Watch Jay Leno tonight!

And Happy Birthday David! (and Quentin Tarantino) I should've guessed. Aries!

This is a good story. I got it from my ONE campaign updates. These guys are going to be on Jay Leno tonight talking about their expedition across Africa's Sahara Desert -- the water crisis there and what we can do to help. Here's a blog from Charlie Engle, Expedition Leader for Running the Sahara:

On November 2, 2006, I started to run with my friends Ray and Kevin. We entered a heading on the Magellan GPS and headed east from St. Louis Senegal. The goal was to run over 4,300 miles to the Red Sea in Egypt. If we could accomplish this, we would become the first people in history to run all the way across the Sahara Desert.

Ultimately, we ran for 111 consecutive days, covering as much as 50 miles per day. The suffering we endured was tremendous but it was worth it because we got the chance to see Africa in a way that nobody had ever seen it before.

Running across the Sahara, we knew that the physical challenge would be huge, and we expected to encounter people that would change our lives and perspectives. These kids are one group that had this profound effect.

Kids love to have their picture taken. It's the same all around the world. So when I was preparing to leave for Senegal, I decided to bring my fancy high tech digital camera with all the attachments. When I went to buy a new disk before leaving for Africa, I spotted an antique--an instant camera. I didn't even know they made them any more. A light bulb went off in my head; maybe I could GIVE photos instead of just taking them. I bought the camera and a bunch of film.

The results were spectacular. This photo is one of my favorites. I asked the kids to hold up the photos so that I could see them. The little boy on the right did what I asked but he was so fascinated by his own image that he refused to turn it around. That was awesome. Before it was over, I gave hundreds of photos as I crossed the desert.
While we witnessed communities that were abandoned because of a lack of clean water, and saw that the few functioning wells were separated by miles of harsh terrain but still overflowing with people, we learned that despite the hardships, the people of the Sahara were kind, generous, proud, family oriented people that asked for nothing - and these kids brought this home to me on a one-to-one basis.

A basic well used to draw drinking water
for a village near Timbuktu, Mali.

This experience opened my eyes to the fact that I can actually make a difference in the lives of thousands of people. But not by running! I can make a difference by connecting with them, and then using my voice to represent their needs to as many people as I can reach. By spreading the word that the need for clean water is real and the people are real—that these kids are real, the photos in each one's hand a symbol of his or her identity.

With the help of ONE members, clean water for all of Africa is an attainable goal. Please go to www.RunningTheSahara.com to learn more about our journey and what you can do to help with the world water crisis.