Quotation of the month 
"He [or she] who saves a life, saves a generation"
- Senator Tjanh Hai Ngo
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Celebrating refugee sponsorship
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Bill Janzen shared about helping shape legislation on the Private Sponsorship Program
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In the 1970s and 80s Canadians were moved to action as millions of people fled Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Out of this crisis Canada's Private Sponsorship Program was born, initiating cooperation between government and civil society with individuals and churches sponsoring refugees directly. On March 5, 1979, MCC became the first organization to sign a private sponsorship agreement with the government.
In hearing the stories we could not help but think of today's global refugee crisis, with over 60 forcefully displaced around the world, including 20 million refugees. June 20 is World Refugee Day. The Canadian government has taken steps to help but so much more could be done. This year will you join us with prayers, action and support for those forcefully displaced around the world?
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The past months have been extremely busy for MCC Canada's national migration and resettlement coordinator Brian Dyck. Amidst many important meetings and travels, he appeared before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on Tuesday, June 7 as it studied Canada's response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Brian spoke of MCC's successes and challenges in responding to the overwhelming number of Canadians wanting to sponsor refugees from Syria and elsewhere.
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New resource: For worship and learning
We've profiled our World Refugee Day resources for congregations several times, but if you haven't already seen them, make sure to check out the worship materials, stories, definitions and statistics, as well as an accompanying animated video. Let us know if you use any of these materials at your church.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) has also prepared a resource packet called Welcoming the Stranger. If you are in Toronto on June 20, join folks from CFGB at Nathan Phillips Square between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. for an open-air World Refugee Day event.
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Would you like to live in Ottawa, learn about advocacy to government, and hang out with great colleagues? Do you have an interest in research and writing? Then consider applying for our advocacy research intern position. The intern works in our office for four months (September to December) and assists with research, policy analysis and writing. Applications will be received until June 30. Apply here.
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| | Haiti advocacy learning tour |
Staff update
In May Policy Analyst Bekah Sears took part in an advocacy delegation to visit MCC's work in Haiti, hosted by MCC Haiti's excellent advocacy and policy workers: Ted and Katharine Oswald. Together with Charissa Zehr, Kati Garrison and Anna Vogt, advocacy staff from MCC Offices in Washington, New York and Latin America/Caribbean respectively, the delegation spent a week visiting partners and projects in Port-au-Prince, Dezam and Kabay.
The delegation met with officials at the Canadian Embassy, human rights coalitions in Port-au-Prince and on the border with Dominican Republic and MCC staff and partners and projects in Dezam and Kabay in the Centre Department. These were rich and fruitful conversations and meetings, discussing the political and social contexts around the elections process, climate change, reforestation, food security and sovereignty, and the role of the international community in Haiti.
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