As Syrian Refugees Reach Canada, Many Are Pitching In - Jackie Northam

Canada's new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to bring in 25,000 Syrians within a matter of months, but it's not just his government that's handling the massive task of resettling the refugees.

Across Canada, churches, communities and businesses are all pitching in, as are many individuals, who are privately sponsoring Syrian families and covering most of their needs for the first year.

Since Nov. 4, Canada has accepted 1,608 Syrian refugees. By comparison, the U.S. has accepted 2,547 Syrian refugees since that country's civil war began in 2011, according to State Department figures.

Janet Howitt is part of a church group in Kitchener, Ontario, that is sponsoring a Syrian family of five who fled their home in Aleppo because of the war. The family spent three years in Lebanon before flying to Canada two months ago.

"For their first year in Canada, you are responsible for all of their living expenses, for settling them, if you will, orientation support, for helping them get into school or into work, supporting them in every way," Howitt explains.

Their modest, two-bedroom, ground-floor apartment is paid for by Howitt's church group. The Canadian government provides the refugees with health care, transportation and English lessons for their first year in the country.

Canada's private sponsorship program was created in the late 1970s, when the country resettled 60,000 refugees from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations.

Although recent attacks in the U.S. have made Syrian resettlement a hot security issue, in Canada, Trudeau's government was elected on assurances that it could resettle refugees safely. The government says there are several rounds of screening before a refugee boards a plane.  - Read More at NPR

As Syrian Refugees Reach Canada, Many Are Pitching In

Private Sponsorship Programs Help Syrian Refugees Settle In Canada