Rotary Friendship Exchange

Experience different cultures and build international friendships through
Rotary Friendship Exchange

How does it work?  

• There is a RFE District Chair that communicates with potential districts to travel to in communications with the District RFE Committee.
• Once a district is chosen to partner with, word is distributed.
• Each participant funds his or her own way. Couples or singles are welcome. All Rotarians are invited and their partners. (I.e. partners do not have to be Rotarians friends of Rotary may also apply through their local Club).
• Youth can also be a part of RFE, and will be considered on a case by case basis. Please ask.
• Generally a RFE lasts about 2 weeks.  Some Districts ask for shorter periods.
• Around 8 - 12 form the team, which includes a team leader.
• The team lands at the pre-determined date in the host country. From there the team is hosted by local Rotarians.
• The RFE team is home stayed, usually changing host homes every few days. Several communities are visited.
• The host Rotarians show their guests local sights of interest, parks, museums, things they are proud of. There are often Rotary hosted parties. Rotary projects may be toured.
• The hosts generally cover lodging and home meals. Transportation within the district is provided by the hosts but admissions or extraordinary costs such as restaurant meals are covered by the guests.
• The visit is then reversed with the foreign district visiting our district.
• RFE participants are expected to host for a few nights and participate when they visit here. (I.e. volunteer to host them for some or all of their days in the 5020 community you reside in. A typical tour may be 3 days in Nanaimo, 3 days in Sooke, 3 days in Poulsbo, 3 days in Olympia.
• The pace is usually brisk. Get up in the morning, maybe tour a Rotary project, and then maybe see a point of interest or two. In the evening there may be a Rotary meeting or party in the teams' honour to attend.
• The visiting Team is asked to provide a short presentation at the Hosts' Rotary meetings.
• You will travel with a group and your tour will be mapped out by the hosts. We often give input to preferences but generally what they plan is what we do.

Benefits.

• Make lifelong friends.
• Live "with the locals".
• Certainly cost efficient. 
• Expand your Rotary knowledge. 
• See parts of the world you may otherwise never see.
• Develop future partnerships.

Obligations 

• If you go on an exchange, you will be expected to host when their team visits us. This usually means 3 nights in your town of 8 - 12 people.  So you need your club to support you and help with the hosting. 
•   You can help in other ways - transportation, coordinating the return visit, etc. You will participate in their 3 days in your community.    
• You will need the support of your club.  Ask them.  This should be be done BEFORE you apply.  We would ask you to be active in your club and community seeking host families from your club or towns' clubs, and being active in the planning of their days in your town when they visit. Be an RFE ambassador.
• While on an outbound RFE, the experience is unlike a "holiday" whereas you are hosted and you usually are not "asked" if you wish to attend events, you are told.  You will be expected to participate fully, as you would when guests visit YOUR town and you map out events for them.   
• Each team member books their own flights, but please note there will be specific deadlines for booking so we know everyone is committed.   You will be asked to provide a copy of your flight to the Chair or team lead.  Those not booking flights by the prescribed date may be asked to step aside so others can commit and participate in the experience.  

Tips

• Be open and flexible. Some of the things you see may not interest you - but often they turn out the most interesting.
• Expect the unexpected. We are all volunteers coordinating between clubs that may be many miles apart. Some may be wildly organized. Some maybe less so.

Fun and flexible is our motto.

Current RFE's

Please review the information below, then send your questions.

• If you see a team is full -  ask about being on the wiring list.    Cancellations are not uncommon. 

• District 5020 Intra-District RFE.  
  • Twin Cities Rotary Club (Centralia - Chehalis, WA) wishes to foster better understanding, fun and fellowship between Clubs and countries within 5020.  A brilliant initiative by Twin Cities.  For this charter event the desire is an exchange between Twin Cities and any Vancouver Island club(s).   
  • The reciprocal exchange of USA to Canada will be at  a mutually agreed to weekend or period, but probably directly after District Conference, May 17, 18, 19, 2020.  Depart on the 20th.      Interested?  See below.  
  • Twin Cities already hosted August 15-18, 2019, prepared to host again August 13 - 18, 2020. 
  • The teams would consist of 8 - 12 members total, per.
  • As always,  you go,  we hope you can assist when they come to YOUR town.  This could include hosting.   
  • Contact the Chair below for details.   We are looking for more participants.    

• District 2220 Russia.   The RFE Teams will be 8 - 12 members.
  • We went there  Sept 11 - 27, 2019.   
  • We host them second half of April, 2020. 
  • RC of Ekaterinburg is host,  cities in the region also include :  Volgograd, Krasnodar, Perm, Omsk, Novosibirsk.   Moscow and Saint Petersburg are not in the District however will probably both be on the tour.  
  • This RFE is FULL.  

• District 4640 Brazil.   The RFE Teams will be 8 - 12 members.
  • May 1, 2020 midday start  – May  13 morning finish, 4640 Brazil to 5020.
  • May 18 – 30, 2020 5020 to 4640 Brazil.
  • Cities in the region include Foz do Iguaçu,  Land of the Iguassu Falls (one of New 7 Wonders of Nature), Cascavel,  Guarapuava,  Pato Branco,  Francisco Beltrão,  Toledo,   Marechal Cândido Rondom.
  • This outbound team is full.  Ask about the waiting list (Cancellations can occur)
     
• District 2440 Turkey,  The RFE teams will be 8-10 members.  The exchange will be 7-10 days.  
  • 2440 visits 5020: April 4 - 12, 2020.  
    5020 to 2440:  June 13 - 21, 2020
  • Cities in the region could include Bursa, Canakkale and Izmir (includes Selcuk - Virgin Mary and Ephesus).   Although Istanbul is not in the District it would make sense to land here and spend a few days before the start of the RFE.  
  • This team is full.  If you wish to inquire about a waiting list, please ask.  
     
• District 4455 Peru.   
  • 5020 visits 4455 Peru roughly May 1 - 15, 2020.   
  • 4455 Peru visits 5020,  RFE starts at noon May 20, ends 9 AM June 3, 2020.   
  • Optional Amazon Jungle tour,  if desired arrive earlier such as April 27,  this could be arranged via the locals.
  • RFE team of 10.   
  • Cities could include landing in Lima, Arequipa, Cuzco.  Optional could be tours of the Amazon Jungle and or  Puno before the RFE.    In this RFE flights will be secured for between some regions.     
  • Room for one or 2 more.  Please see below for application link.   

• District 1030,  Northern East England.
  • 5020 visits  June 10- 22 2020. 
  • 1030 visits 5020 early September, 2020.    (Dates may vary slightly)
  • RFE Teams will up to 12 members 
  • The exchanges will be around 12 nights each.
  • District 1030 stretches from the Scottish border in the North, through Northumberland,  …and Tyne & Wear, the powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution,  and NEWCASTLE where Geordies and Newcastle Brown Ale come from.
  • The suggested airport is Newcastle (in District) 1030, though Edinburgh (Scotland) is not too far  and has some direct flights from the US. Newcastle flights are usually via London Heathrow.
  • Room for one or 2 more.  Please see below for application link.

• District 5330, California, USA.  
  • 5020 visits District 5330  fall 2020.  RFE starts on Oct 24, end noon Nov 5, 2020.     5020 would land in LA for pickup or even better would be Ontario, CA which is closer.   Typical cities visited could include  Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula,  Palm Spring, Lake Arrowhead or Big Bear Lake.
    5330 visits 5020 Spring 2021, RFE starts June 2, 2021  and ends morning of June 15, 2021. 
    The RFE Teams may consist of up to 12 max,  6 homes will host either a single or a “couple”.  (I,e, could be 4 couples and 4 singles)
  • We will announce this opportunity fall, 2019.  

• District 2360,  Sweden. 
  • 2360 Sweden visits 5020 end April/beginning May, 2021.   5020 visits 2360  July/August same year.
  • Each team will consist of up to 6 singles or couples,  the visit will be 8-9 nights but could be adjusted at the time.
  • Rotary District 2360, with 70 Rotary clubs and 3800 Rotary members, is in south-western Sweden, a region with more than 1,7 million inhabitants.  Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city with about half a million residents is the main city in the district , founded in 1621.  District airport is Göteborg.   Cities could include Gothenburg,  Alingsas,  Marstrand,  Tanum,  Dalsland.   
  • The 5020 Outbound Team will be determined in 2020.  Interested parties may email the chair for inquiries. 

• District 9400 South Africa.  
  • 9400 covers the following countries, Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique and the following provinces in South Africa – Gauteng, Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga
  • RFE teams will be maximum 12.  
  • 9400 visits 5020 June 19 - July 3, 2021.
  • 5020 visits 9400 October 9 - 23, 2021.     Dates may vary slightly once booked.
  • Arrival in South Africa (O.R. Tambo International Airport)  
  • The 5020 Outbound Team will be determined in 2020.  Interested parties may email the chair for inquiries.
     
• Who gets priority to travel as part of a team?   

Team members are selected based on geography and history.  We need participants from varying communities in our district.  We also look for as many different Rotarians to experience RFE as possible.  Sometimes we have too many wanting to be a part of it (Brazil is very popular!) and decisions will have to be made.  But with 4 or 5 RFE’s in the works – the goal is to have as many different Rotarians be a part of it as possible.  Rotarians who love to travel,  love hosting/assisting when they come here and love Rotary.   Please note though -  you go:  You have obligations as per above. 

 

 

RFE Chair: PDG Kevin Hilgers
Rotary Club of Victoria-Harbourside
kev@gowave.ca call or text 780-518-5672
Fax toll free 1 866 793 0952

Want to apply?  Don't blame you.   Click here for application. 

Chosen 5020 Outbound Team member?  Congrats.  Click here.

TESTIMONIALS

 

"The Rotary Friendship Exchange to  Australia that we participated in was probably my best Rotary experience in all my years in Rotary. We were warmly hosted by a group of wonderful Australian Rotarians with whom we have remained in close contact. The opportunity to host them and showcase our club's projects was a very proud moment." Graham and Vicki Calder, Rotary Club of Nanaimo Daybreak--Australia District 9650

 

"My experience on an RFE was amazing from the get go. Travelling solo, I (in Comox Valley) was paired with another Rotarian from Oak Bay.  Her name is Anne.  She has now become a ’sister friend’.  We had so much fun together in Thailand.  We knew nothing about each other before meeting in Thailand at 2:00 AM when I arrived, knocked on our hotel room door, and said, “I’m home.”  She got up and hugged me and we have been laughing ever since.  The Thai experience is probably quite different from other RFE in that we were housed in very nice hotels throughout northern Thailand.  Our hosts were exceptional in organizing extraordinary experiences, filling the schedule, and making sure we were well fed and happy.  We have made some awesome friends in Asia.  Further to that, several of our group of twelve have stayed in touch and have even gotten together several times either in Port Angeles or Victoria since our trip in 2017.  My RFE experience has been fulfilling on many levels."

Janice Hayward, Comox Valley, Strathcona Sunrise Rotary Club.  Thailand.

 

"Staying in Rotarian homes was a great experience and what wonderful people.  We also experienced giving the polio vaccine to the little babies in hospital in Coimbator. All in all a great trip.  An added bonus was meeting wonderful Rotarians from across the line in Washington State,  now lifelong friends."    Anna Berry, Rotary Club of Port Alberni.  India

 

"Rotary Friendship Exchange is an extremely powerful experience.  We were able to see, do and experience things that we would never in a million years be able to do on a "regular" holiday..   An amazing journey".    Mary and Lang Hadley.  Rotary Club of Sequim.  Northern England RFE

 

"A Rotary Friendship Exchange creates lifelong friendships.  We still communicate to this day, especially at Christmas.   And you get to see things and meet people that would otherwise not be possible. We loved every minute of it."     Steve and Judy Henderson,  Rotary Clubs of Olympia and West Olympia. (Summerset, England, & New Mexico.

"The RFE was a unique travel experience that immersed us in the culture of the host district like few travel experiences could.  We were treated to the home lives of 3 gracious host families.  They shared their home tables, foods and traditions with us and even  shared come cooking techniques and recipes.  We came away with memories, pictures,  music and and expanded appreciation of what in means to be a Rotarian.  During the 12 days we spent in Kerala and Tamil Nadu India, the members of more than 9 clubs shared their Rotary stories, their favorite projects, their Rotaract and youth programs and showed us a marvelous friendship between clubs."   Kathy Maher, Rotary Club of Bainbridge  Island.

 

"I have traveled a fair amount around the world and what made this experience different is that I got to meet lots of really interesting people who took great effort to treat us like royalty and to share what they love about their country and the place they live.  That we have shared values and that they put so much effort into showing us those interesting things made this trip one of the nicest I have ever been on.  A couple of years out, I'm still corresponding with some of those people.  It's really about the people and the lasting friendships. "

John Barrett,  East Jefferson Rotary.  New South Wales, Australia.