About
The roots of AURA’s work is embedded in the desire of Canadians wanting to help the mass exodus of refugees from South East Asia in the late 1970’s. It is the plight and flight of these people that formed the genesis of Canada’s current refugee sponsorship programs. AURA can directly trace our roots to those first Canadians that not only saw the need, but who chose to get directly involved in supporting and aiding people.For more than 30 years AURA has been connecting sponsors with refugees to create new beginnings.
AURA is a Canadian charitable organization acting as a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Our mission is to provide support and expertise to groups involved in refugee sponsorship and resettlement. Successful refugee sponsorship takes an incredible amount of time and effort from everyone involved; the refugee newcomers, the refugee sponsors, and the welcoming community. This collective effort brings communities together by building relationships and developing understanding, ultimately strengthening our communities.
Refugees who come through sponsorship have no durable solution, this means they can never go home and cannot even stay safely where they are. AURA sees all Canadians working together to help support and guide these refugees as they make new lives here in Canada. Your support gives these most vulnerable people hope and a second chance at a new beginning.
Our Impact
When refugees arrive in Canada, they’ve taken an enormous step toward safety and a dramatically changed life, but in some ways, their journeys have just begun.
- Where will they live?
- How will they get to know their new city or town?
- How will they get from place to place?
- Learn a new language?
- Understand a new culture?
- A new climate?
- Get their children started in new schools?
- How will they make a living so that they can make a new life?
It’s incredibly daunting!
Thankfully:
- Canada has programs in place to bring refugees here, and AURA has more than 30 years experience working within these Government of Canada’s sponsorship programs.
- AURA leverages the talent and energy of thousands of truly extraordinary sponsorship volunteers who are willing to go to great lengths to help refugees feel welcome and at home.
- Working together, refugee newcomers are setup to succeed with their new beginnings in Canada .
- Every dollar you give to AURA unlocks another $8 to directly support refugees.
How is this possible? To sponsor a family of four, private refugee sponsors must raise about $40,000. AURA’s expenses to enable a family of four to come to Canada are about $5,000.
