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A 4 - The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e sd a y F e b ru a ry 5, 2003 HaltonSearch.c^^n SAVE NOW! 2 5 % OFF Regular Price Limited Time Only! Paramedics on a mission in Cambodia By Melanie Cummings . S P E C IA L T O T H E B E A V E R SOLID CHERRY & SOLID MAPLE ip ttib i* IL L A G E O IS Dining Room s, Wall Units Bedrooms, Occasional Tables m s q )is s in t U iouslto 217 L akeshore Rd. E. (905) 8 4 4 - 3 5 3 0 50 Y E A R S IN D O W N T O W N O A K V IL L E w w w .sw issintenors.com Mon.-Thurs., 9:30-6, Fri., 9:30-9, Sat., 9:30-5 Call them the do-gooder dozen., tourists on a mission, or dedicated healthcare workers expanding their service area. Whatever the moniker, Oakville's Jasmine Jasavala is part of a small, but determined, band of paramedics and nurses who left for Cambodia Monday to train fellow professionals there, and unload a 20-foot shipping container they filled with medical supplies. Over the next month. Jasavala and her compadres from the Toronto Emergency Medical Services (EM S), as well as two nurses from Mount Sinai Hospital, will divvy up the contents of the donations in the cargo, and pass on their professional life-saving skills to emergency workers in the small towns of Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. Jasavala's co-worker Rahul Singh planted the idea in his co-workers' heads last April. He'd witnessed an accident while travelling in the Southeast Asian country and volun teered to help. It was an eye-opener to see what little equipment and training the Cambodian crew had on hand. "It was merely a truck with bandag es," Jasavala relayed. So `the team' which is now loosely organized and call themselves Global Medic, began hunting for donations and fundraising to pay for the $6,000 ship ping tab. X-ray machines, an X-ray box, hos pital beds, stretchers, mattresses, defib rillators, backboards, and straps are a few of the plentiful medical donations. There's enough to equip 60 ambu lances. It helps that Jasavala's husband Farshogar owns a warehouse and logis tics company called Logihedron, which oversees supply distribution to hospi tals. There are many more examples of how the whole endeavour has grown Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver Jasmine Jasavala (second from left) accepts a $705 donation from the staff of Sherwood Dental, who sold t-shirts for her Cambodian medical supply mission. through word of mouth and offers to help. Anna Johnson, who works at Sherwood Dental where Jasavala is a patient, also jumped in to help, selling Global Medic T-shirts on behalf of the team. Johnson and her co-workers raised $705 toward the effort. "It just goes to show you that there are fabulous people in the world all willing to help where help is needed." said Jasavala "and most of them live in Canada." The 48-year-old mother of two teenage daughters came to Canada from India when she was 18. She has worked as a paramedic with the Toronto EM S for 23 years. She doesn't really know what to expect in Cambodia: she's never been there. But her enthusiasm overrides her trepidation. She's hoping down the road to put together a disaster relief team of para medics who are able to fly out within hours, spend a few days helping and then head back home. The team's next mission may take them to Chennai. India, where Jasavala has contacts, and also in Bosnia, where a co-worker's police officer friend is providing his own charitable relief efforts. The group also received calls from a "friend of a friend" in Somalia and Zimbabwe who is also looking to the grassroots group for help. Jasavala has another friend, who is in the water purification business and has also asked her to look into the need for such services. He has a team of engi neers who are ready and willing to help if needed. "W e all have a job to do, to help people, and find a way to live in health and peace." All of the Global Medic volunteers are paying their own travel and accom modation expenses and using holiday entitlements from their respective work places. Anyone who would like to purchase one of the blue/gray Global Medic Tshirts, or baseball hats, should call 905829-1279, or log on to www.dmgf.org. They sell for $ 10 each. Lookforthese 5 0 thanniversary eventsinstore Join us for coffee and cake Help us celebrate 50 years of quality, value, service and trust at all Sears Retail and Sears Furniture & Appliances stores Sat., Feb. 8, at 1 p.m. While quantities last In-store demonstrations Fun, informative demonstrations this Saturday afternoon in the housewares and sporting goods departments of all Sears Retail stores i s t » ·> Other events vary by store. See store for details t