An arrival date has been determined for a refugee family heading to Armstrong and Spallumcheen.
The family of five from Iraq, currently living in the United Arab Emirates, is slated to fly into Calgary on Aug. 9 (after having been processed through Canada Customs in Toronto), and should arrive at Kelowna Airport that evening.
The father e-mailed Armstrong Spallumcheen Refugee Project (ASREP) spokesperson Ron Brinnen and said, “We still can’t believe this, finally our dream will come true and we’ll be safe…no more worries.”
ASREP has booked the gazebo in Armstrong’s Memorial Park for Sunday, Aug. 21, to celebrate the family’s arrival and give the community an opportunity to say hello to them. The tentative time is from 4 to 6 p.m. Bring your supper and cake will be provided.
Brinnen thanked the entire community for its help in the project and for bringing the family to the community.
“Every contribution you made, be it financial, hours of volunteer and organizational work, donations in kind, interviews and articles in newspapers or providing moral support made a difference,” said Brinnen.
“Support came from many other locations in the Okanagan Valley including a very successful fundraising evening in the community of Kingfisher.”
On Aug. 10, ASREP begins the next stage of the project by helping the family settle in.
The family will be set up in a home in Armstrong that had been sitting vacant for three years. The home has been fully furnished from donations from the community.
Sponsoring a refugee family is a private venture for ASREP, meaning they receive no government funding.