KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For the fourth time, Air Mobile Ministries will be heading into a warzone to drop off supplies that people in the region need.
The founder of the nonprofit, Joe Hurston, said that they will be taking cases of portable water purifiers so people can drink safe, clean water in Ukraine as the invasion by Russia continues around them.
They will be carrying ten purifiers in total. Each one can give 1,000 people safe drinking water every day, regardless of where it comes from. The trip will result in 40 total purifiers being brought into the country since the war started.
"And I think they're beginning to make a difference," said Hurston. "A lot of people are being cut off, water supplies are being damaged and destroyed."
He said they are going to fly there on a Police airline, and in the country, he saw people welcome Ukrainian refugees. Five of the purification systems were also funded by rotary clubs in East Tennessee. One system costs $3,000 to build.
Every component is replaceable, Hurston said. There are machines in 49 countries across the world, he said.
"We have a machine that is as close to a miracle as you can get. It's small, it's portable, it's powerful," he said. It can bring water where people desperately need it."
Along with making trips to Ukraine, Air Mobile Ministries has also traveled to Haiti after a devastating earthquake to deliver water purifiers. He said purification
"As long as God has given me the help and the strength to move on, I'm just going to keep doing it. We're going to keep building these machines," said Hurston.