How Dr. Yunus’ microfinance model changed the life of a Hollywood

American actor and Oscar-winning star Matt Damon said that he founded the non-profit organization 'Water.org' inspired by Bangladeshi Nobel laureate economist Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus and his microcredit model.

The Hollywood actor made the remarks while recently participating in popular American Instagram influencer Ted Jarre's 'What Do You Do for a Living?' video series. The video was released on social media on Sunday (November 1) local time.

In the viral video, Ted Jarre addresses Matt Damon and says, "What's up with you? What do you do for a living?"

Matt Damon replied with a smile, "Well, do you want to talk about Water.org?" 

Explaining the organization's activities, Damon said that it works to provide safe water to people in developing countries. In response to the question of where the water comes from, he said that they mainly provide people with access to safe water and sanitation services through microcredit. 

Currently, Water.org is working in more than 15 countries around the world, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, Brazil, and Mexico. Through this organization's activities, Matt Damon highlights that microfinance can not only be a means of increasing financial capacity, but also play an effective role in meeting people's basic needs.

Matt Damon added, "What we do is through microfinance. It's basically what Dr. Muhammad Yunus created at Grameen Bank many years ago. He won the Nobel Prize for it." 

In the interview, Matt Damon said that his organization has so far distributed more than 21 million microloans, with a financial value of more than $8 billion. Through these loans, families are able to provide clean water and safe sanitation in their homes. He said that the organization's initiatives have so far brought about 95 million people around the world under the umbrella of water and sanitation facilities.

It is worth noting that Grameen Bank and its founder Professor Muhammad Yunus jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for their unique contribution to economic and social development at the grassroots level through microcredit.

In 2009, Matt Damon, along with Gary White, founded the global organization 'Water.org' to bring safe water and sanitation to the doorsteps of the underprivileged and poor.