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June 2019

Helping People like Maria

Helping People like Maria Start a New Life

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We are helping one of our own, and we hope you will join in.

Helping People like Maria

Ghada, Maria’s Mom

We are helping one of our own, and we hope you will join in. Ghada, Maria’s mom, arrived in Canada in August 2015. She lost 4 of her children. Ghada’s journey to Canada was one of much hardship and pain. She is thankful every day that two of her surviving children, aged 14 and 19 are happy, safe and can go to school here. Ghada is longing to have her other daughter Maria (28) and her grandchildren to join her. She hopes that Maria and her family are going to be safe. Canadian supporters would help them once they reach Canada.

Support From Winnipeg

A group of concerned Winnipeg-based Canadians, and the owners, employees and members of the Yafa Café, have partnered with the Mennonite Church. We are working together to facilitate the sponsorship of Maria and her family: the parents and their two children. Our mission is to sponsor and make a difference in the lives of this family of four. We aim to bring them to safety and security in Canada. To do that, we have a massive goal of raising $12,800 for the family. The in-kind deductions have reduced the amount set out by Canada. The family we are sponsoring is related to a Winnipeg family and a worker at Yafa Café. We raised some money to pay for the family to be sponsored to come to Canada.

How Far Would You Go?

How far would a mother go to save her family? For Maria, the question was one of life and death. When Ghada, a widowed mother, first worked for us at Yafa Cafe in the winter of 2017, she was a proud woman. She didn’t want to stay on social assistance. However, it was apparent that she was in distress.

Later we found that four of her children had died during the Syrian war. The reasons were diverse:

  • lack of medications
  • bombing
  • sudden illness
  • not finding treatment
  • a disabled child who could not live under the stress of war

She was in a dire situation. Ghada sold her last remaining pieces of gold jewellery to pay for their medical treatment. It did not help. She lost her husband and four children. With a heavy heart, she walked the journey to Jordan with her remaining three children.

Dangerous Road Ahead

They had to make a dangerous journey through a war zone. Passing countless checkpoints, they were at the mercy of cruel security forces. Ghada and her children lived in a tent at Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Her daughter Maria got married. She did not qualify as accompanying dependent with her mother when Ghada was selected as a refugee by Canada. The situation for this beautiful family could not be more perilous. These are people with lives and families and careers that are facing a choice that none of us can imagine. Our Yafa Café Group, like so many others that I know, wants to do something. But it is expensive to get a family relocated to Winnipeg.

Raising Funds

For each adult and family, we must raise enough money to help with rent, furniture, food, clothing, medical aid, and general living expenses. We will be responsible for all their needs for one full year. We are a very committed group. Mobilizing the passion and concern within our community to act and help those affected and displaced by civil war is our aim. Along the way, we are organizing and hosting other awareness events and activities. This will bring awareness to the plight of this displaced family and hope you can join us.

Celebrate Father’s Day With Us

Father’s Day is coming up on June 16th! The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. A great way to show Dad you care by treating him to Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner at Yafa Cafe this month! We’ve got a menu that’s sure to suit his every craving. Catch up over hearty favorites like our Makloubeh, grilled BBQ platters, Manakeesh and extravagant Arabic desserts.

Share a Yafa Cafe Gift Card With Someone You Love

Summer and holidays are right around the corner. This is a perfect opportunity to give the gift of an Award-Winning Breakfast, Brunch or Lunch this season! Yafa’s gift cards are perfect for Easter Baskets, Mother’s Day, End-of-Year Teacher Gifts, Graduations, Father’s Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries & more!

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