Reflections on Ryan's Well

All day, Reese's mind was full of the idea of "70 yuan, a well". "I must dig a well for them." He thought, "I'll bring 70 yuan tomorrow."

Facing Ryan's request, Susan's mother just smiled and said; "Very good, Ryan."

"No, I didn't take his words seriously at all." Susan recalled the scene at that time and said, "It's good that he wanted to help others. But you know, children's thoughts always change from time to time. "

At dinner, Ryan brought it up again.

"No, Ryan, 70 dollars is too much." Susan had to tell him directly. "We can't afford it."

The next day, Ryan came back from school glumly. Tell mom and dad again.

"You don't understand at all!" He cried and said, "People don't have clean water to drink. Children are dying. They need this money!" " "

Susan and Mark must discuss this matter seriously, and then. They announced the decision. "We can't give you money. If you really want it, you can earn it yourself. "

Susan put an old biscuit box on the refrigerator and drew Ryan an integral table with 35 lines on it. For every two dollars added to the cookie box, Ryan can erase a box. Susan said, "Ryan, remember, you can only earn this money by doing extra housework." What you do every day now doesn't count. "

"ok!" Ryan smiled through tears.

Ryan's first task is to suck the carpet. Jordan and Kevin Keegan both went out to play. Ryan worked for more than two hours. Susan "checked" and put two dollars in the cookie box.

"When I'm done, my back can't stand straight, and it hurts for several days!" Ryan said, "I usually just make the bed and walk the dog." I never knew this job was so tiring. "

A few days later, the whole family went to the movies. Ryan cleaned the windows at home for two hours and earned the second dollar.

Gradually, everyone knew Ryan's dream. Grandpa hired three brothers to pick up pine cones; After the snowstorm, the neighbor asked him to help pick up the branches; Reese got good grades in the exam, and his father gave him a reward. From then on, Ryan stopped buying toys ... all these were put in the old cookie box by Ryan.

"To be honest, I thought Ryan would get bored soon!" Susan said, "but he persisted for four months."

"Why not just give him 70 yuan?" I asked.

"Seventy dollars is a lot of money for a six-year-old child. If he wants it, he should work hard instead of simply taking money from his father to the teacher. " Susan replied.

One day in April, before going to work, Susan suddenly found that the scorecard was almost full. "Who will dig wells in Africa after saving enough money?" She began to worry.

The school did not provide relevant information. Susan turned to her friend Brenda for help. She works in an international development organization. Brenda said: A small non-profit organization in Ottawa seems to be doing this. They not only raise money, but also dig wells in Africa. The name of this organization is "Water Tank".

Brenda called the pitcher: "There may not be many 70 yuan, but this kid earned it through hard work. I think he should give it to you in person. "

One morning in late April, Ryan solemnly put on a suit and tie, holding an old biscuit box full of two small changes on his chest, and handed him to Nicole, who was in charge of the pitcher at that time. She explained to Ryan their "water purification" project in Africa. Finally, she was embarrassed to say that 70 yuan is actually only enough to buy a water pump, and digging a well costs more, almost 2000 yuan.

"Oh, great!" Ryan doesn't know what 2000 yuan means. He just said excitedly, "Then I will work more to make money."

That night, Susan and Mark fell silent. "He has come so far," Mark said. "We can't tell him: Son, you have tried your best, but you really can't change anything."

They don't know what to do in the future. They hope that Ryan will forget it over time. "We really want to help him." Susan sighed and said, "but how can a 6-year-old child earn so much money by doing housework!" " "

A turning point appeared.

Brenda was moved by Ryan's insistence. In the following week, she sent emails to her family and friends, telling them that a child is doing a great job to help children in Africa have water to drink.

Soon, a cousin who is an accountant wrote back: "I am very touched. I want to donate some money to help Ryan. "

Others wrote back and told Brenda that this is an exciting story and should be published in the newspaper.

Brenda did it. Soon, Ryan's story appeared in Kemputwell's Forward, titled Ryan's Well. In September, 1999, The Ottawa Citizen published the same report. Ryan's story began to spread quickly throughout Canada, and TV stations kept asking for interviews. Many people began to give money.

Donations were quickly raised.

At the end of September, Giz, an engineer from CPAR Uganda office, flew to Canada to discuss with Ryan how to build and maintain water wells.

In March of 200 1 year, the "Well of Ryan" Foundation was formally established.

Ryan went to school to publicize, send emails and tell people to help others; He attended various international conferences and told his dreams to more people. The whole family joined the activity: my brother was in charge of the voice during the speech, my brother just learned to take pictures of Ryan, my father was in charge of convening the board meeting of the foundation, and my mother was in charge of the specific operation of the foundation.

With the help of CPAR and water tanks, Ryan's Well Foundation has so far built 30 wells for eight wealthy infrastructures in Africa.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" I asked Ryan.

"I want to be a water conservancy engineer and go to Africa to help people find water. I want to work as old as my father and live quietly by a lake after retirement. " Ryan answered calmly.

"Have you ever thought that if one day Ryan suddenly gets bored?" I asked Susan.

"Will you?" Susan asked Ryan with a smile, then turned to me and said, "But don't you think he has done enough?" If he chooses to give up, we will not force him. "

"Who do you think has helped you the most?" I asked Ryan.

He wriggled shyly in his chair, blushing, naughty and serious: "Mom-she is considerate. She loves me very much. Without her.

Thoughts after reading: There are many questions worth thinking about in the story of Ryan's Well, but one of the important questions is how parents treat their children's ideas, whether to listen patiently and understand them, or to block them before they finish speaking. An important part of Ryan's story is that his mother and father "had to discuss it seriously, and then they announced the decision:' We can't give you this money. If you really want it, you can fight for it yourself. "

After reading this article, one of my feelings is how to respect children's dreams and help them realize them. When our children ask such questions, how should we face them?

The second feeling is, what kind of children we want to cultivate. Is it eager for quick success and quick success, so that children can get ahead? Or train children to become modern people, at least with social responsibility, compassion and love?

Dear parents and friends, what do you think after reading this article? I think this story may have many topics to talk about. If so, we might as well pour water together in the parent forum of the parent channel and have a good chat!