Community continues to aid Somalia family
The fundraising and awareness effort through the fall were very successful and they continue. However, so does the bureaucratic battle to bring St. F.X. nursing student Farhiyo Salah’s sisters and their children to Nova Scotia as they remain in a refugee camp in Kenya.
St. Ninian Parish’s Canadians Accepting Refugees Everywhere (CARE) communications chair Marg Macisaac provided an update Dec. 12.
“We’re trucking on,” Macisaac said. “Our fundraiser with the yard sale went extremely well; we made more than $1,200. Farhiyo’s talk at the library also went extremely well; there were about 40 people there, it was very well-received. A number of people stayed afterwards to talk to her. In fact, I had a couple of people who gave me direct donations.”
Macisaac said the Antigonish Lions Club recently held one of their pancake breakfast events with proceeds going toward the effort and another major fundraiser – a diner – is planned for February.
“We have people very interested in her, her story, her goal,” Macisaac said. “The Gofundme account is growing… one family was sending a challenge out to members of their family to contribute money to this cause as a Christmas effort.”
Macisaac said the committee has grown with more awareness as well.
“We have more people actively interested in doing things … it’s very positive,” she said. “It’s a good cause, she is a wonderful person, and we would certainly like to help her out.”