Refugee Support Update

The past few months have seen historic numbers of refugees seeking asylum in British Columbia, with December 2021 alone nearly doubling the previous monthly record. Our refugee support team has experienced firsthand this increase as we have welcomed 9 family units in the past 4 months. Dozens more have joined our extended community seeking friendship and connection. Nearly all of these newcomers are from Afghanistan and are eager for Canadian friendships.  

• Words cannot describe the joy as 5 families have been recently reunified after being apart for months and in some cases - years. In each situation, one of the spouses has been in Canada working on their refugee status, waiting for the opportunity for children and the other parent to leave Afghanistan or a country they fled to. Every time a family is reunited, the extended community rejoices. 
• A couple of Afghan men arrived utterly exhausted after making their way from Afghanistan via Brazil by foot, horseback, bus, and car.  
• Ron Klassen and his wife Jackie continue to connect newcomer families with donations of household furnishings. While doing so, they hear fascinating stories of incredible resilience and hope.  
• Mim Wickett, Tenth’s tireless Refugee Ministry Coordinator, has continued to show welcome and love to every newcomer that comes her way, introducing them to others that can lend a hand in connecting them to the right people.  
• Our partner in Afghanistan, World Vision, is one of the few international organizations that continues to serve vulnerable Afghans in the current condition in that country. 
• Many of our Afghan friends have set up GoFundMe pages to raise money for their families and communities, all of whom are suffering from a lack of food and supplies due to the country’s Taliban takeover. 

To learn more about Refugee Support at Tenth, go to tenth.ca/refugees and email refugeesupport@tenth.ca or Mim Wickett.

Watch a short family reunification story from CTV news on a family connected to Tenth.