Bringing the Farhats
to Canada

The Farhats* are a family of refugees that need us, our neighbours, to support them in their bid to reach Canada so they can finally be safe and live their lives in a community that values them. After knowing them through our bible study and seeing the details of their story for ourselves, we have decided to help them come to Canada, and we need your help.

Read on to learn the steps that it will take for the Farhats to become our next-door neighbours and how you can join us in this life-changing work.

We have raised $73.5k out of the total $120k we need. (December 2024)

How the Farhats will come to Canada

Gather documents

Putting together the most important elements of the Farhats story. This includes proof that shows that staying in their home country would have endangered their lives. This step was completed by the Farhats prior to contacting us. It took a lot of courage to offer up such a vulnerable part of their history and how the six of them have had their lives upended by persecution.

Kevin and Sandy have worked with the family closely to put together a timeline of events and organize information so it is clear that that they are deserving of refuge in Canada.
Securing funds

For every person that applies to be recognized as a refugee (person of interest) in Canada, there needs to be money in a bank account ready to support them. This money will be given directly to the applicant when they arrive in Canada.

For each adult (all of the Farhats are adults with no children), the fundraising is typically $20,000 per person, but may be more depending on year-by-year changes.
Applying via an SAH

The application for each adult can only be started when the sponsors have money-in-hand. As of November 2023, we have worked with a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) organization that has submitted paperwork on our behalf for two of the six Farhats.
When we have the funds ready for the next siblings, we can express our interested with the SAH again. These organizations are given allocations by the federal government for how many people they can recommend for immigration.
The interview

Applicants who have a strong enough case are interviewed to determine whether or not their claims are genuine. The wait for the interview is nerve-wracking and filled with tension. The success of an application can sometimes depend on a translator that is not hostile to the refugees seeking entry into Canada. For those of us that pray, this will be a time of intense prayer and fasting.
Building a landing pad

When an applicant is successful, there is a flurry of activity that happens before and after they arrive. They need a place to live, help navigating government bureaucracy, getting medical checks, and usually soon after, entering the workforce. This will be an incredibly happy time, but also a time where we will need the most hands on deck. The wait between a successful interview and the arrival in Canada can be as long as two years, but sponsors often only know when precisely the refugees are arriving about six weeks before they do.

Sign up to be a sponsor

We need two more people to help us take care of the Farhats for a year once they arrive (likely 2025 or 2026). The only requirement is that each sponsor has to be a Canadian citizen; living in the Lower Mainland would be helpful, but there is plenty of support that can be done via email and over the phone.