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Westminster United Church

Westminster United Church

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Newcomer sponsorship

They arrived on April 23rd, 2026!

Westminster has pledged to sponsor a widowed Syrian mother and her family of four children (age 7-22) in emigrating to Canada. They are a Christian family who primarily speaks Arabic, although the oldest daughter speaks English very well.

We are thrilled to announce that we have just received news that the family will be arriving in Canada on APRIL 23RD, 2026!

We are in urgent need of your support to get their home set up for them. A 4-bedroom home has been rented in south London and our hope is to have the house set up before their arrival. We are in need of a number of items and your gift of time for a number of tasks!

Tahani is the loving mother of this family. She is 39 years old and is described by her daughter as a great mom who is very generous. She is raising her four children on her own. When she lived in Syria she worked at a factory that made clothing.​
Yaman is a 22 year old young women who has graduated from University having studied Biomedical Sciences. Yaman has a good grasp of English, communicates well and dreams of studying medicine at UWO.
Yamen is 21 years old has finished high school and he wants to travel when he gets older. Yamen is anxious to experience everything Canadian!
Salam celebrated a birthday in March and is 17 years old. She presently is in Grade 10 and doing well in her educational studies. Salam likes being with people and laughing.
Yassmin is the youngster of the family, and is 7 years old. She is a busy and inquisitive girl who is presently in Grade 1. She loves her family and likes to be busy.

OUR GOAL OF $68,000

Our Goal of $68,000
$62,000 raised so far 91%

Thank you to everyone who gave so generously! We have outfitted the family home with some wonderful items, setting our newcomers up for success. If you feel moved to give, the following gift certificates would be extremely helpful. *Value Village Gift Card $50 (for Yassmin) *Value Village Gift Card $50 (for Salam) *Value Village Gift Card $50 (for Yamen) *Value Village Gift Card $50 (for Tahani) *Value Village Gift Card $50 (for Yaman) *Food Basics Gift Card $50 & $25 *Walmart Gift Card $25

SUPPORTING OUR NEWCOMERS NOW THAT THEY'VE ARRIVED!

1

Continue to fundraise to meet our goal of $68,000. We have committed to financially support the family by covering their rental costs for 1 year.

2

After several days of intense searching, we were blessed to find a four-bedroom home in the south of London, perfect for a family of 5. The owner of the home has been tremendously generous leaving a number of furniture pieces in the home for the family to use. We were surprised to hear that the owner was a refugee himself and is doing what he can to pay forward the kindness he received.

3

Tahini and her five children arrived in Toronto on April 23rd after two days of long travel. Rev Mark and Cheryl met them in Toronto and drove them to their new home.

4

Assisting the Hammouda family in transitioning to a new life here in Canada requires a number of volunteers. Those volunteering will accompany the family to appointments and help navigate the 'red tape' of becoming a Canadian.

HELP

If you are willing to join the team of people helping, please contact the office to get in touch with the right person. If you have a fundraising idea, we would love to hear it and have you jump on board!

DONATE

Donations toward the Hammouda family can be made online below, or by sending cheque made payable to Westminster United Church with" Refugee Family" in the memo. All donations will receive a tax receipt.

THANK YOU

Curries United Church graciously donated $9,550.53 towards Westminster's goal of bringing this Syrian Refugee to Canada! After the decision to close their building, Curries UC sought out ways to help give new life. When one door closes, another door opens.

Thank you to everyone who supported the fundraiser at the Thamesford Community Egg Hunt & Easter Sunday morning breakfast! Together we were able to raise over $500.00 towards this initiative.