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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, September 17, 2015 | 6 Local families reaching out to counterparts from Syria by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff Spotlight "Connected to your Community" A s the migrant crisis across Europe intensi es and scores of people continue to lose their lives in pursuit of safety, a group of Oakville neighbours is taking action to sponsor bringing a Syrian family here. For months, Watercliff Court resident Artemis Karabelas has been bombarded with media images of men, women and children eeing the con ict in Syria in search of better lives in Europe and elsewhere. Earlier this month, she joined the rest of the world in sadness after seeing shocking photos of the lifeless body of a three-year-old Syrian boy lying dead on a Turkish beach after the boat he was travelling in with his family and other refugees capsized. "That changed everything," said Karabelas, who works in the IT eld. "I reached out to my neighbours and we created a edgling private initiative to raise funds to sponsor a family to come to Oakville to settle here or in the surrounding area." So far, the local group includes eight people, but is quickly expanding as more neighbours come on board. The Oakville residents are working with Lifeline Syria, a community-based initiative that is helping to recruit, train and match private refugee sponsors in Ontario with Syrian refugees approved for resettlement by the federal government. The Watercliff group has been tasked with raising $30,000 to sponsor a family of four. "If we are successful in getting more funds, we can expand and bring over a larger family," said Karabelas. "If we double our fundraising goal we can sponsor two families to come to the Oakville area." A group of Oakville neighbours has launched a campaign aimed at bringing at least one Syrian family to Oakville or the surrounding area. Group members pictured, from left, are: Ralf Soeder, Kimberley Soeder, Jamison Soeder and Artemis Karabelas. | photo by David Lea ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) The funds will help cover the expenses of that refugee family for one year while its members become established in the community. The Oakville group's responsibility to the family will not end with the fundraising. "That's the other exciting part about this. When they are here, we will help them get settled and spend time with them," said Kimberley Soeder, who along with her husband, Ralf, and daughter, Jamison, have joined the Oakville group. "We'll help them nd employment and all those things they need to become contributing Canadian citizens. There's also getting their children in school and things like that." The group is asking for help in raising funds to sponsor the Syrian family and has set up an Indiegogo account residents can donate to. As of Tuesday morning the group had raised just $1,303, four per cent of their $30,000 goal. Accommodations for the family will be found in Oakville or the surrounding area through contacts the group is making with provincial housing agencies, rotary organizations and other groups that have settled people in the past. With so much work involved in helping the family once they get here, the Watercliff residents acknowledge sponsoring a family is a big commitment, but they say it is one they are happy to take on. "It's a humanitarian crisis and it is up to each and every one of us to respond," said Karabelas. "I think we've all had some experience with this in our immediate families. My parents arrived as refugees after the war, so for me, it is a natural extension to welcome newcomers in similar or more drastic situations. This touches me personally so I felt I had to act." Ralf, who works for a local nancial services rm, said there are a lot of people in trouble in many different parts of the world and the biggest difference between Oakville residents and them is simply luck. "We're pretty blessed here in Oakville and as Kimberley has told our three daughters, the day they were born in Oakville was the day they won the lottery," he said. "I think it is time to share and give that opportunity to others who didn't win the lottery when they were born." Jamison, who is studying International Development at Guelph University, said it is important to get involved and noted Canadians would want someone to help us if we were in similar trouble. Ralf said Canada has a history of accepting refugees, particularly after the Second World War, and noted these people have contributed to the Canadian economy and to the nation's social fabric. "There's no reason why we can't continue that now when there is obviously such need throughout the world," he said. "Canada bene ts by letting in people who want to work and contribute to the economy. These young families would help our demographics as well. We are reaching out to help, but this will also help our nation." Anyone interested in contacting the Oakville group or joining it or donating to it can do so at Oakville.Syrian.Family@gmail.com. `How to' help make a difference for Syrian refugee families Halton residents who are interested in helping Syrian refugees can do so in a number of ways. Halton Region has compiled a list of various Halton community-based organizations, including: · Faith organizations: Many of the faith communities across Halton are organizing their efforts to sponsor families. Connect with your local place of worship (i.e., church, mosque, synagogue, temple, etc.) to nd out how you can help; · Halton Multicultural Council (HMC): HMC has opened a special line of donations to support refugees in Halton. One hundred per cent of donations will be dedicated to supporting the Interfaith Community Initiative. Visit haltonmc.com; · Lifeline Syria: Lifeline Syria is a community-based initiative that is helping to recruit, train, and match private refugee sponsors in Ontario with Syrian refugees approved for resettlement by the federal government. To make a donation, help sponsor a family or learn about events in the Halton community, contact Lifeline Syria at 647-827-1428 or email info@lifelinesyria.ca; · Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC): For information on how you can sponsor a refugee, see CIC's Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. Visit www.cic.gc.ca; · Halton Region: For information about Halton Region's services such as emergency housing, nancial assistance, public health services, and low-income supports dial 311 or visit Halton.ca. You can also dial 311 to ask about funding and support efforts to help Syrian refugees who are seeking asylum from the con ict in Syria. 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