Charity: Water Launches September Campaign for Central African Republic

It's a truly remarkable way to celebrate one's birthday: to give others in need the gift of compassion.

In September, Charity: Water will mark the four year anniversary of their mission to bring safe drinking water to people who lack it. So far, more than one million people around the world have received the support, care and assistance from the New York-based organization, their health and well-being substantially improved through access to safe water where there had previously been little to none.

This week kicks off Charity: Water's annual September campaign, continuing a tradition that started simply and humbly but which has grown substantially year after year. Starting with the organization's family and friends, they asked people to forgo traditional birthday gifts, and ask for donations instead. All money raised went to support of water projects. With our help, 2010 will continue the trend of expanding success for the September Campaign.

The focus for this year's campaign is the Central African Republic, home to the Bayaka people, who were one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer societies on the planet until industrial logging forced them out of their ancestral home. The nation's needs are staggering: more than one third of the nation's 4.3 million people lack access to clean water, while two thirds subsist on the equivalent of less than one dollar per day.

The video below is the first of several that Charity: Water will be posting over the weeks ahead. To follow the campaign's progress, to learn more about the Central African Republic and to make a donation, follow Charity: Water on Facebook and visit their website.

For your birthday, the best and most meaningful gift just might be the one that you don't get.

Photo courtesy of Charity: Water.