February 2024 Update – Special Request for Donations

The war in Palestine has put the immediate and extended family of the two Palestinian refugee families we supported in 2017 in great danger.  As of mid February moe than 200 members of their extended family are missing or had been killed by Israeli Defence Force (IDF). Their immediate family members have now fled to the refugee camp in Rafah which the IDF has said they will invade. We are therefore launching a special appeal for donations to help fund purchase of food, basic necessities and to help them evacuate the camp. Please make your donations to McDougall United Church Refugee Fund and indicate “in support of Palestinian family ” in the memo line.  

2023 Overview

This was perhaps our busiest and most challenging year. In May we were referred to two new Afghan families by the Centre for Newcomers.  We have enjoyed getting to know the two single mothers who together have 4 small children. Neither parent spoke English so we need volunteer translators to communicate. Both parents are now working.  We are fortunate to have group members with ESL experience to provide ESL weekly sessions. A significant current challenge is advocating for one of the parents who got scammed. The Royal Bank has told her she owes them $4000 and we are actively advocating for her with the bank as she was a victim, not a participant, in this scam. 

Our original Afghan family is steadily progressing.  The father has a full time ‘survival’ job transporting luggage at the airport. The mother can now communicate pretty well in English. Because the father was a translator for the Canadian army he has been able to sponsor family members.  This military connection has been a tremendous advantage. The likelihood of our newer Afghan families being able to sponsor family members living in truly desperate situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan is remote.  We console ourselves by helping those who are here.   

One of our families from Angola was deported last April.  The second family has been waiting for a decision since February 2020 and is now launching an appeal to stay in Canada on compassionate grounds.

On the plus side: We celebrated with two of our original refugee Syrian families who became Canadian citizens this year. We rejoice in small triumphs as families settle in Calgary and children advance in school. We held two picnics and an indoor games afternoon at McDougall.  With the help of a badminton set and food the teenage boys managed to survive the afternoon without video games.  It was fun to get together without an agenda and for group members to see each other in person (we always meet on Zoom). 

Our group has 12 members.  In 2023 we welcomed two new members from Christ Moravian church while three existing members retired. 

Help from food banks is essential for these families given the increasing cost of living in Calgary. They were very appreciative of the Christmas hampers provided by McDougall. 

Thank you all for your support and encouragement throughout the year. We could not do this work without you.

Marjorie MacRae, Team Lead