H2O Africa: Bringing clean water to Africa

 

Their quest had lasted 111 days and taken them through 6 countries: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt. By the team’s daily GPS record, they had traveled over 6,920 kilometres. They fought through injury and extreme fatigue to reach their goal: being the first men to run across the Sahara Desert.  

Running the Sahara, due to be released this autumn, will document the saga of three ultra-marathoners who ran almost 7 thousand kilometres across the Sahara Desert for the first time in history.  The stunning cinematic journey brings attention to the millions of African people who have no access to safe water.  H2O Africa, a charity co-founded by actor Matt Damon and other participants in the Running the Sahara feature film in order to raise awareness about the need for clean drinking water in communities across Africa, then enables people to be part of the solution.

“H2O Africa is focused on the development of sustainable, integrated water programs,” said Damon. “We are targeting initiatives that will affect positive change for the long run and complement other activity in the region, such as education and infrastructure development.”

“One example is a water purification system at a school, which provides clean water for children and encourages parents to bring their kids to school,” said Paul Brooks, who is a Director and co-founder of The H2O Africa Foundation.  “These are efficient, practical solutions that enable donors to adopt communities in Africa and transform lives through clean water solutions – at a very minimal cost.”

The H2O Africa model is innovative.  Through founder’s grants and partnerships with some of the best water solution providers in Africa, H2O Africa sends 100% of donations received for targeted regions through to the project work in the field – and has matched every dollar donated.  Donors are able to select NGO partners, geographic areas, and other aspects of a tailored community solution that they help design and then monitor progress via web-based reporting.

H2O Africa has already administered more than $5 million of grants and matching grants, facilitated through the partnership with Renaissance, prior to the film’s release.  “It has been a remarkable privilege for all of us to see the lives of individuals and communities transformed because of this effort,” Brooks noted.

About H2O Africa Foundation

The H2O Africa Foundation has a mission to create widespread public awareness of the water crisis in Africa and gather support and funding for integrated sustainable clean water programs in critical areas. Oversight of the H20 Africa programs and initiatives will be through partnerships with major non-governmental organizations as well as progress-based grant agreements. Donors can be part of groups that are adopting specific communities to ensure that they have safe water there. Every dollar contributed by donors goes to the work in the field.  Find out more: www.h2oafrica.org.

About Running the Sahara

Find out more: www.runningthesahara.com