OUR STORY

We are a community here with a community there

Many people in the world today experience unjust suffering only because they lack the basic resources to embrace a better future. We exist to empower communities through sustainable development.

We are a grassroots organization; schools, families, churches, and individuals united together to bring hope through clean water. Here’s how it all began! We look forward to partnering with you to bring hope to the people of Sierra Leone.

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Beginnings

In 2009 when we learned that nearly 1 billion people in our world didn’t have access to clean drinking water and that everyday 4,000 children were dying from water related disease, we knew we had to do something. An idea emerged in the hearts of the “Let them Laugh Out Loud” creators to help bring hope to the burdened and suffering.

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Laughter

Laughter is often the overflow of joy in someone’s heart. One of our founders has a unique laugh. It makes others smile and is contagious! They decided to use what they have, by putting this laugh on a ringtone. People could download the ringtone, charging their phone $3, all of that going to bring clean water to those without it. The idea was that it was more than a ring tone. It was a voice.
 It was an opportunity for people to tell the story to others as well, so they could get involved too.

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Impact

Let them LOL was created in October 2009. Within the first 6 weeks, we had funds for our first clean water well in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Within a year, there were funds for 12. We have seen people in our community become inspired and empowered. They have come together in a grassroots effort to provide clean water to one of the poorest communities in the world.

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Growth

We have moved beyond the ringtone as more and more people became inspired and joined the movement to end unnecessary suffering by empowering those in need. Check out our blog to learn more about our story and community.

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Our Work

As of April 2022, we have 145 wells completed and maintained, bringing daily clean water to 53,633 people in Sierra Leone. In addition to clean water, we provide care to 40+ children including a dormitory for vulnerable girls as well as education to 609 impoverished children at our school, Hope Rising Academy. We have a well-maintenance team providing job training and empowerment as well as nutritious food for the children we care for. We have a medical facility, bakery, community center/internet cafe, and offices.

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A New Chapter

As we move forward, we are expanding and establishing programs to also impact our own city of Buffalo, NY! After a decade of serving as Let Them LOL, in 2020 we began a new chapter with a new name: Hope Rising Together! We are working to fund the renovation of the Kellogg Silos in the heart of our city into a community center with great potential!

“Many drops make a mighty ocean”

— African Proverb