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Transportation a dilemma for rural refugee settlement, says Canadian sponsor

It's not just Canada's big cities that new Syrian refugees will be calling home soon. Smaller communities across the country are banding together to roll out the welcome mat ... though they don't always have the same support systems in place as big cities do.
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The Al Jasem family, includes 14 members, are happy to call Prince Edward County their home, thanks to the many volunteers involved in PEC Syria. (PEC Syria)
The Current24:46Canada's small communities settling refugees face distinct challenges

Today I met a few people from Syria that came up to me and gave me a 'Hi!' back. It almost made me cry because it's what I want Fredericton top be like, friendly and open and greet the newcomers, welcome them.-  Resident on meeting Syrian refugees arriving in Fredericton

As tens of thousands of Syrian refugees begin to enter Canada, many will soon be faces in the crowd in the big cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Carlyn Moulton, of PEC Syria, says the biggest challenge for refugees settling in Prince Edward Country is that there is no transportation system. (Courtesy of Carlyn Moulton)
 But others will get to experience a different side of Canada.... and the kind of warm embrace that only a smaller community can really provide.  Across the country, smaller cities, towns and even rural areas have banded together to help host these newest Canadians.

Keith Germaine is with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nelson and part of a community that sponsored a Syrian family in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Carlyn Moulton is the founder and co-chair of PEC Syria refugee, which is sponsoring a family of 14 people who arrived in October, and working to bring more families to Prince Edward Country, in eastern Ontario.

I think that rural communities depend on one another, and they're much more adaptable than possibly some people might think.- Carlyn Moulton on CBC's AIH talking about refugees settling in rural communities

Altona in southern Manitoba is hardly new to refugee sponsorship. It is currently awaiting the arrival of five Syrian families it has sponsored.  That will boost the town's population of 4200 people by another 45.

Ray Loewen is the founder of Build A Village, a non-profit that is involved in refugee sponsorship in Altona, Manitoba.
 

If you're sponsoring a Syrian refugee, we would love to hear more of these stories.

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This segment was produced by The Current's Naheed Mustafa.

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