Academy Award winner Matt Damon talked with HuffPost Live at Davos Wednesday about why he co-founded Water.org, a nonprofit organization working to provide communities across the globe with access to clean water.
"As I was looking at all these issues of extreme poverty and wanting to get involved, water seemed to underpin absolutely everything," Damon said. "It's such a massive complex problem. I find it endlessly interesting. I'm constantly learning."
Such passion for the issue remains rare among people living in developed economies, and funding can be difficult, Damon said.
In his view, that's because the problems surrounding a lack of access to clean water, such as dehydration and poor sanitation, aren't easily visible to people living in developed countries like the U.S.
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a friend in New York City or Boston or L.A. who's been thirsty in their life -- really, truly thirsty," he said. "It's such a massive problem but it's so hard for us to relate to. To wrap our heads around the enormity of it is very hard and definitely something that we struggle with."
"As I was looking at all these issues of extreme poverty and wanting to get involved, water seemed to underpin absolutely everything," Damon said. "It's such a massive complex problem. I find it endlessly interesting. I'm constantly learning."
Such passion for the issue remains rare among people living in developed economies, and funding can be difficult, Damon said.
In his view, that's because the problems surrounding a lack of access to clean water, such as dehydration and poor sanitation, aren't easily visible to people living in developed countries like the U.S.
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a friend in New York City or Boston or L.A. who's been thirsty in their life -- really, truly thirsty," he said. "It's such a massive problem but it's so hard for us to relate to. To wrap our heads around the enormity of it is very hard and definitely something that we struggle with."