I. General Program Understanding

• Purpose: To promote cross-cultural understanding and friendship between Canadian and Japanese youth.

• Cultural Exchange: Facilitate a rich cultural exchange by integrating the Japanese student(s) into daily family life. The primary goal is for both the student and the host family to learn from each other's cultures.

• Volunteer Basis: The Kids for Kaga program is a grassroots community program run by volunteers, including host families.

II. Accommodation and Basic Needs

• Safe and Welcoming Environment: Welcome the student(s) as a temporary family member, providing a safe, supportive, and inclusive home environment.

• Accommodation: Offer a suitable place for your guest(s) to sleep. (Based on common exchange practices, this typically means their own bed, and possibly their own room or sharing with a same-gender host sibling.)

• Meals: Provide daily meals and snacks.

III. Student Integration and Support

• Include in Family Life: Integrate the exchange student(s) into daily family activities, routines, and outings.

• Language Practice: Encourage and facilitate English language practice. Knowledge of Japanese is not required for host families, as the aim is for cultural and language immersion.

• Support and Guidance: Offer emotional support and guidance to your guest(s) as they adjust to a new culture, environment, and time zone.

• Program Participation: Ensure the student(s) participates in Kids for Kaga program activities and events. This may require that they are dropped off and picked up from a variety of activities around the city throughout the day.

IV. Cultural Sensitivity and Openness

• Open-mindedness: Be open to learning about and respecting Japanese culture, traditions, and customs.

• Communication: Maintain open communication with the Kids for Kaga committee regarding the student's well-being and any concerns. 

The Long Answer:

The Kids for Kaga program isn't a traditional travel tour; it's a true reciprocal exchange built on community generosity and the "pay it forward" concept.

When your family hosts a Japanese student, you're not just providing a place to stay; you're actively contributing to the foundation of the entire program. Your generosity ensures that Japanese students have a genuine cultural immersion experience here in Dundas and Hamilton, Ontario.

In return for opening your home, that generosity is then reciprocated in kind when our Canadian group travels to Kaga, Japan. The Japanese families who hosted students from our area are the ones who will then extend their hospitality to your teen. It's a direct cycle of giving and receiving.

This model is what makes the program unique, affordable, and deeply meaningful. Without families here willing to host, there wouldn't be a program to send our Canadian kids to Japan, because there wouldn't be host families for them there. Every Canadian student who travels to Kaga does so because a Japanese family has extended their hospitality, and that hospitality is enabled by our local families doing the same.

So, while we understand the desire for your teen to experience Japan, the opportunity to do so through Kids for Kaga is a direct result of being part of this reciprocal community that values hosting as much as traveling.