Syrian Family Sponsorship

November 2023 Update

Ready to kick off our next big project!! We are working towards bringing THREE more Syrian families to Halifax over the next 2-3 years. This is a very big endeavour but we are focusing on family reunification- a son and siblings of our other sponsorship who have now been in Canada for 1.5 years. Could you imagine being separated from your children, parents and siblings without ever knowing if you will see them again? We couldn't, but sadly, that is their current reality.

This Go Fund Me is still active and tax receipts will be provided for any donations $20+. You can also donate directly by contacting heathernantes at gmail dot com. Our fundraising goal will grow as we get closer to arrival time but currently hoping to reach $50k by February. Your support over the past few years has meant the world to me.

Thanks so much for caring!

Heather

July 2022 Update

We are very excited to share that after a long 3 year wait, the Al Hariri family is arriving next week!! Everyone is thrilled!

We are currently working hard to find them an apartment or house. With the current housing market in Halifax, is it quite the task! They will be staying with their family here when they arrive until we get them settled somewhere. After being apart for almost 6 years, they are very excited to be reunited.

Want to help? We are looking for items to furnish their home and also monetary donations through our Go Fund Me campaign.

For the home, we still need:

• Living room: couch, chairs, side tables and lamps

• Bedrooms: bunk beds with mattresses, a queen bed frame, a double bed frame, bedside tables, lamps and a desk

• Other: 2 adult bikes, clothes for the boys age 11, 16 and 22

If you have any of these items to donate, please contact Heather Nantes: [phone redacted] or [email redacted]. We are happy to arrange pickup.

Thanks so much all your support!

- Heather

May 2022 Update

We finally received good news- we're at the final stages and now just waiting for flight information! We are hopeful that the family will arrive in June. They are so excited to start their new life in Canada and we are too!

November 2021 Update

As of November 2021, the process is still moving forward but very slowly with Covid having delayed almost all international refugee sponsorship globally. Our family have passed their interviews at the embassy in Jordan and are having security checks done. After that, we move onto health checks. Fingers crossed they come early 2022! 

Help support our efforts to bring a Syrian family to Canada to reunite with their family here! 

We are sponsoring the family to come to Halifax and join other members of their family who arrived here 4 years ago. They are currently living in Jordan, displaced due to the Syrian war. They are a family of 5. 

The official process started in February 2020 with our paperwork submission to the federal government and proof of funds. As sponsors we are financially responsible for everything for their first year in Canada including housing, clothing, groceries, transit, internet and more. Our initial fundraising goal was $32,000 by March 2020- with the help of lots of friends and family, we reached $34,000 by Feb! But our efforts are not over yet- we hope to have at least $45,000 raised for when the family arrives. This is an increase from our original goal of $40,000- with rising rent and inflation we want to ensure we can support the family. 

This idea behind this project started with a wonderful friendship. Almost 5 years ago, Heather started tutoring a Syrian woman named Muna to help learn English and navigate life in Canada. They developed a wonderful friendship and each week they studied (a little!) and laughed (a lot!). Now as friends, they visit, drink coffee and continue to laugh! Muna, her husband and their 6 children arrived in Canada Dec 2016. Since then, they have welcomed 2 little girls and the whole family has become Canadian citizens. This sponsorship is an exciting new adventure we are embarking on with them! 

Since the Syrian civil war started in 2011, 13.5 million Syrians have become displaced. That is over 1/3 the population of Canada. Helping one family may not change the whole world, but it will change the world for this family! All funds from this Go Fund Me will go to a secured trust fund for our sponsored family.

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Since we have partnered with a local church, donations can also be provided directly to them via cheque or e-transfer. For further information, please contact our group lead:  [email redacted]