In Victoria, there are up to 800 volunteers who form the backbone of a small army tasked with helping hundreds of individuals fleeing from countries where they are persecuted or escaping from war.
The Refugee Program of the Anglican Synod of the Diocese of British Columbia, through a sponsorship agreement with the Canadian government, works with groups that wish to privately sponsor people displaced by war or persecution half a world away.
“The diocese has been assisting immigrants for ages — just the people have changed over time,” said Rebecca Siebert, refugee program co-ordinator for the diocese. “Thirty years ago we were helping the Vietnamese boat people, and now it is refugees from Syria.”
In the past year, 56 sponsorship groups raised funds to bring families to Canada and provide for their living expenses and accommodation for a year.
The Diocese provides humanitarian assistance by welcoming them as newcomers, integrating them into our multicultural society and encouraging them to become autonomous and self-reliant.
Volunteers orient them to language and settlement programs, health services and the Canadian workplace.
The diocese is up to the task of integrating a family into the community, but the sheer numbers have been staggering.
“We’re just growing so fast. There were between three and five cases in all of 2015,” said Siebert. “Currently, we have 114 families, comprising 350 people in total, in the program.”
The diocese has only two co-ordinators to manage, train and oversee 800 volunteers, who do tasks from greeting them to helping them with visas and travel documents.
Funding for the program this year came from the Victoria Foundation.
“It came just in time,” Siebert said.
She said it costs around $60,000 to keep the program running for a year, so they are hoping to find another sponsor or enough private donations to keep the program going.
“We want to make it sustainable for the long term.”
For more information, email [email protected], call 250-386-7781 or go to bc.anglican.ca.
