TYLER, Texas (KETK)– Texans on Mission recently learned that critical equipment needed to continue bringing clean water to South Sudan is stuck on a boat behind the Strait of Hormuz waterway, that is currently closed by Iran.
As the first full day of a summit in China comes to an end, the White House said Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to help broker a peace deal, with Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz should open immediately.
It is a goal that Texans on Mission, formerly known as Texas Baptist Men, hopes will come to fruition, because the supplies they need to continue their work around the world are stuck in the Strait.
For the past three years, the organization has helped provide clean water access in South Sudan and northern Uganda.
“They know their lives in that village will never be the same,” spokesperson for Texans on Mission, John Hall said.
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Volunteers overseas cannot access their shipment of cement, piping and a truck that will carry their equipment from village to village.
“The inability of these folks to get clean water is life-threatening. The contaminant in this water is literally making people sick and, in certain situations, is killing them,” Hall said.
Hall said Texans on Mission is the largest supplier of water access points in the region. They’ve built hundreds of wells for communities plagued by waterborne diseases. The organization urges that without the critical equipment, people’s lives are on the line.
“People are not getting the clean water that they really need. It is jeopardizing lives, it is making people are sick because they are drinking contaminated water,” Hall said.
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The organization is also dealing with rising costs for gas and much-needed tools.
“All of those costs are up 36%, fuel costs are up 50% on the nose, so all of that is just more expensive as well,” Hall said.
They are caught in the middle of political matters that are shutting down the ability to provide lifesaving water to these communities.
“If the shipping lines were open, we could provide that and provide it quickly,” Hall said.
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