Warm wishes to everyone at this very busy time of year! I wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas and to let you know what is happening with REST these days. Many happy updates! Please feel free to share this update with anyone who is interested.
Sarah:
Sarah is now working at the Ardent Dental Clinic in Lynn Valley. This is an excellent dental clinic and she is very proud of her job. Her primary role is to sterilize all of the equipment, but she has many tasks in her day. She has also moved into her own beautiful apartment, next to the Phibbs bus loop.
Mousa's family: Sahar (Mousa's mom), and his siblings, in order, Abed, Mohamad, Ahmad, Samah, Omar, Majed and Samah.
This is the most delightful family of Syrian Palestinians. They are working hard to learn English as quickly as they can. A huge thank you to Azim, who has been giving them weekly English lessons. They all say he is the best teacher and they are learning quickly. They are very eager to be settled, learn English, and find work. Abed, Mohamad, Ahmad, and Samah have all found some work. Abed is doing a job for St. Agnes church, doing a security check and locking up each night, as well as washing dishes for our bi-weekly senior's lunch. He loves this job and takes it quite seriously. If another position with a church came along, it would suit him very well.
Mohamad is working at North Shore Stoneworks, using his skills in counter cutting and installations.
Samah is doing some home support for a friend of REST as well as working in the Taybeh Restaurant, making Syrian food.
Ahmad has recently been hired by Taybeh to wash dishes on the days he does not have English.
Omar had a month of work with my son, as a renovation helper, and he loved the work. He learns very quickly and said the job was good for his brain :) He is now looking for any kind of job, focusing on construction helper or dishwasher/kitchen helper.
Health needs are gradually getting sorted for the family, and there has been a large amount of dental work required for everyone. They are no longer in pain, thanks to Burnaby Mountain Dental- Thank you! More fillings to come in the new year, but the end is in sight. Four of the family require denture work. A wonderful denturist, at Mountainview Denture Clinic in Lynn Valley will be helping them to have teeth again! We do need to raise more funds to cover these costs, which are so important for their health and their futures.
Here is a picture of the family with our church musicians Tak and Tae, and Sarah at the other side. This was a welcome lunch we held at St. Agnes church.
Chance, Julie and Lidine:
We have been waiting for 4 years since the application was submitted for these ladies. They are from Democratic Republic of the Congo and they have been waiting in Uganda for a LONG time. They arrived on December 11 and joined their father, 4 siblings, and Aunt and Uncle. A very happy reunion happened at YVR. Of course, costs of settlement have gone up since we originally applied for them, so we need to raise an additional $9,000 to provide support for them over the course of 2025. In this picture, Chance is in the sweatsuit and her daughter Julie is holding a pink jacket. Chance's siblings are so happy to be reunited with them. Lidine arrived later and I only have pictures of her back side as she is busy hugging everyone.
Banat's family:
We have applied for this family from Afghanistan. They are currently waiting in Pakistan. There are 4 small children in the family and they cannot go outside due to real danger of being picked up by police and deported to Afghanistan. There is a young man in the family who speaks Urdu and pretends to be Pakistani so he can leave the house to work and get food for the other family members. They have been waiting for one year now, since we applied for them. We hope that they will be processed soon and escape the nightmare they are currently living in. At least the sponsorship provides them hope that one day things will improve.
A huge thank you to everyone who has helped to make these sponsorships happen. We should all be proud of the work we have accomplished to bring these and many other people to safety and a new life in Canada. We are so lucky to have these wonderful people in our lives and our country.
If you or anyone you know is looking for a place to make an end of year donation, please consider REST. We do need to raise additional funds to complete needed dental work and to support the three women from DRC. We appreciate every dollar and all of it goes to support these wonderful people.
Any Donations can be made through www.saintagnes.ca
Select the Donate Now button on the top and then select Refugee Support- General. You will receive a tax receipt for any donation.
You can also make an e-transfer to donation@saintagnes.ca. In the message box indicate "REST Refugee Support."
You are welcome to send a cheque to St. Agnes Anglican Church, 530 E 12th St., North Vancouver V7L2K4 and write REST Refugee Support in the subject line.
Best wishes to you all! Merry Christmas!