Op-Ed Entry Four

Sarah Reichenbach

Op - Ed Entry Four

July 12, 2009

AP Language


Clean, Sexy Water

By: Nicholas D. Kristoff

Published: July 11, 2009


Even when he was left with nothing Scott Harrison truly gave back. A few years ago Scott Harrison wasn't a man who cared about anything but himself; but now he's running his own million dollar charity. While on a trip to South America he under went a spiritual crisis and decided to really give a helping hand. Mr. Harrison volunteered as a photographer for Mercy Ships,his experience while working with a boy who had a tumor that was literally suffocating him effected Mr. Harrison so much he decided to start a charity that would give clean water to the people that need it most. The charity does more than just give drinking water to these people, though. They supply latrines, they teach people how to wash their hands (which cuts back on forty-five percent of diseases), and the clean water helps keep children in school that would normally spend all day fetching clean water for their families. This charity makes sure every dollar donated goes straight to helping the cause. Mr. Harrison can make sure this happens because he uses his 500 most committed donors to covering all administrative cost. Mr. Harrison also is working on a way to show every single person (no matter how small their donation) how their donations help. He hopes to have a website up in september that using google earth will allow them to see how their money is helping these people. In three years Charity Water has managed to raise ten million dollars due to this marketing genius who uses the lastest social networking to get the message out about Charity Water. Charity Water is more than just a helping hand, the people behind Charity Water change lives.

The first article of Kristoff's that I read left me unsure of his ability to write consistently on one topic and make it interesting; with the article "Clean, Sexy Water" the title and the article are a hit and they're both intriguing. "Clean, Sexy Water" was brilliantly informative. The start of the article has a great pace; it sets the tone of the piece by appealing to the everyday audience and then switches the tone to a more enlightening earthy feel. Kristoff does a great job of explaining the charity, why the charity was started, the marketing, and how you can be a part of it. It's an article that will make you want to help Scott Harrison, his eleven employees, and his many volunteer workers. Kristoff writes about an extraordinary cause started by a man who had it all, lost it all, and got in all back again in the name of charity. This is a truly spectacular article.