Reuniting a refugee family in Calgary

An African proverb notes, “it takes a village to raise a child”. We know the benefits of surrounding children with a healthy network of loving and responsive adults. Many of us know the challenges of raising young children, the demands (emotionally and financially), the sleep deprivation, and sometimes, the social isolation. This is made all that more difficult as a single parent, navigating the trials, tribulations and joys on one’s own with no social supports.

My name is Jenna Berry and over the past six years my husband and I have been mentoring a young refugee woman and her three children. Zerina is from Somalia and her eldest daughter Nadia (10) was born in a refugee camp in Kenya while the two youngest, Ezra (5) and Hayat (2), were born in Canada. I am a former Refugee Child Counsellor with Calgary Catholic Immigration Services (CCIS) and that is how I first met Zerina through the Survivors of Torture mentorship program. What was intended as a one-year volunteer role, expanded into a six-year friendship between Zerina and I and now includes, my husband, children and my extended family, including my parents and parents-in-law. We have shared the many joys that life offers together such as birthdays, holidays, the birth of our children and have also weathered many of life’s challenges together. Our favourite day to celebrate together is Canada Day - I have attached a photo from last Canada Day of the whole family.

Zerina's refugee application was expedited as she was in an inter-faith marriage and faced threats of violence as a result. However, her mother and brothers (now ages 20, 19 and 18) were not accepted to Canada at the same time. Zerina's marriage ended about a year ago and as a result, she faces a significant burden raising three young children with no family support. She is eager to enter the workforce, but this is not realistic given the significant childcare costs and her lack of education. As a result, my husband and I are working to raise funds to do a private sponsorship for her mother and brothers, as they are not in the government priority list which is focused on other geographic areas.

Through the generous initial support of family, friends and Lakeview United Church, as of the start of this GoFundMe campaign we are already three quarters of our goal of $36,000 to cover the family's cost during their first year in Canada. During this time, they will be primarily dedicated to learning English, as well as getting accustomed to Canadian culture and Canadian systems of work, education and government. We want to ensure that they build a strong foundation for future success. These funds will be allocated to the Government of Canada's required expense categories that include rent, utilities, food, household supplies, clothing, communications, transit, etc. This is a modest budget for four adults, but we are working to identify as many cost saving opportunities as possible to stretch these dollars

This brings us to this GoFundMe account, as we are looking for your help to reunite this family and ensure their successful settlement in Canada. With your support we are aiming to raise a final $10,000 by this Christmas and have Zerina reunited with her mom and brothers as soon as possible.

We greatly appreciate whatever contribution you can afford, whether it's $5, $25, $100 or more. If you are not able to contribute by December 25th but think that you can offer support at a later date, please let us know. We also appreciate commitments for in kind donations of furniture, household supplies, clothing, etc., as well as time to offer English conversation practice or mentorship in adjusting to life in Canada.

Thank you for helping us to make this very important and special Christmas wish happen!

From Jenna Berry on behalf of the group of 5 (the formal applicants for the sponsorship).