Dear Friends, March 21, 2024
As spring 2024 arrives, Erin Refugee Action (ERA) is working towards the sponsorship and resettlement of one more Syrian refugee family seeking a new beginning in Canada.
Since 2016, with the generous support of yourselves, our Erin community and our charitable partner, the All- Saints Anglican Church, we have successfully re-settled four refugee families from Syria and Afghanistan. We continue to follow the lives of these remarkable people and have seen how, with financial and practical support, they have achieved stability and a bright future in Canada. This year 8 of these 14 newcomers will become Canadian Citizens.
The sponsorship we are currently planning will reunite our second sponsored family, the Hizans, with their extended family, Souzan’s brother, sister-in-law, two young nieces and her mother. The family fled the brutal Syrian civil war 10 years ago to neighbouring Lebanon. Currently, Lebanon is facing a financial crisis and is pressuring refugees to return to their homelands. Fears of reprisals, persecution, sectarian violence and continuing conflict makes return impossible for most Syrian refugees. The Hizans are anxious to bring their family to Canada to rebuild their lives in safety and security. They are offering their family shared accommodation in their home when they arrive, daily assistance with learning English and support integrating into the new culture. With your help, we hope to make their dream of family reunification a reality.
In addition to personal support, a sponsorship entails the provision of the cost of food, rent, utilities, clothing, furniture, household goods and day-to-day living expenses for the first year in Canada. Immigration Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sets the financial requirement that sponsorship groups must meet.
In order to submit this sponsorship application ERA must initially raise $20,000 which will be held in trust for use by the family when they arrive in 18-24 months.
The deadline to submit a sponsorship application for 2024 is September 1. We must have the $20,000 secured by that time.
ERA has benefited from the generosity and personal commitment of so many people over the last eight years. We and the newcomer families are very grateful. Please consider donating again, or for the first time, to give one more young family the opportunity to make a new life in Canada. Your donations go directly to meet the needs of the sponsored family. All donations of $25 or more will receive a charitable tax receipt.
With Gratitude,
The ERA Fundraising Team
erinrefugeeaction.ca 