Imagine losing everything. Your home, your neighbourhood, the familiar sounds of your children playing in the streets you’ve known your whole life. Now imagine the courage it takes to start over in a place where even the language feels foreign. This is the reality for a family from Africa, soon to arrive in Kamloops, but thanks to Refugees and Friends Together (RAFT), they won’t have to face this journey alone.

RAFT’s dedicated volunteers understand that behind every refugee statistic is a human story. Parents who want nothing more than a safe future for their children, grandparents carrying memories of a homeland they may never see again, young people dreaming of a life full of opportunities that seemed impossible just months ago.

RAFT’s mission is both simple and profound: welcome and support some of the world’s most vulnerable people as they rebuild their lives in Kamloops. The volunteer-driven organization works tirelessly to facilitate newcomers’ healthy adjustment to Canadian society while supporting their journey toward independence in their new home community.

In early November, RAFT will be welcoming a newcomer family of 5 to Kamloops.

This family has fled a homeland torn apart by unimaginable violence, having endured civil conflict that has forced millions of people from their homes. Mothers clutching babies, children separated from parents, families scattered across borders with only the clothes on their backs. Nearly 25 million people face severe hunger in that part of the world, and the numbers, while staggering, barely capture the individual stories of loss and resilience.

While many of us go about our daily lives unaware, this crisis has created heartbreaking conditions that most of us can hardly fathom. Disease outbreaks have claimed thousands of lives in recent months alone. Women and children face particular dangers, with millions at risk of violence even before the current fighting began. These are the circumstances that drive families to make the desperate decision to leave everything behind.

But here in Kamloops, RAFT volunteers see beyond the crisis. They know that within every refugee family arriving at our doorstep are teachers, farmers, students, artists. People with talents and dreams who simply need a chance to rebuild their life.

RAFT’s work goes far beyond finding an apartment and stocking a pantry, though these basics matter immensely. Their volunteers become the first friendly faces, the patient teachers of Canadian customs, and the steady presence during those overwhelming first weeks when everything, from grocery shopping to school enrollment, feels like navigating a maze.

As this family prepares for their new beginning in Kamloops, they’ll need more than warm hearts. In the coming weeks RAFT will be active in the community markets and organizing fundraising efforts to amass practical support. RAFT is raising funds to help cover the initial settlement costs for this new family, including furnishing their first Canadian home, ensuring they have winter clothing for our harsh climate, providing transportation to medical appointments and language classes, and covering numerous other expenses that can overwhelm a family starting from scratch.

Your donation, whether $25 or $250, directly transforms their lives. It might buy a child’s first Canadian winter coat, stock a kitchen with familiar spices that make a foreign place feel more like home, or cover transit costs so parents can attend English classes while building their new future. You can donate on the RAFT website at www.raftkamloops.org.

Support RAFT’s ongoing mission of turning strangers into neighbours. Because sometimes, the difference between surviving and thriving is simply knowing that your new community cares enough to help.

Submitted by Nancy Bepple. She is the board chair for Refugees And Friends Together