The Rotary Exchange programme was once a flagship project and members will remember the procession of new students that we got to meet each year.
The trend in recent years has been decline in the number of both outbound and inbound students. There are a myriad of reasons why NZ students may be less interested or able to go on an exchange. There is now a growing concern about our districts continued involvement in this long running and very valuable programme.
To this end I have attached extracts from a paper from John Fothergill - RYE Chair District 9920
The Rotary Youth Exchange program is one of the most incredibly powerful programs to promote peace, goodwill, leadership and global connections. However, the RYE program in District 9920 is in real danger of being suspended due to a lack of support from Clubs. For some time now, but more so since resumption of RYE post-Covid, we have struggled to find clubs to host students. The number of students that we host, and are therefore able to send overseas, has dwindled from highs of 14 or 15 20 years ago to 4 presently.
What John is now needing before they can commit to receiving any students in July of 2025, is at least 4 clubs that are willing to be the host club for the students.
What is involved in being a host club?
- The host club provides a Counsellor for the student - this person is the primary interface between the student and Rotary for the duration of their stay and needs to ensure that documentation is completed by the club and host families.
- There is a cost to the club for mandatory activities that the student will undertake throughout their year - Orientation weekend, Marae weekend, District Conference, Selection weekend - and also pocket money to be paid (usually around $150 per month). The student's meals at meetings are also covered by the club. Overall cost is usually around $3,000 - $3,500. Some clubs choose to pay a small amount of money to host families - this is not a requirement and is up to the individual clubs to decide.
The biggest barrier that we are finding is getting members to host the student in their homes for 3-4 months. Many Rotarians feel that they are "too old" to host - this is simply not true. Feedback from students has been that they really enjoy staying with Rotarians regardless of their age. Some even prefer older hosts who have more time to offer students compared to a younger, busy family. Hosting an exchange student enlivens club meetings and events, promotes fellowship and international connections and can encourage a younger demographic to become involved and even join Rotary through being a host parent.
We ask parents of outbound students to host inbounds so we are generally able to provide one or two host families for clubs. We only need the club to find one or two host families through the club network - not necessarily Rotarians - possibly friends or family.
I am asking you to really give this serious consideration. This program provides an invaluable experience for young people and is far too important to stop or even pause. Many of the district team are former exchange students themselves and they will tell you just how much the program has given to them and means to them. If we are unable to receive students from overseas, then we are also not able to send our own students to other countries. There are current and Past District Governors and even RI World Presidents who are RYE alumni, so we know the value of this program.