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EKFORS AGM May 13 in Wasa
Please find here-in notice of the Annual General Meeting for East Kootenay Friends of Refugees Society (formerly Friends of Burma).
As a not-for-profit society and charitable organization it is a requirement to hold an AGM yearly. The AGM will take place on Sunday, May 13 at 11 a.m. at 6283 Wasa Lake Drive in Wasa. Please contact Barb Ryeburn at [email protected] for more information.
One of the agenda items will be the approval of the documents for the Society Act Transition that all organizations under the Societies Act must enter before November 2018.
EKFORS (EKFOB) has been hosting refugees since 1996 and has sponsored about 20 families. Refugees have arrived from these countries: Burma, Columbia, Eritrea, Palestine, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia and have settled in the East Kootenay and other cities and towns in B.C. and Alberta.
Some historical perspective may clarify the organization that is EK Friends of Refugees Society (EKFORS).
EK Friends of Burma was a group of five in the beginning and grew to a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) and now has constituent groups in other communities who sponsor refugees. In recent years the group renamed to EK Friends of Refugees Society since they have been sponsoring refugees from countries other than Burma.
The first family, from Burma, that was sponsored in 1996 arrived in the usual refugee conditions with not much, having lived in a camp for a number of years. The family, a father, mother and two young children moved in to an apartment Friends of Burma had rented for them to start their life in Canada.
The family then moved to a rental house from the apartment. The husband, having started work right away, was ambitious and in time they moved to their own home. A new business was built and the father was now employing others in the community.
In time the family grew to five and moved to Park Royal, a bigger home for a bigger family. The three children have gone through the local education system and are productive in society. This family has contributed to life in our multi-cultural Canada because friends in 1996 decided it would be a good thing to help refugees share this country.
If you are interested in learning more please join us on May 13 at 11 a.m. in Wasa at 6283 Wasa Park Drive. Sponsoring refugees is life changing.
Lead image: The arrival in 2012 of the Karen family from Burma. Photos submitted
Submitted for EKFORS by Roberta Rodgers
