Far Across the Water: Celtic Songs of Travel and Homecoming

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Saturday, July 14th, 2018
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Anna Atkinson and a group of talented musical friends are gathering to sing, play, and entertain you with songs from the Celtic realm. They'll sing some old favourites, but also some more recent additions to the Celtic repertoire, from such songwriters as Nova Scotia's Allister MacGillivray, Scotland's Karine Polwart, England's Kate Rusby and Ireland's Eric Bogle. There will be plenty of chances to sing along to rollicking choruses, as well as contemplative and beautiful melodies, and some wonderful three-part harmonies.

Every penny raised goes to support the Ayash Refugee Sponsorship Group--a committed set of people who are working to bring the Ayash family out of their precarious situation as refugees in Dubai, and to their new home in Canada, where safety and security await them.

For more information on the project, read on--and join us for a delightful evening on July 14!

Amar Ayash, with his wife Gofran and their two daughters, Lujain and Alen (aged 5 and 6), are refugees from the war in Syria. They made their way to Dubai (UAE), where there are no refugee facilities. Without legal status, Amar cannot legally work, and his family are in constant danger of being sent back to Syria. Amar does his best to obtain what work he can, but because of his lack of status, businesses exploit him for his labour and underpay him. He cannot earn enough to keep Gofran and his children healthy. Lujain and Alen cannot attend school because of the cost; food, shelter, and clothing are their priorities, and take all the money they have and more.

Amar's cousin Anas and his family are newcomers to Canada. Along with a dedicated core group who are part of this sponsorship project, they are ready to welcome Amar and his family to Nanaimo to start their new life. The core group are members from St. Andrew's United Church and Cedar United Church, in Nanaimo, B.C., and operates under the auspices of the Anglican Church of Canada's Refugee Sponsorship Program.

We need to raise the seed money of $20 000 (CDN) to start the application process; we then need to raise another $15 000 to ensure the family has their needs met for their first year in Canada.