Steve Nutzmann and his family spent the holidays pouring concrete for rural homes in Pignon, Haiti, as part of a volunteer group from United Christians International.

“Most of the floors are dirt, and the children and adults get parasites from the dirt floors,” said Nutzmann, who is apparatus products manager for Darley.  “UCI’s goal is to pour 100 concrete floors in 2010.”

The Nutzmanns brought with them 24 sets of dress shirts and ties to donate to local families, along with art supplies and candy. Nutzmann also asked his employers to donate a PuriFire water purification system to provide clean water to Pignon residents. The portable system runs off of a 12-volt car battery and purifies three gallons of water per minute. Little did he know that this donation eventually would be used 50 miles away to save lives in country’s capital city of Port-au-Prince.

Two days after the Nutzmann family left Haiti, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the country. According to the United Nations, the Jan. 12 quake left one third of the country’s 9 million people in need of food, water, shelter, medical assistance and other urgent aid.

Pignon suffered little damage from the quake, so UCI deployed the purification unit to Port-au-Prince for assistance to earthquake victims. UCI is planning to purchase two more portable water systems. The UCI group operates seven feeding stations for children.