Information on Sponsorship Opportunities

The Diocesan Refugee Unit (DRU) receives pleas for sponsorship every day, from all over the world. Currently, our diocese receives approximately 40 spaces each year that we can use to apply for refugees to join us here. I am reaching out to any parishes that might be interested in sponsoring, now, or in the future. Here are some people that we would LOVE to find sponsors for. If your parish, or a group of parishes might be interested in sponsoring, please get in touch. We will be happy to give you more information about the refugees and about the process of applying and sponsoring.

• A single man from Iran, who fled to Turkey in 2016 because he is gay. He is 40 years old, has a degree in architecture. He seems to have good English. He has been working as a labourer in Turkey, working 14 hour days and has been injured, once on the hand and once on the head. He has a friend in Vancouver who was sponsored through the government.
• A divorced 28 year old woman from Iran/Iraq who fled to Lebanon because she converted to Christianity and is now under threat of murder by her father. She has a degree from in Arabic LIterature. She has worked as a translator with Farsi and Arabic. She does not have great English, but would likely learn quickly. She has no possibility of work in Lebanon and has suffered from depression there.
• A single young man from Syria who worked as an Interpreter and Translator for the UN in Turkey. He speaks Arabic, English, and Turkish. He says he has helped more than three thousand Syrian and Iraqi refugees during their interviews and health assessments during processing to migrate to Canada. He was working on two degrees in Turkey; Engineering Physics and International Relations, but he is not able to complete them because of the need to work.
• A family consisting of a Mother in her 50s with two children, aged 28 and 17 from Iran/Iraq. They are Yarsani Kurds, which is a persecuted minority in the region. They have fled to Turkey. There is another son who is in Canada and would be able to do much of the settlement work. However, since he is a recent newcomer himself, he has no funds to bring his family.

Please visit the DRU webpage on the diocesan website for more information and contact us by email.