Matt Damon Champions Toilets For The Entire World

Jason Scott
March 24, 2014

Matt Damon, like most celebrities, only champions causes he is truly passionate about. His latest venture, as the co-founder of Water.org, is to bring toilets and sanitation to the world's entire population, all 2.5 billion of it. In a brand new interview with ABC News' Power Players, the actor opens up about what this could mean for survival and how he uses humor to present his message.

“Every 20 seconds a child dies because they lack access to clean water and sanitation – every 20 seconds – three kids every minute somewhere on Planet Earth, not here,” Damon revealed to reporter Cecilia Vega in an exclusive. "Our kids aren't going to die from diarrhea, that’s just an inconvenience to us in the West.”

“We have this constant struggle of trying to get people to understand this problem of water and sanitation, because it's really hard for us to relate to it in the West,” he added, noting that the hardest part of the campaign is helping developed countries realize how tragic the situation really is.

“Instead of just drilling a well and giving it to somebody for free, what we're looking at is, how do we help them get access to a small loan, so that they can get a water connection at their home from the local utility and become a customer,” co-founder and Water.org CEO Gary White explained of their approach.

Damon continued: “We look at helping people tap into what we believe is their intrinsic power as customers and as citizens. They have to go to a communal collection point and stand and wait with thousands of other people for their turn to fill up their jerry can."

“And that's costing them productivity. And so if you actually give them a loan and essentially, you buy their time back…They can have a tap in their house and they can get those hours back to work.”

To bring this cause to the forefront, Damon has launched a humorous web series, featuring such stars as Jessica Biel and Bono. In the clips, they go on strike from using the bathroom until everyone on the planet have access to toilets and sanitation.

“It didn't take a lot of convincing,” Damon said of how he got so many people involved. “The truth is people want to help.”

Damon's cause is quite admirable, and something we all could contribute to.

Check out one of the webisodes:

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