A family fleeing the devastation that is Syria will get a chance to make a life in Canada thanks to Colintonís St. Andrew Anglican/Zion Lutheran Church.
ìThis little book that my kids have reminded me why weíre here,î said Brian Hall, a member of the churchís refugee steering committee at Thursdayís community meeting. ìThereís a big forest fire and all the animals run away. They all spend their time talking to each other about why they canít fight the fire and all the while the hummingbird is carrying a mouthful of water and running back and forth trying to put out the fire.
ìAt some point, big bear asks the hummingbird, ëWhat are you doing?í And he says ëWell, Iím doing all I can.íî
To Hall ñ and around 20 others who were at the church on Thursday ñ doing all they can means helping at least one family and trying to make a difference in one familyís life.
ìWe would like to bring a family to Athabasca and just do our part to give a chance for a better life to people who have had it pretty rough over in Syria,î said committee chair Henrik Asfeldt in an interview.
Although there are several ways to sponsor a refugee ñ the promised 25,000 refugees brought through the government is one way ñ the church decided to go with a private sponsorship through the Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) group). This means supporting the family for a full year or until they are self-sufficient.
ìIt means that weíll be assisting the family in a wide range of ways when they arrive here,î he continued. ì(Weíll be helping with) anything from filling out government forms, like applying for a social insurance numbers or helping them with setting up bank accounts (to) finding accommodations.î
According to Hall, the steering committee has estimated it will cost around $35,000. That said, the entire amount of money doesnít have to be given upfront.
ìWe have to demonstrate to CLWR that we have the ability to bring this project to its completion,î said Asfelt. ìCertainly, we need the startup costs and thereís a settlement plan that we have to provide them with that demonstrates that we have the ability to follow through on this.î
ìWe donít need all the money up front, but we do need a good portion of it.î
The community members spent a good portion of the meeting speaking about how they can fundraise the money. No decisions were made quite yet, but Hall did lay down some ground rules.
ìOne of the keys on the fundraising front is as we progress, itís important to make sure that we get all the fundraising events approved through the committee,î he said. ì(We have) to make sure the things happening are appropriate to be associated with this group.î
Although the group can start fundraising now, theyíre still in the initial phases of the process ñ theyíve decided to sponsor a family and theyíve told the CLWR what type of family would fit best in the Athabasca community.
ìThen they forward profiles of potential refugees to the various sponsorship agreement holders,î said Asfelt. ìAnd then, they will select ones who would suitable for settling in Athabasca to us and weíll select from those profiles that we receive.î
Itís unclear as to when this process will start, but once it does, Asfelt says, itíll be fast.
ìBecause of the great interest in refugees right now, the process is taking a little long than usual to identify a family,î he said. ìBut as soon as that happens, it should be fairly quick. I donít know if I can give any timeframe.î
The group is currently looking for help with both funds and in other areas ñ like helping the family find clothing and employment when they arrive.
ìThereís a lot of interest in the community. Iíve heard a lot of people say ëWeíd like to help, but we canít take on a refugee on our own. We want to work with someone,íî he said. ì(But) people in the community may have their own idea what their expertise is and how they can help. So, if they come forward with ideas, weíre more than happy to have that input.î
Anyone who wants to participate is asked to contact Asfelt at [email protected] or 780-213-1011.
