A Magazine for Alumni and Friends
They are a family of four. The daughter is just two years old, the son seven. Before war broke out in their country of Syria, their father worked as a salesman and their mother was a housekeeper.
Today, they are homeless and country-less.
This is one of the Syrian families Laurier will be sponsoring in immigrating to Canada. The university has partnered with the Mennonite Central Committee to sponsor and resettle three Syrian refugee families later this year. Two families will settle in Kitchener-Waterloo and one family will settle in Brantford.
Through a “blended sponsorship” program, Laurier and Citizenship and Immigration Canada will partner in a cost-sharing arrangement to support the refugee families. The approximate cost of sponsoring one family of two adults and two children is $27,000.
Laurier is seeking community support for this effort through volunteers and financial donations. Almost immediately, more than 80 donors from the Laurier community came forward and donated over $21,000.More than 70 staff, faculty and students from Laurier’s Brantford and Waterloo campuses volunteered to provide practical, emotional and psychological support to the families.
This support includes arranging the initial housing set-up — including furniture and household items, as well as providing basic necessities and additional settlement assistance including language classes, enrolment in school, finding health-care providers and job search support.
For more information on Laurier’s efforts to support Syrian refugees, including how you can contribute, visit legacy.wlu.ca.