I have had the pleasure of interviewing some really incredible people, and Scott Harrison is no different. He is a true ROCKSTAR, and I am inspired by his dedication to bringing clean water to the world through an amazing organization called Charity Water.
When Scott was 18, he got into the night club promotions business, often getting paid thousands of dollars to drink certain types of alcohol at clubs all over New York. After rising to the top of the food chain after 10 years, Scott found himself on a dream vacation down in South America. However, it was on that trip that Scott really started to ponder what his purpose was in life, and what was important to him. He realized he had become disgusted with his lifestyle and wanted a change. A few months after returning back to New York, the then 28 year old decided to hang up his promoting gloves and go to the poorest country in the world to make an impact.
Many humanitarian organizations didn’t want to bring the young night club promoter onto their teams, but Scott finally found a good fit with an organization called Mercy Ships, which takes large boats that are essentially floating hospitals, to the world’s poorest communities to offer free medical care. Scott, as the group’s photo journalist, saw some horrific things, and often saw people drinking water from what looked like green swamps. He describes the most disgusting viscous looking water you can imagine, and that’s what the locals were drinking. He had to do something.
Thus the birth of Charity Water whose mission is to get clean water to 1 billion people in need. For only $5000, Charity Water can dig a well that will provide clean water to an entire community! Astonishing to me, 80% of all disease is related to clean water! But Charity Water is leading the charge to tackle this international crisis. And they’re gaining momentum as they’re the first non-profit to reach over 1 million followers on Twitter!
If you love photography as much as Scott, here are his camera recommendations:
Nikon D200
Nikon D700 
Scott Harrison is my absolute hero for his amazing work with Charity Water. I truly appreciate journalists like yourself who spread the message. Awareness really is the most important step in solving this global problem.
I served as an AmeriCorps member in Tucson, AZ, where I had the opportunity to lead local youth in service-learning projects to solve community and global issues. One issue that absolutely absorbed me was the global water crisis. I spent months researching the issue, watching videos of children screaming as guinea worms were being pulled inch by inch from their infected legs, watching clips of women walking miles to fetch contaminated water from stagnant ponds, and it absolutely changed my life. We hosted the first ever Tucson World Water Walk to raise money to fund the construction of a well in a Ugandan High School, as well as spread awareness to the Tucson community. I had the benefit of watching the change that my youth volunteers went through as they spent an intensive week watching the videos, reading the articles, and discussing the resources I presented to them. You may not ever see the impact your articles have on people, but know that you have made a difference.
You seem very knowledgable about this subject matter and it shows. Cheers!