By Tony D’Amato Stortz
Published in March 2019
Before she took her first breath, Margaret Brockett was fleeing war.
Her family was living in the British colony of Singapore during World War Two. When it was invaded early in 1942, Margaret’s newly pregnant mother and her two young sons were on one of the last ships evacuating British women and children. “As I began to realize what she went through…” Margaret paused, then said quietly, “I gained a huge respect for my mother.”
Her father would go on to escape in a fishing vessel, enlist in the British Indian army, and the entire family survived the war. Why her family survived when others did not, she does not know.
“What I do know is that [my mother] was received – in South Africa – with unconditional love, compassion and care. “
Now, so many decades later, Margaret Brockett has come full circle. She is retired from her career, but volunteers as the Associate Director of the Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre. Margaret and Sanctuary founder Dr. Michael Stephenson are being honoured at the 32nd Annual Mayors’ Dinner for their extraordinary work providing health care to refugee newcomers in our community.
The story of Sanctuary is just as incredible. Beginning in the basement of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, “Dr. Mike” started treating refugee patients in 2013. He carried medical supplies to the clinic in a plastic laundry tub.
“The early days were a challenge” said Dr. Mike, “but as we grew, more people became engaged.”
Slowly the community began to support the clinic. Newcomers who had seen Dr. Mike when they first arrived stayed on as patients and Sanctuary grew.
Within a few months Sanctuary outgrew their location and moved ta three bedroom house on King Street that had been semi-converted to a medical office.
“You couldn’t fit more than one family in the waiting room,” Margaret recalls.
But the need just kept growing; the 2015 federal election came with a wave of support for Syrian refugees in Canada. The new Trudeau government opened the doors to 25,000 new refugees and the number of patients Sanctuary saw just kept rising. They now have 3,600 patients and have recently expanded the clinic premises located adjacent to the Kitchener Market.
Beyond the families who settle here immediately, there are many who move to the region after having settled elsewhere in Canada. One patient volunteered that she had moved here from Alberta because she wanted to raise her kids in Waterloo Region.
“I moved from Edmonton to make life better for my family – my friends here said it’s a nice city.”
Dr. Mike confirmed that stories about life in the area encourage newcomers to move from elsewhere in Canada.
“The work of many organizations and individuals in the KW community, in helping people feel valued and established has created this environment. It has snowballed. They’re ambassadors for the Waterloo Region.”
And more patients mean a growing staff. Many at Sanctuary were healthcare providers before coming to Canada. Many others are young and want to get into the professions themselves. This young and diverse staff is a mirror of the young, diverse patients they see.
“We see a very young population – a lot of young mothers.” Says Margaret.
Will, a regular worker and 3rd year student at Conrad Grebel University College has already applied to medical school. He did not have much experience with refugee settlement before university, but when he arrived in first year, he found out his new roommate was a refugee from Somalia.
“He came straight from the airport to my dorm room.”
The experience of walking with his new roommate through the resettlement process opened Will’s eyes to the experience new Canadians face. He later took a year off and spent seven weeks at a refugee camp in Greece, working with unaccompanied minors whose parents were either lost, deceased, or in prison.
“It really cemented the refugee medicine choice for me.”
Returning to university, he scheduled all morning classes so that he could be done school by 11:30 am.
He works at Sanctuary every afternoon.
When asked about a moment that made them feel proud, Margaret and Dr. Mike both recount the day when a woman collapsed on Sanctuary’s front doorstep. She was pregnant and had arrived in Canada just three days before. She was not yet a patient at Sanctuary and had no medical insurance.
“This was a woman who was very near to death. It could have gone very badly if we’d said “sorry, you’re not a patient here” said Dr. Mike.
But that’s not what happened.
Instead, the Sanctuary team rallied around this woman. They diagnosed her with sepsis and malaria, got her to emergency at the hospital, and worked with specialists to ensure she and her unborn baby got proper care. But there was another problem. While she was hospitalized, her young were children alone in an unfamiliar country. They knew no-one.
“The Sanctuary team helped take care of her kids while she was in hospital,” Dr. Mike recalls, with pride. “They even found someone from the community to watch them at night.”
She made a full recovery and, after four days, was discharged and could return to her family.
This story of a pregnant mother fleeing war, and being received with love, compassion, and care is reminiscent of Margaret Brockett’s mother. It is a testament to the work done by Dr. Mike, Margaret and the entire Sanctuary team.
Sarah Flanagan, a Physician’s Assistant at Sanctuary concludes the story.
“A year later, we have healthy mom and a healthy baby girl. They come to Sanctuary and they call it their second home.”
Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre provides patient-centred, evidence-based health care, recognizing issues arising from persecution, trauma, migratory stress, and social integration. We seek to bridge cultural and linguistic difference in offering orientation and access to the Canadian health care system. We also work tirelessly with partner organizations to create a ‘hub’ of services for the well-being of refugee newcomers seeking a new life in Waterloo region.
At Sanctuary, in addition to culturally sensitive primary health care, patients have access to a wide variety of services on site, including psychological and mental health assessment; trauma counselling; dietary advice; assistance with settlement issues; help in completing applications for income security and disability benefits; health education; and special programs designed to meet needs around childbirth, parenting, and respect for diversity.
