Nest submitted two more refugee sponsorships this month with the support of a special fund established by the University of Ottawa Refugee Hub and the Shapiro Foundation. One sponsorship is to bring an Eritrean refugee woman with six kids and the second is for a refugee man from Myanmar who has friends in Saskatoon. Both sponsorships are through the Canadian government’s Blended Visa Office Referral … Continue reading Look who is coming:
Nest is expecting to greet three more families before the end of the year. They are: Saleem and Shakeela and family: This family of five from Pakistan fled to Malaysia in 2011 to escape religious persecution. They applied for asylum in Malaysia, but like the majority of Pakistani Christians, they were denied refugee protection by the UNHCR. Nest offered to sponsor the family in 2016. They … Continue reading Three more families on their way!
They only arrived in Saskatoon last month. But the Al Salloum family are ready for Halloween. Superman, Spiderman and Ninja are originally from Syria. When they are not fighting crime, the trio go to Lester B. Pearson school. The three boys, along with their mother and two other siblings, arrived in the city on September 18 to an emotional reunion with their relatives in the … Continue reading Ready for Halloween
The Saskatoon Show and Shine weekend in mid-August attracted a huge crowd, including a Nest refugee family who had just arrived in the city August 9. Samer, his wife Marwah and their two children enjoyed the afternoon, admiring the cars in the city’s downtown. Originally from Iraq, Samer and his family were refugees in Jordan. Samer has his PhD in computer science, specializing in cyber … Continue reading Newcomers enjoy car show
Nest expected to welcome a Syrian single parent with five children on August 9. But less than 24 hours before their departure from Beirut, the family’s flight was cancelled due to problems obtaining an exit permit in Lebanon. The last minute cancellation was heart-breaking. Wisal and her children (pictured here) have waited two years to come to Saskatoon. Nest and the Canadian Lutheran World Relief … Continue reading Syrian family’s arrival delayed
Visitors to the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market will know Ebtsam Elsheikh, the vendor with “the million watt smile.” Nest worked with Ebtsam, who also is a member of the group, to bring four of her relatives who were Sudanese refugees in Cairo. After a 27 month wait, her sister Saphia, her two nieces Safaa and Alaa and her nephew Abdulhai arrived in Saskatoon in March! A … Continue reading New arrivals!
Reuniting families is a growing part of Nest’s refugee work. Of the 10 refugee sponsorships we have underway, seven have relatives or friends waiting for them in Saskatoon. The families are from Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and Sudan. The Al Jneid family is one of them. They left behind relatives when they came to Saskatoon in February 2016 as government-sponsored Syrian refugees. Hicham and his family along with his sister Wisal … Continue reading Reuniting families in Saskatoon
