In Spring of 2022, Southgate Refugee Committee was formed. Its core mandate is to be a Christian Outreach Committee under the authority of Southgate Baptist Church that assists in the settlement of refugees in Canada. It will provide assistance in accessing the formal immigration process, secure the necessary private financial sponsorship, and facilitate spiritual and social opportunities through our SGBC community. The SGBC Refugee Committee is made up of individuals with a background in refugee sponsorship and settlement and/or are available to welcome those fleeing dangerous situations.
Before this Committee however, Southgate was already catering to individuals who were in Canada seeking refugee protection. For example between 2017 and 2022, SGBC had the opportunity to support two families from Ethiopia and the USA, helping with the refugee application process as well as with financial support for welfare, travel, accommodation and resettlement in Canada. These families were forced to leave their home countries because of war or threats to family wellbeing.
Fortunately, Canada is one known country that allows sponsorship capabilities by private organizations. Southgate Baptist, through its national body, the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC), is a sponsorship agreement holder (SAH) with the government of Canada and that allows individuals or congregations within to sponsor refugees to Canada. So when in 2022 a church member approached the leadership seeking to help sponsor a Syrian Refugee, Bassel Marzouk, the church did not hesitate.
Bassel Marzouk’s family was torn apart by the Syrian war in 2017. His elderly parents were resettled in Canada, while Bassel continues to live through the dynamic and dangerous conditions of the conflict in Syria. It has been 7 years since Bassel last saw his parents. While they are grateful to live in Canada, his father has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and his mother is frail and unable to fully care for her husband while suffering from the effects of chemotherapy.
As elderly people, traumatized by war, and living alone, it is difficult for his parents to navigate the system. They have fallen out of the social support infrastructure in the absence of their children or extended family to help them with needs like grocery shopping, rides to the hospital/doctors’ appointments, and facilitating their communication with health staff and social services. Moreover, his father’s Alzheimer’s condition has progressed, and he is at the last stage of the disease. Bassel longs to be with him in his last few years and to practically care for him and his mother. He also desires to restart his life with them in a new safe place away from conflict, where he can live out his dreams and ambitions for the future.
War not only destroys families in instants, but it casts a long arm over futures, freezing hopes and imprisoning parents and children in the long agony of waiting to reclaim their lives.
Through a partnership with Southgate Baptist Church, CBWC and a private sponsor, a permanent residence application for Bassel MARZOUK has been submitted to the Government of Canada through IRCC. When approved, Bassel intends to work and act as the primary caregiver for his parents, who often spend weeks without seeing a single soul, despite their complex health needs. Caring for one’s elderly parents is a cornerstone of Syrian culture and our Christian faith, and Bassel wishes to support his parents while working full-time. A gofundme page created by Rebecca Ipe (Southgate Baptist Church) and Manar (Bassel’s sister) have so far raised the $16,000 minimum needed to support Bassel’s first full year in Canada. Rebecca met Manar when they were students in the UK, at the time the Syrian war crisis broke out.
Stay Updated
If you would like to follow Bassel’s sponsorship journey, please contact us on sgbc.ed@gmail.com to be placed on a mailing list. We appreciated your support, whether financial and/or in prayer. This is a holy endeavour and we also welcome all who want to support and extend the love and hospitality of Christ to join us.
Setri Dzivenu
Chair, SGBC Refugee Committee
