Middle Eastern Fall Supper and Quiz Night Thanks to everyone who attended the Middle Eastern Supper and Quiz Night on September 29. And a big shout out to Baghdad Restaurant for the wonderful meal. The supper, silent auction and quilt raffle raised more than $8,000! The money will be used to support Nest’s current refugee sponsorships in Saskatoon. Continue reading Thank you!
The Canadian government needs to take urgent action to help civilians trapped in Sudan after a deadly power struggle erupted in April between the Sudanese army and a rival militia group. That is the key message contained in an Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Canada and opposition leaders. The letter, which was sent today, is organized by Nest Saskatoon and Sudanese Canadians in the … Continue reading Open Letter to PM calls for urgent action
The 2023 Nest Secret Garden Tour was a big success. The weather was wonderful and the sell-out crowd seemed to enjoy the tour. Thanks to the gardeners who invited us to view their beautiful gardens and to the volunteers who ensured the event ran smoothly. Also thanks to Dutch Growers and Early Farm and Garden Centre for selling passports to the tour. The winner of … Continue reading Secret Garden Tour
It’s likely a good thing Saskatoon’s Catriona Le May Doan has retired, after capturing 25 gold medals in speed skating. There are two new kids in the city, stepping out on the ice and turning heads. Viola and Yola, along with their parents Ruda and Yubis arrived in Saskatoon in late October. The family, Sudanese refugees, have spent the last decade in Israel seeking asylum … Continue reading The new kids in town!
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 thank you to 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 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
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
When it comes to hosting refugees, Lebanon stands the tallest. This assessment is based on a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council. The council looked at which countries hosted the most refugees (per capita) between 2010 to 2019. As the Council notes, most of the countries on the top ten list have done so despite facing enormous challenges of their own, including civil wars, Ebola … Continue reading Which countries stand tallest?
Nest welcomed two refugee families earlier this year: a family of four from Syria and a single parent and her son from Iraq. That was February. Then the pandemic hit and refugee resettlement stopped. Instead of welcoming 32,000 asylum seekers in 2020, Canada has admitted about 6,000 refugees this year. Now, eight months after the application process was stopped, refugee resettlement to Canada has resumed, albeit … Continue reading Speed-up process, groups say
Flights have stopped, embassy interviews cancelled and sponsorship applications are on hold as Canada and the world grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic. The crisis has impacted many of Nest’s sponsorships. Here are a few: Continue reading “Refugee settlement “on hold””
