H2O Africa Foundation
Encyclopedia
The H2O Africa Foundation has merged with WaterPartners
to form Water.org
. Water.org was co-founded by Matt Damon
and Gary White of WaterPartners in July 2009.
The H2O Africa Foundation is an NGO
founded by Matt Damon
to raise awareness about clean water initiatives in Africa
. It is part of the Running the Sahara
expedition and documentary project currently being undertaken by Damon, James Moll
, LivePlanet
, and the Independent Producers Alliance.
and his producing partners Marc Joubert, Larry Tanz
, and Keith Quinn
were starting to work on planning the expedition and film for Running the Sahara
, Damon had the idea of starting a charitable initiative. It was informally launched in the spring of 2006.
When film financier IPA came on board the foundation was officially named H2O Africa and was announced on September 10, 2006 during a OneXOne
event at the Toronto International Film Festival
. It was started as the charitable arm of the Running the Sahara film project, with the goal of raising money and awareness for organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme
Clean Water Initiative, Living Water International
, and the Millennium Promise
project. On May 29, 2007, H2O Africa announced a new partnership with the Ryan's Well Foundation
.
WaterPartners
WaterPartners International was an American nonprofit developmental aid organization tasked with the specific purpose of providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing countries...
to form Water.org
Water.org
Water.org is an American nonprofit developmental aid organization resulting from the merger between H2O Africa, co-founded by Matt Damon, and WaterPartners, co-founded by Gary White...
. Water.org was co-founded by Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
and Gary White of WaterPartners in July 2009.
The H2O Africa Foundation is an NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
founded by Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
to raise awareness about clean water initiatives in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is part of the Running the Sahara
Running the Sahara
Running the Sahara is a documentary feature film that chronicles the Ray Zahab, Charlie Engle, and Kevin Lin's attempt to run across the entire Sahara desert...
expedition and documentary project currently being undertaken by Damon, James Moll
James Moll
James Moll is a film director and producer.His company, Allentown Productions, has been based at Universal Studios since 1994, primarily producing film and television projects focused on stories of non-fiction....
, LivePlanet
LivePlanet
LivePlanet is a production company that invests in content for television and new media platforms. It was founded in 2000.-History:The company was started by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore and Sean Bailey...
, and the Independent Producers Alliance.
History
When Matt DamonMatt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
and his producing partners Marc Joubert, Larry Tanz
Larry Tanz
Larry Tanz is an entertainment industry executive.Tanz served four years as CEO and President of LivePlanet, the entertainment company founded by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. He oversaw strategy and operations, as well as key projects for the company. He led the company through its only four years...
, and Keith Quinn
Keith Quinn
Keith Quinn may refer to:*Keith Quinn , New Zealand sports commentator*Keith Quinn , Irish footballer...
were starting to work on planning the expedition and film for Running the Sahara
Running the Sahara
Running the Sahara is a documentary feature film that chronicles the Ray Zahab, Charlie Engle, and Kevin Lin's attempt to run across the entire Sahara desert...
, Damon had the idea of starting a charitable initiative. It was informally launched in the spring of 2006.
When film financier IPA came on board the foundation was officially named H2O Africa and was announced on September 10, 2006 during a OneXOne
ONEXONE
ONEXONE is a non-profit initiative based in Canada and the United States with the mission to preserve a basic quality of life for children locally and globally: because Hope Belongs to Everyone.- Operations :...
event at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
. It was started as the charitable arm of the Running the Sahara film project, with the goal of raising money and awareness for organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
Clean Water Initiative, Living Water International
Living Water International
Living Water International is a faith-based non-profit organization that helps communities in developing countries acquire safe drinking water in response to the global water crisis. It is based in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1990 and currently operates in 26 countries...
, and the Millennium Promise
Millennium Promise
Millennium Promise, or The Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc., is a non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, dedicated to ending extreme poverty within our lifetime...
project. On May 29, 2007, H2O Africa announced a new partnership with the Ryan's Well Foundation
Ryan's Well Foundation
Ryan's Well Foundation is a non-profit organization located in Kemptville, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 2001 by Ryan Hreljac with the focus of raising funds to enable clean water projects and health-related initiatives in African nations and other developing countries...
.
Projects
H2O Africa is currently 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. The objective of this project is to improve health, well-being, and sanitation at 15 to 20 schools in the LiraLira DistrictLira District is a district in Northern Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Lira.-Location:Lira District is bordered by Pader District to the north, Otuke District to the northeast, Alebtong District to the east, Dokolo District to the southeast, Apac...
and OyamOyam DistrictOyam District is a district in Northern Uganda. Like most Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Oyam, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
districts in the Lango sub-region of UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. 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) latrineLatrineA latrine is a communal facility containing one or more commonly many toilets which may be simple pit toilets or in the case of the United States Armed Forces any toilet including modern flush toilets...
s. Construction is expected to begin in September 2007.
- Route Nations: H2O Africa, in partnership with the UNDPUnited Nations Development ProgrammeThe United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
, is constructing a water tower and two water fountains in the village of Néré Walo, MauritaniaMauritaniaMauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
. As of August 2007, the project is nearly completed.
- Millennium Village: H2O Africa is partnering with Millennium PromiseMillennium PromiseMillennium Promise, or The Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc., is a non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, dedicated to ending extreme poverty within our lifetime...
to raise funds for the Millennium VillageMillennium VillageThe Millennium Village was located in Epcot and was the centerpiece of Disney's Millennium Celebration. The pavilion opened up its doors to the public on October 1, 1999 and was closed down on January 1, 2001. It is, however, used on occasion...
project in TimbuktuTimbuktuTimbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
, MaliMaliMali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. The project involves the fostering of initiatives designed to improve the local economy in the fields such as energyEnergyIn physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
and infrastructureInfrastructureInfrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, nutrition servicesNutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
, and gender equalityGender equalityGender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
. As of August 2007, the project has received 22% of its $1,750,000 funding goal.
- Central African Republic Well Project: H2O Africa is joining with Living Water InternationalLiving Water InternationalLiving Water International is a faith-based non-profit organization that helps communities in developing countries acquire safe drinking water in response to the global water crisis. It is based in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1990 and currently operates in 26 countries...
to construct 20 new wells in the Central African RepublicCentral African RepublicThe Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, 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 FreshL'Desh FreshL'Desh Fresh is a fictitious bottled water company created by Water.org to raise awareness about unsanitary drinking water in developing nations...
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.orgWater.orgWater.org is an American nonprofit developmental aid organization resulting from the merger between H2O Africa, co-founded by Matt Damon, and WaterPartners, co-founded by Gary White...
. 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.
Charitable partners
- OneXOneONEXONEONEXONE is a non-profit initiative based in Canada and the United States with the mission to preserve a basic quality of life for children locally and globally: because Hope Belongs to Everyone.- Operations :...
- Renaissance Charitable Gift Fund
- ONE CampaignONE CampaignThe ONE Campaign is an international, nonpartisan, non-profit organization which aims to increase government funding for and effectiveness of international aid programs....
- A Glimmer of Hope FoundationA Glimmer of Hope FoundationThe A Glimmer of Hope Foundation was founded by Texas-based philanthropists Philip Berber and Donna Berber to reduce extreme poverty in rural Ethiopia. In 2010, Philip and Donna were ranked #7 by Barron's in its list of '25 Best Givers' in the world,...
- United Nations Development ProgrammeUnited Nations Development ProgrammeThe United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
- Millennium PromiseMillennium PromiseMillennium Promise, or The Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc., is a non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, dedicated to ending extreme poverty within our lifetime...
- Ryan's Well FoundationRyan's Well FoundationRyan's Well Foundation is a non-profit organization located in Kemptville, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 2001 by Ryan Hreljac with the focus of raising funds to enable clean water projects and health-related initiatives in African nations and other developing countries...