"Clean water is not just a basic necessity; it's a catalyst for transformation"
John Renouard Tweet
Welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview with John Renouard, founder of the nonprofit organization WHOlives. In this captivating conversation, we delve into the inspiring journey of a man driven by a life-changing experience and a deep desire to address the world’s water crisis. Prepare to be inspired as Renouard shares his remarkable story of passion, innovation, and impact.
Renouard’s dedication to making a difference began in 2010 when he embarked on a transformative trip to Africa with his family. Witnessing the daily struggle of girls and women fetching contaminated water, he was profoundly moved and resolved to take action. From this experience, WHOlives was born, with a mission to provide access to clean water in developing countries.
In our interview, Renouard unveils his groundbreaking invention, the Village Drill—a human-powered drilling device that can reach remote areas to dig clean water wells swiftly and cost-effectively.
Join us as we explore Renouard’s unwavering commitment, his unique approach to sustainable solutions, and the transformative impact of empowering communities to create lasting change.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
John Renouard: I started my nonprofit, WHOlives (https://wholives.org/), after going on a life-changing trip to Africa with my family in 2010. My son had been involved in humanitarian and missionary work there.
I couldn’t believe that girls and women spent so much of their lives fetching disgusting water that you wouldn’t let your dog drink. Plus, that water causes so many health issues in places with poor access to medical care. This broke my heart, and I knew I had to do something.
That really got my head churning on how I could help. What simple solutions could there be to this complex problem that is the world’s water crisis?
Eventually, I had a dream and woke up in the middle of the night with an idea that I quickly scribbled down. That idea has so far provided access to clean water to more than 12 million people in developing countries.
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffett, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
John Renouard: My invention is the Village Drill – a human-powered drill that can fit in a canoe or in the back of a pickup truck and dig a clean water well in a remote village within a couple of days or weeks, depending on the conditions.
The Village Drill is the biggest innovation in the clean water realm in decades, and it beats a traditional drilling rig because it can drill in 75% more areas for 75% less than those trucks. More than 70% of the people in developing countries live far from improved roads; the big truck can’t get to them, but the Village Drill can.
We’re different from most charities in that we don’t give wells away. We create jobs by training and empowering in-country drill teams. Those teams have ownership of their Village Drill and as their loans are paid back, the funds are paid forward to the next project.
On top of that, the villages we’re helping come up with a down payment for their well, and families make regular payments, which usually amounts to less than $2 per month for 10 months. This model is affordable and promotes self-reliance rather than dependency.
Our biggest strength is our innovative approach to solving large global problems. Many charities end up doing long-term harm by fostering a culture of dependence. People in need feel like their only option is to wait for someone else to rescue them.
We partner with villages so that they’re invested in their own success, and we build sustainability. They ultimately take better care of their wells, and drinking the clean water really cuts down on their health issues and leads to more economic opportunities.
What advice do you wish you had received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
John Renouard: I wish someone would have told me not to listen to the critics and mentioned how hard it was going to be to get my incredibly simple and effective idea off the ground. When you have a new idea that has never been thought of before, you will have a lot of naysayers.
Even the people you thought would be on your side may abandon you. Because people sometimes hate to be wrong, even when you prove your product by the success you have, they still may not support you. It can be frustrating.
Next quarter, we are focused on new strategies to create organic recognition using social media and to secure speaking opportunities.
Here is a two-fold question: What is the book that influenced you the most and how? Please share some life lessons you learned. Now what book have you gifted the most and why?
John Renouard: The title is “Beyond Survival” by Captain Gerald Coffee. I read this book when I was in my mid-20s, and the life lesson I learned from him being one of the first naval pilots shot down and captured during the Vietnam War was that the human spirit is much stronger than most people can imagine.
I saw the pain and suffering that Captain Coffee went through, and yet he was able to keep his positive attitude and sense of humor, the one thing he says no one can take from us.
The setbacks that I had experienced weren’t even close to what he had survived, so who was I to become depressed or quit? This book gave me the strength of character to fight through the tough times with a positive attitude and it has made all the difference in both my business and my personal life.
I suggest titles, but I don’t gift books. I like to give toolboxes. I feel as a society, we have lost the art of “fixing things.” Most of us live in a disposable and wasteful world.
I believe the lessons learned by becoming handy and resourceful will create a “can-do” mindset that will benefit individuals and spread to improve all society. One of my sayings that I’m often quoted on is to “Stop reading and start doing.”
Christopher Hitchens, an American journalist, is quoted as saying that “everyone has a book in them” Have you written a book? If so, please share with us details about it. If you haven’t, what book would you like to write and how would you like it to benefit the readers?
John Renouard: I haven’t finished my book yet, but I’m working on it. The story is about another major issue in Africa that I learned about while working to bring clean water to the villages.
About 30 countries are still engaging in the horrible practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). It’s prevalent in a few areas of Kenya. These young girls are held down and cut as a way to control them. They’re permanently mutilated and then enslaved by being sold off into child marriages.
This was another moment where I was like, “Wow, this is really a thing in 2022? This is still happening?” And no one could really give me a straight answer on why they cut the girls. I also wondered why progress of ending this barbaric practice was so slow with so many government agencies, NGOs and others working on this issue.
As I began to study and look for solutions, one breakthrough came when I asked police in Kuria, Kenya: “What do you need to do your job and enforce the law?” Officers were surprised that I asked that. No one had ever really asked what they needed.
The answer also surprised me: They needed gas money for their police cars. Their fuel budgets are limited, so they hadn’t been able to prioritize FGM cases. The perpetrators were getting away with their crimes, unchecked.
WHOlives donors started picking up their gas bill. We sent police $50 or $100 as needed to travel for FGM cases as long as they kept a logbook that was checked by local magistrates and child advocates to ensure accountability.
We also got really involved in equipping police stations with beds and supplies to create safe spaces for the girls. Our efforts “fueled” a crackdown on FGM, with dozens of arrests and convictions, that’s sending a strong message and finally putting an end to this awful abuse.
My book will focus on the incredible stories of survival and my personal experiences to end this practice as well as the resistance and dangers I faced along this journey. It will show a path of how anyone can adopt the holistic and intuitive approach I have developed to successfully solve social issues.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
John Renouard: I believe the most underestimated part of running a company is the need to bring people with very different personalities into key roles. If you don’t have the right balance of analytical and intuitive people, your company may suffer.
My experience is that companies that are run by analytical individuals struggle to grow or come up with new and innovative ideas, and companies run by intuitive individuals have incredible ideas, but the organization and order of the company often suffers.
Having both personalities in key roles, even though they will create some positive conflict, is vital to sustainable growth.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
John Renouard: I would love the ability to look at a resume and see the future. I want to see through their job experiences, education and exaggerations so that I can get to know and see the real person and their work ethic.
It’d be great to know their future successes and failures at our company before I ever hire them.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank John Renouard for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with John Renouard or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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