Jun 22 2011
Fast Company reports on actor Matt Damon's work to promote development and access to clean water in Africa.
"For all his star power, though, Damon is more than just the pretty face of Water.org. He has turned himself into a development expert. ... Whether talking microfinance strategy with rural bankers, giving detailed reports from the field at the annual Clinton Global Initiative, or personally thanking donors like PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Damon has quietly developed the cred of a program geek," the magazine writes.
Fast Company notes that Damon's Water.org charity "is on track to raise $10 million in 2011, up from $4 million in 2010." The magazine adds: "The primary use of that money is not as a handout to well drillers. Rather, Water.org tends to negotiate deals between microfinance institutions and communities. It might help a village get access to a local banker, who will then lend money to build systems that tap into a well, or a previously inaccessible water or sanitation grid. Water.org may guarantee the loan, but repayment falls to the villagers, who work together to manage the water supply and organize credit payments" (McGirt, 6/20).
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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