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Oakville team seeks volunteers to help in Uganda By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF An Oakville couple is looking for a dozen volunteers willing to get their hands dirty to help impoverished families in Uganda. Paul and Debbie Dinner will be travelling to the Ugandan town of Jinja where, from Feb. 1-15, they, and hopefully 10-12 volunteers, will carry out relief and development projects for the Canadian charity Give International. The retired couple first volunteered in Jinja in 2008, but soon realized more could be accomplished with additional people. "We're not there as observers, we are definitely there to do stuff," said Paul. "Whether it's painting, breakfast feedings, distributing family kits, putting together beds at an orphanage, there are some big projects that need to be done." Paul and Debbie succeeded in finding these volunteers for two previous trips in 2011 and 2012 with the help of Oakville's Saint Matthew Parish, which posted bulletins and held fundraisers to help make the excursions possible. Each volunteer must be willing to contribute $4,500 to Give International to participate. The tax-deductible fee will cover the costs of the volunteer's flight, accommodation, food and other necessities during their experience in Uganda. A portion of this money will also be used to 3 · Wednesday, September 12, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com SUBMITTED PHOTO / @halton_photog team effort: Oakville's Paul and Debbie Dinner and a group of volunteers transformed an empty, boarded-up garage into an occupational therapy room to treat disabled children. They painted and drew animals on the walls, hung mobiles and laid down linoleum on the concrete floor to create a better atmosphere for the children and their occupational therapist. pay for supplies needed for the relief projects. Between the Saint Matthew fundraiser and the fees paid by the volunteers, Debbie said the group expects to have $6,000-$7,000 at its disposal for its work in Jinja. While this may not seem like a huge amount of money, it goes a long way, said Debbie. "As far a supplies go, we will buy them there (in Uganda) because they are a lot cheaper," she said. "Plus, it helps the local economy." Another reason supplies are purchased in Uganda, said Paul, is because it is important to talk to the locals in Jinja to find out where the need is and what has to be done. Simply purchasing supplies in Oakville for a project that is not needed, is not the way to go, Paul explained. The group operates near Jinja because Give International has vetted the organizations there and routinely checks to make sure donated items are not sold or otherwise misused after Paul and Debbie's group has departed. During the trip, the group engages in a wide variety of activities. One project saw the volunteer group renovate an orphanage by purchasing and installing new mosquito netting and restoring numerous dilapidated bunk beds. At another orphanage, the group used $130 to purchase enough non-perishable food to feed the building's 28 inhabitants for a month and enough vegetables and fruit to feed them for a week. Last year, the group used $1,000 to hire two doctors, a pharmacist, a lab technician and purchase supplies so they could set up a clinic to test area residents for HIV/AIDS and malaria. The Oakville volunteers assisted in the running of the clinic, which tested 350 people, one of whom tested positive for HIV and two for malaria. "Malaria, in particular, is a real debilitator," said Debbie. "You can die from it, but you can also be very disfigured by it, if it is not caught. It doesn't sound like a lot -- one HIV case and two malaria cases -- but that could have been three dead people." See Help page 7 on 30 Years of Service! Congratulations Helping You Make Smart Decisions About Your Money Voted Number 1 Financial Planner 7 Years Margaret Briggs Ginny Millar Anita Nowakowska-Neu PLASP Child Care Services would like to congratulate Margaret Briggs, Ginny Millar and Anita Nowakowska-Neu for their 30 years of service to PLASP. Margaret began her carrier with PLASP working in before and after school programs. She came into the office 23 years ago and is currently the Secretary to the CEO. Ginny has worked in various roles at the PLASP head office and today is the Director of Strategic Planning. Anita works directly with the children, and is currently the Program Director at the PLASP Early Learning and Child Care Centre at Pauline Vanier C.S. PLASP is a not-for-profit, award winning provider of high quality early learning and child care programs in Peel and Toronto. PLASP operates 200 school age locations, 50 with programs for children in Full Day Kindergarten and 20 Early Learning and Child Care Centres. PLASP provides care to more than 9,000 children from 7,300 families annually. For more information visit www.plasp.com or call 905-890-1711. Peter Watson MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI Since 1991 220 Randall Street · Downtown Oakville Phone: 905.842.2100 www.peterwatsoninvestments.com