submitted
Nov. 26,
2015
Cranbrook church group to sponsor Syrian refugee
family
A Syrian refugee family could be coming to
Cranbrook thanks to the efforts of a newly-formed group called the Cranbrook
Hub for Refugees (CHR), a constituent group of Christ Church Anglican, the
oldest church in Cranbrook.
The
eight-member group, which formed in late October, has completed an Expression
of Interest application, the first step in the process for sponsoring a refugee
family from Syria or elsewhere in the war-torn Middle East. The federal Department
of Immigration, Refugees and
Citizenship hopes to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by
the end of the year and 15,000 more by the end of February 2016.
Government
regulations require refugee sponsoring groups to raise $15,000 before they will
be considered for sponsorship. The Anglican Diocese of Kootenay has sponsored refugees before and is now planning
a major fund-raising campaign that will kick off soon.
CHR chairman Gerry Warner says the campaign will go into
high gear after Christmas although it’s accepting donations now. “With
Christmas fast approaching, people’s financial resources are ready being
stretched so we won’t do a major fund-raiser until January. But if someone wants
to make a donation to us, or as a gift to someone else, we’ll certainly accept
it and issue a tax receipt.”
The first
refugees are expected to arrive in Canada within days, but are going mainly to
military barracks in large cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton for relocation.
As a result, Warner cautions this is only the beginning of what could be a long
process.
“At this
point we have no idea when we could expect to have a family in Cranbrook.
But the important thing now is we’re doing
everything we can to ensure that an immigrant family will feel welcome, safe
and secure when they do arrive.”
Warner
said CHR has been holding planning meetings weekly to prepare for the refugees’
arrival and has reached out to other Cranbrook churches interested in
sponsoring refugees.
“The more
churches and non-church groups that participate in this the better,” he says.
“This is a humanitarian crisis of world-wide proportions and we need everyone’s
help to prevent an even bigger catastrophe.”
Warner
says members of the Christ Church congregation were jolted into action by the
picture of three-year-old toddler Aylan Kurdi, whose lifeless body washed up on
a Turkish beach Sept. 2 after the refugee boat he was in with his family
capsized while crossing the Mediterranean.
“Like many
around the world, we were horrified by that picture.”
Meanwhile
Warner says there’s little CHR can do now until its application is approved by
Ottawa. But once it’s approved, CHR will be looking for volunteers to help
provide housing, furniture, clothing and emotional support for the refugee
family. Schooling and ESL lessons will also have to be arranged.
The group’s next meeting is Jan. 6 at which time
it hopes to have its application approved by Ottawa and intensive preparations can
begin for the arrival of the refugee family.
“We also
plan on having a public meeting in January for anyone interested in helping us
in this sorely-needed effort to help these brave families driven from their
homes and facing dangers unimaginable to us,” Warner says.
Anyone
seeking more information on CHR can contact Gerry Warner at (250) 489-3271 or
Bonnie Spence-Vinge at (250) 426-4274.
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