Vietnamese Refugees: Refugee and Vietnam War

vietnamese refugees: Vietnamese refugees fleeing the communist chaos after the end of the Vietnam War wade to shore in Malaysia in 1978 after their boat sank offshore, according to Toronto Star. K. Gaugler / UNHCR My family and I wouldn't be here without it, said Ka Lee-Paine, who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and came here at age 2 with her family in 1979, among the first wave of people accepted under the private refugee sponsorship program. The 11-page sponsorship agreement, signed between Ottawa and the Mennonite Church on March 5, 1979, in response to the boat people crisis, became the blueprint for Canada's private refugee resettlement program that has allowed Canadians to play an active role in helping refugees start a new life here. We had complete strangers helping us out. Ninety-nine per cent of us do understand how fortunate we are to have made it to Canada and we strive to be productive citizens of this country. The sponsorship meant I could have a good life, get a great education and be a strong woman, added the now 42-year-old Kitchener teacher. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.