Sponsor a Refugee Family to come to Aotearoa/New Zealand

Kia ora koutou, we're Kirsteen, Thera and Ahlam.

We live in New Zealand and our charity "The Starfish Collective" (https://thestarfishcollective.weebly.com) has just been registered in the Charities Register, CC59422.

Ahmed and Maryam are from Syria and live in Lebanon with their six children aged between 8 and 21. Life in Lebanon is very difficult for them, especially during Covid. Thankful to Lebanon, which hosts more Syrian refugees per head of population than any other country, they live in daily fear that things will change and they might be forced to return to Syria. If this happens their oldest son, Hamid, would be forced into Assad’s brutal army and be posted in the most dangerous situations, in punishment for their family having left and for their dislike of the Assad regime. Fadel their second son would soon follow. With no social security in Lebanon they rely on the kindness of charities when Lebanese themselves are suffering economically too. Ahmed was a market gardener in Syria and now has some income from selling fruit as a street vendor. He was once arrested and interrogated for two days during which time his family had no idea where he was. Hamid works nights in a textile factory. The younger children were strapped called “stupid” at school due to their missed education, leading to more missed education. They want their children to flourish and see a bright future ahead of them, instead of fearing it and being discriminated against as second class citizens. They want to be far away from fear and war. Any parent would wish this for their children.

Kirsteen met the family in 2017, when working as a volunteer through the Red Cross programme. We have been in touch with the family since then and they told us about their harsh living conditions in Lebanon and that they hope they might also be resettled.

We, The Starfish Collective, are applying to sponsor Ahmed's family through the Refugee Sponsorship programme (formerly known as Community Organisation Refugee Sponsorship (CORS) visa category) - you can find more information about the programme here: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/assist-migrants-and-students/assist-refugees/refugee-sponsorship.

The family is already registered with UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) and is eligible for the sponsorship programme. We are in the process of applying to be a Sponsor and once this is approved, the family will be able to apply for an expression of interest. If the family's application is successful, they would enter the country in July 2022.

Ngā mihi nui,

Kirsteen, Thera and Ahlam