By Lisa Schick

Prince Albert’s international outreach

Jan 24, 2011 | 10:37 AM

Removed from their home, no job, confined to a refugee camp in Thailand — that was Haenay Htoo and his family’s life until a Prince Albert church group decided to bring them to Canada.

Now, three years later, the same group is working on bringing his brother Haenay Say and his family here as well.

Erin Yo, a member of Wesley United, the church sponsoring the refugee, said she thinks this opportunity is important.

“We as Canadians live probably the best lifestyle in the world, even though we may not always believe it, we do have money to spare … so when the opportunity came for us to be able to do it … took it,” she said.

According to Ken Torbert, head of the outreach program at Wesley United, when the congregation heard Haenay Htoo was trying to bring his brother here they had to help.

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Currently, Haenay Say is trying to get refugee status.

“Once you sign in, it may take a year or years in order to gain legitimate refugee status under the United Nations and once that’s accomplished then we can help him,” said Torbert.

The group is excited about the prospect of bringing another family to Prince Albert, Yo said.

“We think that having this first family was a very enriching experience for our church community, was positive for our people and makes you a part of something bigger than your own community … So we wanted to do it again and help reunite this family,” she said.

When a refugee is accepted to Canada they must pay for their own transportation here.
Flights for Haenay Say’s family could cost about $10,000.

Wesley United is having a “taste of Hawaii” supper at the church on Jan. 29. Proceeds from the dinner will go to the church’s outreach programs including a fund for Haenay Say.

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