I used to drink dirty water every day when I lived in Africa. Help me change the world so others don't have to.

I was born in Ethiopia and spent the first four years of my life in Africa, helping to get dirty water out of a stagnant pond. It was the only water we had. My little brother died from diarrhea because of the water we were drinking. Nobody should have to drink dirty water. It made me so sick and I had all kinds of stomach parasites when I came to the United States. I love being able to work with charity:water to help bring clean water to people who don't have it. I really think that all the people in the world can have clean water in my lifetime. This year, I am hoping to help bring clean water to the Sahel Region in Africa. Please keep reading to find out why it's so important. I really hope you join me in this - it's so fun to help other people!

"During the hotter part of the year, the average temperature in the Sahel region of West Africa is more than 110 degrees.

For women here, not having access to clean water means hours of painful and exhausting work. Many of them walk miles each day just to reach the 100-year-old hole in the ground where they collect water. And they make that trip four or five times. Not only is that water contaminated and dirt-colored, but it has to be pulled up by hand, one bucket at a time.

The homemade rope burns their hands; it causes bleeding and leaves callouses — even scars. And sometimes the rope breaks, causing women to fall into the wells.

But we can change all of that!

We can bring solar powered pumps into communities and pipe water to tap stands right next to these women’s homes. We can bring time, energy and a better future to 100,000 people in Mali and Niger.

Help me play a small part in changing the lives of women in the Sahel -- donate to my campaign.

100% of everything we raise will directly fund water projects. And when those projects are finished, charity: water will send us proof in pictures and GPS coordinates, so we can see the actual people and communities we impacted."