After long waits and little movement, we are starting to see progress on the refugee sponsorship front! Nest is waiting to welcome many refugee families to Saskatoon. But two families recently arrived: A Sudanese family in Egypt with relatives in Saskatoon arrived in March (pictured here) and our Afghan human rights champion Maria and her two adult sons arrived in May. Maria’s family was the first privately sponsored Afghan refugee family to arrive in the city, after an eight month wait. And there is progress on other Nest family sponsorships too:

Afghan women activists Abeda and Zainab: We submitted the refugee sponsorship applications for Abeda and Zainab on December 19. They had their medicals on June 9 and are waiting for flight information to Saskatoon!

A Sudanese family of four in Israel: Nest sponsored this family through the Canadian Lutheran World Relief in 2018. Their friends in Israel and Egypt (with ties to Saskatoon and the Sisters of Sion) are financially supporting this sponsorship. The family will be interviewed (finally) by the Canadian embassy on June 15.

A Pakistani family in Thailand.  Nest and the Canadian Lutheran World Relief  sponsored this family in 2016, but the family’s sponsorship application was rejected in March 2017 by a Canadian visa officer in Singapore. Nest appealed the decision and won the judicial review. A second interview was held by the Canadian Visa Office in Singapore in May 2018. The family was rejected a second time. Nest submitted a new sponsorship application in 2018 through the Canadian Lutheran World Relief. The family was interviewed in November 2021 and accepted! In June 2022, Nest was asked for the quarantine plan. We hope to greet them at the Saskatoon airport within the month!

A Sudanese family of five in Egypt and Uganda.  Nest submitted the application through the Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon in December 2020. Friends in Egypt and Saskatoon with ties to the Sisterhood of Sion are financially supporting this sponsorship! The parents and eldest son live in Egypt, while the two teenagers attend a boarding school in Uganda. They were interviewed by the Canadian embassy in May 2022 and approved for refugee sponsorship to Canada.

Other Nest sponsorships:

An Iraqi refugee mother in Turkey and an Eritrean refugee father in Sudan are waiting to be reunited with their family in Saskatoon. Both sponsorships were submitted in 2019.

Palestinian refugee in Turkey: Nest sponsored this single, Palestinian refugee in Turkey in September 2020. Check out the link to the Facebook page for Ahmed.

Two Eritrean families in Ethiopia:  These families are headed by single parent women. Nest submitted the sponsorship application through the Canadian Lutheran World Relief in December 2020. One of the families is living in the Hitsats Refugee Camp in Ethiopia, the scene of recent fighting.

A Palestinian family of four in Malaysia. Mohammed and his wife are originally from Gaza. They have been working on their university degrees in Malaysia.  They have three children. Nest submitted their refugee sponsorship in May 2021 through the Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.

An Iraqi woman and her mother:  A group of 40 people contributed to the sponsorship of Aisha and her mother, Iraqi refugees in Malaysia.  The money was raised in just over a month! Thanks to everyone who donated! The application was submitted through the Canadian Lutheran World Relief in May. 

A Sudanese family of six in Saudi Arabia:  Nest submitted the sponsorship application for Wafaa Idress and her family in November, with the assistance of the Canadian Lutheran World Relief. Wafaa has relatives in Saskatoon.