Superman, Superkid—well-suited to help—Wrestler Igali, 10-year-old aid Nigerian village

October 13 2004

Olympic wrestling champ Daniel Igali is in awe of what 10-year-old Ryan Hreljac has accomplished.
Ryan is a big fan of Igali, too.

The mutual admiration society is teaming up to do something Igali has long dreamed of: Build a desperately needed well to provide clean drinking water in his home village of Eniwari, Nigeria.

Ryan, who lives near Ottawa, has a remarkable amount of experience in this area for one so young. He gained international attention when, as a
6-year-old, he raised enough money to get a well built in Uganda after his Grade 1 teacher told her class about children dying there from drinking
contaminated water.

He has since raised nearly $400,000 since to get 70 wells built across Africa, has met Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Prince Charles, appeared on
Oprah and has his own foundation and Web site (http://www.ryanswell.ca).

"This kid is just awesome," said Igali, who met Ryan for the first time yesterday in Ottawa after corresponding for months by e-mail. "He's a normal
10-year-old kid, but he passionately believes that every kid has the right to safe drinking water."

Ryan, who took Igali on in a one-on-one soccer match after the reigning world and Olympic champ spoke to Ryan's classmates at Holy Cross School, was pumped about finally hooking up with his cyber pal.

"It's great to meet him," said Ryan. "He's a regular guy just like me."

For Igali, the project is about building much more than the well.

Igali, who grew up poor as one of 21 kids and had to carry his desk and chair home from school every day so it wouldn't be stolen, is combining
forces with 18 students from a Grade 12 global education class from Heritage Park School in tiny Mission, B.C., to build a school and gymnasium in
Eniwari. They will travel to Nigeria next March and are trying to raise $200,000 for the project.

The teacher of that class is Kevin Matheny, whose mother Maureen became a surrogate mom to Igali when he decided to stay behind in Canada after
representing Nigeria at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria.

The new school would be named after Maureen Matheny, who died in 1999 after a long battle with cancer. She was a schoolteacher and principal for 25 years. "This is what she was about," said Kevin Matheny. "My mom was so involved with so many people to try to make their lives better and help
them."

Matheny, whom Igali calls his "stepbrother," remembers the wrestler from his early struggles in Canada when he would dig for leftovers in the fridge at
the Matheny home. "When I see where he was and what he's gone through, I'm in awe of what he's doing and what he has done," said Matheny.

They've received good support to date from Igali's main sponsor, Cheerios, and from the Royal Financial Group, but are seeking some help in shipping
building materials and school supplies among other donated items by cargo to Lagos, Nigeria. Igali, who won hearts across this country a year ago when he danced around the Canadian flag and kissed it after winning Olympic gold in Sydney, became even more determined to proceed with these projects during his trip back to Nigeria last December.

"One of the questions I had difficulty answering while in Nigeria was: What am I doing to help people in Nigeria?" said Igali. "Most of the people back
home are very happy that I won the Olympic gold medal for Canada. What they want is something for Nigeria. I just hope I can get some generous-minded people and companies to help me accomplish these two projects." Those wishing to make a tax-deductible donation to the project can make cheques out to "Daniel Igali School Project" at:

CUSO
Revenue Generation Department
2255 Carling Ave., Suite 500
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K2B 1A6

CUSO will automatically issue tax receipts for cheques or donations over $5.00.


To make a donation, please contact Daniel Igali at .