How a Syrian refugee family made me appreciate what I have

Welcoming a Syrian family into her community has given Sandra Walsh a new appreciation of life, family and friendships.

Sandra Walsh and her family have learnt a lot since welcoming a Syrian refugee family to their community in Shelburne. Source: SBS

It was about a year ago that I began what’s been one of the most rewarding and complex projects I‘ve ever been involved with.

Last September a horrifying photograph of drowned three-year-old Syrian boy Alan Kurdi ricocheted around the world – a symbol of the tragedy that was occurring due to the civil war in the country. It was a picture that would motivate our small community in Shelburne to come together, and try and do something to help.

On a personal level I got involved for several reasons. The most immediate one was the challenge our minister, Rev. Joanne McFadden, issued to our congregation the Sunday after that photo was released. She told us that we could no longer just talk about or donate money to these kinds of emergencies and think we had done our part.

It was time to talk, raise money and act. It was time to do something.

I am a senior high school global issues teacher and for years had discussed these kinds of issues with my students. I’d led many fundraisers, but this time it seemed that I could directly show my students that it is possible to actually change people’s lives.

Two weeks after that photos shocked us all, we held our first community meeting, initially just to discuss the possibility of sponsoring a family. By the end of the night we had made a firm commitment to do so.

We have over 30 active members in the Shelburne Area Refugee Sponsorship committee, and with a lot of effort and enthusiasm, we had our funding in place by the end of December, our application approved in January and a refugee family in Shelburne by the middle of February this year.

“The family truly sees Canada as their home where they can plan for a safe future for their children.”

We were really lucky to be working with the United Church of Canada as our sponsorship partner, whose expertise with the administrative paperwork details made that process much easier. Money from the Canadian government also made it possible to meet our financial obligations within such a short time frame.

Since the arrival of the Hendawi family in Shelburne, life has changed for all of us.

The family truly sees Canada as their home where they can plan for a safe future for their children. The transition has not always been easy, primarily due to the fact that only one of the boys could really communicate in English, but they have approached every problem with optimism and a sense of humour.

Personally, I am grateful for this experience and it has certainly changed my perspective on what constitutes a problem in my life. It may sound trite, but to spend time with the Hendawis is to gain an appreciation of the importance of family and friendship. If they can be joyful and hopeful after all they have endured, then I really have very little to complain about.

Shelburne local Bill Murphy teaches the Hendawi family how to skin a fish. Source: SBS

Some of the highlights of the past eight months would be all the celebrations we have enjoyed with the Hendawis, our welcome reception, dinners to celebrate Muslim holidays, and birthday feasts which have given me a real love of Syrian cuisine.

It is also really wonderful to watch their family interactions. Their relationships and traditions are certainly more patriarchal than I am used to, but the importance of family and respect for parents has given me a new perspective on these issues. This family also has a work ethic that puts most Canadians to shame, and they have quite a successful odd jobs business.

That’s not to say there aren’t still challenges ahead. Adjusting to life in Shelburne has been most difficult for Wadah, the father of the family. He was a very successful business man in Aleppo and wants desperately to be financially independent in Canada.

Becoming more fluent in English is the primary objective, as that holds the key to better employment for Wadah, educational success for the kids and true integration into the wider community. For the children, school and friends are taking care of their language learning, but it is more difficult for the adults – however they are determined to succeed and their progress has been remarkable.