Our first family has arrived!

Our family (with parents Sabah, Zuhir and their five young children) arrived in Ottawa on Thursday, February 18! They were greeted by many Unitarians and other members of our volunteer team. It was a wonderful welcome with much excitement and applause.  Sabah (the mother) said she was very nervous and worried until she saw us all at the bottom of the escalator. They were taken to their temporary residence, a two bedroom condo. The team shared a Syrian dinner with them, provided by a volunteer.
After living on a farm with a leaky roof near Beirut for the last five years, the family expressed their gratitude through our interpreter: "They are grateful to be here and to have had all of you who took the time to come greet them at the airport...they feel very lucky to have been chosen by you and are very excited to meet you... The kids are overjoyed and in heaven, they have not seen a toy in five years."

Members of the Syrian Refugee group awaiting arrival of our family.