This year has been an extraordinary year for Private Refugee Sponsorship. Canadians, overwhelmed by the intense media coverage of Syrians fleeing their homes, banded together to sponsor and bring Syrian families to their communities. Now – more than six months later – several articles have been published that follow the journeys of families and praise Private Refugee Sponsorship in Canada. Here are a few:
MacLean’s Magazine: Syrian refugee family 417, six months later
New York Times: Refugees Encounter a Foreign Word: Welcome
New York Times: Reaction to Canada’s Warm Welcome for Syrian Refugees
This past year, ISANS, as a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH), worked closely with 32 community groups from across Nova Scotia – 30 of which were new to refugee sponsorship. They needed support, so Evelyn Jones, our Coordinator of Private Refugee Sponsorship and her team quickly organized information sessions. “We kept adding more. Usually you talk to a group and they come back six months later. My first group came back in six days and said we have all our money; and right behind was another group and another.” Read the full story here…Here are just a few statistics from the amazing private refugee sponsorship surge: