Canada is home to one of CRWRC's home offices (in Burlington, Ontario) and a large number of our supporters. However, it is also home to many people who are living in poverty and churches who are struggling to reach out to their communities.
CRWRC has been working in Canada since 1967. Today, this work is carried out primarily through the work of Diaconal Ministries Canada. CRWRC is also involved in helping refugees build a new life for themselves in Canada with the support of a sponsoring church.
Fast Facts
Population: 33,487,208 (July 2009 est.)
Literacy rate: 99%
Life expectancy: 81.23 years
Population below poverty line: 10.8% Note: This figure is based on Canadian "Low Income Cut-off"
Gross Domestic Product per capita: $35,600
Religions: Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census)
Languages: English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%
(From the World Factbook. Click here for more information on Canada.)
Diaconal Ministries Canada - Diaconal Ministries Canada (DMC) partners with diaconates, churches and community ministries to bring the healing love of Christ into neighbourhoods across Canada. CRWRC was actively involved in the creation of DMC in 2001 and continues to work alongside DMC in various capacities. For more information, click here.
Refugee Resettlement - Under a Sponsorship Agreement with the Government of Canada, churches can settle families over and above the number settled by Citizenship and Immigration Canada services. For many of these families, resettlement is their last remaining hope after fleeing their homes and living in temporary placements. That's why CRWRC, along with support from DMC, is actively involved in resettling refugeess in Canada. The government of Canada screens applicants for health, security risk, and admissibility. CRWRC then works with local churches to help them select, support, and resettle approved families.
For more information about Refugee Resettlement, click here.
Rose Dekker
Rose Dekker has been working as refugee coordinator for CRWRC since February 2004, encouraging Christian Reformed Churches in Canada to sponsor refugees from countries overseas. Her interest in refugee sponsorship and resettlement were sparked during her years living in Edmonton, where she often translated for Spanish speaking refugees, and in Thunder Bay, where she served on the Sleeping Giant Refugee Sponsorship Group for seven years. Rose and her husband Jim were missionaries with CRWM in Guatemala and Venezuela in the late 70s and early 80s and have been living in Canada since 1986. EMAIL: dekkerr@crcna.ca