When the world asks about how to help Syrian refugees find their footing in countries, they may find the answer in West 91大黄鸭.

鈥淲e were approached by a former journalist who does a lot of work for the UN. The UN High Commission for Refugees had contacted her and asked if she could track down a Canadian group that was privately sponsoring a Syrian family,鈥� said Gioia Morris, a representative for the West 91大黄鸭 Initiative for Refugee Settlement.

Morris learned a little more about what was needed, and then the camera crews rolled in and started filming Mohammed Al Breij, his wife Sahar, and their four children, ages two to 10, as they started to adapt to Canadian life with the help of the five families who sponsored them with partial help from the Canadian government.

Of the 26,000 Syrian refugees who have made it to Canada in recent months, only 6,000 have used this model.

The three-minute film was played at a meeting dealing with global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees, which was hosted March 30 by the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

The film shows the families talking about what the support of their sponsor families has meant to them.

They fled Syria five years ago to live in a refugee camp in Lebanon, where they lived in a shack with a dirt floor.

There was no school for the children, no opportunity to learn English or prepare for what was to come, which made the welcome they received all the more welcome.

鈥淭hey help with everything, we don鈥檛 feel like we are alone doing this. We are one complete family,鈥� Sahar said, with the help of a translator.

鈥淚n Canada, I see a bright and better life for me and my children and my husband. My children will be going to school. My husband will have a better future and get a good job.鈥�

Morris said it was an honour to be featured, as the film also highlighted how much work the West 91大黄鸭 families have done to make the sponsorship work.

鈥淲e finally did find a rental house for them and that鈥檚 been a relief,鈥� she said, adding that it鈥檚 slim pickings for housing that is both ideal for a family that size and affordable, once they take rent payments out of the sponsors hands.

鈥淚t will be really, really good because that means they will be really settled. It has a bit of a backyard and Mohammed is looking forward to working on it.鈥�

The children, said Morris, are doing well at school. She said one member of the sponsorship group has gone above and beyond teaching the whole family English.

The participation from all the sponsors has been tremendous, said Morris.

It鈥檚 why she believes the model they chose to help is the best.

It鈥檚 also an intense commitment, and the group has yet to decide whether they would be willing to sponsor another family or just do something to support the government sponsored families that are already here.

鈥淲e are all people who have busy lives and it鈥檚 a lot,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e love what we鈥檙e doing and it鈥檚 so rewarding, and we would do it again and again and again, but it is a big commitment.鈥�

The sponsors meet once a month to assess what鈥檚 needed, as Morris said the biggest concern they have at the moment is creating a lifestyle the family will be able to sustain down the road.

They have four of six months government funding yet to come in, but the sponsor commitment end-date is still up in the air.

鈥淭he goal is to get them self-sufficient within a year鈥�completely self-sufficient. Whether it will happen, I don鈥檛 know how likely that is,鈥� said Morris.

鈥淲e have accomplished a tremendous amount of stuff in a reasonable time.

鈥淲e do have a strict budget, we want to make them learn to live on a budget that鈥檚 based on  someone living full-time on minimum wage.鈥�

That, she said, is difficult.

鈥淲e love them like they鈥檙e family and we want to give them whatever, but we have to remind ourselves that there are boundaries, and we need to be as professional as we can,鈥� she said.

鈥淚n the long run, they need to be as self-sufficient as possible.鈥�

One example of that balance was the realization that the couple鈥檚 childcare needs would be pricey.

Mohammed and Sahar were accepted into the same ESL class, which required a lot of daycare.

鈥淲e covered it, but our budget is only so big,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e realized we don鈥檛 want to do fundraising to have daycare paid for.

鈥淭here are all these things you don鈥檛 anticipate, and we鈥檝e made some mistakes, and said, 鈥楲et鈥檚 do it鈥� about some things and then afterwards realized, 鈥楾hat wasn鈥檛 that smart.鈥欌��

In the end, daycare only lasted three weeks. The boys struggled because it was too much too soon without English, so Sahar decided she鈥檇 stay home during the afternoon.

Luckily, a spot in the morning class opened up.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no manual, saying, OK here is how you do this,鈥� said Morris.

鈥淲e had a few pages of advice on how to handle it, but there are so many ways people are doing this and it鈥檚 dependent on what the (Syrian) family is like.鈥�

In the end, however, Morris believes that the model they鈥檝e chosen is the best.

鈥淭hey are going to integrate faster, and they鈥檙e going to be more positive about being in Canada and contributing to the community,鈥� she said.

鈥淭hey had a support group who loved them immediately. That鈥檚 why we were excited to promote this model. It鈥檚 a no- brainer.鈥�

The video van be found at http://tracks.unhcr.org/2016/04/the-kindness-of-strangers/.