Banners, flowers, cups of Tim Hortons coffee and welcome signs in English and Arabic greeted the third Syrian refugee family to arrive in Prince George.
The family of six - a couple and their four children, aged 12, 11, 9 and six -arrived around 9 p.m. on Thursday after a two-day orientation session in Montreal. Approximately 40 people, including fellow Syrian refugees Rose and Nael Tohme, were on hand to welcome the new arrivals to Canada.
The family is being sponsored by Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, who have set up a temporary home for the family.
"One of the (church) members has a house where they'll stay for now. Then we'll help them to rent a house," Kirk Gable said. "They'll have a place to live and food on the table. A member of the group has donated a van for them to use."
Gable is a member of the church committee which has been working since November to bring a refugee family to the city.
The family, originally from a small rural Syrian community, spent time in Lebanon as refugees before coming to Canada, Gable said. However, there is still a lot the sponsors and refugee family don't know about each other, he said.
The sponsor group had no chance to contact the family, which speaks only Arabic, before their arrival on Thursday night and details provided by the government were limited. While there are no Arabic speakers in the church sponsor group, several people have come forward to assist as translators, he said, and the family will begin intensive English language classes at the Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society as soon as possible.
School District 57 has an English as a Second Language program, he added, and the family's children will be "integrated into the school as soon as possible."
The church is reaching out to other community groups and the Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society (IMSS) to help support the family as they adjust to their new life in Canada. So far the church committee has raised $30,000 to help the family get through their first year in Canada, Gable said, but the committee may continue to seek donations as needs arise.
In early January as the church was preparing for the arrival, Pastor Fleming Blishen credited the 12-member organizing committee for its energy and leadership, and for bringing members of the church and community together.
"It just shows you that when people come together from different faiths... we can do really neat things," Blishen said.
Two other Syrian refugee families sponsored by the Westwood Church arrived in Prince George in January: a family of five and a mother with two children.
--with files from Samantha Wright Allen
