| By Admin1 (admin) on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 9:47 pm: Edit Post |
University of Maryland - College Park
| By Oksana Pavliouk on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 8:26 pm: Edit Post |
Dear MD Peace Corps Volunteers!
I was researching the National Peace Corps Association website and came across your site. I took the liberty to email you because our work is very connected with high school students from 33 different countries and we hope to make a difference by bringing the world to our American families. May be, you can recommend us to one of your colleagues and their families:
I am a Regional Director for the Program of Academic Exchange (PAX), a non-profit grass-root educational foundation; headquartered in New York. PAX promotes international peace, friendship and understanding through the cross-cultural exchange and education of world citizens. Our program brings high school students from all over the world to come to the United States for an academic year, live with an American host family, study in a public high school and learn the true values of the democratic society. Our students come to the U.S. with big dreams, big hopes to learn the daily life of American people, be part of an American family and learn the American spirit of volunteerism!
Recently, we found out that more and more families decide not to take a foreign student. People have other things on their minds these days, whether it is the war in Iraq, a personal illness, a family or friend in need, or simply the constraints of a job or daily life. We are in the same boat like everybody else. But we try to remind our communities the reasons why the United States is the first country to have so many hosting families annually, why we do foreign exchange and why we work with teenagers. What can be better than the rush of good feelings when we tell a girl in South Korea or Thailand that she has a home in America, how exciting it is to get that first email from a student you will host and sense their excitement, and how good it feels to realize that you have a son or daughter in the other part of the world!
In these troubled times, it brings a lot of comfort to know that life does go on, that we can prevail over the fear and the anxiety by continuing to do what we do and by bringing more people into the PAX family so we can broaden our own support network to promote peace and understanding. All our students have good English skills and curious minds, they have full medical insurance and monthly allowance to cover their lunches at school, clothes/toiletries, calling cards, etc. The host family is asked to provide a bed, a quiet place to study, meals taken at home and a warm, supportive environment. Host families come in all shapes and colors! Families with teens or young children, retired couples or single parents are welcome to apply!
If you know anybody who might be interested in hosing an adorable PAX student, please email or call me back at 1-800-555-6211, ext. 302 for more information! Our excellent PA community coordinators provide the ongoing support to both the students and families and are available to meet with potential hosts. This is, indeed, the most valuable experience we can give to the teens from abroad and truly make a difference, one child at a time!
Thank you again for your ongoing work towards peace!!
Sincerely,
Oksana Pavliouk,
oxanap@pax.org
1-800-555-6211, ext. 302
www.pax.org