Susan comes from one of the poorest townships around Johannesburg where unemployment is 98% and lives alone with her mother which she helps a lot. She says they have been through difficult moments, but she has learnt a lot from these obstacles. She would not be the girl she is today, hadn’t she been through this. The school, she is going to, is renowned for its difficult teaching conditions, they run a variety of outreach projects, one of which is handing out food parcels to the poorest families. Susan is successful in class and is a very active participant in the school’s life. She is a very positive person, self confident, has many friends and likes to spend time with them. In her spare time she enjoys dancing and singing. Above all she likes poetry which she says helps her express her feelings. Her mother works 2 days a week as a domestic helper.

Susan's testmonial about her stay in Belgium

I think that it is really excellent to want to know more about the diversity of cultures, not only in one’s home country but also all over the world. It gets a person to be open-minded and view the world from a different angle. Getting to know the people around is exactly where the intelligence of a person originates and the beginning of a whole range of new thoughts which more mature and logical especially for a seventeen year old youngster. I really wish to make the most out of my experience in Flanders. It really costs a fortune for a high school girl from a township to go to a country as far as Belgium and I think it is going to be a little bit strange, for me and some of the people that I owe my beings to, if I mess-up such huge opportunity . I also believe that it will have a really good impact in my life especially a lot later in life, when I am independent and having to take more responsibilities. When I come back I will be having friends who will be coming to watch the 2010 world cup in South Africa. The feeling of visiting Belgium is thrilling!!! A big thank you to InterNations and AFS who enabled me living this great experience!

Sarita is a very kind and easygoing young girl. She is an enthusiastic and proactive person who does not give up easily. Since her early childhood, Sarita has shown a very perseverant attitude to obtain her goals of being a very good student and being a leader of her class, where she has good friends. She earned several diplomas of achievement and during her last year in school she received the Excellence Award that is awarded to outstanding secondary school students. Her dream is to become an architect. She is aware of her economical limitations but doesn’t let them put her dreams down. Sarita holds a very optimistic view of life despite of the obstacles she has been exposed to; and she can be considered a role model for youth in a country like Peru. Her parents could not afford participation in an international exchange program with their income and their two children.

Jonathan, besides being successful in school and being an active member of the Math Olympic team for his city, is actively involved in various community projects. He is one of the organizers of "Jovenes Comunicadores" – a social communication group, and administers a web-site for children and youngsters (www.expresionesjovenes.com.ar). As a volunteer, he does interviewing for children-oriented radio and TV programs in the city. Jonathan also serves as the President of the School Students’ Center. Among other activities, the Center organizes collection of donations for schools and hospitals, and initiates conferences for children and youth on such topics as dangers in internet, anorexia and bulimia, drugs, cigarettes, etc. As an intelligent person and an eager learner (as he puts it himself, “I always want to know more and more”), he is willing to explore another culture and learn a new language. He is particularly interested in going to Sweden or Portugal.