A Fairfield County youth will be traveling to Japan this summer as part of the 4-H/Japanese Exchange Program Amelia Borchers, 15 years old, son/daughter of Eric and Jodie Borchers will join 4-H’ers from around the country for the exchange, July 12 to August 10, 2017. Amelia was recognized for this honor at the Fairfield County 4-H Achievement Banquet on April 4, 2017.
While in Japan, the Ohio youth will be learning the local culture by living with Japanese host families and participating in community life. Many of them will be staying with the families of Japanese youth who have previously visited them in Ohio on this reciprocal exchange.
Borchers is among 40 4-H’ers from the USA who will be visiting Japan. She will begin her tour with orientation sessions on the west coast of the US and Tokyo. Later during the visit, Borchers will attend a camp with Japanese and American youth.
Amelia Borchers attends Lancaster High School, and is active in girls basketball and tennis. She also competes with the school’s Science Olympiad Team and plays in the freshman band. She decided to apply for the Japan experience because last summer her involvement with the program began when her family hosted a 14-year old girl from Japan. Borchers became good friends with this young lady and after she returned to Japan, Amelia decided to take her experience with the program even further by traveling to stay with her in Japan.
The exchange program in Japan is coordinated by the Labo Foundation, an organization dedicated to teaching foreign languages and cultures to Japanese youth. Japanese young people learn about a country’s culture and do songs and stories in the language they are studying.
In 1972, Labo established the first exchange with 4-H clubs in the United States. The first year for Ohioans to make the journey to Japan was 1981. Since then, a group of Ohio 4-H’ers has visited Japan nearly every summer, with a total of 244 youth and adult chaperones making the trip so far.
Youth interested in traveling overseas or families interested in hosting someone from another country should contact your local county extension office at 740-652-7260 or your local volunteer International County Coordinator, Sue Suttles at 740-652-7271 or email: suttles.1@osu.edu. You can also visit www.ohio4h.org/youth/international.
Ohio 4-H is currently seeking families to host young people from Japan from July 23 – August 18 this summer. Youth and families do not need to be current 4-H members to apply. Join the fun and learn about your world!
Best wishes on your trip, Amelia!
