SNEEDVILLE, Tenn — Haitians are still recovering after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the southern peninsula of the country in August.
Joe Hurston, an East Tennessean, is helping the relief efforts by providing clean drinking to the town of Saint-Louis-du-Sud.
Hurston said the earthquake may have been a month ago but people are still suffering and in dire need of water.
“What water sources they had are destroyed,” Hurston said. “The earthquake breaks up all the waterlines so sewer then mixes with the clean water, and therein lies Typhoid and every other bad disease, like diarrhea.”
Hurston flew his personal aircraft from Sneedville to the southern tip of Florida and then landed in Port-au-Prince – the capital of Haiti.
On that plane, the Sneedville man carried a handful of water purifiers, equipped to provide drinking water to thousands in Saint-Louis-du-Sud.
“Our work is cut out for us, we need to get as many of these units in place as we possibly can,” Hurston said.
Hurston has been helping in Haiti for 43 years during times of civil unrest and Cholera outbreaks.
The missionary pilot said Haiti is in a tough spot after the earthquake, but the nation has some of the most resilient people in the world.
“A disaster will hit and they just get to work,” he said. “They don't wait for FEMA, they don't wait for any government help because it's not going to come. They just start picking up the pieces and trying to put their life back.”
The water purifiers have interchangeable parts and can provide water for decades after deployment, however, many of the units are unfunded.
If you would like to help an international effort to provide clean drinking water to insecure nations, you can make a donation at AirMobile.org.