First, we want to thank all of you for your donations of time and funding, your interest, moral support and concern. This has been invaluable and has made our Wesley/Sunset sponsorship possible. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We have not received any potential refugee families from the United church of Canada’s national office since January. We are now pursuing the “Family Links Initiative” program. The paper work is still pending.
The following is an update on two families we have chosen to link with. They are relatives of a family currently living in Regina.
In Regina:
Zakariya Madarati and his wife, Douha Yakti and their daughter, Cheghaf Madarati came to Canada as refugees fifteen years ago. For the last eleven years, they have resided in Regina. Zakariya and Douha teach at the Huda School in Regina. Cheghaf is a third year medical student at the University of Saskatchewan.
They very much want their relatives to join them here in Regina. They registered the following two families under the Family Links Initiatives Program:
Ahmed Fattal and Mona Madarati are the parents of three daughters and one son who are waiting to come to Regina under the sponsorship of Mona’s brother (Zakariya Madarati) here in Regina and the Wesley/Sunset sponsorship project.
The family of six along with Mona’s brother, Mohamed and his wife, Hanaa, will come to Regina this summer. They are expected to arrive in July. Currently, they live in Mersin, Turkey after fleeing from Syria.
The Wesley/Sunset Refugee Sponsorship group is working with Mona Madarati and Zakariya Madarati under the Family Links Initiative Program. The initiative was announced by the Citizenship and Immigration Minister – John McCallum on February 18, 2016. Within a few days, we found a sponsorship match with the Madarati families.
In Mersin, Turkey: (the family of six)
Mona Madarati is Zakariya’s sister and has practiced dentistry in Syria for 30 years. Her husband, Ahmad, is a certified translator. They have three daughters – Sana (22), Tasmeen (19), Sedra (17) and one son Abdulkarim (12).
Sana and Tasmeen are university students. Sedra is in grade 11 and Abdulkarim is in grade 6.
In Mersin, Turkey: (the family of two)
Mohamad Madarati is the brother of Mona and Zakariya. Mohamad is an Agricultural Engineer and his wife, Hanna Kassas has high school education.
The two families have been refugees living in Turkey since 2012.
Following is an excerpt from a letter we received from Ahmad Fattal. “When the armed struggles started in our city, Aleppo, my roof became an important shooting centre for the regime armed forces, so that we all spent so many days and nights in horror; some nights we couldn’t sleep at all, and the apartments of our neighbours were destroyed. This, in fact, obliged us to leave our apartment to live with our relatives for a few weeks. However, due to the lack of security and safety, we decided to leave our country for Turkey. It was an extremely difficult and hard decision to make, but we wanted to flee before any of us get randomly arrested, damaged, raped or killed. The main reason for seeking refuge was and is still the safety of our children, who are the most important people for my wife and me.
After we left Syria, our apartment was destroyed.
So, I am sorry to say that nowadays, we are homeless, jobless and even we don’t have any income.
That’s why, we are trying and doing our best to find a place where we can humanly live in, and be dealt with like respectful human beings, not just beasts. We don’t need more than a dignified, normal human lives.”
The co-chairs of the Wesley/Sunset Sponsorship Group met with Zakariya’s family on February 27th. Since that time, we have been researching the policies of Private Sponsorship and discussing the sharing of responsibilities needed for the sponsorship. We are arranging meetings with the family and the Team Leaders in the next six to 8 weeks. These meetings will provide an opportunity for people to meet each other, to clarify the needs of the refugee family and to form an agreement for the sponsorship.
The Wesley/Sunset Refugee Sponsorship Group is grateful for the tremendous support you have given to this endeavour. Pledges have now totalled $51,000.00. Donations amounting to half this amount have already been received.
Seventy people have volunteered to help with the many tasks involved. To date, many volunteer hours have been contributed. We have 12 teams who will carry out tasks, related to: Reception, Orientation, Grocery and Food, Health Needs, Transportation, Housing, Clothing, Furniture and Household Goods, Friendship and Emotional Support, Employment, Schools and Learning, and Language.
We especially want to thank the people of Wesley United Church and Sunset United Church for your generous support of this project. As Co-chairs, we also want to acknowledge the tremendous support of the Wesley Church Council and the Wesley Church staff.
We encourage you to keep in touch. We are posting update on the Wesley United Church website: www.wesleyuc.sk.ca
Thank you for joining in this life-changing experience for the Madarati families and for all of us as we move forward into this partnership.
We ask for your thoughts and prayers as the Madarati families face the challenge of waiting in difficult conditions in Turkey.
Kathy Blais, CaraGay Driscoll, Sharon Hurd, Linda Paul
On behalf of the Wesley/Sunset Sponsorship Group
