First Lutheran Refugee Ministry

A committed and determined team of volunteer members from Calgary’s First Evangelical Lutheran Church welcomed eighteen members of two Sudanese families from the Fugnido Refugee Camp in Ethiopia to Calgary on September 8 and 9, 2010.

The congregation, working through Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR), first applied in 2005 to sponsor eleven members of a Sudanese family which attended First Lutheran. By the time Canada Immigration processed the application, two marriages and five more children grew the family to eighteen.

CLWR Program Manager for Refugees Fikre Tsehai said, “During the last 18 years, I have not come across such a large extended family being sponsored by a single Lutheran church since the start of the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program in 1979.”

The First Lutheran Refugee team has provided accommodation, furniture, food, and clothing and will continue to provide financial support, arrange for education, medical advice, and assistance in finding work and moral support as they integrate into the life of Calgary during their first year in Canada.

Donations in support of the Refugee Fund can be made directly to First Lutheran Church of Calgary.

For more information contact:

Refugee Team:        
Ben Ledene – 403-249-1231          benkrisledene@shaw.ca