Whilst in staying in Melbourne over the Christmas/New Year period, two of the Rotary Club of Hall’s past International Youth Exchange students met our current student, Monami.
Pictured above: Monami and Gerardas having breakfast with President Janine and Chris in Melbourne.

The club has hosted five Youth Exchange Students in recent years. Each student is hosted by the club for 12 months whilst they attend year 11 and 12 at one of the local Canberra Colleges. It is a fabulous experience hosting as students form a family bond with their host parents and their families.
In 2012-13, we hosted Jessica from Brazil, then we hosted Martina from Switzerland in 2014-15. Martina was followed by Gerardas from Norway in 2015-16 and then Martta from Finland in 2016-17. Our current student is Monami from Japan.

Keeping in touch
The Rotary Youth Exchange program aims to help connect the world by giving young people an opportunity to get a first-hand understanding of different cultures. But, the program benefits many more than just the students who get the overseas experience. Rotarians and host parents are the big winners too.
Many host parents develop strong bonds with their students and their families through regular correspondence. In this way, we all help to develop greater cultural understanding.

After Melbourne,