Halfway there, sort of.
The Barrhead Community Refugee Committee (BCRC) is closing in on the half-way mark of one of its goals — raising just over $100,000.
As of their Jan. 21 meeting, the group was about $100 short of having $50,000 in their account.
The money will be used to help reunite an African woman, Wegahta Aman, who now lives in Barrhead, with her family of six siblings.
Wegahta’s father has been a refugee since September 1987 when he fled Sudan to escape the Eritrean’s People’s Liberation Front who were at war with Ethiopia.
He met and married his wife in 1991, and they have lived an unstable life for the past 32 years. They are unable to obtain Sudanese citizenship and face many challenges as a Christian family in a predominantly Muslim country, facing constant threats, rejection and bullying.
In 2014, Wegahta came to Canada after being sponsored by her husband, Mussie, who came to the Barrhead area about ten years ago through the help of the Neerlandia Refugee Committee.
BCRC committee chair Rita Lyster noted the reason why the committee needs such a large amount of funds set aside for Aman’s family is because World Renew requires them to have $7,500 a month to sustain them.
World Renew is a Non-governmental organization (NGO) is an official Sponsorship Agreement Holder with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. As such, they can partner with individuals, churches and other organizations to facilitate the process of sponsoring refugees to come to Canada.
“Just in terms of monthly allowances, we are good for five months, when we take off the startup funds,” she said.
BCRC committee member Leslie Penny said that while the amount might seem extreme, as expenses in Barrhead are considerably less than major urban centres such as Toronto, they have to “play the game” if they want to bring Wegahta’s family to Canada.
Lyster agreed, noting the amount seems a little more manageable if it is broken down into chunks. She said she envisions groups or individuals taking on small portions of the total cost, as sponsoring a month for one individual.
The committee is currently in the process of putting together a presentation so that it can canvas churches, service clubs and other groups who might want to help out.
Another BCRC member also suggested they try to get the business community involved through organizations such as the Barrhead and District Chamber of Commerce and the Barrhead Main Street Merchants.
Fellow BCRC member Alie Hijlkema reminded everyone that they don’t necessarily need the entire $100,000 at once — 80 per cent is required at the time of their interview with Canadian immigration officials.
The problem is they don’t have any idea when the interview process will begin.
BCRC member Aurelia Spronk also mentioned that the entire amount does not have to be in cash, noting some of the startup funds can be in-kind donations like furniture, accommodations and the like.
However, as daunting as the monetary amount is, Spronk said the real challenge and work begins once the family arrives in Barrhead.
“Helping the family get acclimatized. Helping them get with their medical and dental appointments, find and get to their employment ... and the social aspect of just being their friend,” she said.
Spronk added the urgency in getting the family out of Sudan hasn’t diminished.
“Things are definitely not great in Sudan,” she said, adding most of the family is on the north coast in Khartoum. “Because of his English, [one of Wegahta’s brothers] had a good job, but then [Sudan] got a new ruler who declared refugees are not allowed to work.”
Violators of the law are jailed, a large bail amount imposed, up to $50,000 US.
“And jail isn’t what we think of here,” Spronk said. “It means just water and no food, so basically it is a death sentence.”
For a short period, things seemed to quiet down, she said, and the brother was able to join the rest of the family for Christmas in Port Sudan.
“It was quite fortuitous because there was an uprising in Khartoum (by members fo the National Intelligence and Security Service). If he had been there, who knows what would have happened to him,” she said.
Nor are things much safer for the rest of the family in Port Sudan, Spronk said, especially for refugees. Lack of money and dangers on the street have made it difficult for one of the family members, which is suspected to have full onset diabetes to get her medication.
The meeting concluded with a brainstorming session on how to attract new members to the community, with Lyster noting they are always looking for people to help ease the workload. Earlier in the meeting, they also decided to hold another fundraising dinner, slated for late October.
The first, “An Eritrean Evening”, on Oct. 29 raised just short of $30,000.
The BCRC was first formed in December 2015 in an effort as part of Canada’s plan to let in 25,000 Syrian refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East. In 2016, the committee welcomed its Gambian refugee Buba Banda to the community.
A little more than a year later the committee helped Mahmoud and Helema, a Sudanese couple, come to Canada.
The couple, who now have a two-year-old infant, would eventually decide to move to an urban community, as did Banda, to connect with others of their cultural community.
For more information about the BCRC, c/o Rita Lyster at 780-674-2185 or 780-284-0859, Allie Hijlkema at 780-674-6075 or 780-284-1503, or Aurelia Spronk at 780-674-5313.
