In Deep River, Ontario, a rural town of just over 4,000 people, the image of two-year-old Alan laying lifeless on the sands of a Turkish beach was the catalyst for an unexpected partnership between two faith communities. 

Since then, Deep River Welcome, a collaboration between the Ottawa Valley Islamic Centre (OVIC), the St. Barnabas Anglican Church, and Deep River Community Church, has welcomed two refugee families into the small,diverse town. 

Jennifer Orville, from St. Barnabas Anglican Church, says the trio of congregations worked harmoniously to facilitate each sponsorship. 

“OVIC came to our church, and said, ‘what can we do?’ So we had a meeting with the leadership of the three communities — we call them the three amigos. That was the first sponsorship. The family came on Valentine's Day, 2017,” she says.

The family of six — a mother and father and their four children — came to Canada from a refugee camp in Jordan through the Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) program. Through BVOR, refugees are matched with Canadians to whom they have no personal or family connections. 

Sponsors are responsible for raising approximately half of what it costs to support the refugees for one year after they arrive, and the federal government pays the rest. Sponsors also help refugees find housing, employment, English courses, and other essential social services. 

Hence the benefits of having members of three congregations to rely on. With settlement services being limited in Deep River, members of the sponsorship group often relied on each other to fill in the gaps. Jennifer is proud to say the Syrian family continues to live in Deep River, years after the sponsorship agreement has ended. 

“We had long-term volunteers who would accompany people to the doctor's office, others would train them in winter driving and getting their license. The mom in particular was very committed to integrate, and she’s a huge member of our community now,” Jennifer says. 

In 2021, Deep River Welcome wanted to sponsor a second-time through BVOR. They were eventually matched with another Syrian family which arrived in November of 2022. 

“At the time of our second sponsorship, our criteria was a young family because we have a small school,” Jennifer says. We wanted them to either speak English, French, or Arabic. We ended up picking another Syrian family. They're younger this time, and also mother, father and four children.”

As luck would have it, the two families live on the same street and the children have formed a friendship. Their presence has created a legacy of refugee welcome in Deep River, where both spiritual beliefs and a general desire to help others in need motivates the members of Deep River Welcome, who have just submitted their application to sponsor relatives of the first Syrian family. 

“There’s a lot of joy, and it’s an opportunity to work with other members of my community. If we didn’t have a shared project, we wouldn’t necessarily be here,” working so closely with other faith groups, says Jennifer.

Ready to become a refugee sponsor? Email ittakesalocal@refugee613.ca, and we’ll refer you to the experts to help you get started where you live.