Scott Harrison

Scott Harrison during an interview. (vimeo.com)

Today, over 800 million people lack access to clean water and 3.41 million die each year due to diseases caused by poor water sanitation. Scott Harrison, founder of charity: water, ended this need for clean water for 2.5 million people in 19 different countries. However, Harrison didn't start this way; it took some soul-searching for him to find out what he truly desired. His former occupation was nightclub promoter, where he was paid $2,000 a night just to visit a club and drink their alcohol. However, he felt "desperately unhappy" and "needed to change," (Harrison). Harrison satisfied this feeling for change, when he quit being a nightclub promoter in 2004, so he could volunteer for Mercy Ships, "a humanitarian organization" that "offered free medical care in the world's poorest nations,"(Harrison). During two life changing years spent volunteering for Mercy Ships, Harrison discovered a passion for helping those in need, which resulted in him creating charity: water in 2006. Even though other club promoters ridiculed him for the fact that he was trying to change his personality and philosophy to such a large extent, Harrison stuck with his decisions and remained passionate to aiding others. His selfless philanthropic acts, like quitting his luxurious job, spending 2 years volunteering, and funding his charity with his own savings has improved millions of lives. Scott Harrison has shown his selflessness through volunteer and philanthropic work as well as his burning passion to help others through his charity.

A boy getting water from a well. (marci-itsalwayssomething.blogspot.com)

Harrison has made a difference in this world mainly because he has made selfless decisions. Mentioned before, his previous occupation, nightclub promoter, a luxurious and easy occupation, did not satisfy Scott because he "woke up one day and realized [he] was miserable," ("Super Heroes"). So he joined Mercy Ships and traded his "spacious midtown loft for a 150-square foot cabin with bunk beds, roommates and cockroaches. Fancy restaurants were replaced by a mess hall feeding 400+ Army style," (Harrison). This quote shows exactly what sacrifices and extent of changes Harrison had went through during his time with Mercy ships. As well as how he had strengthened himself mentally in order to keep true to his goals. He decided his "spacious midtown loft" and "fancy restaurants" would be worth giving up when he saw so many people in Africa consuming such filthy water. "When we went into villages, we saw people drinking from swamps," he said. "It's water we wouldn't walk in, certainly not give it to our animals. And this is the water the children were drinking," ("Providing safe water for the world"). Seeing people, especially children, sparked something inside Harrison that changed him and convinced him to continue working with Mercy Ships. When Scott wasn't aware of the level of problems with clean water, he didn't care much for it. But as soon as he saw it before his very eyes, he rose to the job, ready to make a difference. During an interview, after founding charity: water, Harrison said, "I had everything that I thought I wanted and I just realized that it didn't make me happy...I just really felt like I was supposed to start a charity," (Thelma). At that time where he "had everything", he had cars, money, and even a supermodel girlfriend, yet still felt something was missing. That something was the feeling of helping someone without any reward, in other words, selflessness. This sensation constantly bothered Scott because he had a natural want to help. A want so powerful, he single handedly started a charity, all the while shedding his lavish lifestyle. Scott Harrison led an impressive way of life, yet he felt unsatisfied with it and strove to change himself and the world through making sacrifices and exposing himself to a world he had never experienced in his sheltered life.

Scott Harrison with a boy from West Africa. (contributemedia.com)

When exposed to the diseases and illnesses that were so common in third world countries, Harrison's passion to offer aid to others shone brightly as he put innumerable amounts of emotion into charity work. When he finished volunteering for Mercy Ships, Scott recounted his past two years with them, "Over the next eight months, I met patients who taught me the meaning of courage. Many of them had been slowly suffocating to death for years and yet kept pressing on... Often through tears, I documented life and human suffering I'd thought unimaginable," (Harrison). He shows his passion to help by documenting lives saved by Mercy ships and trying to "put a face to the world's 1.2 billion living in poverty," (Harrison). He also mentions he tears at many of the tumors and other sicknesses that ail many in Africa, which shows how emotionally invested he is with his work. After he returned to New York, Scott Harrison tried a unique approach to fundraising. He threw a party and: "sold...shirts for $40 each and $20 bottles of water, promising that all proceeds would support efforts to build wells in the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda," (Wilhelm). Using his wealthy contacts to his advantage, Harrison raised over $500,000 in just one party, proving how strong his passion to help is. Even away from all the despair and sorrow that sparked his passion in the first place, Harrison continues assisting others even when he's on the other side of the planet. It was the same passion that brought him to create charity: water and become a hero to 2.5 million people.

Harrison shows that anyone can turn their life completely around for the better if they have the passion to follow through with it. He made selfless sacrifices with his passion and founded a charity he enjoys working with. Scott Harrison is someone who reversed his role in the world. He changed from someone who would party all night to becoming a respectable philanthropy enthusiast. He didn't care much for his 2 grand per night job when he saw the potential to give 2.5 million people the chance to live. As of now, his organization has raised over $40 million for the 800 million out there without sanitized water. His passion allowed him to reach these great lengths by himself so he can achieve his goals, which separates him from the rest. Harrison inspires many for multiple reasons. "He goes from an event planner for MTV, Nike, and other A-list companies" (Wilhelm) into a selfless and passionate charity founder that only cares for the welfare of others. If Scott Harrison can change himself on such a large scale, what's there to keep me from bettering myself in the small ways? I can easily raise my grades or become more athletic or even my how I act if I have a plan and passion to do so. A real hero, an inspiring role model, must be selfless in the acts they take a part in as well as do everything with a passion to succeed.

Works Cited

Gutierrez Thelma, et al. "Economic Hard Times; Voter Registration Scandal; Global Economyrescue; Campaign Trail Update; Water Charity; Resale Shop Comeback." CNN Sunday Morning News (n.d.): Newspaper Source. Web. 24 Mar. 2012.

Harrison, Scott. "Scott's Story." Charity: Water. Charity: Water. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. .

"Providing safe water for the world." abclocal. abc, 10 June 2008. Web. 2 Apr.

2012.

local&id=6197221>.

"Super Heroes." People 69.25 (2008): 99-100. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

Wilhelm, Ian. "Beyond Sex In The City: One Fund Raiser's Quest For Meaning." Chronicle Of Philanthropy 19.7 (2007): 34. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.