Haida Gwaii volunteers build ramps for injured Syrian refugee girl

A group of HaidaGwaiivolunteersand Parks Canada officials, who spentweeks preparing a home for a Syrian refugee family,scrambled to findnew accommodationafter learning one childis a double amputee.

The volunteers, who are sponsoringthe refugeefamily of eight, had arranged for them to move into a two-storey home in Queen Charlotte City. The house belonged to Parks Canada, which agreed to rent it to the Syrian family for $800 per month.

But the volunteershad to switch plans when they learned that one of the children, a four-year-old girl, lost a leg below the knee in an explosion.

• Meet some of the Syrian refugees who have made B.C. their home

Beng Favreau, one of the volunteers who is helping to sponsor the Syrian family, said the girl has aprosthetic leg and uses crutches, so she willhave difficulty with stairs.

Volunteerbuiltramps

After learning the news,Parks Canada agreed to switch homes, providing a one-level bungalow instead. It also paid for ramps for the house.

A Parks Canada spokesperson said a local hardware store supplied the lumber at a discount, and Haida Gwaii contractor Derek Swain, along with a crew of workers, volunteered to build the ramps.

The house overlooks SkidegateInlet.

Favreau said news of the girl's disability underscoredthe need to help refugees fleeing thewar-torn region.

"That just reaffirms why we want to do this," Favreau said. "Ifwe as Canadians can help with every little bit so that they can rebuild their lives ... I think we should."

The Syrian family, whose kids range in age from oneto 9, has been living in Jordan since fleeing their home in Daraa, Syria. They are expected to arrive in Canada within weeks.

"If you look at a country that's torn apart, all the people are suffering, itjust doesn't seem right to have to leave your own country to find somewhere else to live," Favreau said.

Villagers have donated home furnishings and this weekendthe sponsorship volunteerswill clean the house to ensure it's ready for the family.

The volunteer group has alsosponsored another Syrian family, which is expectedto arrive in Sandspit.

The two familiesare the first Syrian refugees to arrive on the north coast islands.

Favreau said the goal is to ensure the family feels safe, "to experience home andto experience what safety is all about again, and to experience that you can still have a new life."