A Canadian boy (Ryan) raises money to build a well for a village in Uganda. His penpal (Jimmy) in Uganda comes to live with Ryan and his family, when his life is threatened by the Lord's Resistance Army. This story follows their growing friendship, and the start of their foundation, dedicated to bringing clean water to villages across Africa. Warning for sensitive children: in one chapter (which can be skipped over until a child is ready), Jimmy is abducted by the army, which burns down his village. Jimmy eventually escapes to safety. ( )

When six-year-old Ryan Hreljac learned in school that many people around the world, including in Africa, didn't have access to clean, safe drinking water, the young Canadian boy was deeply disturbed. Having gotten the idea that $70 would buy a well, he began doing chores around the house to raise the money, and he didn't stop when he discovered that the cost was more like $2000. Coming to the public's attention through some newspaper articles, Ryan's campaign took off, and eventually enough money was raised to build a well in Agweo, Uganda. Young Akana Jimmy, an orphan living with his aunt in Agweo, became Ryan's penpal after the building of the well, and the two would eventually meet a few years later, when Ryan and his parents visited the area. Striking up a friendship, the boys continued to correspond, and when danger threatened Jimmy, the Hreljac family knew they needed to act...

Although I am familiar with the Ryan's Well Foundation, a Canadian non-profit that has brought clean drinking water to impoverished people in sixteen countries, and although I was aware that it was founded by a young person, I didn't know the specifics of Ryan Hreljac and Akana Jimmy's story, until picking up Ryan and Jimmy: And the Well in Africa That Brought Them Together. It is an inspiring tale, and in the hands of author Herb Shoveller, who is Ryan's uncle, it is also an exciting one. There were moments - Ryan's visit to Agweo, Jimmy's flight from the brutal soldiers of The Lord's Resistance Army - when I was either tearing up or on the edge of my seat. How heartbreaking, that Jimmy's Ugandan family were destroyed by the violence there, but how wonderful that he found a new family with the Hreljacs. And how wonderful that so much good has come from Ryan Hreljac's initial effort to raise $70. Although I have listed this one as a picture-book, it is extremely text-heavy, and probably is more suitable for children at the beginning chapter-book phase, who are capable of reading or listening to solid blocks of prose. It is illustrated mostly with photographs, and other ephemera (letters, and so on) from its subjects' lives. Recommended to children (ages seven and up, I would say) interested in heartwarming, inspirational stories of young people who have made a difference in the world, or in learning about the precious resource of water, and how some people must struggle to obtain it. ( )

In first grade, Ryan Hreljac, a Canadian boy, learns about the lack of sanitary water for children in Africa. His efforts to raise money for a well in Uganda draws national attention and funding. He travels to Uganda to see his well and that is where he meets his pen pal Jimmy, a Ugandan boy. The boys are immediate pals and they continue to keep in touch. Ryan stays active in advocating for clean water. Then civil war comes to Jimmy's village. His life is in danger because he has managed to duck military service several times. Ryan's family, with the help of their water well contacts in Uganda, work to bring Jimmy to Canada as a refugee.

Ryan Hreljac was six-years-old when he first heard that there were places in Africa where people had no access to clean water. It didn’t make sense to him that he could have all the water he needed and more; to drink, to bathe, to swim, yet there were kids half-way across the world who walked miles everyday for drinking and cooking water that was so dirty, it made them sick. Ryan began to raise money to buy a well in Africa. This is the story of the first well Ryan built, and a friendship that formed when he traveled to Uganda to drink fresh, clean water from Ryan’s Well. Jimmy and Ryan were pen-pals; they stayed in touch as the Ryan’s Well Foundation grew, and Jimmy’s life in war-torn Uganda became increasingly endangered. This incredible true story of compassion and friendship proves that amazing things can happen when children choose to lift their hearts and voices to change the world. Photographs and Ryan’s hand-made maps and drawings illustrate this tender account.
Review by: welkinscheek

Ryan Hreljac was six-years-old when he first heard that there were places in Africa where people had no access to clean water. It didn’t make sense to him that he could have all the water he needed and more; to drink, to bathe, to swim, yet there were kids half-way across the world who walked miles everyday for drinking and cooking water that was so dirty, it made them sick. Ryan began to raise money to buy a well in Africa. This is the story of the first well Ryan built, and a friendship that formed when he traveled to Uganda to drink fresh, clean water from Ryan’s Well. Jimmy and Ryan were pen-pals; they stayed in touch as the Ryan’s Well Foundation grew, and Jimmy’s life in war-torn Uganda became increasingly endangered. This incredible true story of compassion and friendship proves that amazing things can happen when children choose to lift their hearts and voices to change the world. Photographs and Ryan’s hand-made maps and drawings illustrate this tender account. ( )