Refugee Sponsorship

Judy Hall

(204) 488-4581 jhall259shaw.ca

 

 

Parishes that are currently sponsoring refugees within the Diocese of Rupert's Land:

• All Saints
• St. Matthew, Maryland and St. Paul, Fort Garry (Crossed Hands Refugee Committee)
• St. George, Crescentwood
• St. Thomas
• St. Saviour
• St. Mark
• St. Chad
• St. Mary Magdalene
• Hospitality House Refugee Ministry also make use of our diocesan Sponsorship Agreement

 

St. Matthew, Maryland and St. Paul, Fort Garry have been partners for close to twenty-five years, doing mission outreach to sponsor refugees under the name of Crossed Hands Refugee Committee. One parish might not have enough people who want to do this kind of outreach work but by combining our efforts we have been able to maintain an active Committee of 5 or 6 and there is little attrition. The partnership itself helps sustain us in the work.

The Committee sponsors refugees three different ways:

1. Full sponsorships – we raise funds and commit to support newcomers for one year. Currently, we have submitted an application for full sponsorship for an Eritrean family we heard about who had to flee from Ethiopia to Uganda. She has no family here in Winnipeg who are able to sponsor her so we made the decision to undertake a full sponsorship. Most people will not arrive in Canada for 3 or 4 years from the time we submit their applications so it is a very long wait for them to wait.
2. Joint sponsorships with the government – Citizenship and Immigration Canada provides the funding. We provide emotional, social, and practical support to help the newcomers adapt to their new life often for 2 years. Often we maintain some kind of contact even after the formal commitment has ended.
3. Family-linked sponsorships – in this case we assist families living in Winnipeg to bring their relatives, who meet the criteria of a refugee, by being ‘paper’ sponsors; the family here are required by the government to agree to provide financial support for up to one year. We are not financially liable for most of these potential newcomers because the Winnipeg Assurance Program provides ‘insurance’ in the event the Winnipeg family are not able to support their relatives for the required one year. Such requests are continuous and we need to respond to as many as we feel we are able to help but the process of completing applications is quite time consuming. At the moment, most of the requests are in regard to people who have fled Somalia.

There are so many refugees in the world that what we do is less than even the proverbial ‘drop in a bucket’ and it isn’t the answer to move all these people to a new country like Canada. However, if we focused on that we would probably give up. We keep going partly because we get to know individuals – getting to know and help some people makes us feel less hopeless about all those we aren’t able to help. For those few we do help, the impact on their lives is immense.

Imagine being afraid to go out on the street because the police might pick you up and extort money from you because you don’t have an identity paper. Imagine not having the money to prevent your being taken to jail and having to wait until friends hear about your plight and come to bail you out. Despite those realities imagine that the streets of Nairobi feel safer to you than staying in a refugee camp. Imagine waiting each month to go to the Western Union for money your relatives in Canada send, which enables you and friends, who don’t have such relatives, to live. Imagine watching to make sure that criminals or the local police aren’t around to steal this money as you exit the Western Union office. These experiences are just a taste of what everyday life for a refugee can be like in the city of Nairobi, Kenya. They are beyond my imagination but I know them to be true because I’ve been told these stories by people who have lived them.

We are sustained by the newcomers themselves – their stories are all incredible. I am shocked, often angry and frequently saddened listening to their descriptions of the difficulties they have endured or that their relatives are currently facing. It reminds me how fortunate I and most Canadians are. On the other hand, I am in awe of how positively they face the future despite these experiences and how they take on the many challenges of getting used to their new lives in Canada. Indeed they are real survivors. Such evidence of the strength of the human spirit gives me the desire and energy to keep doing this work.

Sometimes newcomers do have difficulties as they get used to their new lives and such times can be challenging for our Committee. The fact that there are a group of us allows the ‘work’ to be shared and we alternate giving and getting energy and support from each other.

Finally, it just seems the 'right thing" to be doing this outreach. Over these last few years, the Committee has been overwhelmed with the number of requests for family-linked sponsorships. We established a waiting list but there have been so many that reluctantly we have had to tell people that it is unlikely we will ever be able to help them and have encouraged them to approach other churches or organizations.

The need is great indeed. We encourage other churches in the Diocese to consider this ministry.

Full Sponsorship

Full sponsorships are referred by UNHCR. The sponsoring church agrees to support the newly arrived persons for up to a year or until they are self-supporting and helps them to settle successfully.

Joint Assistance Sponsorship

The government supports the person financially and the sponsors help them to settle in the community.

Family Linked Sponsorship

A family alread settled in Manitoba asks a church to sponsor family members left behind in their country of refuge. The family supports their family members when they arrive. This is the type of sponsorship most churches are now submitting as there is no financial commitment involved. There is also an assurance fund which eliminates any element of risk such as the head of the family becoming unemployed. When Glen Murray was mayor of Winnipeg he realized sponsorship was contributing to the growth of the city. Council instituted the Winnipeg Refugee Sponsorship Assurance Fund (WRSAP) which can be drawn upon if required.

 

Links

• The Refugee System (CIC)
• Manitoba Interfaith and Immigration Council
• Refugee Sponsorship Training Program
• Canadian Council for Refugees
• Primate's World Relief and Development Fund
• UNHCR
• Kairos: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives — Refugees and Migrants

Contacts

Hospitality House Refugee Ministry: hospitalityhousemts.net