Lupe and Simon’s Dialogue on Water

At 16,000 feet on Mount Kilimanjaro, in the middle of a blizzard, Lupe and I sat down to connect on the clean water crisis as part of Summit on the Summit.  Together, Lupe and I have joined a team of celebrities, influencers and educators to help raise awareness and funds for the over 1 billion people who lack access to clean water.  Learn more at www.summitonthesummit.com

Simon:

Hey man, so, we’re currently at 16,000 feet, 5 days-in on our Kilimanjaro climb. It’s been tough for sure, but for a critically important cause, clean water.  Can you talk about why you’re taking time from your busy schedule to do this?

Lupe:

I’m always drawn to important causes that positively affect the world. It’s just something that I can’t resist. It’s my human nature to be a humanitarian.

Simon:

Is that part of your up bringing? How did a Chicago boy get caught up in these global issues?

Lupe:

My father and mother always made sure we (my family) was always in tune with what was going on around the world, beyond our environment. Whether it be through access to a collection of National Geographic Magazines or a steady diet of foreign culture via the martial arts or music, we’ve always had this awareness of the world around us and what was happening there.

Simon:

Before the climb, we went to a school where most of the children were suffering from waterborne illness, how has that experience shaped the way you think about this issue?

Lupe:

It solidified the necessity of access to clean water. The visit put a face on the crisis, which is something that is hard to forget.

Simon:

Speaking to the educators and other influencers on this climb, what have you learned so far?

Lupe:

The deeper struggles of actually enacting policy surrounding issues of crisis. Whether it be mobilization of mass support from among the public, to effectively implementing programs on the ground in the areas most in need. It has a “Pandora’s Box” feel about it.

Simon:

How has this experience changed the way that you view water, poverty and other causes and how you can address them?

Lupe:

Less of a “change” that has taken place, but more of a reaffirming and deeper education of the specifics that surround these issues, from a governmental level to personal level and every arena in between. This gives me more effective ammunition and more accurate weapon to fight with.

Simon:

You’re a hip hop star, what do you think is the role of musicians and celebrities in making a difference?

Lupe:

Simply to bring the eyes and ears of our fan bases to the issues in a way that our fans appreciate and feel motivated to act on their own behalf.

Simon:

If you could ask your fans to do one thing to solve the water challenge, what would it be?

Lupe:

I hope that they inform themselves and others so that they are able to create effective solutions to the problem. And if the most effective and doable solution for them is to donate money then so be it, through informing themselves and others, they may find other ways to get involved.  They can write a letter to their senator or to President Obama. They can rally their friends.  They can save water in their own home.  What matters is that they act.

Simon:

Cool man.  Dinner time.

Lupe:

Yup.  Final push to the summit.  Let’s do it.