Twelve-year-old Alex Weber is a kid with a vision.
Three years ago the Calgarian learned that approximately 4,500 children throughout the world die every day from water-related diseases and he decided to do something about it.
“That is terrible. I’m not OK with that and I wanted to do something about that. And that’s why I started Wheels for Wells,” Weber said May 21 on the last day of a four-day cycling trip from Vancouver to Calgary to raise awareness of his charity.
“My dream is that all the world will have clean water. So I want to do that. That’s why I’m doing this. It’s not unrealistic. The Olympics cost $50 billion and we could have drilled 20 million wells and got clean water to 24 million people,” he said
Weber and cycling partner Jonathon Nutbrown began in Vancouver on Sunday, May 18 and after four big days on a tandem bike the duo were nearly home, with just the Canmore to Calgary leg left.
It’s a ride Nutbrown made on his own last year, covering the distance from Vancouver to Calgary in three days to raise awareness for Wheels for Wells.
“I met Alex at a booth he had at the church we go to and he was trying to get riders and I had been a racer for a quite a while. At that time he was 11 and I thought, ‘here’s an 11-year-old making a difference internationally’ and then I thought that was inspiring and I said ‘how can I help?’ ” Nutbrown said.
“And I thought, ‘why don’t I ride from Vancouver to Calgary in three days and bring awareness to the ride and bring in more riders?’ So I did that and it was painful. I think it was helpful to bring more riders and to raise money and this year I tried to freshen it and the idea of doing it by tandem with both of us.”
Along the way, the pair drank water from natural sources to make the point that in Canada, especially in this region, we tend to take clean water for granted.
“We wanted to contrast that we have so much clean water here and we don’t even use it. And these people don’t have clean water and they’re using dirty water and getting sick,” Weber said.
Wheels for Wells has raised $75,000 in the three years Weber has been operating it and he said he hopes to raise $50,000 this year alone. For every $25,000 drilled, World Vision, as part of its clean water program, can drill one deep-water well that will give 12,000 people access to safe water.
The bulk of the money Weber raises for World Vision’s Clean Water Program comes through his annual fundraising cycling event held on June 7 in Calgary.
Proceeds from this year’s event will go to drill two wells in Kenya. The first wells were drilled in the northwest African country of Mauritania.
Three other Wheels for Wells rides are being held this year in Brooks, Alta., Colonsay, Sask. and Dubai.
Weber partnered with World Vision as he said that organization drills wells in regions other aid organizations do not work in.
“It’s really cool to see that it is making a difference,” Weber said. “Anyone can do it. If everyone did something, nobody would need anything and everyone can do something.
“My friend from Calgary was inspired to start his own program because of Wheels for Wells. He started a reading program to raise money to build schools and he’s the same age as me.”
Go to www.wheelsforwells.ca or visit www.facebook.com/wheelsforwellswithalex to learn more and to register for the Wheels for Wells ride in Calgary on June 7.
