Helping newcomers to Canada settle into their new lives is a humbling, challenging and rewarding experience. At the beginning of a sponsorship, our settlement task list is long and detailed – and sometimes it feels like we are only adding new items to it instead of checking them off. Obstacles arise that could never have been anticipated, decisions previously made are reconsidered when new information appears… we’ve learned that flexibility is a must!
Officially our sponsorship lasts a year. During that time we provide financial support, as well as help with all the things that come with starting a new life in an unknown country. But the friendships created during that year? Thankfully, they last longer.
And we are coming to see that sometimes a year just isn’t enough. With Mohamed, alone in Canada with no family and learning English for the first time, we decided to help for a bit longer beyond the end of our sponsorship in April 2018. Not financially – Mohamed is working part time and making enough money to support himself – but with other items on that never-ending settlement task list. We’ve mentioned before how independent and resourceful he is, and it’s true. So maybe we just weren’t ready to let go “officially.” We appreciate him letting us hang on a bit longer. 🙂
As we work on helping Mohamed with a few last things/letting go, we also look ahead to our next sponsorship. Yup, you heard it here first, folks – we have decided to move forward with a third sponsorship. Expect to hear a lot more about that in the weeks and months to come!
As always, thanks for being part of this with us.