APPEAL: Tipperary families sought to provide support  for Syrian refugees

The  migrant support and human rights organisation, Doras,  are launching a new  Community  Sponsorship initiative in the Mid-West that will enable neighbours, friends or members of  a  local club or church community to come together to provide support  for refugee families. 

Doras  will begin engaging with communities in counties Tipperary, Limerick and Clare  in the coming months, with the aim  of organising and assisting groups to  welcome and support refugee families,  mainly from Syria.

These families  will be resettled from camps in  countries such as  Jordan and Lebanon  as part of  this exciting new venture.

“We are delighted to be a Regional Support Organisation (RSO) for  new Community Sponsorship opportunities  in  Ireland’s Mid-West region, and can’t  wait to engage with communities,” said John  Lannon,  Doras  CEO. 

“Doras  completed five years of successful refugee resettlement programmes at the end of  2019, and  we  are looking forward to applying that experience to Community Sponsorship, by engaging and supporting local groups  to welcome new families to their communities.” 

Developed in Canada in the late 1970s, Community Sponsorship began in  the east and south of  Ireland  in early 2018, with the  first family resettled under the initiative moving to Meath later that year.  

As part of the initiative, local groups work together to make the families’ move to Ireland as smooth as possible by sourcing accommodation, arranging local supports like doctors and language interpreters, introducing the family to the local community; and, most importantly, offering them a sense of belonging in their new home.

Ahmed Hassan Mohamed, Community Sponsorship Support Worker with  Doras, will oversee the project. 

“I look forward to meeting with interested groups in towns and villages across the Mid-West  when it is safe to do so. And in the meantime I am available  to discuss the rich benefits of Community Sponsorship  for all parties, as well as talking through  the  steps  to take  to bring a refugee family in desperate need of security and stability to Ireland.

“I know that refugees are welcome here. We are already delighted to be engaging with a community in north Tipperary and look forward to meeting more groups soon.”