It's been just over a month since the Al Darwish family made Carman their new home. The Syrian family of six spent five years in a Palestinian refugee camp waiting to be sponsored before finally moving to Canada in December. Prior to fleeing the civil war in Syria the Al Darwishes - Talal, Yasmin and their four children Ahmad (10), Amina (8), Reem (6) and Abir (3) - had lived in the province of Idlib, southwest of Aleppo.

Lyle Rance is part of the Al Darwish Support Committee that is sponsoring the group through the Blended Visa program that sees the Federal Government and community sponsors share the costs 50:50 over one year. He says it's been a real joy working with the outgoing and eager family, adding the winter weather doesn't seem to bother them at all. "The kids are outside playing most of the time... they have had previous experience with snow but not quite the same low temperatures." Rance adds the kids have already gone tobogganing at the local park and are going to try ice-skating before winter is over.

Support committee members Erica Rance and George Klassen greeted the Al Darwish family at the Winnipeg airport upon their arrival to Canada in December. The welcome signs now hang on the walls of the Al Darwish home.Talal and Yasmin are enrolled in English classes at Regional Connections in Winkler and attend five mornings a week. There is also a group of volunteers providing English as an Additional Language (EAL) support for all family members in their home three to four times a week. Rance says the couple is quickly picking up the language.

"They virtually had almost zero English when they arrived...just interacting with committee members and neighbours, their English has improved greatly. They understand a lot now, a little more difficulty expressing themselves in English, but lots of times they figure out what we're talking about. They're doing well."

He adds Google Translate helped get them initially get through some of the rough spots but there are now four people available to translate in some of the more complex discussions. Overall, Rance expects there will be very little challenge in communicating with Talal and Yasmin in as little as two months.

As for the kids, Ahmad and Amina registered for their first day at Carman Elementary School on January 11 and Rance says they are quite enjoying it. "I talked to (Ahmad) the other day and I said 'How's school?' and school was good, two thumbs up." He notes the kids are picking up English even faster than their parents.

In a letter submitted to Pembina Valley Online, committee member Susan Weppler outlined that the family has also attended a number of community events over the past month including the Carman Community Christmas Dinner and a meal in Winkler sponsored by the Pembina Valley Muslim community. Plans have been made for the Carman family to meet two other Syrian families soon who have settled in Portage. Rance says they are also excited to check out Blizzard Fest happening in February.

Meantime, Talal has indicated that he'd like to start doing some part-time work and committee members are exploring all available options. However, Rance says the hours cannot interfere with the EAL training that happens every weekday morning. He adds both Talal and Yasmin have expressed interest in getting a driver's license and so they've started to study the 200-page Arabic language driver training handbook.

"That's going to be a big job," explains Rance who says neither one of the two has driven before. "It's a completely new experience for them."

On the topic of new experiences, Rance says he's learned a few new things too since working with the Al Darwish family adding the first thing that caught his attention was that they are very resourceful.

"They were in a refugee camp in Lebanon for five years and he managed to keep the family fed and sheltered during that time, just doing whatever work he could get."

And while he hasn't learned as much Arabic as the Al Darwishes have learned English, Rance notes he has picked up a few new words.

He adds some of their cultural customs have also been interesting to learn, noting the way they share a meal is different than what we do here in Canada.

Rance says another neat thing to learn was how the family greets others, explaining that rather than shaking hands they put their hand to their heart and offer a slight nod.

He does note, however, there are many similarities between the two cultures like humour. "What's funny to them is funny to us and vice versa."

Meantime, the Carman Refugee Support Committee, which includes representatives from six local churches and surrounding communities, has been renamed the Al Darwish Support Committee. Rance explains the change was made because the Al Darwish family is no longer refugees, has been given Permanent Resident status and is now part of the Carman community.

The submitted letter from Susan Weppler indicates they are grateful and excited for the opportunity to live in Carman and have stability, safety, education for their children and access to medical/dental care.