Mohsen Mortada turned his interest in water issues toward philanthropy, getting involved with the Canadian branch of Water for People, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that provides access to clean water and sanitation services in nine developing countries.BKhamitsevich/Getty Images/iStockphoto
The donor: Mohsen Mortada
The gift: $20,000 and climbing
The cause: Water for People
When Mohsen Mortada was growing up in Damascus, water was almost always in short supply.
Rationing was part of his daily life in Syria and the recent conflict in the country can be traced back largely to water shortages. He left Damascus for the United States in the 1980s to study engineering and water became central to his studies and his career.
While studying engineering at the University of Arizona, he also worked for the Tucson water department, helping it deal with water shortages. He came to Canada in 2000 and became president of Cole Engineering Group Ltd., a Markham, Ont.-based company that specializes mainly in water-infrastructure projects.
A few years ago, Mr. Mortada turned his interest in water issues toward philanthropy and got involved with the Canadian branch of Water for People, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that provides access to clean water and sanitation services in nine developing countries. He has donated $10,000 in each of the past two years and helped raise another $18,000 annually at Cole. He's also joined the board of Water For People and is part of its fundraising team.
"It has been very touching for me," he said, recalling the work Water For People has done in countries such as Guatemala.