happen. water.org helps bring water and sanitation to those in need. water really kind of underpins everything. every 20 seconds a child dies, because they lack access to clean water and sanitation. every 20 seconds. reporter: this hits home for damon, who has four daughters. once you have kids, it s impossible not to see, you know, their face in every child you see. reporter: water.org provides small loans to help people get access to water. people were paying money for water already. sometimes 15, 20 times what you or i pay for our water to a local water mafia. and if you could front them the money to connect to the immun y immunity, you would give them their time back to pay the loan off. they are now in control of their destiny in a way they weren t. so it s not only about the millions of children who actually die every year. it s about the quality of life that somebody can have if they have access to clean water.
for me in acting. reporter: worldwide, more than 750 million people live without poetable water, making them susceptible to disease. since 2009, water.org has helped communities connect to clean water through wells and microloans. the founders say their approach isn t just charity but a sustainable solution. tell me about the water credit. how does it work? so, if you re in a slum in india, you might be spending hours every day walking to a public tap, waiting in line. the water s sometimes there, sometimes it s not. you might be paying the water mafia, which is basically these people who come around and sell you 20 liters of water for a pretty high price. if you could actually just front them the money to connect to the municipality that was piping water right underneath their feet, you d give them their time back so they could work at their job and pay the loan off. reporter: this isn t a glamorous topic to discuss at hollywood fund-raisers, but matt damon has not shied awa
difficult to deal with the criticism, though? i mean, it comes with the territory if you re going to become an activist like this. yeah, i think if you put a megaphone out and say something, then it s within any american s right to say something back to you. so that s why when i speak out about something like public education, it means a lot to me, but it s also why i m particularly happy in i spend all my free time working with water.org. one of the things i love about it so much is that it s totally non-partisan. damon said when he took to youtube to make very serious videos about this issue, basically, no one would click on it. he said three people clicked on it and one of them was him and one of them was gary. now he does these more humorous videos, and millions of people around the world are finding out more about the issue. christine? jake, so funny. humor does sell. thanks for that story and thanks for watching your money this week. have you listened to this guy s album?
it s particularly crucial for the young. water and sanitation issues kill children around the world at a rate equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing every four hours. let s go for a second because you attaching this to yourself means i will be sitting here interviewing you talking about an issue i probably wouldn t, and people at home, viewers, will be paying attention to an issue that they wouldn t otherwise pay attention to. yeah, that s the hope. i mean, that s obviously the small part i bring, you know, to gary s incredible expertise. reporter: damon is the co-founder of water.org. his co-founder, gary white, is one of the foremost experts in the field. i was really looking for the expert in the space, and when i couldn t get that guy [ laughter ] no. you know, i think we compliment each other, and you know, matt certainly has come a long way in water, not so much
tomorrow. now it s time for the pop culture lead. if you re feeling a little flushed today, blame it on the calendar. it s world toilet day. i just have to forgive those of you who forgot to send a card. while it may not exactly be a date you had circled, for oscar winner matt damon it s one of the most important days of the year because for the past few years, he s been a man on a mission to help solve the water crisis that this day has meant to raise awareness about. all right. reporter: today s a big day for matt damon and water expert harry white. they re the co-founders of water.org, a nonprofit aimed at helping developing countries gain access to clean water and sanitation. today, it s world toilet day. a day when they try to draw attention to a planetary water and toilet crisis. believe it or not, on this planet, more people have a cell phone than have sanitary bathroom facilities. damon recalls when he first learned of this problem. i was so just shocked by this. a toil