Damon and Amanpour Tackle the Global Water Crisis
29 November, 2011
Christiane Amanpour took on the global water crisis Sunday, on ABC’s “This Week”. The interview starts with Amanpour sharing startling statistics such as a child dies every 20 seconds from lack of access to safe drinking water. To address this crisis, Water.org co-founders Matt Damon and Gary White are working to bring safe drinking water to people across the world.
Damon was first inspired to get more involved with water when he met a young girl in rural Zambia. On their walk to collect water, Damon inquired what the girl planned on doing when she grew up, to which she responded she would go to Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, to be a nurse. Damon realized after the interaction that the girl was only able to think about working in Lusaka due to the nearby borehole, which provided water so close to her home. This borehole allowed for the girl to attend school instead of spending her life searching for water.
As a father of four girls, Damon is particularly interested in finding a solution to the global water crisis which sentences millions of young girls around the world to be used as water infrastructure. In the interview, Damon and White explain how the water crisis can be solved in part through market-based solutions, such as water credit, a micro-financing loan system. Water.org’s water credits make it affordable for families to build toilets or connect water to their homes. The water connections bring water security to homes allowing women and girls to spend more of their time at school and at work, instead of fetching water and suffering from preventable waterborne disease.
One of Damon and White’s biggest obstacles is bringing the water crisis home to the United States. Damon often uses his celebrity status to inspire people to care about water, since most Americans cannot fathom going a day without safe drinking water. Learn more about how Damon and White are showcasing the positive impact of investing in water by viewing the full interview on “ This Week”.
Ana Kolodzinski
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