What are you doing for Bono’s birthday? For the seventh straight year, the African Well Fund is giving U2 fans the opportunity to change the world in honor of Bono’s May 10 birthday. AWF is using the 70 days between the release of U2’s new album “No Line on the Horizon” and Bono’s birthday to collect money to fund water projects in Liberia.
Donations can be made to the birthday well through AWF’s Build a Well for Bono’s Birthday page. As in years past, donors will be invited to leave birthday wishes for Bono on a virtual card that will be forwarded to Principle Management.
The 2009 Build a Well for Bono’s Birthday fundraiser will benefit a water, health and hygiene improvement project in Liberia. Administered by AWF partner organization Africare, the completed project will increase access to safe drinking water and improve sanitation and hygiene for communities in selected districts of Nimba County, benefiting about 7,000 people. Learn more about the project here.
Access to safe drinking water remains out of reach for over 67 percent of Liberian households, with almost 76 percent having inadequate sanitation. Many communities in Nimba County do not have access to safe drinking water because they never had water and sanitation facilities, or they were pillaged or fell into disrepair during civil conflict that impacted Liberia for 14 years, according to Africare.
During the last seven years, U2 fans have donated more than $143,000 to Build a Well for Bono’s Birthday fundraisers. This money has funded projects in Angola, Ethiopia, Uganda and Zimbabwe that have benefited approximately 21,000 people.
In the coming weeks, AWF will be offering limited edition t-shirts and buttons for purchase to raise money for the birthday well so check back soon!
