Sarah Snider didn鈥檛 envision herself working with refugees. Like聽many Canadian university students, she didn鈥檛 have the slightest clue where she might end up. But as a third-year聽Social Work, Sociology and Psychology student, Snider took part in an internship that completely altered her direction. Two years later, she is, along with her husband, Matt, a night manager at . She鈥檚 also the operations director for . Based in Hamilton, Ont., both of these organizations are committed to walking alongside refugees and newcomers to Canada.
鈥淏eing a part of people鈥檚 day-to-day life is the most rewarding part of my work,鈥 Snider says. 鈥淚n our North American culture, we don鈥檛 often do life intimately with anyone outside of our immediate family. In my work, I get to be a part of real life with people. It鈥檚 hard but so beautiful. I feel privileged to be a part of so many people鈥檚 journeys and families here in Canada.鈥
“In our North American culture, we don鈥檛 often do life intimately with anyone outside of our immediate family.”
Many refugee claimants arrive in Canada with nowhere to go 鈥 Micah House exists to provide support in these circumstances. Founded in 2006, Micah House is a shelter and settlement support service provider in downtown Hamilton for newly arrived refugee claimants. 鈥淚ndividuals are coming to live at Micah House during a very intense season of their lives,鈥 says Snider. 鈥淢y husband and I are able to come alongside them and share life together.鈥 Since their wedding in 2016, Sarah and Matt have coordinated evening and weekend volunteers and provided support for residents as Micah House’s night managers.
Karam Kitchen, a social enterprise and catering company launched in September 2016 through a , takes the support of Micah House a step further. Karam is an Arabic word that roughly translates to 鈥済enerosity鈥 in English. At the kitchen’s helm, five聽Syrian women 鈥 Dalal, Manahel, Rawa鈥檃, Wafa鈥檃 and Ektimal 鈥 are generous with their talents. The focus of the company is to employ and empower newcomer women who have come to Hamilton in the wake of a refugee crisis. Snider joined in November, two months after聽Karam Kitchen鈥檚 official launch. As an operations director, she works on sourcing, professional development, staff scheduling and supervising the day-to-day operations at the kitchen.
Snider鈥檚 faith is the driver behind these two roles, both of which are greatly intertwined with the biblical mandate to welcome聽the stranger. 鈥淢y faith is what sustains me when things are difficult, my faith is what allows me to see the beauty in my work, and my faith is what pushes me to continue,鈥 she says. 鈥淕od calls us to love our neighbour as ourselves; He calls us to welcome the stranger. He calls us to do difficult stuff. As Christians, answering these calls is not optional.鈥
If you ask Snider how her jobs make her feel, she鈥檒l be blunt. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think my work is all that unique or special,鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 just answering God鈥檚 call in this particular way. Others are answering these same calls in all sorts of other capacities that are equally important to the Kingdom work that God has called us to.鈥
In August 2017,聽Nina Drenth (n茅e Schuurman) ’17, along with her husband, David, have accepted the聽positions of night managers at聽Micah House, taking over for Matt and Sarah Snider.