After multiple trips around the world, Matt witnessed what life was like for a community living in the global water crisis. While filming a movie in Sub-Saharan Africa, Matt spent time with families in a Zambian village. They lacked access to water and toilets. Matt’s exposure to their daily lives inspired a commitment to helping solve the global water crisis. In 2006 he founded H20 Africa Foundation to raise awareness about safe water initiatives on the continent.

A personal connection that sparked motivation

Matt and Gary have traveled the world to observe, learn, and improve upon the smart solutions they’ve created to empower people with safe water. In the early years of Water.org, a visit to Haiti fueled Matt’s passion and motivation to change the future for millions of people around the world.

“When I was in Haiti I remember having this conversation with this little girl. She was like 13. And my oldest [daughter] at the time was 13. And I asked her - now that she had access to water, because she had been spending hours every day collecting water - I asked, well, what are you going to do with all this free time? Are you going to do homework? And she looked at me disdainfully and said, 'I don't need more time to do homework. I'm the smartest in my class.'

And I said, 'so what are you going to do with all this extra time you have?' She looked me right in the eyes and she said, 'I'm going to play.'

And it just buckled my knees because this idea that this kid hadn't had time to play. She hadn't had time to be a 13-year-old girl. It's these incalculable kinds of impact that this can have when you bring somebody access [to water and sanitation] like that.”