Believe it or not, this all started with a song!  As a pre-school teacher who was not on her regular train to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Gemma Bulos witnessed a global community united through tragedy.  In response, she wrote "WE RISE" - a rousing anthem that celebrates water as a metaphor for peace and unity in action.

She left her life, gave away all of her belongings, and with her meager savings began traveling around the world too launch the unprecedented Million Voice Choir where groups sing "WE RISE" on September 21, in celebration of the UN INternational Day of Peace and Global Cease Fire Day.

As she traveled, Gemma saw that lack of access to clean water was the biggest threat to a safe and sustainable future.  In 2004, she founded A Single Drop (ASD) to capitalize on the connections forged by the Million Voice Choir and turn that unity into action for safe water.

In 2005, Gemma received the CG Vibes Award from Cover Girl and Quenn Latifah, which recognizes women who are changing the world through music.  Gemma applied her award money toward ASD's initial projects: SafeWater for All People and Women Water Stewards.

In 2006, after training overe 90 people representing Local Government Units (LGUs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and international aid agencies, ASD decided the demand in the Philippines was so great that A Single Drop for SafeWater (ASDSW), ASD's Philippines office, was opened,  By applying ASD's award-winning PODS model to its own operations, ASDSW is now able to fund all its operating costs with earned training fees.

In honor of ASD's work in the Philippines, Gemma and Kevin Lee were awarded a prestigious Echoing Green Fellowship which ranked them among the "Best Emerging Social Entrepreneurs of 2007."  In 2009, they also won the Ernst & Young/Schwab Foundation "Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award" in the Philippines.

Through the Women Water Stewards program, ASD has expanded its work into eleven countries in Africa.  And in 2009, ASD began working with the local initiatives in the United States to introduce conservation technologies that address grewater reuse, rainwater harvesting, and composting toilets.

In less than four years, ASD has provided over 120,000 people with improved access to clean water and sanitation.