News of tragedy comes at us daily. Usually it gets a moment of sympathy and sometimes a donation; but the need is so large, complex, and remote that we feel powerless to make a difference. Occasionally, we feel moved to do something more.
Reports of violence in the middle east and the plight of so many refugees have affected my wife and I this way. When she told me of her urge to do something, I agreed. We began talking to family and friends, and discovered that many of them also wanted to do something. A meeting was organized and we began to discuss sponsoring a refugee family.
By that first meeting various members of the group already had some information. We identified other resources and assigned persons to ask questions. By the second meeting we had replies and were ready to make decisions. It is still early in the process, but it looks like our refugee sponsorship is about to be launched.
Our group includes church members, nonmember friends and relatives, and colleagues from work. To expedite our efforts, we will be joining as a Constituent Group with an organization which is already registered as a Sponsorship Agreement Holder with the Department of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada. We expect to rely on their guidance and experience because there is more we need to know. Looking forward, what we learn through this initial project could prepare some of us to advise others in future projects.
I am writing about this now rather than waiting until the task is done. We can report this much success. We talked to each other about our urge to act. We organized quickly and formed a group with a mix of skills and resources. We gave ourselves manageable tasks and completed them in good time. None of this has been difficult. Although there are some challenges ahead, we are confident that we will be successful.
We are happy to be actually doing something. Before we began talking, we were deeply disturbed by reports about refugees. Since we have joined with others with a common purpose, we have hope that we can make a difference.
Dennis Ware, Guelph
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Wonderful to see you take the initiative! Thank you for showing that this is possible and for giving some of the basic steps you have taken. While the Canadian church officially explores topic of becoming a Sponsorship Agreement Holder, could you in the meantime provide more details, so that it is clearer for those contemplating sponsorship? For instance, how did you find your Sponsorship Agreement Holder (make this general enough for all provinces)? What steps briefly followed? Etc. Again, great work, and thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Denis. In my small town, churches, neighbours, and people from all walks of life are preparing to raise enough funds in the next couple of weeks to apply to the Anglican Diocese which has many in roads to sponsorship. The Richmond Village Refugee Welcome has a meeting with the local High School and we expect a lot of $$'s from the students and their initiatives. From what I have heard so far $4,000 (approx.) has been raised. Lots of fundraiser plans are being worked on for the coming months. Our goal is $30,000 as we will not be relying on the government. Wishing you well with your endeavours. God bless.
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