INNISFAIL - Fundraising continues as the Welcoming Communities committee waits for the next steps to happen in their mission to bring a Syrian refugee family to Innisfail.
“We continue to wait,” said Rev. Kathy Calkins, a member of the committee. The good news is that the group's application to be a sponsor was approved in July.
However, the family -- single mother Duaa Mohammad Alhariri and her two young sons -- are still waiting to go through the next step, which is for the background check to begin to start the visa process. While they wait, the family remains stuck at a refugee camp in Lebanon in increasingly tough conditions.
“The wait is very, very hard on them,” Calkins said.
“There's family in Red Deer so we anticipate that there shouldn't be any problem with her background check when the time comes,” Calkins said.
The Welcoming Communities committee has been working for almost two years now to try and bring a refugee family to Innisfail. That's included the lengthy sponsorship application process
“The process is just long and arduous,” Calkins said, adding the refugee system might also be additionally clogged up because of refugees walking across the U.S.-Canada border.
This year the government of Canada increased the levels of privately sponsored refugee admissions to 16,000 to help address the backlog, but some people have been waiting for years.
Meanwhile, the group is continuing to raise funds to help support the family when they finally make it to Canada.
“The community has been so generous in our fundraising efforts,” Calkins said.
They have to raise enough to support four people, because Alhariri's husband is missing, presumed dead, but there has to be enough to support him too in case he is found.
The group has already raised the $28,000 minimum they had to reach, but would like to raise more.
“We don't really feel that's really a reasonable amount to support a family for a year, so we're continuing to fundraise,” Calkins said.
The group has a few ideas cooking, but the next fundraiser will be a bake sale at the Nov. 17 and 18 community Christmas craft sale held at the Legion.
Last year many people donated baking, and Calkins said the hope is people will do so again. To donate baking or funds, contact Calkins at [email protected].
