[Canada's] Durham volunteers head to Cambodia for humanitarian mission

By Reka Szekely

Durhamregion.com, Canada

May 09, 2012 

Volunteers to build orphanage, distribute water filtration systems

Durham volunteers head to Cambodia for humanitarian mission. OSHAWA -- Ontario Volunteer Emergency Response Team members Matt Harper, left, and Simon Scaduto loaded up medical supplies at the Oshawa airport in anticipation of a mission to Cambodia. A dozen volunteers will build a dormitory for school children and deliver medical supplies and water filtration equipment during a two-week trip. The OVERT volunteers leave on May 9. May 3, 2012. Reka Szekely / Metroland

We can't change the world and we know that, but we can help a little bit at a time. Glen Turpin

OSHAWA -- A group of volunteers is packing up supplies and getting ready to head to Cambodia on a humanitarian mission. Members of the Ontario Volunteer Emergency Response Team (OVERT), which is based in Durham, will leave for a two-week mission on May 9.

Glen Turpin, a Durham police officer and Oshawa resident, is the team coordinator for the trip.
Mr. Turpin has been on several missions with OVERT, including trips to Haiti and closer to home at Attawapiskat during the recent crisis in northern Ontario.
"I'm expecting some fantastic people that are living in rough conditions and doing the best they can and basically we're going to be providing them with some technology that can help them out," said Mr. Turpin.
During the first part of their trip, the group will be constructing a dormitory for orphaned school children in Siem Reap.
"Right now the kids sleep in the schoolhouse at night and put their bunks away and then they do their schoolwork," said Mr. Turpin.
After that, the team will head to the Floating Villages on Tonle Sap Lake where they'll distribute and teach villagers to use water filtration systems as well as distributing water purification tablets.
The 13-member team heading to Cambodia includes people with law enforcement backgrounds, paramedics, nurses, engineers and construction professionals. Team members come from different parts of the GTA, including Durham.
All of the volunteers are taking vacation time to participate in the trip and the supplies are paid for through donations to OVERT and through equipment donations, such as the medical supplies donated by Toronto and Durham EMS.
Whitby's Sylvain Michaud will be participating in his first OVERT mission and said he's excited about the trip.
Mr. Michaud has construction experience and currently installs eavestroughs.
"My expectation is I'll learn about different cultures," he said of the trip.
Although the water purification systems will be shipped from Canada to Cambodia, the construction materials and tools will be bought in the Asian country.
"Whatever tools we have, we'll leave them over there for the people to use," said Mr. Michaud.
The water filtration systems are simple kits costing $60 each. They can be attached to buckets and they'll each filter about four million litres of water, enough to last a family for 17 years.
The aqua tablets can purify an additional five million litres of water.
Access to clean water is essential for good health and dirty water can cause diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
"We can't change the world and we know that, but we can help a little bit at a time," said Mr. Turpin.
To find out more about OVERT visit overt.ca