As Matt Damon’s career as an actor grew, he was constantly traveling. In those initial moments of fame and notoriety, he made a promise to himself that when he got bigger he would begin traveling with “more intention,” and figure out how he could use his platform and resources to help others in need. This led to him co-founding Water.org, which helps provide safe water and sanitation to millions of people without access.
Matt Damon has been traveling since he was 15-years-old. Before he started his career as an A-list actor, he went to Cuernavaca, Mexico with his mom to stay with family for a couple of weeks, and as he rose to fame, he found himself constantly traveling to new places, meeting new people, and experiencing new ways of life.
“I loved it right away, there’s no substitute for being out in the world in terms of putting your life in a larger context,” Damon told Travel + Leisure in a recent interview.
“[Traveling] gave me a lifelong sense that, however my life ended up working out, these were things that I wanted to pay attention to and have be a part of my life,” he said.
As Damon’s career lifted off in the 90s, he explained how he always wanted to return to traveling, but with “more intention once” his “career was established.” He reflected on a time about 20-years-ago when he went on a trip with the intention of figuring out exactly what he wanted to focus on to help better the world.
He spent time in a Zambian village with local families and was immediately astonished with the lack of access to clean water and toilets, he then began focusing on the global water crisis to get a grasp on just how severe the situation was around the world.
“If you grew up [in the US] like me, this is not an issue you ever had to contend with or really think about, and yet it’s something that affects one in four people on the planet.”
“I wish I could bring back the awareness for everybody that despite how differently we all live, there is no ‘them.’ We really are the same, and you really feel that in every country in all these different cultures. There’s so much that binds us and connects us.”
In 2006, Damon cofounded the H2O Africa Foundation which allowed him to really educate himself on the crisis and the intricacies of it, while working with other experts on feasible and impactful solutions that could help the largest amount of people who’re suffering.
“We were raising money for direct impact work for wells, which is important, but I started to realize if I was intentional about it, I could maximize my impact,” he said.
Through this work, Damon met safe water and sanitation expert Gary White, who founded Water Partners International. The two of them met at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2008 and began talking about both of their organizations, quickly realizing that they could make an even bigger impact by working together.
“We got so deep into the conversation that we forgot we were supposed to go meet President Clinton. It’s extremely rare to see anyone of Matt’s stature in the world be so consistently committed to something like this – it’s remarkable,” White said to T+L.
In 2009, Damon and White cofounded Water.org , a global nonprofit whose commitment is to helping the over two billion people in developing countries who don’t have proper access to clean water.
“Today more than 92 million people in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America can turn on a tap or safely use a toilet because small, affordable loans empowered them to get access to safe water or sanitation,” their website states.
“Together with our 178 partners around the world, we’ve helped mobilize more than $8.2 billion in capital to support small loans that bring access to safe water and sanitation to millions of people in need. By supporting Water.org, you are part of a solution that reaches more people, faster and more efficiently.”
Recently, their foundation launched their “biggest campaign yet” titled Get Blue. The campaign involves partnering with some of the world’s biggest brands. For example, Gap which launched a Get Blue capsule collection, with $5 of every purchase going towards the foundation.
Starbucks and Amazon are two other major companies with specialty offers to work to benefit the nonprofit and its important mission. “What’s exciting is that there are different access points for people,” Damon explained.
“This issue is really hard for people to relate to, so we feel like it will be very helpful for people to start seeing it in all different areas of culture so that it helps keep it top of mind.”
Damon and White have traveled all over the world to benefit their cause and see firsthand the nations that need help the most. They’ve been to Indonesia, the Philippines, Eastern Africa, and many others.
“It’s hundreds of hours in a jeep, where we have a lot of time to reflect. We’ve had all kinds of trips – trips where everything went right on time, ones where they did not, and everything in between. That’s part of the joy of getting out into the world. What makes the trip the most memorable is not always the destination.”
Damon also explained to T+L one of the most rewarding parts of his work with water.org has been bringing in his four daughters to teach them about the work they do, and teach them about the responsibility of using your power and platform to help those who truly need it.
“We have a big world map in our hallway with all the places the kids have been.” He explained that he just applied for an Indian visa for an upcoming trip to Mumbai which required him to list all the nations he visited in the last decade.
“My assistant gave me a list, and I added 11 more because I went to the map!”
He then discussed how some of the most special experiences have been taking his family with him to his water.org trips. “I was with my two youngest on the trip to Indonesia, and it really had an impact on them.” Unfortunately, due to the intense weather conditions, one of his kids ended up getting sick.
“It was more than 100 degrees – she wasn’t hydrated properly and was fainting. I literally carried her out of the village we were in.” However, the community they were in was luckily one that Damon’s foundation previously helped. “She bounced back because she had access to clean water.”
One of the original seeds that gave Damon the inspiration to be a part of solving this global issue is because of how he traveled so much with his family when he was younger. Having the ability to experience different cultures and ways of life is what made him curious and wanting to help, so for him, it’s integral to impart that knowledge in his own children.
“It’s the biggest thing that my mother gave me. There was no way I would have been to these rural areas in Mexico and Guatemala as a teenager if she hadn’t just decided we’re going to go study Spanish and live with a family. It was a real gift for my life, and made me think about my life in a completely different way.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
