Our Club is a great supporter of the RYE programme, hosting every second year. Our most recent exchange student Henning (from Germany) returned home just last month and many of us miss watching him work his way through three rounds of breakfast! Henning's hosting families are also enjoying (via Messenger) his cheeky updates on life back at home. St Johns members who have welcomed and hosted exchange students will be very aware how enriching the hosting experience is. Other members not in the position to host, have still enjoyed the fun of whisking away our student for weekend excursions; sharing day outings; or simply having "our student" for a meal in their home.We know this programme is life changing for the students we host, and for the students our District sends out. We also know that RYE participants are put through a very stringent selection process and are incredibly well prepared for their exchange. Really sadly, because of the difficulty in securing host clubs and families, RYE District Committee is extremely worried (and somewhat shamed) that the RYE programme is struggling to survive in Auckland.
Our District of approximately 32 Auckland based clubs host (on average) only six students each year. What you may not know is that we can only send out the same number of students that we host in. Right now the RYE committee has six awesome Kiwi Outbounds, who have been carefully selected and prepped, and are super keen to experience their year overseas. But, they can only go if our District in turn finds six hosting clubs and families for corresponding Inbounds (arriving here from late July onward).
As a new RYE committee member, I am gobsmacked to learn that this committee has worked overtime to get just six clubs in the Auckland area committed to hosting! More disappointing is that within the six clubs offering to host this year; hardly any actual Rotarians are putting up their hands to be host families! Hosting families are instead being sourced through 'friends of Rotarians' or are families of previous and current Outbound students.
What can we do to help?
St John's Rotary Club is now in our "rest year" with Henning barely out the door. However, I am aware that two clubs (Downtown and Auckland) are struggling to get enough host families for the students they have committed to host. The two inbound students will be attending St Cuthbert's (Hannah from Austria, Downtown Club) and Grammar (Kevin from Germany, Auckland Club).
Ideally to provide contrast of experience, and to ease the hosting load, we try to provide four host families for each Inbound exchange student to experience Kiwi life with. That's only three months of hosting, per family. It is not essential for hosts to have children, or have children at home. It is not essential to have a partner. Rotary recognises that great hosts come in single and attached units, and are open to all hosting offers. If you live within easy busy ride from either of these schools, and would like to enrich your life by hosting a carefully selected Rotary Exchange Student, then please contact me.
If securing Rotarian hosts in the Auckland area continues to be such a problem, this will directly effect the number of NZ students we can send out. We don't want this great programme to fizzle out. Please talk to RYE committee members if you can offer assistance in any capacity.
Robyn Ingram
Past RYE Student