The Syrian refugee family that Revelstoke for Refugees had hoped to bring here this year has withdrawn its application to sponsor has withdrawn its application, the private sponsorship group said today, March 21.
Laura Stovel co-chairwoman of the broad-based community group said Revelstoke for Refugees was disappointed by the news but will persevere.
“This setback does not mean an end to the sponsorship efforts,” she said in a statement. “Revelstoke for Refugees is planning to sponsor another Syrian family and is currently in the process of finding the best way to do so. A decision on how to proceed will likely be made in the next month.”
She did not know why the Almastou family had decided not to come .
Revelstoke for Refugees was started in the fall of 2015 to lend a hand as millions of Syrians were fleeing their war-ravaged country. At the time, the Trudeau government had committed to bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada and communities across the country were raising money to sponsor families.
Working with the Alliance Church’s Christian and MissionaryAlliance in Canada, which acted as the Sponsorship Agreement Holder to facilitate the sponsorship, Revelstoke for Refugees members selected the Almastous for sponsorship, raised $65,000 to support them and found a house for them to live. For the past year the group has been waiting for the family to be processed in Jordan and to welcome them to our community. They were expected this autumn.
