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S StAr | Thursday, March 3, 2016
AMHA’s Doucette Joins Canucks Line-up!
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From Syria’s war zone to Aldergrove’s tranquility By KURT LANGMANN Aldergrove Star
KURT LANGMANN PHOTO
Biathletes Ariel and Emmanuel Bussani of Aldergrove are competing at the national championships this week in Quebec.
From down on the farm to nationals By KURT LANGMANN Aldergrove Star
A young sibling duo from the rural countryside area of Aldergrove are dedicated to the sport of skiing. Emmanuel Bussani, now 14, has been pursuing the sport of biathlon for the past three years. He has won medals at provincial and national events, and watching him compete has inspired his younger sister Ariel, 12, to follow his example this past year. Emmanuel won another bronze medal
at the BC Winter Games in Penticton last weekend, and while Ariel was too young to compete at this event she will be joining him in competition at the national biathlon championships in Quebec this week, March 2-7. Both of the siblings are members of the West Coast Nordic club, as well as the 861 Silver Fox air cadets based in Abbotsford. Both of these organizations have programs for members to practice and compete in the sport, which mixes cross-country skiing and target shooting.
Their coach is Peter Algra of Abbotsford, a man very dedicated to the sport of biathlon. Algra’s son recently won a full scholarship to UNBC as a biathlete and now his daughter is following in the same footsteps as her brother. “We’re lucky to have the facilities, including a shooting range at Whistler, within a 200 kilometre range,” says Lori Bussani, the fully supportive mother of Emmanuel and Ariel. Lori is also a former personal trainer. SEE: Page 9
A young refugee family from war-torn Syria have found a peaceful home in Aldergrove, thanks to a small church congregation. The 50-member Aldergrove Vineyard Church has sponsored the Syrian couple and their three small children under the federal resettlement program, with the assistance of the Mennonite Central Committee in Abbotsford. About 20 of the church members were on hand to greet the family at Vancouver Airport two Fridays ago. The family, which had been living in Lebanon for the past four or so years, includes three boys aged four, six and eight. “It was a very joyful event and the family is so happy to be here,” says Danise Randall Breederland, whose family is temporarily sharing their rural Aldergrove house with the refugee family while the finishing touches are put on the family’s basement suite in Abbotsford. “The family had applied to the UN two years ago and finally were accepted by Canada,” said Breederland. “They don’t speak any English but we had an interpreter on hand to introduce us as they came through the gate. All they had was two bags between them, nothing else.” The family was among
a group of about 30 refugees who flew directly from Amman, Jordan to Montreal, where their documents were processed before transferring to a Vancouver-bound flight. Most of the group were government-sponsored, which meant they had no private sponsors to greet them at the airport, and were transported to temporary lodgings such as the Sandman in Surrey. Breederland said she was touched by the actions of a passerby couple who noted the family’s dress and asked the church members if the family were refugees. “When we said yes, they called out ‘Welcome to Canada’ and pressed a hundred dollars into our hands and told us to buy them something nice. That’s the heart of Canadians.” Church pastors Joe and Charmaine Kelder believe that the commitment by the church to support and guide the family through their resettlement in Canada is a calling which must be heeded. Under the “blended visa office refugees” program, the federal government provides $1,400 a month for six months for a family of five, and the sponsors provide the rest. The sponsors provide housing, food, clothing and assistance in setting up bank accounts and medical coverage -- altogether a $30,000 commitment from the small SEE: Page 3
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