Refugee Sponsorship

SYRIAN REFUGEE FAMILIES – UPDATE APRIL 2021

Introduction:
Our Refugee Committee, named SEAM (SEAst Mississauga Group) consisted of representatives of the former First United, St. Stephens-on-the-Hill United and Applewood United, with minor representation from Westedge and a church in Port Carling. The Applewood representatives were Gus Peebles (SEAM treasurer), Scott Perkin, Elaine Borlace, Carolyn Smith and myself. Mike Miller and wife Karen Caskey, representing First United but now members of Applewood, were also SEAM members.
We worked through the United Church Head Office and the Federal Government, and brought to Canada from Syria the three families referenced in this report. The 2nd and 3rd are related, as described in this report of the 3rd Taysir al Tayib family who, for immigration purposes, had to be designated separately.
The committee is now disbanded. We raised almost $100,000, spent all of it on a good cause and are very pleased with how well our families have done in adapting to their new home and becoming self-supportive citizens of Canada. We continue to keep in touch with them.

Alsaadi family: Arrived in Canada in February 2016.
Family of six. Lived in an apartment on Bloor St. in Mississauga 2016 – 2020. Moved to a townhouse in Milton ON in 2020.
Wife Faiza Abdullah, an obstetrician in Syria, trained for one year at Ryerson University in Toronto to gain Canadian midwifery qualification. She is now working with a Midwifery Group in Milton doing obstetrical care and deliveries in the home and at Milton Hospital.
Father Mohammad has a Masters Degree in Agriculture from Syria. He has been staying at home looking after the children, but is now taking courses in Landscaping with a view to possibly setting up a business in Milton when he has completed the courses.
Four children, all in Public School. Oldest is a boy Bahaa, age 13, in his second year enrolled in a special science program in the public school system. The next oldest, a girl Zena age 11, is applying to enter the same science program next year. The two younger girls, Sham age 9 and Deema age 8 are in the regular public school program.

Alajroudi family: Arrived in Canada in May 2017
Family of five, live in an apartment building on Eglinton Ave. in NW Mississauga.
Mother Rana stays at home with the children, currently home schooling.
Father Adnan is trained as a specialist in computer technology. He has been working but currently is taking courses in computer science to upgrade his skills.
Oldest child is a boy Majd, age 12, who is very bright and doing well in school. The second child, a girl Lana, has autism but is doing quite well with home schooling by her mother, and on a waiting list for additional help with her autism. Youngest child is a 4 year old boy Karam who will start school this September.

Taysir al Tayeb family: Arrived in Canada in November 2016
Although they arrived 6 months before the Alajroudi’s, we have had the least contact with them, and tend to think of them as our 3rd family.
Rana Alajroudi has a sister Suad who, with her husband Manar, has lived in Mississauga for 9 years. The parents of Rana and Suad, Taysir and Lamya al Tayeb, our “3rd family”, also live in Northwest Mississauga. Taysir at age 77 is still working, and showing no signs of stopping.

Submitted by Reg Perkin on behalf of The Refugee Committee