By Karen Cay

Global Partners facilitate cultural experience

Jul 11, 2012 | 4:56 PM

Global Partners is looking forward to facilitating a year-long cultural experience for 11 families in Prince Albert and several others throughout the province.

Having operated in the city for eight years, Global Partners is a Vancouver-based program, which was created to promote understanding and intercultural friendships by facilitating exchanges with international students with a Canadian family for one school year.

To date, the students have been from Japan, but this year there will be nine Japanese and two Australian students living in the city and attending Rivier Academy.

Jeannette Eddolls, Saskatchewan regional manager, said the program is designed to give students an opportunity to learn functional English and have a Canadian experience. For the host families it’s an opportunity to learn about another culture.

“In their applications the students usually express the desire to be in the program to learn the language because they are interested in careers in international affairs or something like being an airline steward,” Eddolls said. “Nearly all the students also say they want to learn about Canada and to experience our nature.”

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To participate in the program, families need only to contact Eddolls to fulfill application requirements such as having two or more related people in the host family household, that everyone 18 and older have a criminal check, and then have the references of two non-related people, followed by a home visit. The accepted families then receive a $600 per month honorarium to help cover the costs of housing the student.

The students have a much lengthier application process, which also includes criminal checks and dedication to the program.

“Through the eight years we have had this program here, there have been so many great experiences,” Eddolls recalled. “Many families go out of their way to make sure these students have the very best Canadian experiences possible and often take trips to the lakes or different places in Canada.”

The entire group of Japanese and Australian students to be hosted in Saskatchewan will arrive in Prince Albert July 28 and stay until Aug. 28. At this time they will be facilitated and begin to learn functional English before heading to the classrooms in the fall.

“These students know the reading and writing of English usually,” Eddolls said. “But they need to practice actually using it with Canadians.”

Most of the students have host families for the one-year term and for the short-term, but there is still one short-term spot in Prince Albert (July 28-Aug. 28) and one-year term in North Battleford available.

Anyone interested in filling these spots may contact Eddolls at 306 – 763 – 4127 or jeannette@gpicanada.com . Global Partners is also in paNOW.com’s Community Group News.

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Twitter: @karenspanow.com