Kukuye Arga and Kiya Girma, along with their daughters Eliana and Barkot, arrive at YVR on October 1st. They are very happy to be here! Our church decided to sponsor the family in 2017, and we are very happy to have them here! They have a apartment in Tsawwassen, and will be out of quarantine on October 16th. Here is their story. 

Kukuye: Hello dear Ladner Christian Reformed Church. I am Kukuye (koo-koo-YA) Tesfaye Arga. I was born in Jimma, a city in southwestern Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia. I speak Amharic, Oromo, and English. I was a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for many years but was confused about eternal life and the mercy of God. It was not until 2006 that I received Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Now I am rejoicing in Jesus and I love him with all my heart and soul. 

Kiya: Hello! I am Kiya (key-a) Girma. I was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and speak Amharic and English. I was raised in a Christian home with my brother and sister. I met the Lord as a young adult and I too love him with all my heart and soul. 

Kukuye: I come from a family of six children. My father was detained by government authorities in 2005 and jailed for more than three years because he was suspected of supporting the Oromo Liberation Front.

Bev: Some Oromo people would like to establish independence from Ethiopia after centuries of oppression. According to Amnesty International, there is a sweeping repression of the Oromo population in Ethiopia. The Oromo Liberation Front was formed to gain independence from the Ethiopian government.

Kukuye: While my father was in prison, I was responsible for supporting my family. The authorities detained me and my sister for two years. I was able to resume my work but was followed constantly. I was arrested again in 2010 and jailed for 7 months. After that, my family helped me to escape Ethiopia. I spent 4 months in Sudan, and then was smuggled to Egypt. 

Kiya: In 2013, my father was detained by government authorities because of suspected political affiliations, and a large bribe was demanded to get him released. I was threatened too and fled Ethiopia on my own, first to Sudan and then to Egypt, arriving in September 2013. I met Kukuye soon after I arrived in Cairo and we were married in November 2013. 

Kukuye: Life in Egypt is not easy for refugees. There is no freedom and there was no future for foreigners there. As a foreign woman, Kiya could not go the market or to the doctor without being harassed and threatened.

Kiya: Kukuye was also mistreated, and the police are unwilling to offer protection to foreigners. Even though our daughters were both born in Egypt, they could never become citizens and their future would be very difficult.

Bev: Citizenship by birth is granted in only about 30 countries in the world, almost all of them in the Western Hemisphere.

Kukuye: Life was becoming dangerous because Egyptians had begun harassing Ethiopian refugees.

Bev: The Egyptian government and population is upset that Ethiopia is building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River for electrical power, which Egypt (which is downstream) believes will greatly reduce their access to water.

Kukuye: We lived in Cairo and attended the Ethiopian Evangelical Church, and our congregation met at St. Andrews United Church of Cairo. Our church family are all Ethiopian refugees and migrants from a variety of denominations and ethnic groups in Ethiopia. We love our church family and many of us lived together in one apartment building, sharing our money for food and rent. Our children were not able to attend school in Cairo because we couldn’t afford to pay the fees.

Bev: Most non-Western countries charge fees to attend primary and secondary school.

Kukuye: We were granted refugee status by the UN Refugee Agency. Refugee status means that it would be dangerous for us to return to Ethiopia. We were eventually offered a new life in Canada which made us so happy—Canada is such a good country. Our children can go to school here. And we can learn what we need to learn and get jobs here. We can live here in peace and freedom which will change our lives for the better. There is so much we can say about Canada! 

We are using our quarantine as a time to rest and pray. Afterwards, we hope to be able to attend church, and enrol our children in school. We want to take courses to improve our English and to find jobs. And we want to see Canada!  

Our daughters Eliana and Barkot are our greatest gifts from God. We thank the Lord for them every day. Eliana was born in Cairo on January 13, 2015 and Barkot was born there on November 22, 2016. 

Really, I went to thank and bless this church family in the name Lord Jesus. We will pray for you every day. You are the reason for our new life. Now our life is completely changed because of you. Thanks be to God, we no longer need to worry. God bless all of you. 

Kiya: Thank you so much, our blessed family. We don’t have the words to thank you. May God bless you more and more. We love and respect all of you so much. We want to worship God with you forever. Bless you!