The local refugee sponsorship committee will finally be welcoming the first member of their sponsored Syrian family at the Edmonton International Airport Nov. 2.
Henrik Asfeldt, committee member, said the sponsored family is a husband, wife, two young children and a young male relative. The relative will be arriving alone first this week, and Asfeldt said it is unclear when the rest of the family will arrive.
“It’s one of these things where we don’t know until we actually see them,” he said. “Every time we’re one step closer there’s a lot of celebration, so (the committee) is pretty excited about seeing him on Thursday, hopefully.”
Asfeldt added the young man had his interview with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada three months ago, and the rest of the family is having their interview Oct. 31.
“The delay between this guy’s interview and arrival was three months, so we don’t know if that means the rest will be three months,” he said. “Maybe less, maybe more.”
The sponsorship group involves members from the St. Andrews Anglican-Zion Lutheran Church and Athabasca United Church, along with members of the public. Talks of sponsoring refugees began as far back as Sept. 2015, and the committee’s first meeting was in January 2016.
Asfeldt said the committee has not rented out a place for the family yet, and the young man will stay in with a family involved in the committee until the rest of the Syrian family arrives.
“All along our approach has been we will wait to get permanent accommodation until they arrive,” he said, in case unforeseen circumstances delay the family further.
After the young man arrives, Asfeldt said they will give him a day or two to recover from his travels, then will determine his English level and employment background, in order to set him up for English classes if necessary, and look for a job.
“I anticipate 15 minutes after we meet him we’ll know 10 times as much as we do now,” he said.
As of now, the committee is not accepting material donations, such as furniture and household appliances, because the family’s living situation is unknown at this point. They are still accepting money donations, however, and the committee has pledged to support the family financially through their first year in Canada.
Those who wish to make a donation to the Syrian refugee sponsorship committee can contact LeRoy Overacker at 780-675- 3083.
