EDEN MILLS – Resilience, generosity and playfulness were among the themes of Dr. Nour Khatib’s recent presentation about her work in Gazan hospitals last year.

“I felt the love of the people around me,” she said of her time in Palestine.

About 50 people were at the Eden Mills Community Hall on May 12 to hear Khatib share her experience.

Khatib has lived in Canada since she was 16 but  was born a Palestinian refugee. She was never able to visit her homeland before her humanitarian trip in 2024.

Before entering Palestine Khatib collected donations – she’d heard that she and the 11 others she travelled with would be allowed 100 bags between them, so she worked to fill huge duffel bags with supplies such as medicine, food, water, medical equipment, diapers and formula. 

“Mothers are knocking on hospital doors asking for formula,” Khatib said. “They are so malnourished that they can’t produce breast milk.” 

A pharmacist in Egypt sold Khatib many of the supplies at a discounted rate as she prepared to enter Palestine through the Rafah border crossing. 

When the day came to cross the border, Khatib and her colleagues were told they could bring 80 bags – not 100, so they had to make a last minute decision about what to leave behind. “How do you chose what bag is more important – hepatitis C tests or amoxicillin?” 

That was only the beginning of the hard choices Khatib would be faced with as a doctor working in Palestine. 

When she entered Gaza with a van loaded with supplies, she knew she’d already done something to impact the locals’ lives. 

Rafah’s population had recently grown from 300,000 to 1.5 million due to the number of displaced people and there was a significant shortage of resources.

But this shortage didn’t stop people from sharing the little they had, Khatib said: “We got invited to dinner left right and centre.” If a family had just two potatoes and an onion, they’d offer to share their meal, she said. 

A young boy was looking for drinkable water and when Khatib offered him a bottle, he asked how many she had. When she said just the one, he tried to insist she keep it for herself, she said. 

“The generosity, the kindness, it’s  not anything I had ever experienced.”

Khatib described the constant sound of drones overhead (sometimes just a couple metres above her), makeshift tent cities, cemeteries, demolished buildings, and smoke billowing from where bombs had recently dropped.

The apartment building she stayed in during her trip is now among those demolished buildings, she noted.  

“All night, you feel the building shaking and you hear the bombs,” she said. “It was just happening nonstop – and this was in an area that was supposed to be safe.”  

Khatib spent most of her time working in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Al Helal Al Emirati Maternity Hospital.  That hospital, along with three of the other four she worked at, is no longer standing.  

In the NICU Khatib witnessed “resilience on another level” from the doctors, nurses, medical students and other Palestinians working there. 

Most work for free, she noted, as the hospitals don’t have money to pay them. 

She described how one med student showed up to her shift the night after her home had been bombed – a bombing that killed her cousins and uncle. Khatib saw many Palestinians make similar choices – to keep working in the face of acute tragedy.

One student pushed back against the word resilient, noting “we didn’t choose this.” 

But they did choose to get up every day and keep caring for their community, Khatib said. 

A big part of Khatib’s role was to relieve local healthcare workers who were beyond burnt out – some working shifts more than 30 hours long, without needed resources.

Khatib described incubators meant for one baby filled with four or five, doctors making diagnoses from only the simplest of blood tests and giving babies stitches without anesthesia or freezing. 

The maternity hospital’s occupancy rate had swelled from 80 per cent to 290%, and the  infant mortality rate from 2.5% to 12%.

Khatib also worked at Yousef al-Najjar Hospital, where she saw skull fractures, shrapnel injuries and a bullet in an 8-year-old’s head.

But she also treated a child who broke his arm playing soccer, because even in a war zone, “kids will be kids.” 

Khatib described children performing a song for the international doctors, noting, “They made us feel welcome. They wanted to show us how beautiful their country is.” 

She laughed about one kid who she couldn’t get to stop sticking his tongue out in every photo.

She played soccer with them while two armed drones circled low over their game. The drones made Khatib nervous but the children said “we have to still play.” 

When they heard bombs dropping nearby, the children said “don’t worry, the fact that you heard it means you’re alive!” 

When they weren’t playing the kids sometimes drew math problems in the sand, as they couldn’t go to school.

There’s a group called Camp Breakers, led by two teenagers who entertain kids and teach them breakdancing. When the volume of nearby bombing increased, the teens would turn up the tunes to drown it out and distract the kids. 

Khatib shared a story of a colleague telling some Gazan children that Khatib is “Palestinian, just like us.” 

She felt honoured that he said that, but she doesn’t see herself as like the Palestinians in Gaza, claiming she doesn’t have their resilience or bravery. 

On Khatib’s last day in Palestine, she was driving with some colleagues when they heard yelling and saw a crowd on a beach. They found a 12-year-old boy who had drowned in the ocean. 

Khatib and her colleagues spent 25 minutes trying to resuscitate the boy, but he did not make it. If there were paramedics on scene sooner, Khatib is confident “he could have survived.” 

People had tried to get help but Gaza’s “healthcare system is completely crumbled. There is no way to call an ambulance.” 

They couldn’t find the boy’s family, so decided to bring him to the nearest medical clinic, driving with his head in Khatib’s lap and his body across her colleague’s lap.

“This is as a result of no healthcare system, no help, Khatib said. “How are kids supposed to live their life?”

The event was organized by Rockwood family physician Dr. Rabia Khan, a member of Guelph 4 Palestine. 

It’s a grassroots group including healthcare providers, parents, teachers and community members working to educate people about what is happening in Palestine. 

According to a report published by the IPC, or Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, on April 12, Gaza’s entire population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity and half a million people there (one in five) are facing starvation. 

Guelph 4 Palestine is connected with families living in Gaza, and event attendees were encouraged to make donations to the group that are transferred to these families for them to buy food. 

Donations can be sent to guelph4palestine@gmail.com. 

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MINTO – The province will provide $48,800 in funding to the Town of Minto for a standby generator at the Palmerston and District Community Centre. 

The grant will also cover installation as well as a transfer switch and concrete pad. 

“This provincial funding helps ensure our communities are safe and prepared for any situation,” stated Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae in a May 13 press release. 

“Whether it be once-in-a-decade snowfall like we had this winter, flooding, or any number of unforeseen disasters, we know that we have measures in place to protect our communities.” 

The funding comes from the Community Emergency Preparedness Grant (CEPG), which strengthens emergency preparedness by funding local emergency management training, purchasing critical equipment, and improving infrastructure to make communities more resilient, officials say. 

“A safe and prepared Ontario comes when communities and organizations have the resources they need to respond efficiently and effectively in times of crisis,” stated Jill Dunlop,  minister of emergency preparedness and response. 

“I saw first-hand, during the recent ice storms, how our community and the entire province is stronger when we have the capacity to come together to support each other and respond quickly when disaster strikes.”  

This year, 114 recipients are receiving funding through the 2024-25 CEPG to help purchase equipment and deliver emergency management training.  

In addition to the CEPG, the Ontario government recently announced it is building a new Ontario Emergency Preparedness and Response Headquarters that will support public safety and disaster response measures, including Ontario Corps.

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WELLINGTON COUNTY – Raising awareness and advocating is at the forefront of the Alzheimer Society of Canada’s mission, as a dementia care crisis grows at a rapid rate, with little help to support patients and care workers alike. 

The Landmark Study, recently released by the society, shares data which was modelled to forecast the nation’s future with dementia. 

“What we are starting to see, and it’s happening quite quickly, is the prevalence or the number of people living with dementia now is increasing at an alarming rate,” stated Michelle Martin, chief executive officer of the Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wellington (ASWW).

According to the study, nearly one in five Canadians aged 65 and older is living with some form of dementia. 

“That number is projected to rise dramatically in the coming years, with an estimated 1.7 million people expected to be living with dementia by 2050,” the study states.

 In Waterloo Wellington, the situation “mirrors” the national trend, with more than 16,500 currently living with dementia. That number is expected to double in the next two decades.

The study highlighted the “growing numbers of dementia but it also focused on health equity,” Martin told the Advertiser.

“Living with dementia can be a very isolating experience and also the majority of people … require care partners or people to help support them in their care,” she said.

The average care partner provides 26 hours of unpaid personal care to support a person living with dementia at home. 

“What that does is put a real pressure need on our services because care partners are burnt out and completely overwhelmed,” Martin explained. 

“We see a demand for our counseling services increase exponentially, as well as our support groups.”

The study estimates that  across Canada more than 500,000 people are serving as unpaid caregivers to their loved ones. 

“The majority of our support, about 80 per cent, goes directly to supporting the care partners because what we find is the more resilient, the more educated and happy … a care partner is, the better they are able to care for their loved one at home.”

The increasing strain has led to negative impacts on mental, physical and financial well-being. 

“We just can’t keep up with the demand, the numbers are just staggering,” Martin said.

“We want to get the word out there so the health care system can pay attention, and put in some resources that support people living with dementia.”

As a way to battle the rising numbers, the Alzheimer Society has been advocating across Canada with educational groups, universities and colleges.

The goal is to encourage more dementia education in the school curriculum because “health care providers are coming out of school and they are just not prepared to be able to support someone with complex needs.”

Last year, the society created an ASO Advocacy College course designed to turn concerned staff, clients and the general public into effective advocates to help build a more dementia friendly Ontario.

Participants learn: 

• what advocacy is and why the society advocates;
• planning advocacy goals;
• navigating the political system through audience targeting and strategic advocacy communications;
• organizing effective meetings with decision-makers (MPPs); and
• being an assertive and resilient advocate.

“It’s about clear messaging and clear asks,” Martin stated. “Reach out to your local Alzheimer Society and get matched up with educators.” 

Another way to spread awareness is community events, and the society’s largest fundraiser is just around the corner. 

The 2025 IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s will take place on May 24 in four locations: Guelph, Mount Forest, Cambridge and Kitchener. 

“It’s really important because the society has to fundraise for 40% of its operating budget, that’s the shortfall between the government funding and the demand,” Martin  said. 

The national awareness event works by bringing together individuals, families and communities to support the 19,000 people living with dementia in the region, stated officials. 

Walk registration will begin at 12pm with the walk following at 1pm. 

“No amount is too small,” Martin said. 

Last year, the walk raised $135,000 and this year the goal is to reach $145,000. 

To register, donate or for more information, visit the society’s event page at alzheimerww.ca.

The post ‘We just can’t keep up with the demand’: study shows number of people with dementia to double by 2050 appeared first on Wellington Advertiser.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – Following the successful installation of Rockmosa Park’s main playground in 2023, the township is now planning an expansion for a new “tot lot.”

The current park playground is rated for ages five to 12 and is situated next to the splash pad and a covered pavilion. 

“The new tot lot will be integrated into the design of the existing playground,” township community programs manager Melissa Biffis told the county’s joint accessibility advisory committee on May 1. 

Biffis explained the proposed expansion will extend behind the existing park and will involve some modifications to the land. 

“The proposed tot lot will feature a standalone play structure, an interactive activity fence, spring toy, swing sets and poured-in-place rubber ground,” she said. 

The play structure will be rated ages two to five and include seven play activities, which will encompass two slides, one rope climber, one log slice climber and a transfer station with safety rails. Ground-level activities include a bongo and beat blocks panels. 

Biffis noted the unit will have a roof for shade. 

“The interactive tot play wall and the standalone spring structure will be rated for 18 months to five years of age,” she said. 

The play wall includes 12 “sensory-rich” activities. 

The proposed site also includes a swing set for all ages, with two belt swings, one tot swing and an inclusive swing. 

“There is an existing pavilion that we intentionally built the space around so caregivers can have access to shade and have viewpoints to the new playground, existing playground, the splash pad and washrooms, creating safety for parents and caregivers,” Biffis explained.

The new section will be tailored to meet the developmental needs of toddlers and preschool-age children, including:

• rubberized ground surfacing;
• age-appropriate play structures;
• inclusive design; and
• safety features.

“Child-friendly, rubberized surface providing both safety and accessibility for those with mobility challenges,” states an April 23 township letter to the committee.

“This will ensure a more comfortable and secure environment for younger children to play.

“All equipment and layouts will meet or exceed the necessary safety standards, ensuring a secure and supportive environment for young children as they explore and play.”

Guelph/Eramosa staff requested funding assistance from the county for site preparations.

According to the letter, the funding will help cover the installation of a concrete walkway, concrete curbing for the ground surfacing and some modifications to grading to accommodate the rubberized surface. 

“This project cost is estimated to be $125,000 and will be funded through reserves,” township manager of parks and facilities Jeff Myer told the Advertiser. 

A more accurate total will be known once a tender has been awarded. 

“The township will be applying to Wellington County’s Accessibility Incentive Fund. The key focus of the project is to enhance inclusivity and accessibility features, with the rubberized surface being the most significant improvement,” he said. 

Myer noted the construction start date is Sept. 2 which “allows the splash pad, playground and trail to remain open throughout the summer months.” 

During construction, a portion of the trail and the existing playground will be closed for public safety. 

“The goal is to complete the project by the end of October,” he said. 

“However, this timeline is weather-dependent, as some phases of construction require dry and warm conditions.” 

Township staff asked for the county committee’s feedback and support as it moves forward with the project. 

The report will be presented to county council on May 29 for a decision.

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CENTRE WELLINGTON – The Elora and Fergus Downtown Shuttle Program is back for 2025, now offering a Friday service along with the regular Saturday, Sunday, and statutory holiday service as in previous years. 

Helping to alleviate parking constraints in the downtown areas of Elora and Fergus, the shuttle will allow visitors and residents to park outside of these locations and be transported – free of charge – to key areas of the township. 

This year’s shuttle bus will run May 16 to Sept. 14.

Similar to previous years, a tourism ambassador will be on board every single ride to provide support to visitors and residents while promoting festivals, events and local businesses. 

• Elora and Fergus free shuttle bus returns this weekend
• Here comes the bus

“We hope to create another memorable summer for those who use the shuttle with the goal in mind of improving local mobility, enhancing tourism, promoting sustainability, supporting local businesses, and fostering a sense of community,” states a township press release.

The shuttle bus will operate from 11am to 5pm, leaving the Grand River Raceway (7445 Wellington Road 21 in Elora) every hour on the hour, beginning at 11am, and the last trip will take place at 5pm. 

Every hour, the shuttle will leave the raceway and transport passengers to the following locations:

• MacDonald Square;
• Elora Centre for the Arts/Bissell Park;
• Wellington County Museum and Archives;
• Fergus Marketplace; and
• Fergus sportsplex.

Officials say the Downtown Shuttle Program is a collaborative effort and would not be possible without generous sponsors, including:

• Wrighthaven Homes;
• Wellington County;
• Elora BIA;
• Fergus BIA;
• Grand River Agricultural Society; and
• the Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce.

For more information visit centrewellington.ca/shuttle.

The post Downtown shuttle bus returns May 16 appeared first on Wellington Advertiser.

GUELPH – One person is dead after a two-vehicle crash on the Hanlon Expressway on Wednesday evening.

Emergency crews were called to the scene, between College Avenue and Stone Road, at about 6pm on May 14.

“One person suffered serious life-threatening injuries and was transported to local hospital by ambulance, where they were pronounced deceased,” stated a Wellington County OPP press release.

The Hanlon was closed for several hours in both directions between College and Stone Road.

Police did not immediately release any information about the deceased individual.

The post One person dead after two-vehicle crash in Guelph appeared first on Wellington Advertiser.