Private Sponsorship to Canada

Hello everyone,

My name is Hilary Salmon and I began volunteer work with the New Canadians Centre, Peterborough, ON in 2019. I was assigned to a lovely Syrian family that was arriving in Canada at the same time, the Alsheekh's. Since that first year of helping their family settle in Peterborough, Randa and Naeem Alsheekh and their children and I have become close friends, and I am constantly in awe of their sense of humour, generosity and resiliency. They truly are some of the most hilarious and incredibly kind people I have ever met.

A few years ago, Randa shared with me the concern she has for her eldest daughter, Houda, who was not able to journey to Canada with her younger siblings and her parents and so we began looking at options to reunite them with their daughter and her family.

For the past year Randa, Naeem, myself and a few wonderful volunteers have been working on a private sponsorship application for her daughter Houda, Houda’s husband and their two girls aged 6 and 4.

Houda has not seen her mother, father or her siblings that are here in Canada since they escaped war-torn Syria over 10 years ago. Houda and her small family have been living in Saudi Arabia, the only place her husband was able to find work, for over 6 years. Saudi Arabia does not acknowledge refugees (particularly from Syria) leaving them without health insurance or schooling for their two girls.

They are in a desperate situation and are unable to access assistance through the United Nations Refugee Agency, making private sponsorship their only option for accessing a better life for themselves and their children.

Through a Sponsorship Agreement Holder, AURA in Toronto, and a local church as our co-sponsor, we have completed the application for private sponsorship and resettlement here in Peterborough. We have also already raised $20,000 of the necessary $40,000 that will be their financial support during their first year here in Peterborough, Canada.

The application has been submitted and now we have 2-3 years to wait while the government works through the massive waitlist of refugee applications and gets to ours! Though this is a long wait, having all the finances in place is important to get our application approved by the government when the time comes.

The Alsheekh family here in Ptbo are incredibly eager to have their daughter back and to finally meet their grandchildren. They are saddened by the stories of fear and isolation they hear from their daughter and want her to be in a safe location with access to all the amenities we take for granted living here in Canada: health care, schooling for her children, a safe and comfortable place to sleep, and friends and family nearby for support.

Please help us to make this happen for Houda and her family!

All donations are reserved in an account at our co-sponsor church: All Saints Anglican Church. If you would like to receive a tax receipt for your donation, an e-transfer can be sent to [email redacted] please ensure you put "Houda Alsheekh" in the memo. You can then send a separate email to the same address that includes your personal information (name, mailing address, phone number) to receive your tax receipt.

Much love and appreciation,

Hilary Salmon and the Alsheekh Family