News
Please scroll down to read up on the latest news from the OOAWZ Group.
And follow the links below for published news items and articles.
The Creemore Echo (front page story) December 18, 2015.
Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin July 13, 2015.
The Creemore Echo November 28, 2014.
Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin July 13, 2015.
The Creemore Echo November 28, 2014.
February 14, 2016
UPDATE: Zakaria, Rania and Yahya are expected to arrive in Toronto on February 19 and head north soon after that.
UPDATE: Zakaria, Rania and Yahya are expected to arrive in Toronto on February 19 and head north soon after that.
February 12, 2016
Great news!!! Citizenship and Immigration Canada has approved our application and has forwarded the case to the Visa office in Lebanon! The family has already had their medical exam and are awaiting their interview and then the flight to Canada.
The sponsorship group has been busy preparing for the arrival of the Zakaria, Rania and little Yahya over the past few months. We have had overwhelming offers of donations in kind, and one generous member of our sponsorship group will house the family until they are on their feet. We do not yet have a timeline for their arrival, but we anticipate it will be in a few weeks.
Great news!!! Citizenship and Immigration Canada has approved our application and has forwarded the case to the Visa office in Lebanon! The family has already had their medical exam and are awaiting their interview and then the flight to Canada.
The sponsorship group has been busy preparing for the arrival of the Zakaria, Rania and little Yahya over the past few months. We have had overwhelming offers of donations in kind, and one generous member of our sponsorship group will house the family until they are on their feet. We do not yet have a timeline for their arrival, but we anticipate it will be in a few weeks.
November 30, 2015
Dear Out of a War Zoners and Supporters,
It has been nearly two months since our big fundraiser, Scratch, and I just wanted to provide an update on our current situation. We have identified a family of three who are now living in Lebanon - a mother, father and toddler. We were lucky enough to skype with them on Sunday and they are very excited to come to Canada. The sponsoring group consists of six people living in Mono, Mulmur and Clearview. We will be submitting our application to the Canadian Unitarian Council by the end of the week for review. We hope to have the refugee family's application in by then as well, or at the latest, by the end of next week. They have extensive forms to fill out, and it all must be translated. After the documents are reviewed, I will send them to the Winnipeg office of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. While we do not know exactly when the family will arrive, (assuming the application is accepted), we are anticipating that they may be here within four (and pessimistically up to 11) months after submission of the application.
We may be reaching out to you to ask for help in the near future - to assist in integrating the family, connecting them to services, organizing in-kind donations etc. We are already receiving offers of clothing and furniture and have identified the areas we still need to address for their settlement. We have also connected with other groups in the area going through the private sponsorship process, so that we will be able to bring the refugee families together so they are not completely isolated from their culture.
The most beautiful thing about bringing a family to the Hills is that they will be swiftly integrated into Canadian society. The refugee family's relatives came to our Sunday meeting. They have been in Canada for years, but never had the opportunity to visit a country home, or eat at a Canadian family's table (of course, it's always fusion at my house:)). So while we are concentrating on the integration of new settlers, older settlers are integrating by default. For me, it's the willingness of the people, both settlers and First Nations, to share cultures that defines what makes Canada great. I have recently learned that the First Nation reserve on Manitoulin Island is taking in 6 Syrian families. The generosity of Indigenous peoples over the centuries, despite horrific settler-induced circumstances, cannot be ignored.
The generosity of our surrounding community must also be acknowledged. I would like to acknowledge the latest fundraising motivated community members have been doing to help this family start a new life: from a donation campaign in lieu of birthday and Christmas presents (Hania and MK), to selling household items online (Jim) to a contact dance workshop (Brad and Lindsay) . We continue to receive donations, knowing that the minimum the government requires for the application, is very little to survive on, much less to thrive. This money can only be spent in Canada, which means, most of it will be spent right here in this region. This is an important aspect of private sponsorship. We need thriving communities that are able to support those in need, here and abroad. So here's a plug to shop locally this holiday season and keep our communities strong. It was a huge commitment on the part of the 100 Mile Store to sponsor Scratch. In Creemore alone we had huge support from The Curiosity House, Mad Maple Inn, Mountain Ash Farm, Chez Michel, and The Creemore Echo, not to mention amazing artists and healers of all kinds. MAKE THIS VILLAGE THRIVE!
On Saturday I was invited to welcome in the Sabbath. Now we are in the first week of Advent. In my quest to be open and secular, I had forgotten what beauty there is in ceremonies, and how they can convey universal meaning. I give thanks to you and wish you peace.
Debbie
Dear Out of a War Zoners and Supporters,
It has been nearly two months since our big fundraiser, Scratch, and I just wanted to provide an update on our current situation. We have identified a family of three who are now living in Lebanon - a mother, father and toddler. We were lucky enough to skype with them on Sunday and they are very excited to come to Canada. The sponsoring group consists of six people living in Mono, Mulmur and Clearview. We will be submitting our application to the Canadian Unitarian Council by the end of the week for review. We hope to have the refugee family's application in by then as well, or at the latest, by the end of next week. They have extensive forms to fill out, and it all must be translated. After the documents are reviewed, I will send them to the Winnipeg office of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. While we do not know exactly when the family will arrive, (assuming the application is accepted), we are anticipating that they may be here within four (and pessimistically up to 11) months after submission of the application.
We may be reaching out to you to ask for help in the near future - to assist in integrating the family, connecting them to services, organizing in-kind donations etc. We are already receiving offers of clothing and furniture and have identified the areas we still need to address for their settlement. We have also connected with other groups in the area going through the private sponsorship process, so that we will be able to bring the refugee families together so they are not completely isolated from their culture.
The most beautiful thing about bringing a family to the Hills is that they will be swiftly integrated into Canadian society. The refugee family's relatives came to our Sunday meeting. They have been in Canada for years, but never had the opportunity to visit a country home, or eat at a Canadian family's table (of course, it's always fusion at my house:)). So while we are concentrating on the integration of new settlers, older settlers are integrating by default. For me, it's the willingness of the people, both settlers and First Nations, to share cultures that defines what makes Canada great. I have recently learned that the First Nation reserve on Manitoulin Island is taking in 6 Syrian families. The generosity of Indigenous peoples over the centuries, despite horrific settler-induced circumstances, cannot be ignored.
The generosity of our surrounding community must also be acknowledged. I would like to acknowledge the latest fundraising motivated community members have been doing to help this family start a new life: from a donation campaign in lieu of birthday and Christmas presents (Hania and MK), to selling household items online (Jim) to a contact dance workshop (Brad and Lindsay) . We continue to receive donations, knowing that the minimum the government requires for the application, is very little to survive on, much less to thrive. This money can only be spent in Canada, which means, most of it will be spent right here in this region. This is an important aspect of private sponsorship. We need thriving communities that are able to support those in need, here and abroad. So here's a plug to shop locally this holiday season and keep our communities strong. It was a huge commitment on the part of the 100 Mile Store to sponsor Scratch. In Creemore alone we had huge support from The Curiosity House, Mad Maple Inn, Mountain Ash Farm, Chez Michel, and The Creemore Echo, not to mention amazing artists and healers of all kinds. MAKE THIS VILLAGE THRIVE!
On Saturday I was invited to welcome in the Sabbath. Now we are in the first week of Advent. In my quest to be open and secular, I had forgotten what beauty there is in ceremonies, and how they can convey universal meaning. I give thanks to you and wish you peace.
Debbie
October 16, 2015
On behalf of our fundraising team, we would like to thank all who came out and supported our efforts to sponsor a Syrian family by participating in the SCRATCH event on October 4 at Dunedin Village Hall. After all accounts were settled, we raised just over $20,000 and this exceeded our fundraising goal of $12,000 by over 65%! This means that given the total funds raised to date, we have enough money to proceed with a sponsorship application.
All of the money raised is earmarked for a family's settlement costs. This means that every cent will be spent locally and go back into the community. Knowing what the true costs of a raising a small family in this part of the world is like, we continue to accept donations. If, in your conversations with friends, family, and colleagues, there are expressions of interest to contribute, please direct them to our website.
For now, we are pleased to announce that the paperwork begins! If you have any questions or would like to participate in the settlement process once the family arrives, please us the CONTACT page to get in touch with us.
On behalf of our fundraising team, we would like to thank all who came out and supported our efforts to sponsor a Syrian family by participating in the SCRATCH event on October 4 at Dunedin Village Hall. After all accounts were settled, we raised just over $20,000 and this exceeded our fundraising goal of $12,000 by over 65%! This means that given the total funds raised to date, we have enough money to proceed with a sponsorship application.
All of the money raised is earmarked for a family's settlement costs. This means that every cent will be spent locally and go back into the community. Knowing what the true costs of a raising a small family in this part of the world is like, we continue to accept donations. If, in your conversations with friends, family, and colleagues, there are expressions of interest to contribute, please direct them to our website.
For now, we are pleased to announce that the paperwork begins! If you have any questions or would like to participate in the settlement process once the family arrives, please us the CONTACT page to get in touch with us.
September 11, 2015
The artist, Anahita, we were hoping to bring to Canada fled to Europe and is now safe in Germany, along with most of her immediate and some extended family. The sponsorship process for Canada was TAKING TOO LONG. Most of the refugees in the neighbourhood where she lived had left for Germany. To wait indefinitely, probably years, for the Canadian bureaucratic process to end, was not something she could do any more. Risking the journey across the Mediterranean in an overloaded raft is the better option for desperate people.
Anahita's family, having no passports, would not have been permitted to come to Canada under the current system. There are now many groups forming in Canada hoping to sponsor refugees, many of whom are family or friends, without passports, or with only some members having a passport. They won't have a chance unless Canada changes its regulations. Other countries are finding ways to work around the red tape, but for our current government, the red tape is a tool to keep people out.
It has taken one year to raise $6,000. With the media attention, it is getting easier, and the delay in at least getting an application submitted will not be as long. We are still reserving $12,000 for Anahita in case her situation changes and/or our own laws change. In the meantime, we are continuing to raise money and sponsor a family in immediate need of help. Any monies raised over our own requirements for the family will go towards helping other sponsorship efforts in neighbouring municipalities.
The artist, Anahita, we were hoping to bring to Canada fled to Europe and is now safe in Germany, along with most of her immediate and some extended family. The sponsorship process for Canada was TAKING TOO LONG. Most of the refugees in the neighbourhood where she lived had left for Germany. To wait indefinitely, probably years, for the Canadian bureaucratic process to end, was not something she could do any more. Risking the journey across the Mediterranean in an overloaded raft is the better option for desperate people.
Anahita's family, having no passports, would not have been permitted to come to Canada under the current system. There are now many groups forming in Canada hoping to sponsor refugees, many of whom are family or friends, without passports, or with only some members having a passport. They won't have a chance unless Canada changes its regulations. Other countries are finding ways to work around the red tape, but for our current government, the red tape is a tool to keep people out.
It has taken one year to raise $6,000. With the media attention, it is getting easier, and the delay in at least getting an application submitted will not be as long. We are still reserving $12,000 for Anahita in case her situation changes and/or our own laws change. In the meantime, we are continuing to raise money and sponsor a family in immediate need of help. Any monies raised over our own requirements for the family will go towards helping other sponsorship efforts in neighbouring municipalities.