, it has raised more than $10 million from 50,000 individual donors, providing clean water to nearly one million people around the globe.

Twenty-something years ago, I was inspired by the efforts of another such man. His name was Bob Geldof. Through his tireless efforts, more than $100 million was raised from around the world for victims of Ethiopia’s Great Famine.

Scott’s commitment to bring clean water to those who live without this basic human right is just as unflinching as Geldof’s was to provide food to the hungry.

The parallel between these two men is that they understand on a core level the difference one person can make if they have the heart, the drive and the passion to do so. They simply will not stop.

Last year, Scott travelled more than 1,000 miles on terrible roads around rural Ethiopia in two weeks to document the need in 48 of the communities that would benefit from the September Campaign.

He exhausted the engineers, hydrologists and Glimmer team members that accompanied him beginning each day before the sun had cleared the horizon and not stopping until well after it had disappeared again.

Then, when everybody else went off to the bar or to collapse into bed, Scott and his videographer Danny Miller would start editing the amazing footage they had captured that day.

Scott’s intentions are pure and true. He has devoted his life to serving the needs of the extreme poor through selfless and tireless giving. He is a man on a mission.

Like A Glimmer of Hope, charity: water promises its donors that 100% of their donations will get to the projects. It’s one of the reasons why, when they raised almost $1 million from Scott’s birthday campaign last year, all of that money was donated to A Glimmer of Hope and we ensured that 100% was used for the implementation of the projects.

He’s a master at marketing and donor engagement, and he has found a formula that generates vast amounts of support for our mutual cause. He shows the need and promises to fix it; then, he fixes it and provides the proof that the need has been addressed.

He has brought many people in off the sidelines who otherwise would not be engaged. A Glimmer of Hope is fortunate to have him as a major supporter and I consider myself blessed to count him among my friends.

So, as he is in the throes of launching his fourth September Campaign (which promises to be even bigger than last year’s), I would like to wish him a happy 34th birthday, continued success and congratulations on his upcoming wedding to Viktoria (who also happens to be a key factor in the success of charity: water but that’s another blog for another day).

Ours is a wonderful partnership that has transformed thousands of lives in remote, rural Ethiopia. It has truly been my privilege and great honor to get to know Scott over the last couple of years.

Donna Berber