Asadullah Kazemi was elated when the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce presented him and his family with a cheque of more than $12,300 of funds raised from this year’s Candlelight Stroll. 

“I really don’t know how to thank you all. It is an immense joy to be able to pay off my debts,” Kazemi said after the presentation. 

Kazemi, his wife Mahdia entered Canada in February of last year after a journey from Afghanistan in which they accrued a debt of $15,000 US dollars. At the time, Mahdia was pregnant with their first child.

Their two children, now one-year-old Ali and three-month-old Zahra, were present for the presentation.

Before the stroll, $5,000 of debt was remaining and the family was still in need of funding to acclimate to their new lives in Niagara. 

Beatrice Campbell, stage manager at the Shaw Festival and a friend of the Kazemi family was at the cheque presentation and shared in the family’s gratitude. 

After two years, the Kazemis are still awaiting permanent resident status, Campbell told The Lake Report. 

“Our despair is increasing day by day,” Kazemi said in a written statement. 

Donations from the community mean a lot to the family during a difficult time. 

“I can’t tell you what this will mean. It’s an incredible gift,” Campbell said. 

Kathy Weiss, the chamber’s interim director, said she was honoured to hand the Kazemi family the cheque. 

“It confirms the spirit and generosity of Canada,” she said.