Mennonite
Central
Committee

Children's Prayers Answered — Refugee Family a Step Closer to Canada

Gladys Terichow
June 21, 2006

An 11-member family will soon leave the uncertainty of a refugee camp in Africa to start a new life in Winnipeg.

This is more than a dream come true for four Winnipeg children who have been praying for their seven cousins, ages three to 15, who live in the refugee camp with their parents and two uncles. It is an answer to their prayers.

"That's the only prayer request they have had for a year now," said the children's father, Deo Namwira. "When we ask what are we going to pray for today, they always say, 'let's pray for mommy's family in the refugee camp'."

Forced to leave Bukavu

Death threats had forced his wife's eldest brother, Frederic Mugosa, to leave his hometown of Bukavu, a town of 500,000 in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mugosa , together with his wife, children and two younger brothers, found protection in the Dzaleka refugee camp near Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi in Southern Africa, almost 2,000 kilometres from Bukavu.

The family has been living in the refugee camp the past two years with little hope of returning to their hometown. "The east (D.R. Congo) is still a hot place—very hot," said Namwira. "It is a very lawless area."

The conflict, he said, "is not likely to be resolved for some time" and resettlement in a new country provides a "durable solution" for this family. In response to this need, Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship church, in partnership with MCC Manitoba's refugee sponsorship program, is sponsoring the 11-member family to settle in Winnipeg.

"We really, really, really want them to come," said nine-year old Johise. "We've been praying very much for them. They don't get a lot of food in the refugee camp and they don't go to school. I'm so happy one of the children is my age. When they get here we want to feel very close. It will be like having a sister."

Johise, along with her brothers, Jeyi, 7, Jaspi, 5 and Jibu, 3, look forward to playing drums with their cousins and having them join a dance group of stick dancers. This group was started by the congregation's refugee committee to raise funds for people in the refugee camp.

45 month wait

The Namwira family, along with the church community, were anticipating the arrival of the family later this year. This hope was shattered in May when the sponsorship committee checked the status of the application and heard the Mugosa family would have to wait another 45 months for an interview. This interview is required by the Canadian government before the process can begin for medical approvals, orientation and travel arrangements, said committee member Sandra Schonwette in a separate interview.

"This was an absolute disappointment," said Schonwette. The unexpected delay didn't stop Johise from believing her cousins would arrive this year. "She is the one who said there will be a miracle," said Schonwette, who teaches Johise's Grade 3 Sunday School class. "I didn't want to burst her bubble," she said, adding she and other members of the church community joined the family in praying for a miracle.

Schonwette and her committee also provided additional correspondence to highlight the risks the Mugosa family encounters in the refugee camp, the risks of returning to their hometown and the support network in Canada.

Church Support

The $30,000 fee for airfares and financial support to cover housing and living costs for one year are part of the church budget. Furniture and household appliances are in storage. The church also provides financial support to help meet the family's medical and nutritional needs in the refugee camp and cover transportation and other costs associated with completing the application process.

The interview took place in early June. "I was expecting that to happen," said Johise. "Even if they hadn't done the interview we would keep on praying. We would never give up because God says if you pray and it doesn't happen the first day you should keep on praying because God listens to every prayer."

Her mother, Esperance, said she had been discouraged when she heard about the delay but she believes in the power of prayer. "Life in a refugee camp is never easy—we worry day and night about their safety. The only support we can give them is prayer—without prayer we cannot do anything."

Refugee camp misery

Many refugee camps are places of "chaos, trauma, agony and misery," said Namwira. Hardships include personal safety issues, food shortages, poor sanitation and limited educational opportunities.

"If somebody is in need of protection, a day is like a year," he said, emphasizing a 45-month wait for processing an application is too long.

Namwira, who has lived in Canada since 1999, said thousands of refugees would return to their homes if the reasons for fleeing were addressed. Some of the issues that need to be addressed are peace and security, small arms proliferation control, democracy and good governance.

Refugee assistance programs, he said, generally target younger refugees and refugees who are educated. "Some are left out completely," he said, comparing this group of people to the biblical account of the sick man at the pool of Bethesda who needed help to get to the water so that he could be healed. "Those are the people that the churches and MCC helps," he said.

 

Gladys Terichow is a writer for Mennonite Central Committee Canada