A message of thanks and hope.
Dear Friends,
It has been an extremely worrisome year for refugees around the world, however Erin Refugee Action would like to share some good news.
As you know, since 2017 we, as a community, have settled 14 refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. The most recent newcomer, Abood, completed his year of sponsorship in July and is working as a baker at Grainharvest Breadhouse in Kitchener. We continue to offer him advice and encouragement and wish this wonderful guy every success as he builds his new life in Canada.
In addition, of the 14 refugees we have sponsored, 6 became Canadian citizens this year, Khawla, Raneem, Tasneem, Safi, Zahra & Gholam. This involves demonstrating proficiency in English and passing a written knowledge test. Five more people have also applied. Congratulations to all.
Over the course of the year ERA has sought to broaden our community’s understanding of the world-wide refugee crisis and refugee resettlement in Canada. We have been making presentations to local groups in town. If your group would be interested in booking a presentation please contact us at erinrefugeeaction@gmail.com. We also have an informative FAQ page on our website.
In October ERA and All Saints Anglican Church hosted a community dinner featuring an authentic Syrian meal prepared by Souzan and her daughter Asmaa with support from our volunteers. Souzan and her family were sponsored in 2019. She is a fabulous cook and having introduced us to Syrian cuisine, she will be offering another dinner in the spring.You can find the most requested recipe from the dinner on our Events Page.
In September we successfully submitted an application to sponsor a Syrian family with two young daughters plus their grandmother who lives with them. The family fled the Syrian civil war for Lebanon 10 years ago and are now trapped in a war zone in Beirut, waiting for a chance at a new life in Canada. The recently announced ceasefire offers hope for greater safety.
Their applications have been approved by officials in Ottawa and now go Lebanon for further scrutiny. If approved, travel documents and exit visas will be issued. This step can take 18 to 24 months. We have written to our MP Michael Chong and government ministers to speed up the processing time in light of the danger that people now face. Thank you to all those who also wrote letters, at our request. We have been told that more resources are being directed to process applications in war zones. To date, we have seen some evidence of that so we are hopeful that processing is being expedited.
As a result of the wonderful generosity of the ERA community of individuals, churches, foundations and local service clubs we raised $27,500 to sponsor this family in just 10 months. This surpassed our initial $20,000 goal.
We must now raise the final $18,000 by July 2025 to keep the application in good standing with the federal government. These funds are held in trust until the family arrives and ensures that we can cover the cost of housing, food, clothing and other essentials for their first year in Canada.
We hope that you will join the fundraising effort to bring this young family to safety and a better life. Any amount is greatly appreciated. If you are a returning supporter and can continue to contribute, we could get closer to achieving our fundraising goal by year end. If you are contributing for the first time, we appreciate you adding us to your charitable giving. To everyone donating we are so very grateful.
We wish all of you the gifts of hope and peace at this time of year, gifts we can offer to refugees through our work together.
Sincerely,
Bertha, Cathy, Deney and Sue
ERA Steering Committee
erinrefugeeaction.ca 