If you’ve read the newspaper recently, you know the world can be a scary place — wars, economic crisis, revolutions, climate change, border disputes, refugees and protests. So how do we teach our children about the world, and the variety of people in it, when most of the examples we read about are so negative?

One life-changing way to broaden your child’s world view is to volunteer to host a high school foreign exchange student. Foreign exchange programs have been around for almost 100 years, and their mission has always been the same … to educate people about different cultures through person-to-person exchange.

A misconception

There are quite a few misconceptions about foreign exchange programs — especially around who can host. The biggest misconception is that you must have high school-aged children when you host. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“We welcome host families of all shapes and sizes — families with young children, families with no children, empty-nesters whose children have left home, single parents and non-traditional families,” said Connie Lawrence, community representative for Ayusa, a non-profit promoting global learning and leadership through foreign exchange and study abroad opportunities for high school students. “The key requirements for a host family are to provide a safe and nurturing home environment, genuinely love children, and have a desire to learn more about a different culture.”

Families with young children find that hosting an exchange student provides their children with an especially unique educational experience in the form of an international big brother or sister. Without even realizing it, children learn about different types of people and different cultural traditions.

A testimonial

“My daughter Kelsie feels as if Isabelle, our exchange student from Germany, is an older sister to her,” said Melissa Hughes, an Ayusa host mom from Asheville. “They have confided in each other, have had movie nights together, and have gone to the mall together — much like natural sisters would do.

“Kelsie will never forget Isabelle and they have already planned future get-togethers when they are older,” she added.

Volunteer host families provide foreign exchange students a nurturing environment, three meals a day and a bedroom (either private or shared with a host sibling of the same gender). Each host family and student is supported by a professionally trained community representative who works with the family and student for the entire program.

All interested families must pass a criminal background check and a home visit by an exchange organization.

Student exchange studen ts comes from all over the world, and Ayusa matches host families with students from more than 60 different countries.

All high school foreign exchange students are fully insured, bring their own spending money and are proficient in English — and all high school foreign exchange programs are regulated by the U.S. Department of State.

Once accepted to a program, host families can view profiles of students to find the right match for their family.

“Hosting an exchange student is a life-changing experience — for the student, the host family and the host community,” said Hughes. “There is no better way to teach your children about the world around them than through welcoming an international high school student into your home.”

Ayusa is currently accepting applications for families to host an exchange student for the 2022023 school year. For information, contact Connie Lawrence with Ayusa at 919-612-5013 or by email at [email protected] and check the website at www.ayusa.org.