Our Nov. 16 webinar looked at: What have churches learned about refugee sponsorship? We caught up on the latest developments with private refugee sponsorship in Canada, but even more importantly, spoke to Canadians who have worked directly with incoming refugee families in the last 18 months to help them settle into Canadian life. What have they learned? What would they do differently? What do churches who are just starting this journey need to know? During the webinar viewers shared questions that were addressed by the expert guests.
Click here to watch a videorecording of this webinar.
Our guests
Brian Dyck has been the migration and resettlement program coordinator at Mennonite Central Committee Canada since February 2015. Before that he was refugee assistance program coordinator at the MCC Manitoba office for seven and a half years. His primary work at MCC has been helping churches think about refugee sponsorship and the broader issues around forced displacement. Since May 2012 he has also been chair of the Canadian National Refugee Sponsorship Agreement Holder Association, a national organization that meets with the Canadian government to help form Canadian policy on refugee resettlement.
Kathy Mercer is the coordinator of welcome and settlement for the Port Perry Refugee Support Group, a consortium of churches and individuals in the Port Perry, Ont., area who have welcomed four Syrian refugee families in the last 18 months. Mercer was an occupational therapist until she retired and now helps the new families.
Jacqueline Derrah has been involved with refugee sponsorship with the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada since 2015. The Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada are a Sponsorship Agreement Holder and have helped to facilitate numerous sponsorships over the past 20 years.