Making a difference, one family at a time

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This article was published 10/10/2019 (2405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A local church is well on its way to bringing a refugee family to Canada, but they’re looking for a little help.

Members of the Kilcona Park Alliance Church, located at 1977 Norris Rd., formed a committee a year and a half ago in order to help a family in need. With the backing of the church, Bert Epp, chair of the Kilcona Park refugee sponsorship committee, and a group of dedicated volunteers began filing the paperwork and raising funds to sponsor a family of five from Iran through the government of Canada’s refugee sponsorship program.

On Oct. 2, Epp got word from Turkey, where the family has been living after fleeing Iran, that their application had been approved by both the Canadian and Turkish governments.

“They were told they were coming to Winnipeg,” Epp said. “I got an email from them, overjoyed!”

The family — which includes a retired mother and father, their 31-year-old twin son and daughter, and their son’s wife — fled Iran due to religious persecution.

“This family became Christian in 2010,” Epp explained. “The son is an architect, and a gifted musician. He was leading worship in churches in Iran, and I guess when the government thought this was a bit too active and they arrested him as well as the pastors.”

The young man spent weeks in prison before receiving a trial, where he received a suspended sentence.

“The charges against him are that he was a ‘shepherd’ in a ‘radical Zionist-Christian organization’,” Epp said. “That was the charge.”

Upon his release, the son fled Iran, walking through the mountains into Turkey, where his family met him. 

“So many people say, ‘Oh, it’s so horrible around the world what’s happening to all these refugees.’ Period,” said Gary Petriw, a member of the Kilcona Park refugee committee. “But what do they do about it?”

“I point to Christ’s parable of the good Samaritan,” Epp said. “In our comfort, here, do we forget when we see somebody in need, like in the parable? Do we just walk by? It gets so that many of us do. But how can we? We bring one family in, what difference does that make? It makes a difference to that family.”

While Epp said they don’t know just when the family will arrive in Winnipeg, it could be as early as Christmas. As part of their sponsorship agreement, the committee is responsible for providing the family with lodging and helping them financially for their first year in Canada, at a cost of approximately $60,000. Currently, the group has raised over $20,000.

To help bolster the fund, Petriw and the committee have planned a fundraising concert featuring the Sisters of the Holy Rock. 

“It’s comedy, it’s great singing, a really, really fun evening,” Petriw said. “I don’t think anyone will go away disappointed.”

The event, which takes place at 7 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 16, will be held at the Covenant Christian Reformed Church (653 Knowles Ave.).

“We don’t have a large enough church to have them at our church,” Petriw said. “They have a big space, with nice acoustics.”

For tickets, or to donate to the Kilcona Park Alliance Church’s refugee sponsorship fund, contact Epp at the church by calling 204-222-7384.

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca or call him at 204-697-7112

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