Exciting Refugee update!
On Friday September 20th, a few minutes after midnight, we were so happy to be at the Victoria airport to greet Ruth and Tesfalem after their mammoth journey from Addis Ababa to Victoria! A journey five years in the making for this young refugee couple.
With Rev Christine, we were four from St George’s Refugee Team. Ruth’s brother and brother-in-law were also there to welcome the young couple into their family’s embrace. Many hugs and happy faces swept away the fatigue for them.
We would like to take the opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone for their prayers and support in so many ways over the five years! As well we give thanks for the abundance of household items we could provide for them, to make their new place a home here in Canada. The Team looks forward to the year ahead as we supporting them through their first year here.
May God bless them, and support them as they move forward into a new future.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. George has had a long history of sponsoring refugee families through the Refugee Committee of the Anglican Diocese.
The current Refugee Sponsorship Steering Committee was established in October 2015 under the auspices of the Social Justice and Outreach group in response to public outcry regarding the Syrian refugee crisis.
Since then, four of the five sponsorships the Parish has been involved in have come to a successful conclusion:
• Feb 2016-2017 - Raed & Natasha Belal and their four children (Syria)
• May 2018-2019 - Haile Yemane (Eritrea)
• Oct 2019-2020 - Abdul & Betul Elcuk and their three, now four, children (Syria)
• A fourth sponsorship, of another young man from Eritrea, was unexpectedly and permanently cancelled by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in Nov 2018.
• The fifth was committed to in July 2019, for a young Eritrean woman Ruth and her husband, Tesfalem. They arrived here in Victoria on September 20th!
We are now looking for new volunteers to get involved with this important ministry. If you are interested, please contact admin@stgeorgecadborobay.ca.
Financial support for this ministry is also needed and appreciated. Gifts can be made out to St. George's Anglican Church with a note that the donation is for the Refugee Ministry.
For more information about refugee sponsorship in the Diocese of British Columbia, visit https://bc.anglican.ca/ministries-and-programs/refugee-sponsorship--218