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lbaclian's review
5.0
I'm so glad I stumbled upon this book. It's an important book that talks about the water crisis in impoverished areas. It talks about what Matt Damon and Gary White have done to combat this issue. It's a motivational book as it talks about their struggles and failures and highlights how they've overcome them. Matt Damon is a great story teller!
katiereads13's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
4.0
gyeranbbang's review
4.0
At the end of the book, Matt Damon asks the readers to donate to the cause or, at least, to write about the 'water problem' and share their thoughts about it. I won't be donating any dollars, mainly because Matt, honey, not all of us are American out here; but in regards to the water problem - what is it? What is the first step to tackle it?
The water problem is vast. And because it is vast, it becomes an abstract as it encompasses everything - drinking, energy expenditure, diseases, pandemics, the economy, climate change, female empowerment, job opportunities, education, etc. It touches so many things that talking about the 'water problem' becomes impossible. Gary White mentions in the book how difficult it was during the early days of Water.org to get people to understand what they were trying to do, why it was important, and get them to support the organization. The main issue was that he had twenty minutes to do it, perhaps less than that. This book is not twenty minutes and as both Gary White and Matt Damon address, a book gives them a proper length to explain what they are doing, why it is important, and define the water issue. Do I know what they are currently doing? No. Do I know why it is important? Sure. Can I explain what the water issue is? Nope.
In short, this was a glorified elevator pitch. It got my attention, I became enamored by the idea and I do want to learn more about it and explore more about the issue, but I feel it failed to carry the message they want to bring out. I think Matt Damon says, in the end, he wanted to share the stories of the people who suffer from lack of water access. I had snippets of their suffering, but nothing I had not heard of before, and it was only mentioned in passing. If I had had names and personal stories (other than "she wants to be a doctor, I am sure she is one now"), I would have felt that connection, and I would have been more emotionally invested in the issue. I also feel there's a lot left unsaid. Water.org works mostly in India (or used to, last I looked into them), and had been involved with local rainwater collection efforts (that, in turn, would also ease the reliance on the 'water mafia'). This is not mentioned at all, and I think it's something that not all of us know about and I would have loved to hear more about this; though I do admit hearing about the specifics behind how water consolidates the poor as forever in the bottom was very interesting.
And now, I will go ahead and research that one video Matt Damon talks about at the end of the book. Something by Sarah Silverman?
The water problem is vast. And because it is vast, it becomes an abstract as it encompasses everything - drinking, energy expenditure, diseases, pandemics, the economy, climate change, female empowerment, job opportunities, education, etc. It touches so many things that talking about the 'water problem' becomes impossible. Gary White mentions in the book how difficult it was during the early days of Water.org to get people to understand what they were trying to do, why it was important, and get them to support the organization. The main issue was that he had twenty minutes to do it, perhaps less than that. This book is not twenty minutes and as both Gary White and Matt Damon address, a book gives them a proper length to explain what they are doing, why it is important, and define the water issue. Do I know what they are currently doing? No. Do I know why it is important? Sure. Can I explain what the water issue is? Nope.
In short, this was a glorified elevator pitch. It got my attention, I became enamored by the idea and I do want to learn more about it and explore more about the issue, but I feel it failed to carry the message they want to bring out. I think Matt Damon says, in the end, he wanted to share the stories of the people who suffer from lack of water access. I had snippets of their suffering, but nothing I had not heard of before, and it was only mentioned in passing. If I had had names and personal stories (other than "she wants to be a doctor, I am sure she is one now"), I would have felt that connection, and I would have been more emotionally invested in the issue. I also feel there's a lot left unsaid. Water.org works mostly in India (or used to, last I looked into them), and had been involved with local rainwater collection efforts (that, in turn, would also ease the reliance on the 'water mafia'). This is not mentioned at all, and I think it's something that not all of us know about and I would have loved to hear more about this; though I do admit hearing about the specifics behind how water consolidates the poor as forever in the bottom was very interesting.
And now, I will go ahead and research that one video Matt Damon talks about at the end of the book. Something by Sarah Silverman?