Refugee family arrives

Photo: Contributed

A private group in West Kelowna has received its first refugee family from Syria.

The family is sponsored by the West Kelowna Initiative for Refugee Settlement.

Plans to sponsor a Syrian family began about a month ago when a group of friends gathered to discuss what they could do to help with the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

They eventually applied to sponsor a family and were recently approved by the federal government.

A family of six – a mother, father and four children, aged two to 10 have now arrived.

“It has been a whirlwind of activity,” says Gioia Morris, a group spokesperson.

"We have come together very quickly and have worked incredibly hard to find temporary housing, shop for food, prepare to get the oldest children enrolled in school and tackle a multitude of paperwork to be able to welcome the family to Canada and help them transition into their new life in West Kelowna.”

The private sponsorship group is responsible for providing financial assistance to the family for a minimum of one year with some government support. The goal is to help the family become self sufficient as soon as possible.

The group is hoping for some community assistance in helping meet some of the family’s many needs as they arise.

A number of fund-raising events are already in the preliminary planning stages.

Information on fundraisers will be available soon on the group's Facebook page.