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Coming through
YWCA donates $3,000 to Dumbuya campaign

Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jun 14/00) - Sandra Dumbuya had just come home from work when there was a knock on the door. A tall, blonde man asked her how the campaign was going and said he had a small contribution. He handed her a stack of bills bound by an elastic band and walked out, jumped in his truck and drove away.

"I was so overwhelmed, it was a thousand dollars," said Sandra Dumbuya.

"I stood there and totally forgot to ask him his name. He must be an angel."

Not everyone helping the Dumbuya family passes like a ship in the night.

The YWCA and the office of Western Arctic MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew have both committed to assist Foday Dumbuya in rescuing his family from Sierra Leone.

It was two weeks ago when Foday began his door-to-door campaign to raise money to rescue his family from war-torn Sierra Leone.

The YWCA has pledged $3,000 to offset costs in bringing one female Dumbuya family member to Canada.

"It fits with our mandate," said Don Babey, director of organizational development with the YWCA.

"We promote the ending of violence against women, and this is a case where there is a lot of violence," he added. "We've raised $13,000 so far," said Babey.

The YWCA has set up a trust fund for the Dumbuya family and offers to provide donors with receipts if they wish. The organization is using its international connections to help bring the family home.

Yellowknifer tried to contact the Sierra Leone YWCA, but the phone was disconnected.

Meanwhile, Ottawa has also been involved.

Foday Dumbuya received an e-mail from Maureen Marshall, manager of constituency affairs for Ethel Blondin-Andrew, stating that they had contacted the federal Foreign Affairs Department's division of Consular and Emergency Services.

The Dumbuya family file was forwarded to the Canadian Embassy in Guinea.

"Our MP has also written a letter to Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan," said Maureen Marshall in a phone interview.

"Basically we are the go between with Ottawa and Foday," she added.

The Salvation Army has been waiting in the wings for the money to be raised.

"Now that Foday has taken things into his hands it's moving," said Salvation Army Cpt. Al Hoeft.

The Salvation Army is doing all the bureaucratic legwork with immigration.

It would cost about $27,000 to bring all nine family members over.

Most of it is airfare -- $22,000 -- and the remaining $5,000 is landing fees.