Water Is the Answer

Water.org is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization committed to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing counties. Co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, Water.org has transformed hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia, and Central America by providing access to safe water and sanitation.

Just recently, at the opening plenary of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, Water.org Matt Damon and Gary White announced the organization’s $2 million commitment to provide 50,000 people in Haiti with safe water and sanitation over the next three years.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  Only half the population has access to safe water, and only one fifth of the population has a toilet.

Every 15 seconds, a child dies because of a lack of clean water and sanitation.

As with other impoverished parts of the world facing these same sanitation issues, women are especially affected.  Not only do women spend hours every day collecting water from contaminated sources – often miles from their homes – they do so at the expense of their health and safety.

Easy access to clean water and sanitation allows women to be healthier.  When women are healthier, they can stay in school longer, they can improve their literacy, and they can provide more for their families.  When women don’t have to travel far for “clean” water or sanitary bathrooms, they are less likely to be sexually assaulted.  And when females aren’t forced to share bathrooms with males, they lead more dignified lives.

These daily dilemmas are unfathomable to most Americans.  But all around the world, people confront these issues daily.

Water.org is trying to help.  Read Matt Damon’s article in a recent issue of Parade magazine here: We Can Move Mountains

When you buy a water.org shirt from OneTribe.com, half the price of the shirt is donated to this worthy cause.  One shirt buys one person access to clean water for life.

When you give as much as you gain, humanity profits.

Learn more at www.OneTribe.com