Welcome to Valerie Veillard’s sitting room. There’s tea and snacks on the coffee table in front us and she’s flanked on her couch by Nathalie Baudais and Twyla Yobb. Between the three of them, they have decades of experience in sponsoring refugees and helping them settle in Saskatoon. 

Valerie, Nathalie and Twyla are part of a sponsorship group working with the Mennonite Central Committee to bring a refugee family from Afghanistan to our city. The Jamili family has been waiting for months to learn if they will begin a new life in Saskatoon, while Valerie and the team have been working behind the scenes to ensure they will get to Canada safely. That means filling out forms, fostering relationships with organizations like the Saskatoon Open Door Society, and fundraising…lots and lots of fundraising.

The group has already sponsored the settlement of two adult children from the Jamili family, and it is hoping to soon reunite the family here in Saskatoon. 

The world of refugee sponsorship is new to me, and I am grateful to Valerie, Nathalie and Twyla for walking me through the process of how it works, and why they commit so much of their time and energy to helping others in this way.

If you would like to help bring the Jamili family to Saskatoon, please click the link below.

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I want to thank Rob Rongve and his team at RBC Dominion Securities in North Battleford for supporting this episode. Rob has been an incredible supporter of the podcast since day one and I really appreciate his continued generosity and kindness. If you need someone to manage and invest your money, you need to meet Rob and his team at RBC Dominion Securities.

I also want to let you know of an exciting event I am working on with the Remai Modern. Please mark April 17th on your calendar as that’s when YXE Underground will be presenting a movie at the Remai Modern’s lovely theatre beginning at 7pm. 

We will be showing the short film Molly Schikosky and I made last summer celebrating the podcast followed by the Pixar classic, Wall-E because it’s one of my favourite movies of all time and I think it connects nicely to YXE Underground in meaningful ways. 

The Remai does this with other community organizations who select a movie for the public to watch for free and it’s really cool to partner with the gallery in this way. Plus, it’s free to attend!

So I would love to see you on the night of Thursday, April 17th, to celebrate the podcast and watch one of the best films of the past 20 years. Oh, and there will be free podcast swag if you come!

Thank you for continuing to support a local, independent podcast here in Saskatoon. 

Cheers,

Eric 

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis