UNITED NATIONS: Left to right, Frederique Coutu (Canada), Luciana, Agathe, Chiyo (USA), Remy (France) and Adrienne Tock. Photo supplied
“I CAN see that the experience of going on an exchange is life-changing for these kids and it is the ones who don’t have much that it could have the biggest impact on their lives. AFS is not just for the rich. It is a diverse cultural exchange programme.”
So says Debbie Hocart, AFS chapter president for the Eastern Bay, who, with husband and AFS support co-ordinator Kim Saunders, hasa global household.
Greenland, Paraguay, Japan and Faro Islands are just of the few nations of people they have hosted in their Opotiki home over the past eight years. Debbie has a twinkle in her eye as she and Kim try to recollect how many students they have hosted. “Thirteen, I think?” she says. Then Kim reels off another four and they finally settle on 17.
This couple’s enthusiasm for AFS is contagious. Opotiki hosts around 10 students at any one time with not only Opotiki College benefiting from this cultural exchange but also the host families, students and wider community.
What keeps them doing this? “[It’s] because we are idiots,” Debbie laughs. “It’s when we have a good experience, it activates us, keeps us young and engaged in that age group, a way of being part of a global community.”
It is the sentiment of world peace, a global community and the wonderful relationships they build with students and other members of the AFS family that are at the heart of this couple’s enthusiasm.
“AFS have three different programmes ranging from two-month to 10-month exchanges. Each student is provided with a host family, a liaison family and a co-ordinator to ensure they are well supported,” says Kim.
“ We encourage local students to look at AFS as an option. Some chapters have a lot of students going overseas, but some feel money is an issue and do not consider AFS.”
Opotiki student Lilly Fell, 17, has been fundraising for her AFS trip to Brazil early next year.
Remy a 16-year-old from France, is here on the intensive programme for two months. He says school is more relaxed here. It is harder work in France. Chiyo, 16, from the United States, is here on the year programme. Coming from a small family of four, she finds herself loving being part of a family of 10 although it took her a few weeks to settle in.
“It is great. I am a big sister here, I really felt part of the family when three-year-old Trinity, one of the twins, the queen of the family came and cuddled me.”
Luciana, 17, from Argentina, enjoys the delicious meals her hosts, Debbie and Kim, provide. Adrienne Tock from the Netherlands and Frederique Coutu from Canada, both 17, have become close AFS sisters and they live together with their AFS parents. They have been here for seven months with another three to go.
Last school holidays they were hosted within the greater AFS family. Their host mother, Lyn Riesterer rang national office and said: “my two daughters want to come to Wellington for a week”.
“There was an AFS family whose daughter had just returned from an AFS year in the USA, so they said they could have us for a week,” says Freddie.
AFS Intercultural Programmes (formerly the American Field Service) is a worldwide, nonprofit organisation that has been leading student exchanges for more than 55 years.
It is one of the largest volunteer-based organisations of its kind in the world with 100,000 volunteers worldwide.
Dido Eden