November 15, 2016
Host Families for 20174-H International Exchanges
December and January are ideal times for families to consider hosting for 4-H Academic Year Exchanges for 2017-18 and for summer and fall exchanges. Kansas families can again host Japanese or South Korean teens for the academic year through 4-H. We are committed to host two. Most of these students are previous short-term exchangees through Labo and LEX and are selected and sponsored by those organizations in Japan and States’ 4-H International Exchange Programs (States’ 4-H). The Koreans attend an high school where they focus on English Language and sponsored by States’ 4-H. States’ 4-H also makes it possible to host a FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) student from Eastern Europe or Eurasia under this U.S. State Department program for the school year. European countries such as Poland and Czech Republic are now part of FLEX as are countries formerly part of the Soviet Union like Tajikistan from which our current FLEX student hales.
January is also the best time to apply for hosting a Norwegian or Costa Rican for a month summer exchange in order to complete the process in time for States’ 4-H’s deadline. It’s always a good time to complete the process to host an IFYE (young adult from a variety of countries) or Japanese summer inbound, especially if the family has a preference for dates, gender or age of participant. For information on any of these hosting opportunities, contact Mary Kay Munson, Kansas 4-H International Exchange Coordinator, at 785-238-3631 or munson@ksbroadband.net.