Sebastopol World Friends are currently seeking families interested in hosting visitors from Ukraine this fall for approximately 2 weeks. SWF has been selected to host an Open World delegation of 5 young leaders from the region of Sebastopol’s sister city, Chyhyryn.
The guests will arrive in Sebastopol on Saturday, September 23 and leave on Monday, October 9th. Open World is a congressional sponsored program that brings young emerging leaders from post-Soviet countries to the US to experience accountable governance and democracy. The theme of this year’s delegation is “Combating Domestic Violence.” SWF will organize and facilitate an all-day educational and cultural program for the visitors that will take place during the weekdays.
SWF is granted an extra week past the usual 10-day Open World program in order to offer our visitors extra cultural activities and fuller local flavor to the program.
Host families extend an invitation to their guests to be a part of their family, which is one of the most enjoyable and powerful aspects of a sister city experience. Most visitors share that, in fact, this is the highlight of their whole experience. No other travel experience can compare to being taken in as part of a family and no other way of relating can teach us so much about one another.
We request that host families provide their guest a private bedroom and meals while they are in your home. Guests will be with their host families most evenings and weekends. Host families often discover that while they are providing care to a guest, they also wind up connecting with other host families and people within our own community in a very special way.
If you are interested in hosting or helping or would like to learn more about this exceptional opportunity please email Val Churma at chyhyryn@sebastopolwf.org
