Perhaps you have never considered sponsoring a refugee to resettle in your community; or perhaps you have wanted to bring a displaced family to Canada for a long time now. Whatever your experience, this is the place to take a first look at Canada's Private Sponsorship of Refugees program to see if this is something you and your church could undertake on behalf of another; to put hands and feet to God's call to care for strangers, and to loose the cords of injustice.

Stage 1 – SAH process

Getting Started:

As you consider whether you and others in your church could sponsor a refugee person or family, interested persons will:

• learn about the distinct types of sponsorships
• speak to the church leadership about their interest in refugee sponsorship
• form a team with a minimum of 5 people
• submit pre-screening forms for any church-referred refugees
• begin fundraising as needed

There are three other sources of excellent information and material that are available to anyone interested in learning more about the Private Sponsorship of Refugees.

Yes!

Use this one-page resource outlining 10 practical ways former refugees are good for Canada to inform the people in your circles.

Are-Refugees-Good-For-Canada-poster.PDF

Statistics show that refugees not only benefit from safety in Canada, but they also embrace the opportunity to build a new life. Over time, they make important contributions to the country's economy, and to their communities.

Former refugees are hardworking people and contribute to Canada's economy. They have an unemployment rate of 9%, close to that of Canadian citizens by birth (6%).

How exciting that finally after months or years of planning & preparation, the time has arrived to meet the family at the airport.

The SAH will have received and forwarded to the CG the Notice of Arrival Transmission (NAT) from IRCC about 10 days prior which includes the refugee(s) specific travel itinerary, the names, birthdates, and gender of family members. The NAT notification also includes languages spoken, any medical needs that have been identified, if there are family/friends of the PA already in Canada, and of course the SAH and CG details.

In 2018, IRCC issued RAP rates for each province that sponsoring groups must use to generate their budget. 

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive a template specific to your province and family composition. In your email, please include:

• the name of your community, and
• the names & birthdates of each member of the family you are sponsoring.
• any other information that would affect the budget - i.e. pregnancy, health concerns, etc.

Once you have formed your core team, chosen the sponsorship type, and have begun to assign team member roles with at least the Representative (Team Lead) and Treasurer in place, you are now ready to approach your church board.

The sponsorship does not become 'official' and legally binding until you sign and submit the required documents for the Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) and the forms required by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

At this point, a Core Team will be in place, the Church Board will have given their approval, and fundraising has begun. Once your team has 25% of the required funds in place it is time to select a refugee family if that hasn't been done yet, and complete the application forms.

Now that the sponsorship is moving forward in an official capacity, this is a good time to send an introductory email or message if you have not already been in contact with the refugee. If you have already connected with them, consider a weekly skype or WhatsApp call. One of the challenges for refugees is losing hope. By making a point to stay connected, you have the opportunity to keep that hope alive, to begin the friendship while you're still on different continents, to be a voice of encouragement as your team keeps abreast of the difficulties they continue to face as they wait for the application to be processed.

As the Core Team meets together to plan and prepare for settlement, part of your preparation responsibility is to take time to learn about the refugee(s) country of origin and culture in preparation for their arrival. Choose the best resource for your team, and then review the cultural basics presented there. You could read through a segment when you meet together, and then discuss any questions or issues that are raised, or one person could present to the team. 

Whatever means you choose, your SAH will ask the Team Lead to confirm the sponsorship group has done some cultural sensitivity training prior to the refugee's arrival.

Culture Crossing Guide covers basics of greetings, communication style, personal space, eye contact, views of time, gestures, gender roles and taboos for a number of different cultures.

EveryCulture.com is another resource that may be good for your group.

If you find other helpful links or resources, please contact us. We will add those links that may be helpful for others too.

Click on "Events" above to see events currently available in our communities or on-line.

Once it has been determined that a group would like to pursue the sponsorship of a refugee family, one of the first things to be done will be to assemble a Core Team.

Each sponsoring group must function with a minimum of five members who will oversee the sponsorship commitments for both pre-arrival and the one year settlement support of the refugee family. The core team will discern together who is responsible for each task, and together recruit additional volunteer helpers for a larger support network.

A well-staffed team usually has a Sponsorship Group Representative, treasurer, and a team leader representing each task area involved in resettlement: housing, transportation, furnishings and clothing, homemaking, education, medical, employment, finance, etc.

You can access the How to Structure a Sponsorship Core Team template here.

On April 7, 2018 I had the pleasure of chatting with Andrea Bowman of Grace Church, Newmarket about their church's refugee sponsorship experience. Grace Church worked with Mennonite Central Committee as their SAH to bring a family of 8 from Syria via Beirut, Lebanon, to Newmarket. Unfortunately, just before the family was about to travel, their youngest child died and understandably, their departure from Lebanon was delayed. In October 2017, the family of 7 touched down at YYZ and their journey to resettle in Canada began.

RSI: How did this particular sponsorship journey begin for Grace?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Winnipeg, MB
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Syria
FAMILY SIZE: Nine

A Syrian man, aged 42, accompanied by his spouse and their seven children, has completed six years of education and has worked as a plumber and pipe fitter. He is fluent in Arabic and has some English language training.

His spouse is a homemaker. The family has received settlement support. Six of the couple’s children are registered for school, and one is fully dependent on his parents.

Medical needs: The father has withdrawn from English language training due to the ongoing medical needs of their youngest child. This has prevented the family from engaging in other settlement services and accessing various community resources.

Sponsor assistance: A sponsor could: give the family a support system to help with their daily challenges; allow them to dedicate the time necessary to develop their English language skills; help them to fully connect and integrate within their local community; provide informal English practice; and, assist with managing the child’s ongoing medical appointments.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Hamilton, ON
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Somalia
FAMILY SIZE: One

A Somali woman, aged 26, who arrived in Canada in late 2018, is hospitalized due to a disability.

Medical needs: She suffers from an untreatable muscle disorder which will worsen over time. She is paralyzed, unable to move her arms and is slowly losing the use of her hands. She cannot go anywhere by herself. The hospital does not offer English training.

Sponsor assistance: A sponsor could: reduce her feelings of isolation and loneliness through social, psychological, and emotional support; introduce her to the community to allow her to expand her social connections and build positive relationships with new people; and, informally help her practice English.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Calgary, AB
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Syria
FAMILY SIZE: 4

This single mother from Syria and her three children arrived in Calgary in late 2018. The children have adapted well to school and are learning English.

Special needs: The mother struggles with prior trauma, and has difficulty in caring for her children while adjusting to life in Canada.

Medical needs: Each of the children have asthma, requiring frequent medical appointments. The youngest daughter suffers from a blood disorder, which requires additional medical support. The mother suffers from back pain, which makes it difficult for her to attend resettlement programs and language classes. She feels isolated and lonely, and has difficulty sleeping.

Sponsor assistance: With the support of a sponsor, the mother could focus on her own integration by attending language classes, counselling sessions for past trauma and employment programs. A sponsor could help her understand and navigate the health care system.

Through the JAS program, the government and private sponsors work together to support refugees in Canada for up to 24 months, depending on the needs of teh resettled refugee. In a few cases, the private sponsor may support refugees for up to 36 months. 

These refugees receive income support from the Government of Canada and emotional, moral and settlement support by a sponsor. Some refugees are identified overseas for the JAS program. Others are converted into JAS cases after they arrive in Canada if it becomes clear that they need more support.

Follow this linkor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to see if there is a JAS case in your community.

A poem by Pastor Farshid Fathi

Born in 1979, Farshid has been working in ministry since 1997. In the years 2001 – 2005, he was instrumental in planting 48 underground house churches in his native Iran.

On 25 December 2010, Farshid was arrested along with a number of other church leaders. He was kept 361 days in solitary confinement in Evin Prison, often enduring severe interrogation. In March 2011 Farshid was sentenced to six years in prison for acting against national security through evangelism and promoting Christianity. In 2014 prison guards broke Farshid’s foot and thumb during a prison search. Farshid was later transferred to Rajaei Shahr Prison and released on 21 December 2015. While Farshid was in prison, his wife took their two children to Canada, where they have applied for citizenship. 

Today, he remains in Turkey registered as an asylum seeker, but still not recognised as a refugee. Toronto area churches, this is an opportunity for you!

My wilderness is painful, but lovely.
Some parts of my wilderness are covered with thorns and hurt my feet,
but I love it, and that's why I call it 'lovely pain'.

My wilderness is so hot that my tears disappear before falling on the ground,
but it is cool under Your shadows.

In the Fall of 2015, AGC churches began a journey together into the heartbreaking world of refugees, and the blessed opportunities we have as Canadians to sponsor them. These are our stories. 

It is essential that when the sponsorship period ends, the newcomer’s financial dependency on the sponsors must end too. While it may take much longer to truly settle and feel at home here, sponsors must work to support a transition to self-sufficiency. Community connections and friendships often continue indefinitely.

Supporting Independence from the Beginning:

Take active steps throughout the sponsorship to give newcomers the tools to do things for themselves (even when it might be easier to do things for them) including:

Arriving in a new country with new faces, new appliances, a new language, a new currency can all be overwhelming without the added challenge of having lived as a refugee for the past several years. There is alot of new information for a newcomer to absorb.

We strongly encourage sponsorship groups to prepare a binder to give to the family soon after arrival. The family will be able to review information, pictures and maps at anytime, reinforcing anything sponsors have previously shared.