Rob Martin

I received the email below the other day from ONE.org. ONE is a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African policy makers and activists. ONE aims to achieve change through advocacy. They hold world leaders to account for the commitments they’ve made to fight extreme poverty, and campaign for better development policies, more effective aid and trade reform. ONE also support greater democracy, accountability and transparency to ensure policies to beat poverty are implemented effectively. As you read this email don’t just pass it by. We take for granted so many things living in America and one thing I certainly take  for granted is water. You go out to restaurants and say i’ll just have a water and its free. Not everyone can say that so as you read this put yourself in their shoes and just let it break your heart as it did to me.

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Dear ONE member,

On my trip with ONE to Zambia, I walked two miles with a 14-year-old girl to a well—the closest water source to her village. I asked if she wanted to stay in her village when she grew up, and her face exploded into a huge smile. The translator said, “she is being very shy…she says that she wants to move to big city, Lusaka, and that she wants to be a nurse.”Women and girls, like the one I met in Zambia, bear most of the burden of lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation. Women are more than twice as likely as men to be responsible for water collection, and on average, women in the developing world walk three and a half miles each day to collect water—time that could be spent in school or at work.

Right now there’s a bill, the Durbin-Corker Water for the World Act of 2009, that will enable us to help 100 million people gain access to clean water and sanitation by 2015. But it needs at least 15 more cosponsors to move forward. Join me in signing ONE’s petition and asking your senators to cosponsor this critical legislation:

http://www.one.org/us/waterfortheworld/o.pl?id=1003-4125060-ODJRQ_x&t=2

Here’s the text of the petition:

Please cosponsor the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2009 (S. 624), and help provide 100 million people with first-time, sustainable access to clean water and sanitation by 2015.

Economically, water is one of the smartest poverty-fighting investments we can make. My friend Ben and I met with the World Bank and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Tanzania, and we saw how a lack of good water infrastructure is holding back businesses. We talked to Prosper Mbarewoai of Allied Chemicals, who estimated his detergent-production business is operating at only 60% capacity because he spends anywhere from two hours to an entire day just getting water.

The MCC in Tanzania is working to revamp the water treatment and supply infrastructure in two major cities, decreasing the risks of water-borne illness and enabling business productivity. In fact, every $1 spent on water and sanitation generates a return of $8 in saved time, increased productivity and reduced health costs in Africa.

Improving access to clean water and sanitation is also an investment in women, making possible the dreams of young girls in Zambia and beyond. To help make this change happen for her and 884 million others worldwide who live without clean water, please ask your senators to cosponsor the Water for the World Act:

http://www.one.org/us/waterfortheworld/o.pl?id=1003-4125060-ODJRQ_x&t=3

Please join me.

Thank you,

Matt Damon, ONE Member

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You can too receive E-mails and participate in other ways by signing up at ONE.org. Starvation