Image Credit: CFJC Today/Kent Simmonds

By Adam Donnelly

REFUGEE SPONSORSHIP

Kamloops Immigrant Services hosts meeting to increase refugee sponsorship

Aug 6, 2019 | 5:14 PM

KAMLOOPS — According to the United Nations, we’re witnessing the highest levels of displacement in the world right now. In 2018, over 70 million people had been forced from their homes due to conflict and persecution. But Canadians are working hard to help those refugees.

On Tuesday, Kamloops Immigrant Services held an information session which was hosted by The Refugee Hub from the University of Ottawa. The goal of the meeting was to connect potential refugee sponsors to available funding, which is earmarked to people who have fled violence and persecution in their home countries.

On Tuesday, Tara Templin from the Refugee Hub at the University of Ottawa was in Kamloops speaking about the Blended Visa Office Referred (BVOR) Fund. The fund is expressly set up to help groups bring more refugees to our country.

“In my experience, and the experience of the vast majority of sponsors, giving is what refugees do,” Templin explained. “They give to Canada, they give to their communities and in large part are delightful people to have as part of the community.”

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For these refugees to come to Canada, they first need to be sponsored by a group of people willing to help them adjust to their new surroundings. That commitment lasts a full year and ensures that the refugees have a local support system in place during what can be a significant upheaval in their lives.

“Some of the families had lives that were similar to ours before they left their countries,” Martha Ashbaugh from Refugees and Friends Together (RAFT) told CFJC Today. “Others have no experience of watching machines… we’ve had a family that never had flush toilets. we had to teach them to turn on the lights.”

Ashbaugh has been involved with RAFT for over 40 years. In that time, RAFT has helped dozens of families settle in Kamloops. Just last year, they were able to access the BVOR Fund to help bring a new family to town. The money helps provide basics like food, shelter, other necessities.

“For a single person, it’s around $700 or $800 a month. That’s their total income,” Ashbaugh said. “We have to help them find somewhere to live and live on that, so it’s tricky.”

Time is currently running out to apply for the 2019 edition of the BVOR Fund. According to Templin, groups interested in sponsoring new refugees to Canada have until August 31 to do so.

“Access the funding now, and you don’t have to fundraise to sponsor a refugee to Canada,” Templin said. “You can benefit from the experience and ensure that people who are living in extreme danger have a safe and secure place to live in Kamloops.”

For more information on sponsoring a refugee family, you can contact the University of Ottawa Refugee Hub via email at BVORFund@RefugeeHub.ca.