Report by Dale Dodge

We heard today that a Syrian refugee family of 5 is on their way to Oliver. Mohammad Al Lwisi, his wife Nesreen, and children Yazan (7), Ghazal (4) and Manessa (2) have been living in a Lebanese refugee camp for at least the past 2 years. They fled Damascus because of a deteriorating security situation during which Mohammad was beaten, jailed and tortured. Because the family is Sunni Muslim, they fear for their lives if they were to return to Syria.
The Oliver group responsible for sponsoring the Al Lwisi family is working under the umbrella of Christ the King Catholic Church, but includes members of a number of other Churches in the area. The Refugee Committee has found a house and has been doing minor renovations over the past couple of weeks to get it ready. They have also set up a Committee structure to spread the work around, and to involve as many community members as possible. One of the larger committees is that of Daily Living Support. This committee will help integrate the Syrians into Canadian life over the first couple of months by helping with things as basic as shopping, to as complicated as dealing with banks and with government agencies.
The other main thrust of the Refugee Committee will be to raise money to help with living expenses for the first 12 months. Even though the Canadian government will help subsidize the first 6 months of their stay, the Committee still expects to need a budget of approximately $2000 per month over the whole year. At the end of the year, it is expected that Mohammad or Nesreen, or maybe even both, will be working, will be productive members of Canadian society, and will be self-sufficient.
How can you help?
1. Join the Refugee Committee – we need bookkeeping help, we need drivers, we need babysitters, we may need people that we can call at a moment’s notice once they arrive.
2. Give a donation – if 100 people gave $100 each, we would suddenly have $10,000. Suddenly, you have changed a life! Or in this case, 5 lives. If you can help in any way, large or small, you can write a cheque to Christ the King, write ‘Refugee Support’ on the memo line, and send it to Box 130, Oliver, V0H 1T0.
3. Come to an information meeting this coming Sunday night at 7:00 pm. At Christ the King Catholic Church on 6044 Spartan Street.
4. Smile and welcome them to Oliver when you see them on the street, probably some time in October.