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Clinton News Record, 2016-07-06, Page 2222 News Record • Wednesday, July 6, 2016 A falling out between Ethiopian refugees and their sponsor (Shaun Gregory/Postmedia Network) Ambiya and her two daughters eating food at their Welcome to Seaforth Benefit Breakfast on February 21. They have currently left the Melody -Powers Seaforth Refugee Sponsorship Group and are now being supported by the Clinton Christian Reformed Church. imrtil"IR11I 100 ROYAL LEPAGE IS.liis Heartland RealtyIhmel WNW al Helping you is what we do.TM OFFICE 519-482-3400 1 Albert St., Clinton To view all our listings go to: www.rlpheartland.ca Fred Lobb** Rick Lobb*** Richard Lobb Sr.* Sherry McLaughlin* Cell: 519-955-0012 Cell: 519-525-1174 Cell: 519-955-0163 Cell: 519-301-2879 OPEN HOUSE :I r 1 SAT., JULY 9TH 10-11:30 20 Mohawk Cres., Clinton $249,800 Call Sherry MLS#940762 40 Mary St., Wingham $206,900 Call Sherry MLS#659680 286 Victoria St., Londesborough $185,500 Call Rick or Fred MLS#343092 Broker of Record*** NEW LISTING 30 Mill St., Dublin $169,900 Call Sherry MLS#710894 55.81 AC. 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However quarrels between them and their sponsorship group have caused the two parties to part ways. Ambiya and her four children Ahmed, Yusuf, Fatuma and Say- ida were seen around town walk- ing alking with smiles, playing in snow that was more than foreign to them and creating friendships with fellow classmates while attending St. James Catholic School. From the outside looking in, it was a picture perfect story. On a small scale, the community of Sea - forth, with the guidance of the Mel- ody -Powers Seaforth Refugee Sponsorship Group ran by Brian Melady, helped to change the world. The humanitarian endeavor was deemed a success. Instead of a refugee camp as their address, which only had scarce amounts of food to replenish their hungry bod- ies, they were given a home to rest with a fridge full of food to eat at their disposal. Melady thought the language barrier might be difficult for Ambiya, as well as leaving friends and family behind. To band-aid the stresses of settling in a new country to the best of their ability, the humanitarian group said they worked around the clock to suit their needs, however it was just not enough. Here are the top four "greatest difficulties" new immigrants face in their first four years of arrival. Close to 46 percent are not able to find a sufficient place of employ- ment, 26 percent struggle with learning English, adjusting to the niUu]ill ;4 k1 il4I climate also is troubling with roughly 16 per cent facing this dilemma and lastly, 13 per cent find themselves yearning for the support they had in their home- land, according to Statistics Can- ada. Melady said a large portion of this data is what subsequently influenced the family to seek ref- uge abroad along with pressure from friends, family members and so on. "When they see all these won- derful pictures, every time they are talking to the (people back home), everyone wants a little piece," explained Melady in a dis- cussion with the Huron Expositor in Seaforth on June 21. "I com- pare it to when you see somebody going to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico around the world, you see these pictures on Facebook." "All the food and all the fresh water, you can't help but ask to be there with them and if you can't be there with them you (ask), do you think you can bring me some?" Landing on Canadian bounda- ries January 21, the Afar speaking Ethiopians decided to cut their stay short in Seaforth two months ago and move to Clinton with the sec- ond Ethiopian family that was also once sponsored by Melady's chari- table cause. Meladywent on to say that Immigration Canada or whom he calls the 'bureaucrats; the agree- ment holder, and the Mennonite Central Committee "stepped in." The end result of this is that the Clinton Christian Reformed Church has taken over the respon- sibilities for the pair of Ethiopian refugee families. 'The only rights they don't have is they cannot vote yet, they can't hold public office or have high security clearance possessions," Melady said. "Other than that, Ambiya had the exact same right to make any decision any adult can do here." Being a former teacher, Cathy Elliott, President of the Lions Club in Seaforth, thought she could instill those skills by helping her learn to cook, shop and all the other important things that go hand-in-hand of being a func- tioning Canadian citizen. "I think the mom was just over- whelmed by the language barrier, isolation and not being in her own culture," said Elliott while also mentioning her non-profit organization donated $1,000 to the family. "There is no guarantee each one is going to work out. All these people are individuals and they all have their own histories. They all have their own skill sets, it's hard to know until they actually get here." Vicki Powers, who's also part of the humanitarian effort in Sea - forth said although the outcome was not what was expected, between the two families eight lives were saved for the better. "I think we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish," she said. "These people have a chance at a new life. One thing I think we all maybe have lost sight of is the fact that whether they are living in Seaforth or somewhere else, they have control over what they do with that life" The Melody -Powers Seaforth Refugee Sponsorship Group raised about $12,000-$13,000 in their aid- ing organization and according to Melady there is about $7,000 which is being held by the Mennonite Central Committee. He has recently requested that money go towards the Syrian refugee sponsorship that has been put together by the Egmondville United Church. Cur- rently as it stands, the organization has not responded back "The money was raised by our community for a refugee in our community," stated Melady, who also said if the funds are put forth, it's possible a second refugee fam- ily may make an appearance. ONTARIO FARM GROUP 'ntario Matt Den Hollander BROKER OF RECORD • OWNER 519.872.6259 e o earn Claude Robin BROKER 519.291.8262 ed Up To Better Serve You! SAL 519.854.8081 519.323.6554 Kevin Pasma SALES REPRESENTATIVE • ASSOCIATE MEMBER 519.319.7355 Arjan Leeuwerke SALES REPRESENTATIVE • ASSOCIATE MEMBER 226.228.6625 ONTARIO FARM GROUP interfarms'