Thank you to everyone who participated in our Nest Celebrate Summer Social in Osler on July 17. We sold 148 tickets and from all reports everyone enjoyed the gorgeous afternoon at the Buhler Gardens and their visits to three other gardens. A special thanks to the Ruth and Wilf Buhler, Helena Enns, Diane McKinnell and Robin Neudorf for allowing us to show and share their … Continue reading Social shines!
Nest is fundraising to sponsor Afghan prosecutor Rohi Rasa and her husband Mojeeb.
Nest is working to sponsor women activists from Afghanistan and Sudan, who were forced to flee their homes due to their work for women’s equality. Nest is sponsoring Maryam, her spouse and two small children. Maryam (pictured here) is an Afghan journalist specializing in gender and human rights. She also is a member of the persecuted Hazara minority. When the Taliban took power on August … Continue reading Nest provides asylum to women activists
Image by Elena Mozhvilo Continue reading “Recalibrate plan,” group says
Opinion by Beth Smillie Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser claims the Canadian government has the capacity to sponsor an unlimited number of Ukrainian refugees by “leveraging” the current system. It’s hard to imagine how? The Canadian government’s refugee sponsorship program has run off the rails (if not a cliff) and does not have the capacity to rescue many, let alone an unlimited number of Ukrainians. … Continue reading Leveraging Canada’s refugee program?
Yubis, his wife Ruda, and their two young daughters are Sudanese refugees in Tel Aviv. Nest submitted their sponsorship application in 2018 and again in 2019. Years have passed but the Canadian embassy has not contacted them. Nest members recently met with Saskatoon MP Corey Tochor’s staff to try to get traction on their refugee sponsorship application. Yubis tried too. Last month, he left his … Continue reading Dear Canadian embassy:
A group called Change.org is calling on the Canadian government to change two key requirements of the immigration and refugee program to address the Afghan crisis and allow more Afghans to get to Canada. In a petition to the Canadian government, the group says the government must remove the language assessment requirement for skilled Afghan workers. “The requirement for English proficiency and biometrics for Skilled … Continue reading Petition urges Afghan action
In response to the Afghan crisis, the Canadian government promised to settle up to 40,000 Afghan refugees. It also committed to fast-track Afghan asylum requests, stating it would give priority to women leaders, human rights advocates, persecuted religious minorities and others. But months later, there are still no details about the Canadian government’s Afghan resettlement plan or the expedited process. How will Afghan refugees be … Continue reading Afghan crisis: More questions than answers
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: Continue reading “Nest family sponsorships”
It took three attempts, but a Syrian refugee family in Lebanon finally arrived in Saskatoon on April 12. The family is now in quarantine for two weeks. Mohamad, his wife Rasha and their four children were contacted in January by the International Office of Migration (IOM) and told they would travel to Canada in February. They were overjoyed. It was news they had waited years … Continue reading Third attempt: Lift-off!
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