Youth Exchange 101
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We have partnered with the Edmonton South Rotary club to sponsor an inbound and an outbound student for this exchange. Our club has sponsored many students in the past, so we do have some idea what is involved, but Tamara gave us an overview of how it is managed, our legal responsibilities, and estimates of costs that we can expect.
Our two clubs are expected to cover most costs for both the inbound and some costs for out bound students. For the outbound student these include flights, language instruction, the cost of the outbound workshop, some costs for the outbound counsellor, jackets and some other miscellaneous costs. These usually amount to around sixty-five hundred dollars. The costs for the inbound student include free room and board with a Rotary member, a small living allowance, a cell phone, a bus pass and all school fees including school trips or sports fees. They also include the cost of several Rotary sponsored events including the inbound boot camp, the local Rotary District conference, a ski trip in December, another (currently undefined) trip in February and a final trip which also includes a workshop to prepare them to return home. The total costs for the inbound student usually amount to between five and seven thousand dollars.
One person from our clubs (the inbound counsellor) will become the official legal guardian of the student while they are here. This person is responsible for the arrangements needed for setting up schooling, banking, health care and any other necessities, in addition to staying in regular touch with the student and their families, both here and abroad.
The student themselves are expected to obey the four D’s which are non-negotiable requirements to ensure they remain safe and can enjoy their experience fully. These are no drinking, no driving, no dating and no drugs. Any infraction of the four D’s means an immediate trip home on the next flight. The students are expected to attend school regularly as they are here on a student VISA, and they are also expected to take part in an Interact club, and to attend, if possible, two other rotary club meetings each week. Our clubs are expected to be able to provide transportation and supervision when needed. All persons over eighteen who take part must have a current Vulnerable Persons Record Check in place (this part is non-negotiable).
We (our district) are very particular about choosing our outbound students and also about which districts we will exchange with. This is all based on past experience. We currently only exchange with districts in Europe and Japan. Our district also tries to pair the incoming student with the local club that will be best for them. Our district currently has twenty-two exchange students. Our district also provides stringent required training throughout for both the incoming and outgoing student counselors.
We do everything we can to keep our students physically, mentally and emotionally safe. We encourage them to have a lot of opportunities to do and see things and to get to know a lot of different people. These students bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm with them and at the same time give us insight into the culture they came from. It is wonderful to see how these students change with the experiences they have. We are changing their lives, and giving them an experience they will never forget. At the same time, we get the change to watch them grow and learn. We need to do our best to ensure that both we and the students enjoy and learn from the time that we spend with each other.