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Ferdinand Kabemba

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Ferdinand Kabemba

Ferdinand, originally from Africa, came to Canada over ten years ago as a refugee and  started working in production at Transcontinental Printing in Winnipeg. Ferdinand was working very hard to bring his family to Canada and also had to make sure his working Visa was kept in good standing (had to renew it annually).

Ferdinand was an extremely reliable worker, he never missed a shift and was always willing to work overtime when needed. On January 16th, Ferdinand called in sick for his shift as he was battling the flu bug.

Ferdinand then missed 3 more shifts the following week as he needed more time to recover. He insisted that he just needed a few more days to get better and would be in for his Wednesday shift.

Wednesday showed up as planned, but Ferdinand did not. To say we were worried, would be an understatement. We repeatedly tried to get him on the phone but he was not answering. We asked the police to stop at Ferdinand's house and we then found out through his neighbor that Ferdinand was in the hospital waiting for surgery. We called the hospital but, unless you are family, they will give you very little information. We were told that Ferdinand was very sick and could not come to the phone, we were however able to come and see him.

The following day, we went to the HSC in Winnipeg to visit Ferdinand. We were quite upset and shocked to find out that Ferdinand had been put on life support to keep him alive. The nurse told us that he had a really bad infection and was very ill. We left a note for Ferdinand and our contact info as the nurse told us a social worker had been assigned to him.

On February 7th we were informed that Ferdinand had passed away from his illness around 3:00am at the HSC in Winnipeg. We were contacted by Claudine Salumu, a member of Ferdinand's church community.

Ferdinand's family are currently refuges in Morocco, North Africa. Claudine and other members of Ferdinand's church community are working with the government to secure a Visa for Ferdinand's wife to travel to Canada.

We are currently trying to raise funds for the following:
* bringing Ferdinand's wife to Canada 
* legal costs for managing Ferdinand's estate
* funeral expenses 

There are many roadblocks that have been presenting themselves since Ferdinand's passing. Funeral arrangements have been put on hold until we can get his wife into the country. Claudine has been working with immigration to get this taken care of as once we're able to get some family here, then we can start dealing with the estate.

Ferdinand's medical expenses have also come into question. Ferdinand's working Visa expired on January 16th (the very same date he became ill). We are being told that due to his working Visa expiring, his medical expenses will not be covered and the family may be invoiced before a death certificate can be issued.

We've had some employee's at TC Printing come forward and give donations for the family already which is very nice to see. We will be forwarding any donations to the church for them to hold until Ferdinand's wife arrives. Any funds raised through this website will also be submitted and managed by the church through an account opened at CIBC.

We've set a goal of $3,000.00 but we really don't know how much we will need to take care of everything. Legal expenses as the family tries to deal with immigration and the estate could end up being a considerable amount.

Anything you can give is greatly appreciated by Ferdinand's friends at TC Printing and in his Church community.

Thank You!
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Donations 

  • Mike Arsenault
    • $50 
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer

Jeff Shirley
Organizer
Winnipeg, MB

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