Big chance for young Kiwis
Rotary International is giving New Zealand students an opportunity to experience life overseas after Covid through its Rotary Youth Exchange programme.
This programme gives Kiwi students the opportunity to live overseas for one year, learning a new culture, language and sharing a slice of our Kiwi culture with the world.
It is one of the first student exchange programmes to re-start post-covid.
Students are home hosted at no cost with Rotarians and Rotary friends, where they live as a family member, getting to be part of a new culture.
They stay with three to four different families in a year, giving them many first-hand experiences of life in a new country.
Students attend school and, while their year overseas doesn’t offer them any New Zealand qualifications, it gives them an opportunity to try a new subject that typically may not have been in their academic programme, such as dance or photography.
It is at school in the overseas country that the Kiwi students make new friends and share their own culture.
‘‘After a few hurdles of language barriers and slang, Kiwi students soon fit in, as their peers want to practise their English and learn all about New Zealand too,’’ says Jenn Wong, a Rotary district governor.
Students are involved with their Rotary clubs in the country they go to, where they have opportunities to give back to their local communities and see firsthand the impact that Rotary has on the world.
‘‘Students have opportunities to feed homeless people at food banks during Thanksgiving, plant trees after devastation and even go to schools and read English books. It is these opportunities that often stay with them long after they return home,’’ Wong says.
This year, Rotary in Auckland and Northland are hoping to receive a student from war-torn Ukraine to give them safety, security and care.
‘‘This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to spread international goodwill and understanding (one of Rotary’s core values) and change the life of one young person from Ukraine,’’ Wong says.
‘‘It is a privilege to be selected as one of the few countries in the world extending an invite to Ukraine students.’’
Kiwi students aged 15 to 18 (as at January 2024) are eligible to apply from across Aotearoa. There is no cost to apply but students are expected to pay for their own living costs (excluding accommodation and meals), flights and insurance. Applications are open until March 1.