TALE OF COLLABORATION AND FRIENDSHIP

AFSS Press Office -

We are glad to report as a result of successful cooperation of Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Toronto and Canadian Council of Churches, a number of denominations expressed their willingness to work with the Armenian Family Support Services in order to sponsor Armenian Syrian families.

The Armenian Family Support Services (AFSS) is a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) operating under the auspices of Holy Trinity Armenian Church. The AFSS receives daily emails, phone calls, from Syrian refugees sending pictures of their families, their life stories of suffering under terrible conditions and desperately asking for help. Many of the requests also do not have sponsors in Canada which makes it extremely difficult to support these requests. The AFSS supports families in Canada bring their relatives from Syria. However, it has also worked hard at bridging potential sponsors with the refugees without sponsors, our most vulnerable refugees. Our work has paid off. We have been grateful to community supports that have stepped forward and answered the call.

We are glad to report about AFSS collaborating with the Mennonite Central Committee of British Columbia (SAH) to sponsor Syrian-Armenian refugees to arrive in Canada’s West Coast.

Jennifer Mpungu, Migration and Resettlement Program officer at Mennonite Central Committee of B.C. is the person that answered the call. We met each other in Winnipeg SAH conference. After hearing our stories of families in desperate need of sponsors, Jennifer quickly made the decision and advised me that she will take three families. This was the beginning of a great collaboration between AFSS and MCC British Columbia.

The refugee families were informed we found a sponsor hence gave them a gift of hope, positive outlook and a light towards a peaceful life. There were a lot of tears as we exchanged the information. We prepared all the information from the refugee families, mailed to Jennifer. A few months later, now we see the successful result of our collaboration.

The first family had a stopover in Toronto before going to BC. Members of the Refugee Sponsorship and Settlement Committee greeted the parents and their two sons. There were a lot of hugs, tears and words of gratitude. The family was looking forward to starting their new lives. When they arrived in B.C, the family was greeted by 20 people waiting for them. Some of the families had children the same age as the newcomer children and introduced them. They had a fully furnished home waiting for them.

This past year, the adults have been attending full time English classes so that they will be well equipped for the job market next year. They have also attended special classes for newcomers, learning about Canadian rights and laws for their protection.

As more families arrived and started the successful integration, Jennifer reached out to the AFSS advising that she found more sponsors!!! To date, we are happy to announce that 20 families have been sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee of B.C. These families are now able to build their lives and plan their future. In other words they are stepping into a normal and peaceful life.

The families visited St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church in Vancouver. Rev. Archpriest Father Keghart Garabedian, Parish Priest of St. Vartan Church will be welcoming more families to St. Vartan Church.

Thank you for having such a fabulous collaboration with MCC BC.

Rita Odjaghian,
Chair, AFSS