Winnipeg teacher surprised by difficulties in sponsoring refugees from Congo
Some stories inspire action, and when one Winnipeg teacher heard the story of her student, Ciza Kanyambali, she was compelled to do something.
"He worked so hard in our classes and every day I would see him leave right after class to go to his job and to work to support his family in Winnipeg. I knew he was also supporting his family in Africa but I didn't know the details of his story," said Kaleigh Quinn, an English as a second language instructor at Red River College.
If all goes as planned, Quinn will help privately sponsor a family of seven currently living in a refugee camp in Zimbabwe.
Kanyambali fled his home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and lived for three years in a refugee camp in Zimbabwe. He and his wife came to Canada in 2013 as government sponsored refugees, but his wife's brother, sister-in-law and five nieces and nephews were left behind.
Since arriving in Canada, conditions in the camp have worsened.
"Before you went and they give you 10 kilograms of meal and two kilograms of rice, two kilograms of beans and two small bottle of cooking oil. Now they stopped and tried to give people money," said Kanyambali.
Kanyambali's family must live off $20 per month. Preparing food is difficult because the refugee camp is next to a park where wild animals, such as lions and elephants, live. Gathering wood or water is unsafe, said Kanyambali.
Currently the family is experiencing temperatures around 45 C.
Ciza works two jobs and tries to send money to his family when he can, but coming up with the funds to sponsor his family is impossible.
"Even one person — we learn it is $13,000 to sponsor one person. How can I do that? I am working minimum wage. I can't," said Kanyambali.
Quinn and her family decided to sponsor Kanyambali's family, but soon learned it would be complicated, especially without a sponsorship agreement holder.
Sponsorship challenges
Sponsorship agreement holders are organizations that have signed agreements with the Government of Canada. They have expertise in the sponsorship process and, as charitable organizations, add legitimacy to fundraising efforts.
There are few sponsorship agreement holders in Manitoba, and while for several months they were permitted to accept an unlimited number of people from Syria and Iraq, spots for refugees like Kanyambali were limited.
"We realized early on that we needed to approach this as an individual group, so that added a layer of complication from the beginning," said Quinn.
Quinn and her family will sponsor Kanyambali's family as a "group of five". They will need to raise $35,000 and handle the application process on their own.
In order to fill out the proper forms, the family must travel over 500 kilometres to Harare, Zimbabwe. Even small mistakes must be corrected, and the family made its fourth trek to the capital this weekend.
Kanyambali's family relies on the support of a doctor who works in the refugee camp. Translation is key as the forms must be completed in French or English.
Meanwhile, Quinn and her family are fundraising for the initiative. So far they have raised $9,000 through crowdfunding, and are planning several community fundraisers for Kanyambali's family.
"He came forward and he asked for help, and it's really hard to not obey the impulse to help someone in need," said Quinn.
More information is available online.
