When Al McDonald saw the images of the lifeless body of a three year old Syrian child on a beach, he knew he had to do something.
“That picture haunts all of us as Canadians, it haunts me,” said North Bay’s Mayor about the young boy who was a victim of the Syrian refugee crisis.
“I didn’t know what the picture was at first and then I realized and the first thing I thought of was our grandchildren and I thought I can’t imagine if we were in the same situation that nobody would reach out and help.”
That sad Syrian situation resonated with the mayor. When he saw an interview with Toronto Mayor John Tory leading a campaign to sponsor Syrian families, he figured he would try to do the same here in North Bay.
Through a fundraising drive working alongside the local Muslim community, the Multicultural Centre and others, McDonald and his group raised $36,203 which is enough to support two Syrian families instead of just one.
“Initially we were hoping to raise enough to support one family but the fundraising has gone so well that we can now support two families,” said McDonald.
“We have a series of family profiles and do not know which ones will be coming to North Bay, but all the families are large.”
McDonald added donations ranged from $20 to $10,000, including more than $5,000 from the Nipissing University Faculty Association.
Kaneez Merali, represented the Muslim community at the news conference at city hall today.
She says the Muslim community is very supportive of this initiative.
Merali believes the Muslim Mosque will be a key gathering place for the two families.
“Oh, I’m sure culturally it will be a big adjustment because in countries where they come from religion plays a big part and they are used to having a lot of worship places where you can go to, but here they will only have one,” she said.
Deborah Robertson, the Executive Director designate with the multicultural centre says the federal government will cover 40 percent of the cost of each family’s first year in Canada, through a sponsorship agreement helped by the Mennonite Central Committee Ontario.
McDonald says the families could be here between one to four months from now.
Assistance will also be given to the families to learn english which will be provided through Chippewa’s ESL program, while school aged children will be placed in area schools.
However, McDonald insists the fundraising isn’t done.
“We would like to have a contingency fund in place to make sure the family's first year in North Bay goes well.”
Donations can still be dropped off at the Multicultural Centre located at 100 Main Street East.
