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iReport — This interview is with Don Ryder, the recipient of the National Peace Award for 2009. We talked with Don on November 7, 2009, about the Kenya Water Project. Past recipients are Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr, and Pope John Paul II. To see this project please visit http://www.youtu be.com/user/EwuasoKedong. The villagers of Saikeri, Kenya, are in need of the world’s attention. One man shows how he believed he could make a difference. His name is Don Ryder from Wausau, Wisconsin. These photos are of the Massai tribe in east Africa. The warriors are showing up to meet in what was later named the “Kenya Water Project” volunteers. What happened then was a face-off. A signal was made that is understood across our universe…a simple smile. Love had arrived and it had no gun strapped to its side. We all are exceptional in some way. We are all great in special ways. There is something, in each of us, that comes alive when we are experiencing this. It can be as simple as being exceptional at what we do to feed our families and ourselves. A factory worker who spent the day sweating and lifting material knows this feeling at the end of their day. They have pride in looking at the bigger picture of the day’s work. They think about the clothing and food that can be bought, and feels the relief of knowing a family member can now get eyeglasses. They are great to the small son or daughter who is waiting to greet them at home. What we do, as people, with these gifts will be how we will be remembered. We can see these gifts or we can choose a life which brings pain to others in which case we will be remembered for something representing evil. We see this everyday across the globe. Don believed in his heart that he could help feed the thirsty in an area of the world which is the village of Saikeri, Kenya. He had been living his life in the middle of North America,…in the middle of another continent. His vision to bring water to the thirsty knew no ma...