Afghan refugees have started arriving in the Waterloo region | The Canadian News

About 200 Afghan refugees have arrived in the Waterloo region. And more are expected in the coming days.

A new task force has been launched to help resettle them, says the Waterloo Region Immigration Association (WRIP).

It will involve board members from the Association and the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Center.

The Waterloo region is one of 34 resettlement sites in Canada selected by the federal government for government-assisted refugees. A total of 40,000 refugees will build new homes in Canada.

2:54‘I feel empty inside’: Afghan family still waiting for help from Canada after their separation from Kabul

“Everyone plays a vital role in ensuring the success of our efforts to welcome and support refugees settling in the region,” said Tara Bedard, Executive Director of the Immigration Partnership.

“We are working as a community to welcome many Syrian refugees in 2015-16, and we will do the same again.”

“We are building on what we know worked well during the Syrian initiative and we are figuring out what we should do differently in light of the changes in the community, the pandemic and the ongoing restrictions we face,” Bedard said.