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Hamilton Spectator
05-05-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Leonor Sorger likened to an angel for her work helping refugees
It's no wonder Leonor Sorger was likened to an angel. She helped refugees for decades, raised money for earthquake victims, organized events against nuclear weapons, and even advocated with her husband George for high school students, many international, who faced a drastic increase in fees from the public school board to enter Grade 13 in the early 1970s. Sorger — who died Jan. 12 at age 94 — helped found the first Amnesty International chapter in Canada and Operation Lifeline, which was dedicated to helping refugees in Hamilton. She co-founded it about 1978 with four other people, including two church bishops, to aid Vietnamese boat people. It changed its name to the Interfaith Council for Refugees and established an office at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton and a drop-in centre at the Anglican Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. It has gone on to help refugees from such places as El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Ethiopia, Iran, Sri Lanka, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. Sorger's phone was known to ring constantly from people looking for such things as a babysitter, a ride or help getting a job. It changed its name to the Office for Refugees in 2016. When Sorger retired in 2011, it was estimated she had helped 1,000 refugees over three decades. Her colleagues presented her with a clay figure of an angel holding a lantern called the Angel of Hope. The message was clear to everyone. Sorger said helping refugees was something she could not ignore. 'When you work with Amnesty International, you read so much about torture and imprisonment and persecution that helping a refugee is second nature,' she told The Spectator. She told the paper in 1991 she had been active since she was a child growing up in Lima, Peru. When she was 11, she went to see a judge to get justice for an impoverished woman who had become pregnant by a soldier. She was disgraced and returned to her community in the mountains. 'I told him he had to bring justice to her, that the male had to respect the woman,' she said. 'He smiled and comforted me, and told me never to change who I am.' Leonor Sorger — who died Jan. 12 at age 94 — helped found the first Amnesty International chapter in Canada and Operation Lifeline, which was dedicated to helping refugees in Hamilton. Her husband George, 87, recalled she worked hard getting different denominations to sponsor refugees. She helped people fleeing wars and terror under a right-wing or left-wing dictatorship. He remembers a Christmas party where Santa Claus was a man from El Salvador and the children around him were from Sudan. 'She was a rebel,' he said. 'She, at the same time, carried herself as a queen and, at the same time, had an enormous heart.' Her daughter Tamara called her a trailblazer in the field of refugee work and daughter Carmen recalled her 'dedication meant quite often we had many people around the dinner table we didn't know.' 'My mom was an extraordinary woman, mentor, leader,' added Carmen. 'She connected with people on a level that many don't.' Leonor Tenorio was born in Cajabamba, Peru, Oct. 29, 1930. She came to Yale University to study archeology and met her husband there in 1960. The couple came to Hamilton in 1966 when he accepted a biology job at McMaster University. She was soon helping U.S. citizens avoiding the draft because of the Vietnam War and then other refugees. Other groups Sorger was involved in were the city's mundialization committee — she worked on twinning Hamilton with Fukuyama, Japan — Project Ploughshares, the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Voice of Women, which promoted peace and women's rights. Sorger received the papal honour of Dame of St. Gregory the Great from Pope Benedict XVI in 2011. She received a World Citizenship Award from the mundialization committee in 1991 (she joined the committee in 1971) and a Women of the Year Award in Communications from the city's status of women committee in 1996. Sorger is survived by her husband George, daughters Carmen and Tamara, and four grandchildren.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Clay County Veteran of the Year recognized at annual Salute to Service event
Clay County held its first annual Salute to Service Saturday, recognizing military members and veterans that call the area home. The event has been around for five years, previously just known as Military Appreciation Day. Organizers said there aren't many communities that compare to Clay County when it comes to the sheer number of veterans living there. 'Clay County has a very high percentage of veterans,' said Operation Lifeline's executive director, Erick Saks. 'I want to say it's close to 20%, which, I don't know any other communities like that.' While the event provides plenty of entertainment and food options for visitors, it also gave officials a platform to recognize the county's 2025 Veteran of the Year: Arvid Nelson. Nelson is a 26-year Navy veteran, now being recognized for his tireless community service even after his time in the armed forces. 'People shake your hand every week and say thank you,' said Nelson. 'And that's meaningful to us as volunteers' [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Arvid Nelson recently spearheaded the creation of the Veterans Automobile Repair Program, an initiative that provides vehicle repair assistance to veterans in need. He is also a volunteer driver for the Veterans Clinic in Middleburg, making sure that veterans receive timely access to medical care by transporting them to appointments throughout Northeast Florida. In between those efforts, Nelson assists with tax preparation for elderly and low-income residents, contributes to local theater operations in Clay County, and helps distribute food to nonprofits. While the event serves to honor veterans who continue to serve their community, it also aims to serve those veterans who need help understanding their resources post-service. 'We have organizations this year that serve our military and veterans,' said Commissioner Kristen Burke. 'We have the resources here, they can actually file claims for the veterans' The event set aside time for presentations on important veteran resources, including the PACT Act, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits, and Service-Connected ID Cards. Read: Final-round tee times at THE PLAYERS moved up due to storm threat [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
