[Sundaycommunity] Refugee Sponsorship

[Mario Calla]

December 12, 2022

Dear Friends,

The last few days have been very exciting for us  as we welcome Amer into
our home.  The attached photo was taken during his first moments in Canada
at the Toronto airport. From left to right are Fuad and Ola Sabeh, (who
many of you helped to sponsor six years ago),  Amer and you know the other
two on the right!
We are getting to know Amer and find him to be a very Iintelligent,
considerate, kind individual. His time in the United Arab Emrites was a
profound struggle; just trying to survive from one day until the next.
Amer told us that he is ready to work hard and finally dares to hope for
the future. He claims to like the cold and we put him to the test on the
weekend as we took him on a hike in Caledon!

We are sincerely grateful for all of you who have so generously donated to
Amer's fund.   If you haven't had the chance, now is the time as you can
claim your donation on your 2022 taxes.  We have a long way to go to reach
our sponsorship goal. The following is a reminder how to donate. Please
remember to put Syrian Refugees if you pay by check or by credit card. Rest
assured that it will only go towards supporting Amer.

We have made arrangements with the Afghan Women's Organization, a
registered charity, to manage the funds and to provide tax receipts for
anyone who donates. You can donate in two ways:

   1. By cheque, payable to the Afghan Women's Organization, Att'n A.
   Niazi, 150 Consumers Rd., Unit 203, North York, Ontario M2J 1P9, Canada.
   Please write 'Syrian Refugees' on the memo line.
   2. By credit card on the Canada Helps website: AFGHAN WOMEN'S
   ORGANIZATION REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT SERVICES | Charity Profile | Donate
   Online | Canadahelps
   <https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/afghan-womens-counselling-integration-community-support-organization/>
    On the 'Send a message to this charity' box write 'Syrian Refugees'




Could you kindly let us know if you choose to donate as we really want to
thank you!

Wishing you all the best for a wonderful holiday season,

Fondly

Marjie and Mario


On Fri, Nov 11, 2022 at 5:55 PM Mario Calla <callamj at gmail.com> wrote:

> About six years ago our Sunday Community sponsored a Syrian refugee
> family, the Sabehs. I'm happy to report that they are doing very well. Fuad
> has his own construction business renovating homes. Ola works with
> developmentally delayed adults. Grace, their oldest, just started first
> year at Queens U. Joud is an A student in his final year of high school and
> Lily is doing well in grade seven.
>
> About two years ago they approached me to see if we could sponsor their
> cousin, Amer, who was stuck in Abu Dhabi with no status. Amer's situation
> as a refugee and a Christian made it impossible for him to get work and he
> was in constant fear of being deported back to Syria. I agreed to make an
> application for sponsorship and asked my colleagues at the Afghan Women's
> Organization to co-sponsor as they are Sponsorship Agreement Holders with
> the federal government.  I am happy to report that after an anxious two
> years, IRCC has informed us that Amer has been approved as a refugee and
> will be arriving by the end of this month. We have a guest room in our home
> and can accommodate Amer until we can find him a place of his own.
>
> The reason for my email is to see if you wish to participate in this
> sponsorship by supporting Amer financially. He will need support for his
> living expenses and for rent, once he moves on his own. I anticipate that
> he will not take long to find work as he is young (33 years old), speaks
> English well, has a post-secondary education and has experience in
> banking, accounting and customer service. I think we will need to raise
> about $14,000 to see him through his first year here.
>
> I have made arrangements with the Afghan Women's Organization, a
> registered charity, to manage the funds and to provide tax receipts for
> anyone who donates. You can donate in two ways:
>
>    1. By cheque, payable to the Afghan Women's Organization, Att'n A.
>    Niazi, 150 Consumers Rd., Unit 203, North York, Ontario M2J 1P9, Canada.
>    Please write 'Syrian Refugees' on the memo line.
>    2. By credit card on the Canada Helps website: AFGHAN WOMEN'S
>    ORGANIZATION REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT SERVICES | Charity Profile | Donate
>    Online | Canadahelps
>    <https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/afghan-womens-counselling-integration-community-support-organization/>
>     On the 'Send a message to this charity' box write 'Syrian Refugees'
>
> Getting started in a new country is expensive. All funds raised by the
> Syrian Refugees Fund will be distributed to Amer, even if he finds work
> early.
>
> Thank you for considering my request.
>
> God bless,
>
> Mario
>
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