St. Andrew's/Zion Lutheran Church is seeking the assistance of the Athabasca United Church in order to bring 11 Syrian refugees to the region. The St.
St. Andrew's/Zion Lutheran Church is seeking the assistance of the Athabasca United Church in order to bring 11 Syrian refugees to the region.
The St. Andrew's/Zion church group, based out of Colinton, has been looking into sponsoring a refugee family since early January. In February, the group identified an extended family of 11 that were in need of a sponsorship.
As it is a much larger group than the church was able to sponsor alone, they spoke with the United Church and had decided to work together to bring the families to Athabasca.
ìWe were aware that the United Church was considering sponsorship, and we thought that it would be a good opportunity to work together, î said Henrik Asfeldt, chair of the church's refugee steering committee. ìLuckily, they felt the same way. î
Although they are now one step closer to bringing in a Syrian refugee family, the two groups are still unaware of the next steps. Asfledt says that there still are some ìbureaucratic hoops î that they need to jump through.
ìWe're a little unsure of what the time frame will be, but we think we'll have a better idea in April, î he said. ìRight now, what we're told seems to change from week to week. Whether it's sooner, whether its later - we're just going to focus on getting ready. î
Fundraising is currently the number one priority for the two groups. The St. Andrews/Zion Lutherans have already raised over $14,000.
ìIt's a very rough estimate at this point, but we're looking at about $35,000 from each group, î he said. ìSo, we're looking to raise roughly $70,000 from the entire group, but that can be reduced quite a bit if there are in-kind donations. î
With an uncertain welcome date, the two groups have to wait a bit to raise donations.
ìSome of the biggest things you have to get ready is finding housing for them, and it's difficult when you don't know the time frame, î he said. ìYou don't want to rent the place and find out that you're renting an empty building for the next two months.
ìThere's also other various supports that we have to do, such as getting them enrolled in health care any language training they may need - we don't know if they need that or not. We'll have to help them try and find employment, depending on what their skills are. Some things we can do in advance, but some things we won't really know until we meet them. î
UPDATE: An earlier version of this story stated the incorrect location of the United Church; it is the Athabasca United Church. The Advocate regrets the error.
