Image Credit: RAFT

By Dylana Kneeshaw

'REFUGEES AND FRIENDS TOGETHER'

RAFT seeks support as planning to bring refugee family to Kamloops begins

May 22, 2024 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops Refugees and Friends Together group, also known as RAFT, is preparing to bring another family to Kamloops.

The organization formed in the 1970’s, with the arrival of the Vietnamese ‘boat people’. Over those decades, RAFT has helped hundreds of refugees come to Kamloops.

RAFT Board Chair Nancy Bepple says this year, the group wants to bring one or more families to the city, and will need to fundraise and attract more volunteers.

“Rhere was a lull. Because of COVID, the federal government stopped refugee settlement,” she says of recent years. “I think the most exciting thing is that we’re preparing to start bringing families to Kamloops again.”

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Past refugees have come in from around the world, including Afghanistan, Central America, the former Yugoslavia, Sudan, Syria and more. But in order to help, RAFT needs to have the means to financially support new settlers during that first year.

“We’re looking right now to sponsor a family of four — a single mother and three small children,” notes Bepple.

RAFT works in conjunction with Kamloops Immigrant Services (KIS) to help families navigate everything from learning English, finding a place to live, a job, activities and more.

“By combining our skills and our knowledge and our time, refugees will have a good support network,” explains KIS Executive Director France Lamontagne, “and their journey settling will be much more rapid and solid.”

KIS also has a team of case managers and trauma-informed settlement counsellors to help refugees who have fled conflict or other traumatic situations.

“Some families, some adults, they will not be ready to take part in many of the services and programs until five-to-six years later. Because the first five to six years, they’re dealing with trauma, and they need to just feel better,” notes Lamontagne, who says that KIS works with other counselling and mental health professionals in the community as well.

The goal for 2024 is to bring at least one family to Kamloops, and RAFT states it will need to raise roughly $30,000 and build up its volunteer base.

“There are so many people I know who, they come as refugees but when they arrive here they’re no longer a refugee. They’re a newcomer. They’re a part of our community.”

RAFT’s Annual General Meeting is coming up on Saturday, May 25 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at the Hills of Peace Lutheran Church on Robson Drive. Information on attending, volunteering or donating can be found at raftkamloops.org.