How Matt Damon’s 2006 trip to Zambia inspired a water nonprofit that now reaches 92 million people | Today’s news
American actor and film producer Matt Damon began his water mission in 2006 after witnessing the struggle for access to water in a Zambian village while filming in sub-Saharan Africa. That year, he founded the H2O Africa Foundation, launching a nearly two-year effort that has since evolved into a global campaign reaching more than 92 million people through Water.org.
Damon discussed this journey during an appearance on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast, where he explained how his approach to the global water crisis has changed from traditional projects like drilling wells to a funding model designed to reach far more people.
Matt Damon’s H2O Africa journey on Water.org
Damon founded the H2O Africa Foundation in 2006 to raise awareness and support safe water initiatives across Africa. Two years later, he met water and sanitation expert Gary White at the Clinton Global Initiative. Their organizations eventually joined forces, leading to the creation of Water.org in 2009.
The experience also changed Damon’s understanding of how the water crisis should be addressed. Rather than relying on charity-funded infrastructure, Water.org has developed a model that uses small loans to help people finance water and sanitation improvements.
Damon explained on the podcast that Water.org has now reached 92 million people through microfinance. He said that if the organization continued to rely solely on drilling wells, it would take about 600 years to reach the same scale.
“600 years is too long,” Amy Poehler responded during the interview.
What Damon learned from the water crisis
Damon has previously spoken about his experience in Zambia which prompted him to become involved in the issue. During a trip to collect water in 2006, he met a 14-year-old girl who had ambitions to leave her rural community, move to Lusaka and become a nurse.
Damon later realized that her ability to attend school and think about her future depended in part on having access to a well near her home. This experience helped him understand that the water crisis is not only about the availability of drinking water, but also about education, time and economic opportunities.
He has since mentioned that the scale of the problem requires solutions that can be scaled beyond individual infrastructure projects. Water.org’s current model focuses on funding and partnerships to help households gain access to safe water and sanitation.
Water.org reaches more than 92 million people
At Good Hang, Damon said he described his microloan approach as scalable and sustainable.
Water.org currently reports that its work has reached more than 92 million people, including 9.9 million people in the past year alone. The organization says its funding-based approach is designed to remove barriers that prevent people from accessing safe water and sanitation.
Damon also directed listeners to Water.org when asked what individuals could do to support the cause. He highlighted the organization’s Get Blue campaign, through which consumers can support the initiative through participating products and brands.
