Our Inbound students have all arrived and are now safely integrated into their new families around District 9940 from New Plymouth to Wellington. Once again, we have six lovely young ladies who made a decision about 6 months or more ago to challenge themselves and travel halfway around the world to immerse themselves in another country and culture. To make the most of their experience they have prepared and conditioned themselves so that their transition occurs with the least amount of stress.
Now that they are here, the RYE Committee and the volunteer host families and Rotarians that are caring for these young people, are also going through a period of preparation and conditioning. This fantastic headline Rotary programme insists that we maintain and practise a high level of duty of care. This means a number of things. To start with, the paperwork must be in order for mentors, host families, Rotary clubs, high schools, overseas Rotary Districts and Rotary International, and then the students arrive! Our induction weekend has just taken place and they are bombarded with information that will ensure their time in NZ is safe, fun, informative and character building. They learn about who to contact when the going gets tough (and it does at some point in their 12 months), how to present to Rotary meetings, how to plan for the many Rotary events that are held during the year, how to sing our RYE waiata ‘E Toru Nga Mea’, how to eat NZ (roast lamb, pavlova, fish & chips, hokey pokey icecream), and how to speak ‘Kiwi’ – kia ora, she’ll be right eh! At the end of the induction weekend where they have met each other for the first time, they will have formed lifelong relationships, not only with the other exchange students, but with the RYE committee. I don’t know what more satisfying job we could have in Rotary than looking after, and changing the lives of, these amazing young people.
A huge thanks to the RYE Committee for their work in making this an awesome and fun event and to DG Mitchell Brown for knowing just the right thing to say to the six young ladies from around the world who are now living in D9940.
A huge thanks to the RYE Committee for their work in making this an awesome and fun event and to DG Mitchell Brown for knowing just the right thing to say to the six young ladies from around the world who are now living in D9940.