Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jacob Niemeier. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jacob , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
The Inspiration Behind Vera Aqua Vera Vita
Vera Aqua Vera Vita was founded by Jacob Niemeier, a water resources engineer currently living Murphy, Texas a suburb of Dallas. During a foreign mission trip in 2011 with a team of students from St. Thomas Aquinas’ Catholic Newman Center at Purdue University to Haiti a year after its devastating 2010 earthquake opened his eyes to the world’s biggest problems such as poverty, the food crisis, and the global water crisis.This trip combined with his studies at Purdue in Agricultural and Biological Engineering with a focus on water resources, ultimately inspired Jacob to respond to a calling from God to eventually start Vera Aqua Vera Vita.
Jacob says one story sticks with him every time he thinks back to his trip to Haiti:
“I was overwhelmed by the severity of poverty. There was a woman that walked from her tent carrying a bucket to the canal that was flowing through the city and filled up her bucket with water that looked like chocolate milk. The canal had animals defecating and walking around it, was visibly full of trash and litter, and had people washing their clothes and dumping their waste into it.”
He said he knew the woman was going to use the water for her family, and it was very likely going to make them sick if not kill them.
This personal and firsthand encounter with the reality of the problem was pivotal in leading him to eventually start Vera Aqua Vera Vita which means “True Water True Life” and answer the call to provide clean, safe water to people in need in developing countries.
After graduating from Purdue University in 2012, Jacob accepted a position as a water resources engineer consultant in Dallas, Texas, as an Engineer in Training (E.I.T). He continued to foster his call and network building to have a strong foundation to launch Vera Aqua Vera Vita. An opportunity arose in 2015 when friends of Jacob approached him about a community in the Piuran region of Peru in need of clean water. As Jacob recounts:
“A few members of the pueblo of Monte Castillo had approached my friends to ask if they could help them get clean water because their children and elderly were suffering and dying, and immediately my friends thought of seeking out me to help them because in our social circles that we would hang out in, I would very often be talking about wanting to work to combat the global water crisis.”
Together with his friends, the journey to finally start Vera Aqua Vera Vita had begun with an enormous amount of prayer & support and a pilot project to bring clean, safe water to 7000+ people in to the aforementioned community, Monte Castillo. To solidify his credentials, in 2016, Jacob earned his Professional Engineering (P.E.) license and finally, on June 13, 2017, Vera Aqua Vera Vita, Inc. was born as a nonprofit NGO and began its mission to bring “True Water True Life” to the less fortunate in developing countries.
The pilot project in Monte Castillo that served as the final bit of motivation needed to launch VAVV started back in May 2015 and eventually commenced operations on Aug. 3, 2019, when the constructed and tested Water Treatment Plant was commissioned and ever since it has provided consistent access to clean water to the entire community.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Jacob Niemeier grew up in North America’s heartland and from a very young age his Catholic Christian faith has been very important to him.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Science in Agriculture & Biological Engineering from Purdue University and continues to this day to uphold his Engineering license.
Jacob has a great passion for problem solving and adventure whether it is with water, the environment, travel, or people. While at Purdue, Jacob, also, recognized the needs and suffering of people in developing countries when he took mission trips to both Haiti and Africa which he credits as his inspiration for starting Vera Aqua Vera Vita.
After graduation in 2012 from Purdue, Jacob moved to Dallas, Texas, for a job with Stantec, Inc. working as a water resources public infrastructure consulting engineer. He is a Professional Engineer (P.E.) with over 10 years of design experience in both public and private projects focused on water, wastewater, and stormwater conveyance, distribution infrastructure design, and water & wastewater system modeling.
In June of 2017, Jacob officially founded Vera Aqua Vera Vita and since that time has taken the necessary steps to launch the organization, advance its mission, and grow its foundations. In May of 2019, Jacob took a leap of faith to go full-time Vera Aqua Vera Vita to pour more time and energy into the mission.
In his free time, as a Catholic family man likes to spend time with his wife, Fernanda Niemeier & their growing family, keep up with superhero TV shows and movies, fish, hunt, hike, camp, play basketball, play board games, and basically play any type of sport or compete in just about anything. He is, also, very passionate about craft beer and in his own words: “Beer = 95% Water | Water = Life | Beer = 95% Life!?!”
At his core… Jacob is a visionary. He is a big-picture guy. He is a problem-solver. He is a change-maker. He is a facilitator. He is missionary service oriented. He is fun-loving. He is people-loving. He is a faithful, passionate Catholic. And ultimately, he strives daily to live his life aligned with this quote: “If everyone was who God created them to be then we would set the world ablaze!” – St. Catherine of Siena
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Honestly, I believe, my whole journey to found and continue to grow the nonprofit NGO, Vera Aqua Vera Vita (VAVV), is a story of resilience. From day one I took a leap of faith leaving a comfortable well-paying job to start VAVV where I had no idea what the future would like nor what challenges I would face along the way. However, despite many challenges and obstacles along the way, I can confidently say that if it were not for my perseverance and more critically my resilience during moments of setback and unexpected happenings that VAVV would not be growing and thriving like it is today. One of the greatest resiliency testing challenges that I have faced along my journey was taking the idea that I had in my head for an organization and bringing it to reality. Along the way, we have faced many setbacks. One of which were some unexpected delays in getting our IRS 501(c)3 status. Additionally, efforts to establish our identity and brand have proven challenging because of our desire to truly differentiate ourselves from other similar organizations. We have had to adapt along the way and certainly fine-tune organizational identity to reflect the ever-changing landscape of the Global Water Crisis. Above and beyond all of the aforementioned challenges, the greatest test of resiliency has been one that I have personally faced in having an income that is considerably less than what I was making while working in corporate America. This very fact has at multiple times made me question if I should continue this journey with Vera Aqua Vera Vita, but every time I have had doubts, I have been affirmed abundantly that this is exactly what I am called to do, and these affirmations have come in the form of incredible growth of the VAVV mission. Now, the future is brighter than ever!
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
When leading from a position of “superiority” as opposed to a position of a “servant” the perception of those you lead is that you are just another “boss” or “controlling leader.” Servant Leadership is true leadership because when you get down in the “trenches” so to speak, “walk the walk,” and put others before yourself then you earn the right to “talk the talk!” As Pope Paul VI put it in 1975, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
This fundamental truth rings abundantly true in my life where my whole career is dedicated towards a mission of service. Quite frankly, leading from a position of service and authentic concern for those I serve and those I lead has led to abundant fruits of our collective team efforts! I only hope my witness of humble service and servant leadership can inspire others to servants in their own little ways. Finally, I will close with this, one of my greatest hopes is to inspire others to chase their dreams and not be afraid to take a leap of faith into the unknown because it is when we stretch ourselves we discover what our true potential is and the fullness of the gifts, talents, and skills we possess that are meant to be used in services of others!
You know what, when the managing and leading a team is not about me but instead it is about others then naturally a spirit of service and selflessness permeates the team and raises morale because everyone recognizes that we are all in this together to make the world a better place! 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://veraaquaveravita.org/
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/veraaquaveravita
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veraaquaveravita/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vera-aqua-vera-vita/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/VerAquaVeraVita
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWxgGXMoVAc3GnAfWqIPWRw?sub_confirmation=1