Kildare communities encouraged to support Syrian families in their area
Pictured at the launch of the new migrant appeal in Clane Co Kildare today where the Community Sponsorship Ireland project has already successfully taken place were from left to right Khalil Al Sheblak, Irene Lawlor Irish Red Cross and Father Paul O’Boyle Parish Priest Clane & Rathcoffey Photo: Lorraine O’Sullivan
Kildare was the venue for four Irish charities to launch appeal to communities across Ireland to support and accommodate 15 Syrian families who are currently in a high-risk and worsening situation in Lebanon. The Irish Red Cross, Doras, the Irish Refugee Council and Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre are running a Community Sponsorship Ireland programme, on the request of the Irish Government and focusing fresh efforts on finding local groups willing to come together to support Syrian refugee families who were selected in 2022 by the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) for resettlement to Ireland.
The Community Sponsorship Ireland programme encourages a group of friends, colleagues or neighbours to come together to welcome a refugee family to Ireland and support them with accommodation and integration into the local community. The programme takes a unique community-first approach, based on a model developed in Canada that fosters meaningful connections between refugees and their host communities, leading to more sustainable and positive integration within localities.
The four charities have been working in partnership to deliver the Community Sponsorship Ireland programme since 2019 and in that time, have guided and supported community groups across Ireland to welcome 26 Syrian and Afghan refugee families into their communities.
The Irish Red Cross, Doras, Nasc and the Irish Refugee Council are ready to support interested community groups and encourage those interested to visit https://communitysponsorship.ie and contact communitysponsorship@Irishredcross.ie.
