sadly, this headline can now be written daily.  but, this particular story has touched me deeply, since it was our friend.  he was killed in afghanistan on friday.  the scenario is devastating and hard for me to wrap my head around.  please read below for some details and please consider donating to his nonprofit organization, in his memory and to remember all those who sacrifice their freedom each day.   i don’t ever solicit, but this means a lot to me.

benjamin sklaver, 32, an army reservist, was on patrol friday in muscheh, afghanistan, when his unit was ambushed, possibly by a suicide bomber. after spending 2007 building water infrastructure in africa with the reserves, sklaver returned to atlanta energized to do more.  he started a nonprofit group called the clearwater initiative that has provided clean drinking water to populations affected by natural or man-made humanitarian emergencies.  the projects are focused on conflict-affected areas of northern uganda.  the company had brought clean drinking water in the form of wells to more than 6,500 people since 2007.  the company’s goal is to “directly impact the lives of more than 10,000 people by 2012.”  it doesn’t cost very much money, $1,000 or $2,000, to build a well … that supports a village for an indefinite period.  and, this is what he was passionate about.

he was called for his second tour of duty in the spring and was deployed to afghanistan where he was also working on building infrastructure, enabling villagers to resist the insurgency.  villagers could return to their old village if they had clean water there.

please consider donating here in his memory and to continue his work and passion.

information adapted from an AJC article reporting on Ben’s death