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THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SEE the UPDATE!
I have asked Kristin if we could start a gofundme for her as she is in a very difficult situation. Kristin and Marlon are stuck in a foreign country during a pandemic.
Here is a little of her story…
Kristin works for a non-profit in Saskatoon as a youth worker and Counsellor. It was through her youth work that she first got connected to the King’s Children’s Home (an orphanage in Belize), which is where she first met Marlon when he was a toddler. He has been living in Canada with Kristin for 2.5 years. Kristin sponsored him to come to Canada to pursue a better education, have more opportunity, and join a loving and supportive family and community.
Marlon and Kristin brought a group down to Belize for a 10 day trip at the end of February, to spend time at the children’s home and host special events for the kids of the home. They were scheduled to leave last Saturday but when they arrived at the airport, the airline refused Marlon to travel stating that he does not have the proper documentation to get back into Canada. She had done hundreds of hours of research on the Canadian Immigration website over the years to successfully get and keep Marlon in Canada. She did thorough research to make sure he had the correct documents to go and return from Belize. She consulted with an immigration lawyer, did countless more hours of research on the official webpage, and spoke with an immigration officer directly who works at the Toronto border crossing where they were set to come back through. She was positive they had all the bases covered, but the airline insisted he could not travel. Marlon has a visa to live and study in Canada, but now they are being told he needs an additional visa to be able to cross the border. This is not what she was originally told, but it is their current situation and when they investigated further it is obvious that the safest thing to do is to get this additional visa instead of trying to “risk it” by coming back to Canada only to possibly get denied entry and sent back. So the rest of the group went home and Marlon and Kristin stayed back. She completed the application form to get him the additional visa he needs to come back. The current waiting time is 12 days to receive an answer, and she applied 3 days ago. Once they get a “yes,” they will have to either expedite his passport or physically take it to Guatemala to get the visa placed inside. Either of those options will add a few days to their trip. This situation came out of nowhere, and they were not prepared financially. People n Belize are taking good care of them with very cheapest accommodation possible and vehicle rental, but they cannot stay there for free. Marlon is starting college in May and financial pressures are mounting so this extended stay in Belize is stressful. Especially in the midst of a global pandemic. Kristin is an amazing woman who has sacrificed in various ways for many. Please consider helping her at this time. Thank you in advance for any support you can give, financially, emotional, through prayer, or sharing this post.
The breakdown for Expenses in Belize for Kristin and Marlon.
Estimated for 3 weeks
Vehicle rental: $35 a day (this is a great deal and was dropped down from $75 a day)
=$735 for 3 weeks
(it is not possible for them to be there without a vehicle, their accommodation is remote and located way back in the jungle and the Children’s Home where they spend most of our time is located 20 min. outside the city)
Accommodation: $125/week
=$375 for 3 weeks
Fuel: $150/week (fuel is very expensive there)
=$450 for 3 weeks
Food: $20 a day
=$430 for 3 weeks
Visa expenses: $500
(this includes the application, as well as the travel to Guatamala City to pick it up when it’s ready)
Plane tickets home:
-hard to approximate depending on what the economy does, but we estimate about
= $1200
Approximate TOTAL for 3 weeks: $3,690
*She is also not able to work her part-time hourly job while she is there which is a loss of $700.00
I have asked Kristin if we could start a gofundme for her as she is in a very difficult situation. Kristin and Marlon are stuck in a foreign country during a pandemic.
Here is a little of her story…
Kristin works for a non-profit in Saskatoon as a youth worker and Counsellor. It was through her youth work that she first got connected to the King’s Children’s Home (an orphanage in Belize), which is where she first met Marlon when he was a toddler. He has been living in Canada with Kristin for 2.5 years. Kristin sponsored him to come to Canada to pursue a better education, have more opportunity, and join a loving and supportive family and community.
Marlon and Kristin brought a group down to Belize for a 10 day trip at the end of February, to spend time at the children’s home and host special events for the kids of the home. They were scheduled to leave last Saturday but when they arrived at the airport, the airline refused Marlon to travel stating that he does not have the proper documentation to get back into Canada. She had done hundreds of hours of research on the Canadian Immigration website over the years to successfully get and keep Marlon in Canada. She did thorough research to make sure he had the correct documents to go and return from Belize. She consulted with an immigration lawyer, did countless more hours of research on the official webpage, and spoke with an immigration officer directly who works at the Toronto border crossing where they were set to come back through. She was positive they had all the bases covered, but the airline insisted he could not travel. Marlon has a visa to live and study in Canada, but now they are being told he needs an additional visa to be able to cross the border. This is not what she was originally told, but it is their current situation and when they investigated further it is obvious that the safest thing to do is to get this additional visa instead of trying to “risk it” by coming back to Canada only to possibly get denied entry and sent back. So the rest of the group went home and Marlon and Kristin stayed back. She completed the application form to get him the additional visa he needs to come back. The current waiting time is 12 days to receive an answer, and she applied 3 days ago. Once they get a “yes,” they will have to either expedite his passport or physically take it to Guatemala to get the visa placed inside. Either of those options will add a few days to their trip. This situation came out of nowhere, and they were not prepared financially. People n Belize are taking good care of them with very cheapest accommodation possible and vehicle rental, but they cannot stay there for free. Marlon is starting college in May and financial pressures are mounting so this extended stay in Belize is stressful. Especially in the midst of a global pandemic. Kristin is an amazing woman who has sacrificed in various ways for many. Please consider helping her at this time. Thank you in advance for any support you can give, financially, emotional, through prayer, or sharing this post.
The breakdown for Expenses in Belize for Kristin and Marlon.
Estimated for 3 weeks
Vehicle rental: $35 a day (this is a great deal and was dropped down from $75 a day)
=$735 for 3 weeks
(it is not possible for them to be there without a vehicle, their accommodation is remote and located way back in the jungle and the Children’s Home where they spend most of our time is located 20 min. outside the city)
Accommodation: $125/week
=$375 for 3 weeks
Fuel: $150/week (fuel is very expensive there)
=$450 for 3 weeks
Food: $20 a day
=$430 for 3 weeks
Visa expenses: $500
(this includes the application, as well as the travel to Guatamala City to pick it up when it’s ready)
Plane tickets home:
-hard to approximate depending on what the economy does, but we estimate about
= $1200
Approximate TOTAL for 3 weeks: $3,690
*She is also not able to work her part-time hourly job while she is there which is a loss of $700.00
Organizer and beneficiary
Kristin Clark
Beneficiary