REFUGEE SPONSORSHIP WITH THE DIOCESE OF QU'APPELLE
The Diocese of Qu'Appelle is a sponsorship agreement holder (SAH) for IRCC and is situated in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Diocese prides itself in the sponsorship of Refugees for close to 30 years and counting. Among other things, the diocese unites families, helps in settlement, and supports them in getting basic amenities, getting basic language lessons, etc.
Who are refugees?
Refugees are essentially people who flee their homes because of fear, sometimes due to natural disasters, but typically due to fear that is man-made such as civil unrest, civil war, or war between countries. A large proportion of refugees are internally displaced persons who flee their homes in one part of their country to another part. These IDPs will typically return to their homes and villages after fighting has subsided, and normalcy has returned. Another proportion of refugees flee their homes and their country to a neighbouring country. This is because they may live close to the border or because they may feel safer in the neighbouring country than in their own.
Most wait out the war or fighting and return to their homes and villages when they are confident peace has been restored and will hold. Among the refugees who are outside their country, are people unwilling to return to their home country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, and membership in a particular social group or political opinion. Many of these are found in refugee camps set up by the UNHCR. Some leave the camps to look for work in the towns, but this can leave them open to extortion by unscrupulous police and employers because of their lack of legal status in host countries.
Some not only leave the refugee camps but make their way to countries in Western Europe, Canada, and the United States. These are the asylum seekers and often have friends and relatives in these countries.
Why is the Church involved with refugees?
The Anglican Church of Canada's involvement with refugee sponsorship can be traced back to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 through ACT, but it was with the Vietnamese Boat people that it made its mark.
This involvement arises from social justice outreach of the Church which finds inspiration in the moving Gospel of St. Matthew 25, which reads in part:
“You have my father’s blessing; come, enter and possess the kingdom that has been ready for you since the world was made. For when I was hungry, you gave me food; when thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger you took me into your home, when naked you clothed me; when I was ill you came to my help, when in prison you visited me.” Then the righteous will
reply, “Lord when was it that we saw you hungry and fed you, or thirsty and gave you drink, a stranger and took you home, or naked and clothed you? When did we see you ill or in prison and come to visit you?” And the king will answer, I tell you this anything you did for one of my brothers here, however humble, you did for me.”
In addition, as we all know from the story of the three wise men or astrologers in Matthew 2, the Lord and his family were themselves refugees who found it prudent to escape to Egypt because of the fear of King Herod and did not return to the land of Israel until his death.
Conditions of sponsorship:
The family co-sponsor shall:
1. provide a letter of criminality check from the Regina City Police or RCMP;
2. provide a copy of the most recent Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency;
3. provide settlement assistance including shelter, transportation, applications for SIN card, Saskatchewan Health Card, and Canada Child Benefit as well as language assessment, school enrolment where applicable, job-finding, and other related support;
4. arrange for medical and dental appointments and emotional support, if required.
5. take full financial responsibility to support the refugee(s) families and provide the Diocese an upfront payment of the estimated cost of sponsorship for one year. The Diocese in turn will disburse the funds monthly to the refugee family, when they arrive, and will return the balance to the cosponsor if the refugee family becomes financially self-sufficient before the one-year period
expires.
HOW CAN A REFUGEE BE SPONSORED BY THE DIOCESE?
A refugee can be sponsored through the Diocese by application: Sponsorship pre-assessment form
The application is a pre-assessment where the eligibility of the refugee is determined.
The Pre-assessment form can either be filled by a refugee or the sponsor (either family of the refugee resident in Regina, SK, or anyone who wishes to take up the sponsorship of a refugee).
Anyone who wishes to sponsor a refugee MUST BE A PERMANENT RESIDENT OR A CANADIAN CITIZEN.
WORKSHOP/ INFORMATION SESSIONS WITH REFUGEE SPONSORS
The Diocese, in a bid to allow for more participation, will commence the organization of informative and educative sessions for sponsors and prospective sponsors on their roles, responsibilities, and obligations in the process of settling refugees. This will be interactive and in-person to allow for question and answer regarding all grey areas that may be associated with refugee resettlement.
For further enquiries on when the information session will be or any other information, please email: [email protected]
REFUGEE SPONSORSHIP TRAINING PROGRAMS
There are always Refugee Sponsorship Training Programs organized all year round to inform all sponsorship agreement holders and sponsors of changes and evolving events. For further information, contact www.rstp.ca.
