Kanata Stittsville
Refugee Sponsorship Group Update 2018
The Kanata Stittsville Refugee Support Group, comprised of
seven churches in the Kanata Stittsville area including St Thomas, continues to
be extremely active.
We are proceeding with the sponsorship application for a
lady and her children from Syria, presently in Turkey: She is related
to family members who have been and are being supported by churches in our area.
The story of the situation of this family is heart-breaking. St. John’s South
March and the Kanata Muslim Association will be working with the KSRSG to
support this family.
Active Sponsorships in 2018:
· Another lady from Syria via Lebanon – her year of
sponsorship has been completed. She arrived May 15, 2017. She has an
apartment in a building with other family members, is taking English and French
classes, is working and is engaged. She is doing very well and we wish her all
the best.
· A couple from Afghanistan via
Pakistan. They arrived from Pakistan (originally from Afghanistan) on February
15, 2018 and live with their family member in Orleans. One of them may require
hearing aids and might need financial assistance to do so. They are in the
process of getting medical attention for that issue. They also realize they
need a car.
2018 Updates on Sponsorship
Applications Submitted:
A couple and their 3 year old daughter from Afghanistan in
Tajikistan. Application submitted in March and approved in July of 2017. We
are working with a cousin and her family here in Ottawa who will
cover all expenses. Their arrival date has not yet been established.
Two families from Afghanistan in Tajikistan.
· These are relatives of the
families
whom we sponsored through someone else, and their applications have been
approved. We are providing some financial assistance ($5,000 for each family).
The first family of 4 are expected to arrive July 12. The second family is also
expected to arrive soon. We will make arrangements to provide our financial
support once they arrive.
· A man & his wife and 18 year old daughter
from Iran in Turkey: Their application was approved in March, 2018. Members of
the Iranian community in Ottawa will cover all expenses. No arrival date as yet
but will probably be mid-2019.
2018 Sponsorship
Applications In Process
·A
lady and her 3 daughters – mother and step-sisters of a current resident. We
approved this sponsorship application at our last meeting and the family
is presently working on the paperwork.
· A man, his wife and two children from
the Democratic Republic of the Congo living in Uganda. Their cousin is here in Canada and first contacted us in April 2016.
The family are Christians who had to flee their home area of the DRC in 2013 due
to tribal conflicts in which his brother was killed. They are now in Uganda and
have UNHCR status but are in very difficult living circumstances. They have
started the paperwork for their application.
· A man, his wife and son from Afghanistan living
in Turkey. One of them is the daughter of someone who lives here in
Ottawa. We had approved this sponsorship at a previous meeting.
We are
working with her family on completing the application forms and providing the
necessary documentation.
· A 20 year old man and a 15
year old teenager are related to a man here in Ottawa - support from Rev. Fred Milnes). They are from South
Sudan living in Uganda. It is unclear at this time if we will be asked to
submit a sponsorship application.
·A man and his 3 children. Their
friend is here in Ottawa. They have a family
reunification application in process so we will not proceed with a refugee
sponsorship application. The KSRSG is committed to provide some financial
support to the family
Each of the churches forming the Kanata Stittsville Refugee
Support Group are asked to contribute $1000 annually, if possible, to assist
financially with the work of the KSRSG.
The Kanata Stittsville
Refugee Sponsorship Group 2017
St Thomas is one of the seven founding member churches of the KSRSG. Over the
years we have helped to sponsor a number of refugee families. St Thomas
provides an annual contribution to the KSRSG, and occasionally seeks additional
donations of money and household items for our refugee families.
The Kanata Stittsville Refugee Sponsorship Group has
sponsored a couple from Afghanistan who were in danger of “honour
killings.” They arrived in Ottawa on February 15, 2018.
Our congregation is one of eight member Anglican,
Presbyterian and United Churches in The Kanata Stittsville Refugee Sponsorship
Group. We have some great news to report about some of the people we have been
seeking to sponsor as refugees to Canada. This past Friday, two families arrived
who were originally from Afghanistan and had been living in Tajikistan. The 12
members of these two families are related to each other and have family members
here in Ottawa who will be providing them with much of the required support.
They fled Afghanistan due to the threats they experienced from the Taliban and
other violence, and our group has been working on their refugee sponsorship for
about two years. We have also received notice that a single male from Syria,
living in Jordan, will be arriving before the end of June. This person also has
family members here in Ottawa who will be supporting him and we submitted his
application in early March. He fled Syria due to the violence and persecution he
faced there. We are very pleased that these people are being reunited with their
families, and will have the opportunity to live in peace and safety here in
Canada. We will keep you informed about ways you can assist the people we have
mentioned, and regarding news of the others from Syrian and Afghanistan whose
sponsorship applications are still being considered by Immigration, Refugees and
Citizenship Canada. Thank you for your ongoing support of the Kanata Stittsville
Refugee Sponsorship Group.
Yours In Common Purpose,
Rev. Grant Dillenbeck.
Stittsville United Church
6255 Fernbank Road,
Stittsville, ON K2S 1X5
613-836-4962