Background

The concept of insurance can be traced back to the days of the Romans, but it wasn’t formalized until the 18th century. Essentially, it’s a means of spreading financial risk among a large number of people who pay into a fund or pool. In this way, the cost is minimized for those who suffer an unexpected misfortune. The Diaspora Home Return (DHR) is founded on this basis but as a non-profit making organization tailored to assist Canadian residents in times of need.

Every death inflicts a special and unique pain to each individual. Deaths that come without warning can leave one with terrible grief. During the past years, we have recorded a couple of deaths in the community whereby some of the families are left with shock on how to handle the funeral and or repatriation charges. In some cases, families have been left with the option of creating a GoFundMe page which usually raises insufficient amounts where a percentage of this amount is withheld by GoFundMe. In some cases, Canadian residents, as well as well-wishers, have been called upon to support which is a slow, inefficient, and difficult process. Members of these communities who belong to an association are in most cases covered by a group repatriation insurance scheme which have proven to be inefficient and cases of deaths have occurred in which the members don’t belong to any of these associations thus making it impossible for them to benefit from such schemes.  Sudden deaths have very different causes but what unites them all is that they are unexpected and unanticipated. The bereaved usually have no time to prepare for their loss, or say goodbye.

In Canada, life insurance schemes are not so friendly when it comes to repatriation of corpses, especially to our home countries, and are way more expensive for most of our targeted population who can’t afford the monthly payments on regular bases.

In order to untangle the above problem and after careful identification of our needs, we realized that support should be tailored to the needs of the residents who have developed the DHRLife to service her people and others living in Canada. DHRLife will support the bereaved family with up to the sum of $16,000 (Sixteen Thousand Dollars) to assist in handling funeral expenses and transportation of the remains to their home countries.

DHRLife recognizes the need to come together for a better and stronger community, unlike other insurance schemes that organize collections whenever an event occurs with little or no transparency in the process and very little social connection to the bereaved family. The more subscribers we get, the lower the premium per member of an association or group

Our Goals and Objectives

• The DHR is a program by and for the Canadian Residents aimed to serve specific needs of Canadian Residents and others living in Canada.
• Run by representatives of different community organizations.
• Help relieve funeral expenses from bereaved families
• Cover funeral expenses & transportation of remains to up to the amount of $16,000.00 (Until active member subscription attends 1000, the benefit amount is $5000.00)
• Support the family both financially and morally when need be.

Our advantages:

1. The project is a community program owned and managed by the people.
2. Transparency: We only make payments to the bereaved family after receiving a copy of the death certificate.
3. Personal information will not be made public like those of other competitors.
4. Member associations/groups can register on the website.
5. DHRLife supports parents throughout North America

Mission statement

Management: DHRLife is a community-based initiative owned and managed by the people. This implies that management is not restricted to a few individuals. Subscribers (associations/groups) will have a say in the management of the program. From its inception, the program will be owned by the community and run by a Board of Directors with both Long and Short Term seats.  Members elected from our different communities will represent them in the Management Board and take decisions on their behalf. A 75% none confidence vote is required to oblige a Board member to resign or step down from the board at any time

Accountability and Transparency: The benefits package will be made directly to the bereaved family’s next of kin after receiving a copy of the death certificate without passing through a third party

Respect and Integrity: The privacy of members will be DHRLife’s top priority. Your Personal information will be protected and not made public.

Inclusivity: Every member is important to us and none will be left out of the program. We encourage members to belong in associations/groups before registration because the hands of death can touch anyone irrespective of where they belong.

Support: DHRLife will support the bereaved family with up to the sum of $16,000 (Sixteen thousand dollars) to assist the family in handling funeral expenses and transportation of remains back home. DHRLife and its members will stand by the bereaved family to ensure togetherness and help lift up the moral in the family.

Our vision: We seek a society where everyone irrespective of their financial status can walk through the grief, financial and emotional trauma inflicted by death and thus easing the process of recovery from the loss of a loved one.

Our Mission: DHRLife provides financial and moral support that covers the cost resulting from the death of its members that occur in Canada.

Our Focus: Canadian Residents have come up with this Diaspora Home Return (DHR) program (in times of crisis) in an effort to look after one another. We put residents in the center of this project because we strongly believe that we cannot overcome such crises alone until everyone has equal rights and opportunities. The Global crisis and those in Africa, in particular, have encouraged us to put our resources together to work for the interest of everyone.  This is a great opportunity to pull away from unfriendly and expensive insurance schemes to the friendly and less expensive DHRLife program

Board members: DHRLife’s Board members come from all works of life. They include former/current students, businessmen, teachers, technicians, accountants, scientists, artists, etc., who all had the same vision: to help bereaved families repatriate and bury their loved ones irrespective of their financial status. Board members elected by the community service within a specified period.

How we operate: The program will be owned by the community in Canada and run by a Board of Trustees with both Long and Short Term seats. Proper management would have a five-year mandate renewable. Members with a long-term seat will vote a Board Chairman of the Organization having one vote each and shall comprise the founding members. Short Team seats will comprise members elected from our different communities to represent them in the DHRLife program and take decisions on their behalf. These members will have a two-year mandate in the board renewable. Members in this category will also have one vote each.

The Board members will share responsibilities among them when the need arise and are expected to meet every three months or in an extraordinary session called by the Chairman of the Board. The Board will recruit a competent management team when the need arise. A 75% none confidence vote is required to oblige a Board member to resign or be dismissed from the board at any time.