THANK YOU FOR OPENING YOUR HOME AND HELPING MAKE OUR TOUR A SUCCESS!

Transcription

1 Information for Host families THANK YOU FOR OPENING YOUR HOME AND HELPING MAKE OUR TOUR A SUCCESS! Pages 1-4: Provides information on hosting the children, and the Ugandan culture, to help you know what to expect. Page 5: Housing Questionnaire. We ask that you fill in all of the information; this helps us make sure that we are assigning the proper grouping of children and chaperone to your home. Housing The Choir Sleeping Arrangements Host Families need to provide all bedding: beds, couch, trundle bed, or air mattresses are all good options. Choir Children can share a bed: 2 in a double 3 in a queen. Please provide a separate sleeping space for the Chaperone so they are not sharing a room with the children. The adults work long hard days and a place to sleep separate from the children gives them a little bit of needed quite time. Activities - The children love to be outdoors. Soccer, basketball, Frisbee, going to a park, and any other outdoor activity are all good options. Riding bikes is ok with a helmet and supervision and swimming is allowed with a life jacket/life guard. Please be aware not all the children know how to swim. When they are inside, board games, puzzles, reading, drawing and painting are fun things for them to do. Some of them like to help cook and be in the kitchen with you. Computer, Internet and TV - Please do not let the children use your computer or go on the internet. No TV or video games. This encourages the children to spend time with their host families and use their imaginations in their play time. Safety- Due to past experience and injuries, children are not allowed to rollerblade, skateboard,

2 drive motorcycles/atv s or use a trampoline. All medical issues should be directed to the chaperone and/or tour leader. Language- The Children speak Luganda and English in varying levels of fluency. The adults speak fluent English. Their language skills improve the longer they are in the United States. Conversations- Please do not ask the children about their personal lives. Many of the children have lost their parents and come from very difficult situations, this is something we do not want them to have to talk about all the time. General conversation about Uganda, or things they like to do, is ok for conversation. Do not be concerned with the quietness of the children. As they spend time with you and you are no longer a stranger, they will open up to you. It is also a form of respect in their culture. No Gifts Please- The group does not have room on the bus to collect gifts everywhere they go and we want to keep things even among all the children. If you would like, you may give them a few pictures from their time with you, the children will treasure these forever. If you are led to do more, please talk to the tour leader in regards to what the choir needs are. Gift cards are welcomed! Homework- The children may have homework. Please, check with the child or chaperone to be sure homework is done, prior to planning activities. Laundry- Because they are continually on the road, the children and adults may need their clothes washed. If you do not mind, it would be appreciated if you would allow the use of your washer and dryer. Bedtime- Bedtime is 8:30p.m. The children will start showers around 8:00 in order to get to bed on time. In the morning they will get up about an hour or hour and a half before school or church allowing enough time to get dressed and eat. The tour staff will help with this process. Bathing- The children may bath together; this is common in Uganda for children to do. Do not be alarmed if they wash some of their clothes in the shower. At home they hand wash all their clothes. Pets- In Uganda there are no domesticated animals or pets, so please introduce your pets slowly

3 and be aware of how the children and animals react to each other. School and Rehearsal- The children have school and rehearsals at the church from 8:45 4:30 M-F. The tour leader is responsible for the choir schedule and will make arrangements with the church and host homes as needed. Tobacco and Alcohol- We respectfully ask that you refrain from drinking alcohol and smoking around the children. It is viewed as unacceptable in Uganda. Meals- One of the main concerns of the host homes is mealtime! Fresh fruit is plentiful in Uganda. The children are most familiar with fresh pineapple, bananas and mangos. Most anything your children eat the Choir children will eat. We want the children to have a balanced but varied diet and try all new American foods. Maybe your dish will become their favorite! Here are a few cultural differences: The children tend to over utilize the salt shaker so please help monitor their intake. Meals in Uganda are cooked and served warm, but while they are in the US they try to adapt to most of our cold foods at breakfast and lunch time. In Uganda meals are often spent in quiet so please do not take offense if they are quiet while at the table. As the children tour in America, they become more talkative at mealtime. Foods to Avoid No gum, please! Pudding Jell-O cups Chocolate candy bars Candy Soda/Pop Basically we are trying to stay away from sugary foods. We want to keep their diet and their teeth healthy. A piece of dessert is fine after dinner, but don t be surprised if they say no thank you they often times prefer to fill up on healthy food.

4 Saying Goodbye- We ask that you do not expect to have continued contact with the choir members when they leave your home. This will be a rewarding and blessed experience for both your family and the choir; however they are in over 100 homes in a year and they must move on. It is not possible for them to correspond with every one of their host families. If you have any questions or concerns, please ask the chaperone staying with you, the Tour Leader or the person at the church who is taking care of the choir details. We want this experience to be a pleasant and rewarding blessing! Thank You for Hosting!

5 Host Family Questionnaire Please fill out one per household, and return as soon as possible to the contact who is taking care of the choir details Church or hosting organization: Title: o Mr. and Mrs. o Mr. o Mrs. o Ms. o Miss Name: Street: City: State: Zip: Phone (home): - - Phone (cell or work): Children or other adults staying in your home? o yes o no If yes, age and gender: Pets? If so, what kind and how many: Space Availability Maximum number of people you can take into your home comfortably? Sleeping accommodations: