A new committee wants to help a refugee family start a new life in southern Manitoba.

The organization is called Red River Valley Refugee Sponsorship committee and is made up of locals and churches in the Morris, Rosenort, and Lowe Farm area.

Similar group initiatives exist in the area, such as the Carman Refugee Support Committee and Build A Village in Altona.

Nathan Brandes is the Senior Pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Morris

Pastor Nathan Brandes is president of the new group.

"The committee has actually just formed formally over the last winter, but this whole thing started quite a while back," explained Brandes, noting he and Jason Klassen from the Open Door Church felt compelled to respond to the global crisis of displaced people.

"What precipitated it for us, was the news when this little boy's body washed up on shore in Turkey on a beach, his name was Alan Kurdi, and that's what got Jason and me talking," explained Brandes.

Currently, 5 church congregations are represented in the committee, which is made up of nine people.

Brandes said they'll be working with MCC to see what family's need is most urgent. Once the money is raised, it could take anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months before the family can come to Manitoba.

The committee is looking to raise money to support a family of five people.

"The cost to our project that we're looking at is around $31,000 for a family of that size, and that also puts us in a commitment to work with this family to help them settle into life in Canada and all that that means, for a period of a year."

The committee invites the public to come to hear their vision and share ideas at upcoming town hall meetings.

"Basically we want to introduce this to the public," said Brandes, nothing they'll also have discussions regarding volunteering and fundraisers. The committee will seek help with finding a home, furnishing a home, finding work for the family, and helping them settle.

Brandes hopes to bring a family over in fall but isn't putting a timeline on the project. "Our hope is just to do this with excellence," he said.

Town hall meetings will be held at the Morris Emmanuel Baptist Church at 7 pm on Monday, June 11, and in Rosenort at the Arena at 7 pm on Wednesday, June 13.