The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OTMH care package en route to Guatemalans in need by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 13 | Thursday, February 25, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Even though the old Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) will be decommissioned next month, it is still helping people in need. A variety of equipment from the Reynolds Street facility has been donated to the locallybased Canadian Central American Relief Effort (CCAMRE) -- a non-governmental organization run by volunteers, founded in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch's destruction in Central America. The organization is storing the donated equipment in a warehouse until June and then will ship it in a container, along with dental supplies, to Guatemala. The items, which include beds, stretchers, chairs, IV poles, wheelchairs, shelves and stepstools, will be sent to Zacapa's general hospital, while the medical stockpile will go to La Union. "The need in Guatemala is so huge. It needs everything. I said to myself, `I wish I could take everything from here (old OTMH) and take it down there,'" said Hilda Rossi, CCAMRE president and founder. "To us, the equipment may be garbage, but for them, they're priceless items." The idea to acquire the items surfaced after Rossi's son, who works at OTMH, purchased a desk from the old hospital recently. Oakville resident and founder of Canadian Central American Relief Effort (CCAMRE) Hilda Rossi oversees transportation logistics as equipment, donated from the legacy Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital on Reynolds Street, is moved by volunteers to be stored at a warehouse until it is shipped to Guatemala to assist CCAMRE with its relief efforts in mountainous communities where people live in extreme poverty. | photo by Nikki Wesley ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) When the CCAMRE founder -- herself an OTMH employee for 15 years -- picked it up, her heart "really sunk" when she saw the unused equipment and empty rooms, she said. A staff member suggested Rossi could take some items as a donation. "I was so full of emotion when I saw that because I spent quite a few years there. It was very sad for me to see all of that," said Rossi. CCAMRE delivers health and dental care supplies to Guatemala every year, Rossi said, noting she will be going to there on March 23 and will stay for about a month. "This is truly a humanitarian organization because we are targeting the children, we are targeting the seniors, we are targeting the students and we are targeting the families," said Rossi. "We all pay our way to go down there. The organization doesn't pay a penny for the humanitarian mission. We are all volunteers." She said nearly all people in La Union have vision and respiratory problems because they cook with open flames and have unhealthy living spaces. "Right now, the (residents) are building stoves, not us. We are supplying the materials. We sent six natives to learn how to build a stove. We are paying them and the owners of the stoves have to work with and learn them," said Rossi. "These people have malnutrition, the environment is very bad and the living conditions are very bad. Sometimes it is very difficult for them to donate time, so we are teaching them, `I will help you and you will help me.'" see Treasures on p.14 10%OFF All you can EAT Buffet (Lunch or Dinner Tues - Fri) staurant Sweets & Re at E n a C u o Y ll A ian r a t e g e V % 0 10 FFET U B a Weekday s o m Sa SPECIAL LUNCH $1099 Won't Be Beat If you find a cheaper price, simply show us and we will match.* 2/ 1 $ DINNER 11 $ From 11am-3pm 99 From 5pm-9pm the 88sSALe 88 750 mL 2345 Trafalgar Road · 905-257-0808 NEW! UNfiNishEd italiaN madE fUrNitUrE. Since 1967 JUNIOR (3YR - 11YR) $8.99 KIDS (2YR & Under) $ Free ¢ WOW! LEAN GROUND BEEF AND PORK 60% beef, 40% pork NEILSON CHOCOLATE MILK upholstery & design diNiNg room tablEs, Chairs, barstools, bENChEs & morE! Choose your stain & fabric! 1000's of designer fabrics to choose. CUstom fiNishiNg! BLACK DIAMOND CHEESE SLICES 450 g selected varieties 1 88 188 selected varieties WONDER BREAD 675 g or HOT DOG OR HAMBURGER BUNS 8's OR WESTON KAISERS 12's SAVE 2.24 lb 2 75 lb 6.06/kg Flyer prices effective from Friday, February 26 to Thursday, March 3, 2016 in Ontario stores only. Check your local store for hours of operation. WON'T BE BEAT® program restricted to major supermarket competitors within these stores geographical trade area. Other conditions and restrictions apply, please see our distributed flyer or in store for details. We reserve the right to limit quantities. While quantities last. No rainchecks. We reserve the right to correct any unintentional error that may occur in copy or illustration. ®/TM Trademarks of Loblaws Inc. and others. All rights reserved, used with permission ©2016 Loblaws Inc. Michael's NoFrills Van Spall's NoFrills 125 Cross 1395 Abbeywood Avenue Drive 11-2345 Wyecroft Rd, Oakville · 905.616.3156 · www.baiers.ca OAkVille