www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 6, 2016 | 6 Would the mothers be proud? May Day (May 1) brought with it new promise along with a host of special recognitions, not least of which is Mother's Day... Happy Mother's Day. The start of May also signalled First Responders' Day, and, this rst week of the month is also Mental Health Week and Youth Week in Oakville. All these impressive recognitions, the challenges each face and the obstacles already overcome, appear to coalesce into a single meaningful stream when reading our report on human traf cking (p. 8 of today's edition). Heartbreaking, horri c and heinous that it's taking place in Halton. Girls tricked, conned, brainwashed, tortured into the world of human traf cking. Their mothers would be heartbroken. These so-called human traf ckers -- pimps, lowlifes, losers who apparently can't work for their own living -- their mothers would be ashamed of them and their crimes. Even worse, the so-called `johns,' who apparently have enough money in Halton to pay for sexual services, as opposed to ability to look after this otherwise. Their mothers, or wives and mothers of their children, would be disgusted. Girls as young as 13 conned into being a sex worker. Girls who are afraid to leave. Girls, who apparently need their teeth xed, among other things, upon being rescued. Girls, some too broken to leave. Our rst responders, speci cally the Human Traf cking Unit of Halton Regional Police, deserve a lot of credit for dealing with this daily. They are, despite the raw nature of this work, helping people and they should be very proud. As we recognize Youth Week and Mental Health Week, and work in many ways to bring awareness to mental health issues and guide our youths in positive directions, we are being undermined, and very seriously so, by lowlifes preying on our youths and compromising their mental health with mindboggling garbage. If somehow, we, individually or collectively, have missed the mark on teaching young girls to have self-respect and con dence, it's time we stand up and get loud against those who would move in, to abuse the situation for their own pro t. Human traf ckers need to be shut down and locked up. The frontline people who have the power to do that is the victims. Please stand up, be loud and get out. There is help out there. Reach out to it. Granted that is a tough, tough road to travel, so it's up to all of us to help someone in need, to extend a hand offering help, in case it meets a receptive audience, and to open our eyes about what's going on in our community and ask if that's acceptable for our community. Would the mothers be proud? Editorial H A P P Y M O T H E R ' S D A Y "Connected to your Community" 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 54 | Number 37 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER KELLY MONTAGUE DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager LORI ANN GZOVDANOVIC Maggie Lopatowski and her daughter Olivia participate in ArtHouse as Peter Gilgan Family YMCA held Healthy Kids Day. | photo by Michael Ivanin - special to the Beaver Director of Production MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Oomama takes 10th anniversary in `stride' When Stephen Lewis spoke in Oakville more than 10 years ago, his words about the astonishing love and emotional resilience of African grandmothers caring for their grandchildren, orphaned by HIV/AIDS, tugged at heart strings and inspired action. Carole Holmes, founder of Oakville-based Oomama, recalls what led the group to come together in support of their counterparts in Africa. "When we heard about the African grandmothers, it just hit a chord with all of us," she said. "Most of us were grandmothers and the African grandmothers have so few resources. It was sort of a sister recognition and we said we had to do something." A decade later, Oomama, which means "our mothers" in Zulu, remains an unwavering force in Oakville, having raised My View Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Oomama's Wendy Merson, Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) Grandmothers Campaign Of cer Yasmin Mussa, Bronte Grandmothers for Africa Wendy Belcher, SLF Grandmothers Campaign Of cer Asmita Persaud, and Oomama Sandy Milakovic help kick off the Halton/Peel Virtual Stride/Walk for the SLF in January. | Oakville Beaver le photo Proud Official Media Sponsor For: $550,000 in the community to help grandmothers in Africa care for the young. The group continues to actively advocate on behalf of the grandmother caregivers in HIV/AIDS-ravaged Africa. Fundraising has been a key aspect of Oomama's work as support goes to grassroots projects involving grandmothers in 15 subSaharan countries, where the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) is engaged. "We've had tremendous support," said Kathy Mason, who, along with Holmes, was the groups inaugural co-chair. see Oomama on p.7 The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 or via email to ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. 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