Update from The Refugee Sponsorship Ad Hoc Committee
The joint committee (members of MacNeill and Burlington Baptist Church) continued to meet weekly until December 16. We then took a two week break and re-convened on January 6.
This is the current lay of the land:
Interest: There is a high interest in this project within and outside of both MacNeill and BBC. Members of both congregations told their friends, neighbours and co-workers. An announcement was placed on our outside sign-board, inviting people to participate in sponsoring a refugee family with us. We have contact with members of a local mosque who are offering help as needed.
Financial: A dedicated bank account has been opened and all donations, including MacNeill’s realized pledges, have been placed in that account. The current amount totals $33,272. The donations have come from both congregations as well as neighbours, friends and co-workers.
To Do List: Both congregations have posted the ‘To Do List’ and many of you have signed on to help with specific tasks. Neighbours have also called in with offers of help. As the project moves forward we will be calling on you to help in the ways you offered.
Communications: The Committee have been keeping ongoing communications with Wesley Urban Ministries (our Hamilton refugee settlement agency) and with CBOQ our Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) for support in order to expedite our application.
The Application: In the middle of December we were informed by the CBOQ that the Ministry of Immigration had placed the Blended Visa Office Referred (BVOR) system ‘on pause’ until the New Year. As of January 4 the system has been reactivated. Our application form is already filled in as much as possible. We are now waiting to receive the BVOR list from CBOQ. When we receive the list we can then select ‘our’ family, and send off the application to the Ministry office in Winnipeg. After this we hope it will not be long until we can welcome our family.
Gifts in Kind: We are planning and hoping to provide for the exact needs of the family. As yet, as mentioned, we do not know the identities of the family members. We also don`t want to overwhelm them with too much `stuff`. For instance we have compiled a list of the kitchen requirements for a regular Syrian/Iraqi family, and will try and stick to this list. Please let us know if you have furniture, utensils, clothes etc. that you would like to donate. We do not have a central storage area so we ask that you keep these potential donations with you until we can let you know that they are needed.
