Saskatoon friends pool support, money for Syrian refugee family
Collected donated items and set up apartment for family
A group of friends in Saskatoon has banded together to sponsor a refugee family of five.
"We are setting up the apartment for a family from Syria which we are expecting to come any day now," said Reyn Lauer, who's part of a group of 10 friends in Saskatoon sponsoring the family.
On Saturday, Lauer, Christine McDougall and several others were busy packing a trailer full of supplies for the family.
By the time they were finished, the trailer was stuffed with mattresses, a bed frame, a dresser, a high chair, clothing and other items. The group transferred it all from a garage, and then moved the items into an apartment for the family.
"We've all been kind of collecting things and people have been so generous in donating things to us that the family might need," McDougall said.
"They have three little kids," she said of the family. "So you know people understand there are a lot of needs when you have kids."
The family is able to come to Saskatoon through the Blended Visa Office-Referred Program, relying on help from the federal government and the sponsor group. A year's worth of income support will be split between the government and the group.
For that same one-year period, the sponsors alone are responsible for the family's social and emotional support. That means they need to set them up with a furnished place to stay, help them in finding a job, help them get groceries and provide for any other needs.
Laurer estimated the cost will be $20,000. "If you just think of it as giving up your winter vacation for this year and pooling your money together, you can completely transform a family."
