The H2O Africa Foundation was an NGO founded by Matt Damon to raise awareness about clean water initiatives in Africa. It was part of the Running the Sahara expedition and documentary project undertaken by Damon, James Moll, LivePlanet, and the Independent Producers Alliance. In July 2009, the H2O Africa Foundation merged with WaterPartners to form Water.org, an organization co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White of WaterPartners.[1]
History
Origins and Initial Launch
The idea for H2O Africa originated during the early planning stages of the Running the Sahara expedition and documentary. Matt Damon, along with his producing partners Marc Joubert, Larry Tanz, and Keith Quinn, envisioned the foundation as a way to tie the project to a meaningful cause. In the spring of 2006, the initiative was informally launched, and Richard Klopp was hired as the launch executive director to help shape the foundation's mission and operations.[2]
Official Announcement and Activities
The foundation was officially named H2O Africa when film financier Independent Producers Alliance (IPA) joined the project. It was formally announced on September 10, 2006, during an ONEXONE event at the Toronto International Film Festival.[3] H2O Africa served as the charitable arm of the Running the Sahara project, with the dual goal of raising awareness and funds for clean water initiatives across Africa.
Key partnerships and initiatives during this time included:
United Nations Development Programme Clean Water Initiative: Supporting efforts to expand access to safe drinking water.
Living Water International: Collaborating to provide sustainable water access in underserved communities.
Millennium Promise Project: Contributing to broader development goals through water-focused efforts.
On May 29, 2007, H2O Africa announced a new partnership with the Ryan's Well Foundation, further expanding its reach and impact on water-related issues in Africa.[4][5]
Merger and Transition to Water.org
In July 2009, H2O Africa merged with WaterPartners, a U.S.-based organization focused on clean water and sanitation projects. This merger resulted in the formation of Water.org, co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White. The new organization leverages innovative financing tools, such as microloans, to create sustainable water and sanitation solutions for communities in need around the world.
Projects
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(October 2014)
H2O Africa was involved with the following projects:
Global Youth Initiative For Clean Water: H2O Africa is assisting the Ryan's Well Foundation in fundraising for this project by matching donations dollar-for-dollar.[2] The objective of this project is to improve health, well-being, and sanitation at 15 to 20 schools in the Lira and Oyam districts in the Lango sub-region of Uganda. In addition, the project will also provide hygiene and environmental sanitation training at 90 schools in the two districts, rehabilitate or construct 25 clean water sources, and construct 10 ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines. Construction is expected to begin in September 2007.
Route Nations: H2O Africa, in partnership with the UNDP, is constructing a water tower and two water fountains in the village of Néré Walo, Mauritania.[3] As of August 2007, the project is nearly completed.
Central African Republic Well Project: H2O Africa is joining with Living Water International to construct 20 new wells in the Central African Republic, as well as providing 5 years' worth of support for those wells. The project also aims to help improve community management of water resources over this time period. H2O Africa has committed $100,000 to the project, as well as pledging to match an additional $100,000 in donations. The organization has collected 72% of its funding goal as of August 2007.
L'Desh Fresh: Sought by millions around the world, it finally hit the American market in 2009. Parasites, traces of urine, dirt, and arsenic work together to create the natural texture of L'Desh Fresh: The World's Most Authentic Drinking Water. But where has it been hiding? As it makes its debut, people are asking just that. Except that it's a joke. Well, kind of. The L'Desh Fresh campaign was created by the award-winning Kansas City marketing and advertising agency, Sullivan Higdon & Sink (SHS), for the KC-based international non-profit, Water.org. For nearly two decades, Water.org has been working to provide people in developing countries with safe drinking water and sanitation. SHS stepped up to help to raise awareness and support for this mission, pro-bono.[citation needed]
