In January
of 2016, 20 members of St Dominic’s Parish formed a committee to sponsor a
refugee family. With the blessing of our
pastor we applied through the Diocese of Hamilton Ontario. Work began immediately to arrange the thousands
of details. Our family arrived August 25th,
2016 and was greeted with joy at the airport!
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| Welcome home! |
You,
the members of the parish, also pitched in with enthusiasm. First you contributed money for the support
of the family and we reached, then exceeded, our goal. Second came the furnishing of their apartment
and you provided chairs, dressers, tables, kitchen supplies to give them the
best start. It was like you were helping
your young adult children get started in life.
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| New Beginnings |
In the fall of 2017, you once again pitched in with gifts for the baby
that was on his way. Nour and Anwar
received a stroller, rocking chair, clothing, and all the baby supplies they
needed. Baby Ahmed will use every diaper and
outfit.
Not
all support is tangible. The members of
the committee have driven them to training, ESL, work, dental and medical
appointments. As the couple grew in
their confidence, they were taught to use the buses to get around and expand
their independence. Some members of the
committee were fluent in Arabic and volunteered to translate when other
committee members provided financial coaching or cultural information. Other members took on English as a Second
Language duties and gave them one-on-one instruction to grow their ability to
communicate in Canada.
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| A Grand Day on the Grand River |
And we had fun! On hikes, visiting the Aga Khan museum, going to Niagara Falls, Canada Day fireworks at Bronte Harbour, and even canoeing on the
Grand River.
Through
all of the ups and downs, we formed friendships with the family and among the
committee. Our sponsorship commitment will end January 1, 2018. Anwar and Nour
have a good footing in their new life, friends in the building they live in,
and friendships with the members of the committee. Those relationships will continue as
friendships do.
Every member of our Committee contributed
according to their talents and time and treasure. It was a great experience for Father Ranjan, Brian, Helen, Norm, Nerina, Liz, Maury, Georgina, Bill, Sharon, Nayer, Rudy, Genevieve, Marg, Sybil, Charmaine, Julia, Sid, Connie, Theresa, Karen. Working with this group of dedicated people,
I understood, even more, the meaning of ‘the Kingdom of God is among you.”
Thank you St. Dominic’s Parish for your assistance. Thank you Fr. Ranjan for supporting this effort. Thank you, Anwar and Nour for beginning your new life, with us.
