Australian families open their hearts and minds to international school students and become WEP host families for an array of reasons. However, they all share a desire to discover and enjoy the differences between two distinct lifestyles, supporting an exchange student as they experience living and learning in Australia.

Imagine:
•    Having a photo taken and sent overseas of a meal you have prepared, because it looks so different!
•    Knowing someone who is amazed that we can travel for hours and still be in the same state of one country! 
•    Being part of a young person’s life as they rapidly learn about the subtle differences between people and cultures!
•    Putting your own extraordinary efforts and generosity into the personal development of a new family member!

Together, families and students discover that, although vast and multifaceted, the world is filled with people sharing similar hopes, dreams and concerns for the future.

Hosting an international secondary school student gives Australian families the opportunity to share their life and culture with young people from around the world for a school year, semester or term. It is about discovering another culture, encompassing different traditions and practices, and supporting a new family member as they do likewise.

WEP’s host families are cordial, curious, open and tolerant. They are people who would like to discover another culture, another way of life and traditions, and be challenged by a different way of thinking. To be a WEP host family means opening up one’s door, heart and mind to an equally curious and enthusiastic international exchange student.

You will become a second set of parents to your student and they will adapt themselves to your routines and family rules. Day after day, you will have the opportunity to uncover the little differences that exist between our culture and that of another country.

Host families come from all walks of life. You could have children or not, you may have children older or younger than the exchange student, you may be a young couple or an older couple, or you may be single. You may live in a house, in an apartment, in a town or in the countryside.

Although hosting is not a requirement of your outbound program, it is rewarding to be able to provide the same hospitality and care to an international student as your international family will provide for you.