This past
September, a
bunch of neighbours and friends got together, hoping to make a difference.
After nearly six months, it has finally happened.
Our group, Riverdale Refugee Lifeline, has been matched with a Syrian family of six, currently living in Beirut. The family consists of three generations--grandparents, their son, daughter, son-in-law and six year-old granddaughter. We couldn’t be happier!
It’s been a bit of a journey for us, and a learning curve as well.
Last fall, we partnered with Eastminister United Church, so that our
donors could receive tax receipts. We attended Lifeline Syria meetings to learn more and
eventually received training from a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) named AURA, with whom we shared our
settlement plan for the family.
We held meetings, divided ourselves up into
committees and took on the tasks of getting ready for the family--finding housing and furniture, looking into English language education, job programs, schools, medical clinics and more. In the new year, our application was transferred from AURA to the United
Church of Canada and we were assigned a case worker.
By this time, we had moved away from the idea of a simple private sponsorship (where we would cover the costs of the family for one year) to a special government category that involved people who had no connection to Canada (here the government would cover half the costs and we would cover the other half for the family's first year in the country).
Then came the chaos! A small part of our group had to commit to being online during working hours in case a refugee family profile was offered and decide whether the group would accept the family or not.
The first profile came and went before we fully understood how the system worked. We decided to forego sponsoring a Syrian couple, since we had raised enough money to support a larger family. We missed another family when we chose to have a quick phone call to discuss the case among ourselves, and another group accepted them quickly. Things were moving faster than we ever expected.
Next, we heard the government had decided to pause the release of such family profiles. We weren’t sure what would happen next, but heard that the United Church of Canada had many cases of families with friends or family already in Canada, who were looking to be privately sponsored. So we returned to our original goal and found out about the family of six with whom we have now been matched.
Now that all the paperwork has been completed and the forms have been signed and submitted to the Centralized Processing Office in Winnipeg, the family has its very own Government of Canada processing number.
Now each family member must have an interview with the Canadian
Visa Office and undergo both medical and security checks.
We don't have any firm grasp yet on exactly when they will arrive. We’ve heard it could be as early as 2-4 weeks to a few months to six months! The government will be slowing down the arrival of Syrian refugees at the end of February, but we have been told we will not be too affected by that. Fingers crossed!
With the help of our donors, we have raised more than enough money to support the family for twelve months as required as private sponsors. In fact, we think we will have money left over to help support another family!
After nearly six months, it has finally happened.
Our group, Riverdale Refugee Lifeline, has been matched with a Syrian family of six, currently living in Beirut. The family consists of three generations--grandparents, their son, daughter, son-in-law and six year-old granddaughter. We couldn’t be happier!
It’s been a bit of a journey for us, and a learning curve as well.
Last fall, we partnered with Eastminister United Church, so that our
donors could receive tax receipts. We attended Lifeline Syria meetings to learn more and
eventually received training from a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) named AURA, with whom we shared our
settlement plan for the family. 
We held meetings, divided ourselves up into
committees and took on the tasks of getting ready for the family--finding housing and furniture, looking into English language education, job programs, schools, medical clinics and more. In the new year, our application was transferred from AURA to the United
Church of Canada and we were assigned a case worker.By this time, we had moved away from the idea of a simple private sponsorship (where we would cover the costs of the family for one year) to a special government category that involved people who had no connection to Canada (here the government would cover half the costs and we would cover the other half for the family's first year in the country).
Then came the chaos! A small part of our group had to commit to being online during working hours in case a refugee family profile was offered and decide whether the group would accept the family or not.
The first profile came and went before we fully understood how the system worked. We decided to forego sponsoring a Syrian couple, since we had raised enough money to support a larger family. We missed another family when we chose to have a quick phone call to discuss the case among ourselves, and another group accepted them quickly. Things were moving faster than we ever expected.
Next, we heard the government had decided to pause the release of such family profiles. We weren’t sure what would happen next, but heard that the United Church of Canada had many cases of families with friends or family already in Canada, who were looking to be privately sponsored. So we returned to our original goal and found out about the family of six with whom we have now been matched.
Now that all the paperwork has been completed and the forms have been signed and submitted to the Centralized Processing Office in Winnipeg, the family has its very own Government of Canada processing number.
We don't have any firm grasp yet on exactly when they will arrive. We’ve heard it could be as early as 2-4 weeks to a few months to six months! The government will be slowing down the arrival of Syrian refugees at the end of February, but we have been told we will not be too affected by that. Fingers crossed!
With the help of our donors, we have raised more than enough money to support the family for twelve months as required as private sponsors. In fact, we think we will have money left over to help support another family!
