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Saskatoon Diocesan PWRDF 50th: Refugee Sponsorship

February 8, 2011

By pwrdf

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As of November 2010 we had completed with vim and vigor our one-year obligation for the sponsorship of a refugee family. People throughout the Diocese of Saskatoon have pulled together to carry out a commendable mission as we lovingly sponsored a Muslim family.

A good number of us who live in Saskatoon acted as the hands and the head to fill the myriad of committees and with the response and communication from rural and city parishes, we all became the heart.

Open Sponsorship
The journey of welcoming those fleeing danger and leaving everything behind to travel to an uncertain future in an unknown land started in August 2009 when our first family of five arrived. Due to a Matching Centre error they arrived here expecting to be with family already located in Vancouver. We had an intense 48 hours sorting out the dilemma and assisting them to move on. We thank God for compassionate translators, a health care system that will accept a newly arrived woman in need and Iraqi Christians who helped supply them with halal food.

We now had a furnished apartment and excess bits and pieces of furnishings. We would put up a sign at the Appleby complex saying that we had things to give away. Little did we know that the Lord would bring a refugee claimant from Zimbabwe and her three little children to us. They had next to nothing as they were not sponsored refugees. We put out another call for furniture, sewed curtains, purchased food and provided toys.

A Somali student came to us looking for a desk and again people donated.

An Aboriginal grandmother had assumed care of her little granddaughter. The little girl had never had her own bed. The call went out and in a few days she had her first bed and bedding.

Waiting on the Matching Centre
We kept the apartment and waited on the Matching Centre to send us our next refugee family. An Iraqi human rights lawyer and family became available. It was agreed that he, to continue his important work, would be better placed in Toronto or Ottawa.

The third profile arrived and again we were asked to sponsor an Iraqi Muslim family who were living as refugees in Syria.
In November 2009 Ghasan, Hiba and Haider Hamid arrived on a cold winter night, greeted by a warm welcoming party with translator in tow.
A Reflective Year
From that November to this past November they have experienced the beautiful, ever changing and challenging seasons of the year. And through their eyes we better appreciate how fortunate we are to live here. They uphold their Muslim faith but gladly gather with us to break bread (mainly salmon) on our Christian Holy Days. At their invitation we can discuss the Bible and the Koran and be amazed at how we all worship the same God and how well they know Jesus as a prophet.

Let us not forget that the Son of God was a child refugee.

Closing Comments
The Hamids decided that they did not want to go on social assistance. Ghasan has income from his part time job so they applied for an employment supplement that will “top up” his monthly income to social assistance levels and for a rent supplement. They have received notification that they have been accepted for the extended health supplements and have applied to the Saskatoon Housing Authority for a subsidized apartment in another area of the city.

Ghasan is busy attending morning English classes at Open Door, Haider is thoroughly enjoying kindergarten at WP Bate School and Hiba is caring for their new son. Yousif Qasan was born at the Saskatoon Royal University Hospital on December 23rd and weighed in at a little over 7 lbs. Mother and baby are doing well. He has lots of dark hair, brown eyes and the image of his big brother.

This sponsorship has been very rewarding for everyone involved: for the Hamids who have begun a new life in Saskatoon and for all the people and parishes in the Diocese who have supported this undertaking: “a PWRDF 50th Anniversary initiative, sponsoring 50 Refugee Families”.

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