Linda Price thought her presidency of the Creston Refugee Committee had come to an end, until no one stepped up to take her place. Then she scrolled through an email from the United Church, seeing the lengthy list of people in refugee camps and saw several families from Burma (now Myanmar).
“Our Burmese family has been such a delight,” she said. “I couldn’t resist — I sent out an email and our core members came back with a strong yes!”
The group didn’t dally. A family was selected and volunteers got right at it started making apple pies as a fundraiser. They made 250 pies to sell for $9 each.
An application has been made to sponsor a husband and wife, their two children (a two-year-old and a baby) and the man’s brother.
Although they don’t speak the same language as the Burmese family that now calls Creston home, two years after they arrived, the current family is supportive of the application and is committed to help with their integration into the community.
“We asked them which family on the list we should apply to bring here and they said, ‘This family has the most people and that’s the best!’”
The application documents were sent last week and Price said it is hard to predict how soon they could arrive.
“We could have them by Christmas if all goes well, but who knows?”
The family in question lives in a Malaysian refugee camp and reports it is being forced to pay bribes on a regular basis to remain in the camp.
In order to bring the family to Creston, the refugee committee makes a financial commitment to ensure the family will have housing and living expenses as they work to learn English and become independent. Both mother and father in the current family have gained employment and the grandmother provides care for their children.
“They have relatives in Kimberley and Cranbrook but haven’t indicated any intention to move closer,” Price said. “They say their goal is to own a house here. It says a lot about their values. They have been a wonderful addition to our community and are very well liked.”
Donations to support the new family can be made through Trinity United Church, which is able to issue charitable donation tax receipts. Contributions can be made at the church office on Tuesday-Friday mornings.