Gueltte Luse hasn’t seen her daughters since they were four and five years old - but Thursday night, that all changed.
Originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luse journeyed to Nigeria as a refugee before coming to Canada. She now lives in Prince Albert with her 10-year old son, but never stopped trying to bring her girls to Canada.
“You eat, you drink, you make food, you take out the garbage, but I always think about my daughters back home,” Luse said. “It’s very hard for me.”
Thirteen years later, Nancy and Abelle are now almost adults and although the family has kept in touch over Facebook in recent years, there is a lot of catching up to do.
Luse and her daughters would send pictures over the years, but they still didn’t recognize each other right away in the airport.
The sisters said it was hard to leave the rest of their family behind and the airplane was scary, but the long flights were worth it to be close to their mom.
Nancy and Abelle will be going to high school to finish their education and to learn English, but for now the family is enjoying the moment, getting to know one another, and hopefully make up for lost time.
A family friend has set up a GoFundMe page for the family to help cover the legal fees and travel cost of bringing the girls to Canada.