Host Families
Make lifelong friends. Learn about Japanese culture. Become more aware of your own culture as you share it with a young person eager to learn about life in Alaska. Give your family the gift of international friendship and a global perspective by participating in the 4-H Labo Exchange program, when your child, age 10-16, hosts a Japanese youth delegate for four weeks during the summer.
Established in May 1973, the Labo International Exchange Foundation (LIEF), under the auspices of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a non-profit educational foundation. Its mission is to encourage Japanese youth to act as good international citizens, to promote daily and continual contact between people of different nations, and to build lasting friendships between the peoples of the world so as to contribute to the maintenance of world peace.
The States' 4-H International Exchange program connects Japanese Labo members with host families in the United States. In Alaska, the Japanese exchange program is coordinated by the statewide 4-H Youth Development program, with extensive support provided by volunteers. Alaska 4-H families may host Japanese youth delegates for one month (inbound) or a 4-H aged youth may travel to Japan and live with a Japanese host family for one month (outbound).
It is not necessary to initially be a 4-H member to participate in the exchange. All Alaska youth who host Labo delegates from Japan will automatically become 4-H members and thus be eligible for 4-H activities. Youth in host families receive first priority and a discount for participation in the 4-H exchange program to Japan.
The hosting exchange typically runs from the third week of July to the third week of August. The program begins with a welcome party and ends with a going-away party.
Youth delegates from Japan:
Host families:
Hosting is easy; the hard part is saying goodbye!
Yes, I want my family to be a part of this wonderful cultural experience!
Established in May 1973, the Labo International Exchange Foundation (LIEF), under the auspices of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a non-profit educational foundation. Its mission is to encourage Japanese youth to act as good international citizens, to promote daily and continual contact between people of different nations, and to build lasting friendships between the peoples of the world so as to contribute to the maintenance of world peace.
The States' 4-H International Exchange program connects Japanese Labo members with host families in the United States. In Alaska, the Japanese exchange program is coordinated by the statewide 4-H Youth Development program, with extensive support provided by volunteers. Alaska 4-H families may host Japanese youth delegates for one month (inbound) or a 4-H aged youth may travel to Japan and live with a Japanese host family for one month (outbound).
It is not necessary to initially be a 4-H member to participate in the exchange. All Alaska youth who host Labo delegates from Japan will automatically become 4-H members and thus be eligible for 4-H activities. Youth in host families receive first priority and a discount for participation in the 4-H exchange program to Japan.
The hosting exchange typically runs from the third week of July to the third week of August. The program begins with a welcome party and ends with a going-away party.
Youth delegates from Japan:
- Arrive prepared to share their culture with your family, cook a meal, give you a photo album showing their life in Japan, and many other things
- Will be the same gender and similar age to your child. They don't need their own room, just food and a bed
- Are well-prepared for their experience, having received orientation prior to travel. They will also have sent you an introductory letter so you something about them before their arrival
- Need no special activities; they are here to experience your daily life in Alaska. Whatever your family does is what they will do, whether it's feeding dogs, going camping, food-shopping at the grocery store, watching soccer practice, or staying home and playing outside
- Want to be part of your family. If your child does chores, then they will help. If your child is going to camp, their parents will pay for them to attend camp. They may travel in-state with your family,
- Have medical insurance and their own spending money for souvenirs. They can also attend a day or two of school with your child
- Arrive with a bilingual chaperon, who, along with a coordinator, is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hosts, with or without children, for the chaperon are also needed. The chaperon may be hosted for two or four weeks.
Host families:
- Do not need to speak Japanese. The Japanese youth want to practice their English
- Will receive orientation and be provided with language and cultural materials
- Will make lifelong friends
- Will give their child(ren) a global perspective
- Will learn about Japanese culture as well as their own
Hosting is easy; the hard part is saying goodbye!
Yes, I want my family to be a part of this wonderful cultural experience!
