I have now had several email exchanges with the sisters who we hope to sponsor as refugees and who for now we'll call Mary (23 years old) and Nancy (16 years old). They have been in Krisan refugee camp in western Ghana for over a year and are very excited to hear from us and to know that we are trying to bring them to Canada. I tried not to raise their hopes, as even though they are officially UNHCR refugees, they still need to pass an interview at the Canadian visa office in Accra, Ghana. This is not the place or time to share the details of their horrific story but as Christians they fled from Central African Republic in the face of attacks from Muslim forces. They first went to Cameroon, then Benin, then Nigeria and finally Ghana. I am working closely with ORAT (the Office of Refugees of the Archdiocese of Toronto) to complete the various forms and undertakings and I believe that the sisters will also have to fill a number of forms and send them to us before they can proceed. This is not going to happen overnight and will give us time to raise the $25,000 which the sponsorship commitment entails. I believe that the picture and article below show us how the sisters came to the attention of ORAT.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/01/24/toronto-catholic-group-has-shepherded-thousands-of-refugees-to-a-new-life-in-canada/

Settlement experiences of Iraqi refugees.

You might wish to view this brief video on the settlement experiences of Iraqi refugees:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyYoEofR3nk&feature=youtu.be

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church decided at its meeting of the Board of Mission on February 18, 2015 to sponsor a refugee family and to make refugee sponsorship an ongoing program of the Church. The sponsorship will be planned and managed by a Refugee Sponsorship Committee reporting to the Board of Mission. The support of the congregation - whether prayer, funds or volunteer time - is critically important to the sponsorship being successful and I have started this blog in the hope that it will serve to keep the Church informed and to provide an opportunity for input from all those interested. Thank you for your interest and for taking time to keep yourself informed!