Blogging, as it happens, is not an easy thing for me. In these past few months especially, it's been hard for me to find time to put into words (let alone finding the right words) all that I've witnessed and been a part of in Toronto's refugee resettlement process.
While my sponsorship group impatiently awaits the arrival of the three groups we are sponsoring (Yes. Still.), we've kept busy with the many community efforts afoot to help those that have already arrived (over 3000 in the GTA). I have learned just how wonderfully resourceful, creative and generous my co-sponsors are and just how lucky we have been with the support of our community who seemingly have bottomless stores of supplies and goodwill. So many newly arrived Syrians (and I'll wager, refugees from anywhere else in the world) will not have such a well connected group to ease them through the transition to a new country, culture, and weather system.
Until last week, I've been volunteering once a week at "The Hub", a pop up housewares shop where newcomer families could come and pick out gently used and donated items at no charge to them. The effort was entirely volunteer-run and completely non-profit. The women who started it have jobs and young children and busy, busy lives, but somehow, found it in themselves to help hundreds of families ease into their new lives here. The lease at The Hub is up at the end of the month, and truth be told, supply couldn't keep up with demand and so the store is now closed. What will take it's place is still a big question mark.
How do you keep a community engaged, focused and optimistic? Once they have donated all their extra clothes, furniture and dishes, how do we convince people to continue to donate their most precious commodity, Their Time? These are all things I hope we'll be discovering in the coming months.
As for myself, I'm discovering that the more I give, the more I learn, and the more my eyes are opened to the infinite possibilities of a little bit of goodwill and a lot of elbow grease.
