iraq_water_62303

Posted: 6/20/03

Baptist volunteers help unload supplies used in water purification units for Iraqi hospitals. At right, Dick Talley of Dallas, logistics coordinator for Texas Baptist Men, talks with military personnel about the ongoing operation and maintenance of water purification units Baptist volunteers installed for five hospitals in Iraq.

Texan recounts journey to provide water for Iraq

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

Baptist volunteers entered war-torn Iraq in a U.S. military helicopter that sustained enemy fire, and they returned to Kuwait in a C-130 cargo plane bearing the remains of four Marines who were killed in action.

But the relief workers' mission was peaceful–showing Christian compassion by providing pure water for Iraqi hospitals.

Dick Talley, logistics coordinator for Texas Baptist Men, was among the 10 Southern Baptist volunteers who served on the humanitarian aid mission last month, installing five water purification units for hospitals.

Baptist volunteer Sam Porter (center) from Oklahoma accompanies Marines on a helicopter to a humanitarian relief mission in Iraq.

“We worked through an organization over there that was looking for groups like Texas Baptist Men that do food service, water purification and medical help,” he said. “We felt like the window of opportunity might be open just for a short time.”

Originally, the Baptists had planned to install water purification systems in remote rural villages of southern Iraq after the Saddam Hussein regime was removed from power. But after arriving in the area, they learned the greatest need was in the hospitals of Karbala and An Najaf, just south of Baghdad.

“The hospitals needed safe water. Children particularly, and adults too, were getting sick from parasites that the chlorine in the water wouldn't kill,” said Talley, a member of Lakeside Baptist Church in Dallas.

In addition to installing the water purification units, the Baptist volunteers also trained the military personnel and hospital engineers who would be responsible for their ongoing operation and maintenance.

The volunteers said that even before they entered Iraq, they experienced God's provisions for them.

While in Kuwait assembling the supplies they needed for their mission, they realized they lacked the necessary granulated charcoal filters. One member of the crew remembered that any bottling company should have them, so the volunteers kept their eyes open for a soft drink truck. They spotted one, followed it back to a warehouse, and talked with the supervisor in charge. He secured the supplies they needed from the local bottling plant at no cost to them.

Also while they were in Kuwait, the volunteers ate hamburgers at a fast-food restaurant where they received soft-sided thermal bags as a promotional giveaway. The insulated bags proved invaluable once the crew started work in the stifling heat of Iraq.

“The Lord provided them for us,” Talley said. “He knew even before we did what we needed.”

The Baptists felt God's provision and protection even more keenly as military helicopters transported them to their assigned workstations in Iraq. At one point, a helicopter passed through a hail of gunfire unscathed.

“We realized right then that the prayers of the people back home were being answered,” Talley said.

Military helicopters unload supplies to aid in Baptist water purification efforts in Iraq.

While the volunteers felt the prayers of Christians in the United States sustained them, that didn't mean the relief workers' job was easy. They assembled and installed five water purification units at hospitals, including two rooftop units. And before they could install the new units, they had to remove old water tanks filled with sediment.

“The radiant heat on the roof was 140 degrees, with no air movement. It was taking its toll on all of us,” Talley recalled, noting nearly all the workers suffered heat exhaustion to some degree.

The other great challenge the Baptist workers faced was sand. “We found out that after purifying about 450 gallons of water, we'd have to flush the filters on the units because there was so much sand,” Talley said. “Normally, we'd be able to go thousands of gallons before having to do that, but the fine sand clogged the filters.”

Sand also obstructed visibility as the workers traveled from one site to another in military Humvees.

“There was so much sand in the air, we'd lose visibility frequently, and the driver would have to drive by GPS,” global positioning systems, Talley said.

The Baptists bunked alongside military personnel, shared meals-ready-to-eat with them, and grew close to many of the armed services personnel serving in Iraq. When a helicopter crashed with four Marines on board, the Baptist relief workers shared the experience with the military personnel in a way few civilians ever can.

“We were honored to be the only passengers on the C-130 going back to Kuwait with the Marines whose bodies were recovered,” Talley said.

The volunteers left Iraq convinced they had “opened doors” for future humanitarian aid projects in Iraq and in conjunction with the military.

“The hospital administrators, the mayors of the cities and everyone we worked with appreciated the fact that we didn't come in with any agendas,” Talley said. “We didn't try to push anything on them. Our hearts' desire was strictly to help them, and they appreciated it.”