St Mark’s to sponsor a second Syrian family

Aylmer’s St. Mark the Evangelist Parish Syrian Refugee Committee (SRC) is sponsoring a second family. “We have raised enough money to support a second family,” Theresa Shea, a SRC member, told the Bulletin.

The first family is a young couple with a 3-year-old who are currently in Lebanon. With the backlog in treating refugee applications, their arrival date is unknown. “We are hoping for 2016,” added Shea.

Once here, the committee, formed in November 2015, will provide a furnished apartment in Aylmer. Housing won’t be needed for the second family -- one woman and two children -- since the woman’s brother will lodge the family in his Gatineau home.

“He approached us to sponsor his sister because he could not afford it as he was already sponsoring other family members -- and we agreed,” explained Shea. “We have sufficient furniture and clothes for both families.”

The parish has surpassed its $30,000 target by thousands of dollars, but the committee continues accepting donations to help sponsor the second family.