Japanese Exchange Host Opportunities
Due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the Kansas 4-H Japan Exchange program has been cancelled. It is anticipated to resume next summer with Japanese arriving in Kansas in July 2022.
Kansas 4-H has been participating in the Japanese Exchange since 1977, in collaboration with S4-H Programs. Since then, over 3,000 Japanese youth have traveled to Kansas. Kansas families host Japanese youth and adult chaperones from mid-July to mid-August.
Any Kansas 4-H family with children aged 11-15, who is interested in Japanese culture, is eligible to host. You'll treat the delegate as a family member (rather than a tourist/guest), and keep a "regular" family schedule. That could mean chores, fairs, ballgames, host family vacations, or join their host sibling for summer camp. The focus is everyday family life.
Most delegates are aged 12 or 13 (up to age 15) and have studied English for one year in school. A separate bed is required, but not necessarily a separate room from the host sibling. Delegates are 100 percent medically covered with 4-H insurance and bring their own spending money.
Host familiy recruitment begins in late February and applications are preferred by May 1. A national background check will be required for all adults 18 and over living in the household at the time of exchange.
We match each delegate with an American same-gender host sibling who is within 2-3 years of age as the delegate as soon as possible, so families and exchange delegates can get to know each other prior to arrival.
