Hospitality House sets records, welcomes 1,000th refugee to Winnipeg

Hospitality House Refugee Ministry welcomed the arrival of its 1,000th refugee to Winnipeg this year, setting a record for itself and Canada.

"I can't express it. It's really wonderful."HabtomGebremariumtold CBC News through a translator.

Alongside his wife Ezgamn Semere and their five children, Gebremariumarrived in Winnipeg Monday afternoon from Sudan, earning them the distinction of passing the 1,000-mark.

No otherorganization in Canadahas welcomed this many refugees in a year under the federal government's private sponsorship program, the ministry's executive directorsaid.

"I'm thrilled about it," said Tom Denton. "I don't know where the year will end, at what number we will end."

The Gebremariums and two other Eritrean families on the flight to Winnipeg have waited more than five yearssince being privately sponsored through Hospitality Housefor Canadian processing to be complete.

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Of the 1,000 refugees that have settled in Winnipeg this year, 70 per cent are Eritrean and22 per cent are Somali, Denton said.Hospitality House also welcomed refugees from Rwanda, Congo, Ethiopia and Afghanistan.

"It's remarkable this year because the focus has been on Syrians and Syrian arrivals, but our arrivals don't include Syrians, they include mostly Africans," he said.

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The families all have relatives in Winnipeg who worked with the ministry to sponsor them, Denton explained.

"The probability of good settlementsuccess is high because they've already got a network in place and family to welcome them."

Gebremarium said he looks forward to his new life in Winnipeg and sending his five children to school.

"I always hear that [Winnipeg]is a peaceful city," he said.