Hundreds attend SFU Surrey forum hoping to help Syrian refugees

Hundreds of people hopingto help Syrian refugees coming toSurrey, B.C., showed up at a forum connecting them to local service agencies they can contribute to.

Surrey Mayor Linda Hepnersaid her office has been flooded with calls from people eager to donate goods, services and cash.

"Right now the office is getting, overwhelmingly, 'What is it we can do to assist?'" shesaid.

Hepner said she toured the refugeewelcome centre in Surrey earlier on Wednesday, and she was struck by the tenacity and strength of those who had struggled to escape their war-torn homeland.

She said the most common needs she heardfrom the refugees at the centre were to learn English, to get their children into school, and to find a job. Many, she said, emphasized that they were thankful to Canada for receivingthem.

Making a lasting mark

ChristinaWiebewas one of the people who attended the forum.

She and her classmates at Kwantlen University put together care packages with household basics as part of a class project, and was looking for an organization to donate them to.

"It's our last semester at Kwantlen,so we wanted to find a way to give back to the community and make a lasting mark," she said.

"I think it's going to be quitedifficulttryingtoacclimatizeto a new home, and if the community is therebacking you up andgivingyou support and making it feel like home, it's going to be a lot better for everyone."

TheMuslim Food Bankwasone of theagencies at the forum. It provides people with religiously-sensitive foodhalal, vegetarian, or kosher. But it also offers refugees personal support from volunteers.

"We connect local Arabic-speaking families with a Syrian family," he said. "It's like a big brother program."

Immigrant Services Society of B.C.director Chris Friesensaid children make up a large part of the refugee families coming to the province.

"We have seen that one out of every fourth Syrian is under sixyears old," he said."We've seen larger than expected familieson average, sixfamily members."

Friesen explained that61 per cent of the refugees are under 18.