Who We Are
The United Church of Canada (UCC)
West Vancouver United Church (WVUC)
Who We Help
WVUC’s resources are currently fully committed for 2021/ 2022. We are in the process of fundraising and processing applications for a number of new families. Consideration for future applications will be put on a wait list.
What Will It Take?
Funding is required for our next 4 families:
Goal - Total Funds Needed | $240,000 |
Total Raised to Date | $ 77,500 |
Remaining Funds Needed | $162,500 |
Calculations are based on Government guidelines; however, the Lower Mainland's higher cost of living requires additional financial resources.
Why Refugee Sponsorship Is Good For Canada
- Bringing refugees to Canada is an important part of our national values.
- Refugees and immigrants are valuable drivers of our economic engine through their strong work ethic and ambitions of entrepreneurship.
- They contribute to and expand our multi-cultural landscape.
- They provide diversity which reinforces our reputation as a leading and caring nation, promoting a greater understanding of global issues.
We Need Your Help
In addition to funding, we need volunteers to help prepare the government documentation prior to the arrival of the refugees in Canada, and also to support them when they arrive.
If this cause touches your heart, and you are interested in donating either your time or financially or have questions about our mandate, please contact us through the button below.
Ways You Can Help
Donate
- Make your cheque payable to West Vancouver United Church;
- On the memo line, indicate “Refugee Sponsorship Fund”;
- Mail your cheque to:
West Vancouver United Church
2062 Esquimalt Avenue
West Vancouver, BC
V7V 1S4
Volunteer
Our team meets as needed, depending on the status of the application process.
We share the following duties:
- Review refugee family applications to the church - once the family have been approved by us for sponsorship, help prepare various government documents required for their immigration to Canada;
- Find rental accommodations - and/or help source furnishings to outfit the household;
- Welcome the family on their arrival and help them set up their new home;
- Follow up with the family on a regular basis to ensure a smooth transition to their new life;
- Assist with access to social services, health care and banking arrangements;
- Find schools for the children and liaise with the educational authorities to enrol them;
- Spend time with the families - help them improve their English and to assimilate into their new community life.
- Are you a health care professional? Refugees often need dental care, physiotherapy, chiropractic therapy, massage therapy and other health care services. If you are willing to donate your services or provide them at a reduced price, then we would love to talk to you!
- Are you a teacher? You could spend time with the children or parents helping them learn or improve their English. Or tutor the children in subjects they are struggling with at school.
- Do you absolutely love to fundraise? Help us strategize how to raise more money to bring more families to Canada. Create and host your own personal fundraiser and donate the funds.
- Do you have a green thumb? Take the family to the nursery and plant containers on their patio or deck.
- Are you a computer whiz? Help set up phones, TV’s, internet and computers for the family.
- Do you miss playing sports or games with your own children? Here is a great opportunity to do it all over again!
- Do you drive? Help family members get to their appointments.
Volunteer Testimonials
When West Vancouver United Church sponsored a Syrian family, I had the chance to teach English to the young mother and father. We had a lot of fun getting to know one another and we had many laughs as we stumbled through our learning. The lesson time passed quickly. Our time together ended when the mother received a placement in a formal English language program and the father got a job. A fun time!
In 2016, I worked on the Refugee Team at Lonsdale United Church – my role was assistant to a former professional teacher of English as a Second Language. As a Professional Engineer, I had never taught English, but I had considerable experience learning other languages at least to reasonable fluency or to a rudimentary level and stages in between.
My task was to teach the very basics of English. This was quite difficult because there was very little teaching material provided, so I had to develop material on my own.
I thoroughly enjoyed this teaching experience and when West Vancouver United Church sponsored their first Syrian family several years ago, I leaped at the opportunity to get involved again and draw upon my previous experience.
Sponsored Families Now In Canada
Arrived March 2017
My name is Ali Fandi and I am working in construction 5 days a week. Also, my wife Birivan is taking Adult Education (English course). She likes to improve her English. My oldest son Hamza who is 12 years old, is in grade 6. He likes school and loves it so much that I registered him for soccer every Monday. My youngest son Mirvan is 9 years old. He is in grade 3 and he has a lot of friends. Every day he is asking after school to play with his friend in the playground and he has a lot of fun.
In the end, I would like to say thank you to everyone who helped me come to Canada and change my life, and special thanks to people who helped me to reunite us with my mother, which was impossible for me, and thank you for making the impossible into reality.
Arrived October 2020
My name is Assim. I am the father of two boys. The eldest, Hamza is 15 years old, and the youngest one Ayaz is 11 years old. I am from Syria, and we moved to Dar Shukran camp in Kurdistan because of the war conflict in Syria. We stayed in Dar Shukran camp for 8 years. Living in the camp was very difficult.
We moved to Canada on October 21, 2020. My wife, Suhaila, and I are starting to go to school to learn English, and we are in LINC 3. I am currently working full time as a painter, the same job as back home. Also, Suhaila is looking to volunteer. Hamza and Ayaz love school a lot, and they would even like to go to school on weekends if they could. They don't like to have weekends off from school.
We are so happy and fortunate to live in Canada. Especially with the crescent of support from our sponsors, West Vancouver United Church, they made a difference in our lives.
Arrived October 2020
Approved For Refugee Sponsorship By WVUC Board
On the UCC Waiting List
This family of five lived in Afghanistan until 2015 when the father’s support for artistic freedom and gender equality came to the attention of local Taliban officials. Threats to his family’s safety caused them to flee the country and leave behind their home, extended family, and friends.
The family, including three young children arrived in Quetta, Pakistan in April 2015 where they lived until moving to Islamabad in October 2019. The family’s application for refugee status was approved in December 2016 and their certificate has been kept current since that time. They are among the 1.4 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, according to UNHCR’s website.
Despite having excellent skills and training as a Chemical engineer and experience in construction as a project manager, the father of this family has only been able to find limited, short-term employment in Pakistan. The family receives no financial, healthcare, or other support from Pakistan or the UNHCR. His brother here in North Vancouver tries to help but has limited resources to send.
Schooling for the children in Pakistan is very unstable and inconsistent. Their parents are doing their best to teach them at home, but it is obviously a struggle. Each month the children spend outside the school system will make it more difficult for them to graduate from school with a solid education and achieve their goals of attending university.
They are desperate to join their family here in Canada.
Waiting for An Opening on the UCC Waiting List
This family of five from the Hazara community fled Afghanistan due to threats to their family’s safety, leaving behind all that was familiar to them: their home, loved ones, the father’s job as a baker, and educational opportunities for their children. They have been living in Turkey for three years and wish to be reunited with a family member who is living in Canada. As refugees in Turkey they have limited access to facilities and their two youngest children are not able to attend school. They know the value of higher education and are very concerned that their children will not have an opportunity to complete the requirements for enrolling in university.
The Hazara massacre drove many Hazara people from their villages, including this family who feared for their safety. The situation in Afghanistan continues to be violent and concerning as evidenced by the May 2021 bombing of the girls’ school in Kabul.
The family looks forward to bringing their skills and energy to a country that will provide a safe home for them.