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WHOLives foundation, BYU students helping people in need access clean water

Posted at 5:36 PM, Sep 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-16 19:36:13-04

PROVO, Utah -- A Utah man teamed up with some BYU engineering students in an effort to make water more accessible to people in need.

John Renouard says after visiting Tanzania with his family in 2010 he decided he needed to do something to help.

That’s when his foundation, WHOLives, was born. WHO stands for Water, Health and Opportunity.

Soon after, he and the students at BYU created the "Village Drill". It’s a durable, portable, human-powered machine that people in developing countries can use to access clean water.

“We want to empower the people in these developing countries,” Renouard said. “Now they can go drill for all their neighbors and friends and schools at a fraction of the cost of the big rigs.”

So far the village drill is in 25 countries and has made 1,200 bore holes. The foundation plans to unveil a new model in two weeks, after which they expect the impact of the device to grow.

For more information about the foundation, visit their website.