Late in 2015, we heard something intriguing: Thousands of Canadian citizens were essentially adopting Syrian refugees.

The volunteers were book club members, hockey moms, poker buddies and grandmothers, many with little connection to the Middle East. Few of the Syrians spoke English; some had barely heard of Canada. Many arrived with no idea that eager sponsors planned to spend a year helping them resettle.

Much of the rest of the world was treating refugees with suspicion or hostility. So how was Canada’s national movement to help them going to work out?

We have spent over a year trying to find answers.

In our first few months of reporting, we documented the awkward interactions and growing bonds between the Canadians and the Syrians.

We watched the refugees and their sponsors face wrenching moral questions about relatives half a world away.

We saw how the Canadian help was changing the Syrian families — their roles, their children’s desires and expectations, even their marriages.