All month, Matt Damon and Gary White have been giving us a sneak peek into Water.org’s work providing communities with access to safe water and transforming lives. (If you missed last week’s photos from Ethiopia, check them out here.) This week we’re treated to gorgeous photos from Indonesia. Water.org began working in Indonesia in 2013 when they introduced a microfinance solution called WaterCredit. By bringing this solution to a country where 37 million people lack access to safe water, WaterCredit is helping empower women and their families across the densely populated island.
Learn more about the life-transforming impact Water.org’s work is having on families through this photography set documented in March 2015 by Benjamin Heath.
Sariati pours water from her newly constructed tap.
A woman from the village of Kimiri makes a payment on her WaterCredit loan. By connecting financial institutions to communities in developing countries in need of clean water, small loans are made to individuals and households. As the loans are repaid, funds can be redeployed to additional families in need of safe water.
Neni took out a WaterCredit loan to install a toilet in her home, which has given her more time to run her shop.
Erni uses her new water connection to wash before prayer.
Mu’minah and her mother Munadiah used WaterCredit funds to construct both a water connection and an in-home toilet.
Suminah and her family once had to rely on an insufficient shallow borewell for water, but this new tap has made their lives much easier.
Anah has more time to tend to her vegetables thanks to a new toilet.
Like many women living in rural Indonesia, Muhayanti makes rugs for a living. She uses fabric scraps discarded by local manufacturing companies to sew fringed rugs. She sells the rugs in bulk to market distributors.
For more of Matt Damon’s curation picks visit our Girls and Women page.