Image Credit: Refugees and Friends Together/Contributed

By Victor Kaisar

'Refugees and Friends Together'

Kamloops-based volunteer group welcomes newest refugee family

Nov 12, 2025 | 2:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Refugees and Friends Together (RAFT), a group that has been sponsoring and settling refugees in Kamloops for the past five decades, has welcomed another family to the area.

It says family of five — parents and three children from Africa — officially made their way to Kamloops last Thursday (Nov. 6).

“Welcoming a newcomer family is the result of years of work by RAFT and tremendous support of community” said RAFT board chair and Kamloops councillor Nancy Bepple.

“They pay a family who can start a new life with the support they need to be a successful part of our community.”

Formed in the 1970s, RAFT has been sponsoring and settling refugees in Kamloops since the time of the Vietnamese boat people who fled following the end of the Vietnam War.

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Bepple said once RAFT has fundraised to financially support a family during its first year in Kamloops, it completes an “onerous” application process with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

It noted each family it sponsors goes through a rigorous screening and selection process before it comes to Canada, a process that can take years to complete.

Bepple said once the family arrives in Kamloops, a team of 10 volunteers helps it find housing and other basic household goods. They’re also connected with services like education, employment and health care.

“RAFT has been successful for so many years because of the generosity of Kamloops,” Bepple added. “Again and again, our city has opened their arms to newcomers and shown generosity in helping them settle.”

RAFT has previously helped refugees from around the world, including Central America, the former Yugoslavia, Sudan, Syria and Vietnam, resettle in Kamloops.