Water Is Life: John DeYoung / Founder and CEO of Vivoblu

Direct Talk

The Russian invasion of Ukraine
began in February 2022.

Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

Early in the invasion,

Russia destroyed essential
life-line infrastructures,

including water supplies.

Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

Lives have been driven into a tailspin
by the ongoing attacks.

There's a man who delivers innovative
water purification filters to conflict zones

and impoverished areas of the world.

He's John DeYoung,
who we are featuring today.

John DeYoung
Founder and CEO of Vivoblu

John has developed and
manufactures magical filters

which can easily purify dirty water

and deliver clean water to those who need it.

How the Lord has impacted
and transformed my heart.

Took a young boy
from the streets of South Korea

to all over the streets around the world,
serving children just like me.

We will hear about John's turbulent life

and his efforts to bring
the water of life to people in need.

Water Is Life

Denver, Colorado.

John founded a water filtration company
called Vivoblu in 2019.

My personal office in here.

This is our logo.

Coming into my office.
You'll see

this world map is sort of
where our filters are.

More than 24,000 of
John's water purification filters

are being used in over 46 countries.

This is the filter unit John developed.

50X speed

Clean drinking water can be produced
simply by connecting contaminated water

and an empty bucket with a filter.

50X speed

In the U.S.,

the easy-to-carry units are also
attracting attention as survival gear

for outdoor activities and disasters.

This picture is very unique.

These are three children
in the village of Pratappur, India.

John was exposed to extreme poverty
for the first time in 2008,

when he was invited by a friend
to visit an Indian slum.

He then began supporting aid
and education activities in Calcutta.

It was there he learned
the real importance of water.

Pastor Mahadad was like, we need clean water.

That's when I start buying filters

and I bought them from,
you know, the local stores

and local sports stores, camping,

And you'd start thinking
wow, such a thing.

I mean we just take clean water
for granted in America

like you just open your tap
and you get clean water

and you never have to
worry about getting sick

or getting diarrhea

or even dying.

Over 3 million children and,

people die from water a year.

That's, that's what?

That's unbelievable that and
we need to do something about that.

See, the problem is the
first filters that I bought

were made for campers, hikers of Colorado,

right, or Montana.

And so you got first world products

and you trying to force third World people
or developing world people

to understand that product.

2019

John hired engineers to develop a filter

that would be easy to use
in developing countries.

But it took much longer than expected
to produce an ideal form.

When we look at that,

trying to eliminate the complexity
of the First World filters

was very difficult.

You know, you thought you had something

and you know, we thought
we had something really cool in 2019.

Well, like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And we sent a bunch of them over to India.

They didn't work.

You know, as well as we thought.

Ready-made products were not suitable
for environments without clean water.

This was because
they required "backwash" care.

They have to push that water through

the fibers to get that dirty water out.

Then they have to get more water and do this.

They have to do this 6 to 10 times

every time they use the filter.

And what happens is they get frustrated
because they can't clean it.

They now don't trust the water
coming out of it.

So they stop using it.

So what do they have left to do?

They just go back to their old water.

So they get back sick again.

The filter developed by John
solved such problems.

To clean it. All you have to do is rinse it.

You can even rinse it in the dirty water

as long as it is being rinsed
and agitated well,

now you have a clean filter again,

and then you put the top back up on

and then you drop it in.

And what that does

is that really allows anyone
in Africa, South America, India

to be able to just clean the filter
with no education, no training.

Usable for up to three years,

the filters are offered at
a price of $67 dollars in the U.S.

or from 45 dollars for use in aid work.

They remove all life-threatening pathogens,

such as parasites, E. coli, and cholera.

Within 30 minutes

you'll have this whole bucket
full of clean water.

5 gallons for the whole day,

and that's just really amazing.

So the way that we're going,

I mean... And look at this.

This dirty water

and here.

Look how fast that is.
No one has to wait for water.

It's just it's clean,

perfectly clean.

See that? Look how beautiful that is.

And it's drinkable.

Clean water. Living water, right, Jamie?

After two years of development,

John started manufacture of the
ideal water purification filter in July 2021.

And in May 2022,

he delivered over 250 filters
to a slum in Calcutta.

The families came in and to receive it,

you have women crying,

you have women thanking you,

you have children clapping and laughing

because clean water means life.

Water is life.

And so when water is hurting you

and then you get a chance
to grab a Vivoblu filter,

and now it's giving you a life.

That's a life changing experience.

John's mission is to serve people
living tough lives.

It was his own background
that made him feel that way.

I was an orphan

right, on the streets.

I didn't have clean water.

I probably didn't have good nutrition.

I was probably sleeping somewhere
pretty dirty by the garbage can

or in the slums or wherever I was.

It's easier for me to look at an

orphan child or a slum child and go

and have compassion.

Taken into protective custody
as a young street kid in South Korea,

John never knew his parents

or even his actual age.

This is actually the picture

that my parents saw and
this is what they adopted me from.

This is the first picture of me and so.

John was adopted by an American family
and moved to the United States.

But despite being warmly welcomed,

he had to face a major conflict.

I think because of my life on the streets
as a child in South Korea,

not having a father or a mother
or knowing my father or mother.

Made it probably very difficult for me

to sort of receive the love
that was being given to me so freely.

I didn't know much about my story,

you know, which probably played into,
I didn't even know my identity,

which probably played into

what is my purpose of living,

what is the purpose of my life.

And so when I was in college,

I just fell into the dark world of

just self-loathing

and drinking

and

lashing out.

When I was around 27 years old,

when I attempted to commit suicide

with a gun and a bottle of Jack Daniels.

And then my roommate walked in
when I was about to pull the trigger.

He said, God loves you.

You're the jerk.

You are being the jerk

that you, your choices,
the things you're doing.

I know I just asked Jesus
into my heart and I was just like,

I want to be different.

Just I repented and
that just changed everything.

The "Water of Life" project,
which began in India,

has now spread worldwide.

In cooperation with NGO groups,

the company has begun collecting donations

and delivering filters free of charge,

as well as providing emergency assistance
in the event of natural disasters.

In the wake of major hurricane Ida,

which caused great damage
in Louisiana in August 2021,

250 filters were delivered to affected areas.

Then, as Vivoblu's activities
began to expand,

Russia invaded Ukraine.

Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

When Russia decided to
attack Ukraine in February,

the world was in shock like,
what is Russia doing?

It's Europe.

What do they need...
Why do they need my filter? Right?

Like if they just turn on their faucet
and just get clean water.

What I had not realized is

Russia's first attempt in attack

one of the first things they did
is they destroyed infrastructure,

electricity, gas and water.

There's nothing on the planet
that creates more widows and more orphans,

faster than war.

All the boys go and fight

and they die,

leaving widows and orphans.

I just thought to myself,

Oh my gosh,

this is what the Word of God says.

I'm an orphan.

My mom might be widow, right.

In cooperation with
humanitarian aid organizations,

John began collecting donations,

and embarked on a
support program for Ukraine.

He developed a new type of Water Bladder.

Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

It's in the form of a mobile backpack

so that displaced people
heading for the border

can obtain clean water while on the move.

Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine

As the war continues,

John has been delivering
these backpacks to Ukraine himself.

His only concern

is leaving behind his wife
and one-year-old son.

Of course he has to go

to help people to bring water.

But then at the same time,

we have a family and I was nervous.

So, yeah, that's how I felt

when you first told me I was like,
you're crazy.

But I said yes

because I know that
the mission is bigger than us.

John traveled to Ukraine
in May and August 2022

carrying water purification filters.

Courtesy of Seeds of Exchange

While visiting Mykolaiv,
a town in southern Ukraine,

he met a couple.

Courtesy of Seeds of Exchange

His wife was pregnant
when we were there in August

and they chose to stay in Mykolaiv.

And that was the house
we were in when the bombs hit.

And they're serving and saving the children

through young life in Ukraine.

And I'm just, like,
blown away by that choice.

You're pregnant

and you chose because you heard God say,

stay here in Mykolaiv.
The children need you.

Here is a group of people in Ukraine

who are willing to give up their life
for something way bigger than them,

their country, their freedom.

Part of the reason why
that I am compelled to go serve people

and save their life is because

I was willing to throw it away so easily

and God saved me

and my friend saved me.

Courtesy of Vivoblu

John has so far delivered over 6,500 filters

and 3,500 backpacks to Ukraine.

Very good friend.

He has pledged to
stand by the Ukrainian people

until the war is over.

So, what is John's motto?

My motto is this.

Be love, be the change, be the impact.

Be love

because we need to love
all the people of the world.

Be the change.

Because when you enter
a community or into a family

and bring positive change, be that.

And when you do that,

you impact the family, the community
through clean water.

Water is life yo.

Water is life.