Our current situation:
St. Clement’s parish has a long and very generous history of supporting refugees from other countries in turmoil including displaced persons from Vietnam, Somalia, Syria and Eritrea, just to name a few. We are writing now to ask you to support this work again.
Our most recent history:
Our Refugee Committee made an appeal to the parish in 2015 to raise funds to sponsor Syrian refugees, a country in great devastating upheaval at the time. We received a tremendous response from our parishioners -- $125,000. With these donations, our Church was able to support directly and indirectly a dozen newcomers to Canada. We helped resettle the Brimo family of 6. We provided some additional assistance to the Brimos’s eldest daughter Zeinab and her young family, although we were not their official sponsors.
We supported Mariam Mousa, reuniting her with her daughter and introducing her to her granddaughters. Then we also sponsored Mahari from Eritrea. We have an outstanding commitment to support Eritrean Maharatab, whose journey to Canada from an Israeli refugee camp has been significantly delayed by the COVID pandemic. We require about $22K-$25K to support one adult and about $30K-$35K to support 2 adults. As of today, we still have $12,500. to support Maharatab. About half of what is needed. The primary on-going cost of resettlement is to secure housing. Our parish provides newcomers financial assistance for one year after arrival in Canada.
What about the people in Afghanistan?
A number of St. Clement’s congregants have stated that they want to support Afghani people who are now in danger as a result of the withdrawal of US and Canadian troops and the resurgence of the Taliban. We have been monitoring this situation and would like to be in a position to support one or more Afghanis in the new year to resettle in Canada.
Why donate?
Your Newcomers (Refugee), Outreach Committees and a number of individuals want to step up and continue to play an active role in refugee resettlement. To what level will depend on YOU. We are still committed to supporting Maharatab, from Eritrea. However, with enough donations, we would be able also to support an Afghani refugee or even a family. So please prayerfully consider this need. Please donate.
Send your financial donations to the church, clearly marked “For Refugees”. For more information, please contact either Linda Kurdydyk or Nancy Hood. Your level of generosity will determine our plans going forward. Thank you all for reaching out to love our neighbours.
For the full Anchor, click here.