VANCOUVER — Sometime in the next few months two Tibetans will arrive in Vancouver from Arunachal Pradesh, in the far northeast of India.

When they arrive, a group from Vancouver’s Congregation Or Shalom will be waiting for them, to aid with their resettlement in this country. The group, which calls itself the Momo Minyan, was formed in June 2013 with the purpose of helping these Tibetans create a new life in British Columbia. In February, they completed and filed the sponsorship papers. Now, they wait until the newcomers arrive.

“It means receiving them at the airport, finding a place for them to stay, ensuring they get registered for health benefits, helping them learn the language and find a job, and assisting them as they integrate socially,” said David Berson, a member of the Minyan.

It promises to be no small undertaking.

“The Tibetans are amazing people, but they’re very reserved and shy in their mannerisms,” Berson said. “There’s going to be big cultural differences.”

Back in 2010, at the urging of the Dalai Lama, Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed to allow 1,000 displaced Tibetans to resettle in Canada. To make the transition possible, though, each one required sponsorship by a Canadian group or individual. Vicki Robinson, a facilitator for the Momo Minyan, said Or Shalom is the first synagogue in Canada to sponsor Tibetans under this program. The Minyan has been working with the Canadian Tibetan Society and the United Church of Canada to get the applications completed.

“The United Church has a lot of experience in resettlement, working with the Canadian Immigration Committee and getting all the permits lined up,” Berson said. “It makes you feel good, as a member of the Jewish community, to be partnering with interfaith communities also involved in this.”

The group will be responsible for the Tibetans’ entire integration package, including finding and paying for an apartment, paying for health insurance and food. “Until we know who we’re absorbing, it’s difficult to know what kind of work will be appropriate,” he said. The refugees come from poverty stricken villages, but may be quite educated nonetheless.

The Minyan has begun fundraising in the Or Shalom community and will extend its efforts to the wider community when more is known about the particular immigrants they are sponsoring. The Canadian government estimates sponsorship cost at $12,000 per person per year but with the cost of living in Vancouver, that won’t be enough, Berson said.

“It’s guiding our efforts in terms of fundraising, but we think we’ll need more than that. The government is very nicely providing them with landed immigrant status, but not any other aid, per se, in the process.”

Members of the Momo Minyan united in a mutual agreement to participate in this humanitarian effort, one that resonated with many in the synagogue, Berson said. “The opportunity for us to be able to extend our hospitality to another group that has suffered exile and have a ‘diaspora’ is probably one element in why I got involved. ”