Oscar winner and Hollywood star Matt Damon, (Good Will Hunting) was in Delhi and Chennai, India this week, for his H2O Africa Foundation, which aims to raise awareness about clean water initiatives.
Hindus have welcomed Damon to India. Damon’s Foundation, co-founded in 2006, has undertaken projects in Uganda, Central African Republic, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Niger. Damon reportedly intends to launch a similar project in India. Damon is the Foundation’s spokesperson.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, applauding Matt Damon’s efforts to provide clean water to the world populace, urged other Hollywood celebrities to undertake similar projects to uplift the weak and vulnerable populations of the world.
Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said that all religions tell us to help the helpless. He offered support to Damon for his water projects and other charity ventures in India.
Thirty-eight year old Damon was reportedly happy to be in India on his first trip and said he might come back. He stayed at the Radisson Hotel in the Mahipalpur area of Delhi, about three kilometers from Indira Gandhi International Airport. He reportedly ate dal (pulse), chapatis (Indian thin bread), kabab (roasted meat), etc., during his stay in Delhi. Besides being a popular actor, Damon is a writer and philanthropist.
The stated objective of the H2O Africa Foundation is to “increase awareness of the African situation, empower people to action, and create sustainable alliances between people who want to help, the best organizations in the field to make it happen, and some of the amazing communities of Africa that have no clean water.”
The office of Hindu statesman Rajan Zed contributed information for this story.