We are approaching the placement deadline for our SH20 students (Thursday, Jan 9) to arrive on January 16, 2020. As of the morning of Jan 7, 17 students remain to be placed (six of them already have pending placements).

Therefore, we are making a final push to place these remaining students and are calling on all of our AFS stakeholders to make all efforts to identify and confirm placements for these remaining students.

We kindly request that volunteer teams reach out to currently hosting families to determine whether any double placement opportunities can be identified, even if only for a welcome stay. We also kindly request that all leads for NH20 be asked to consider hosting for SH20. In addition, any other efforts that can be made through school contacts or other stakeholders are greatly appreciated. Here are 3 students that you could highlight to current host families or others who may be interested:

Shaqeel from Malaysia:

Meet Shaqeel! He attends boarding school but when he’s home you can find him taking care of his younger sister and spending time with family by watching movies or simply sitting around the dinner table discussing their days. At school, Shaqeel is a leader among his peers – helping others when needed with homework. When it’s time to have fun, he and his friends like to play football, basketball, and volleyball together. Shaqeel has dreams of becoming a data scientist in order to solve world issues. He considers himself to be very adaptable and can’t wait to meet you! HF Arrival 1/16/20

Nil from Austria:

Nil is an outgoing and motivated student who enjoys school, extracurricular activities, sports, and music. An ideal day for Nil includes both playing his guitar and practicing sports. His favorite sports are basketball and American football, though he’s enthusiastic about learning new sports too. Nil also enjoys watching the NFL on Sundays and trying new foods; he discovered a love of pancakes while on vacation, and they are now his favorite food! Nil hopes he can cook some typical Austrian food for his host family and share his culture. In the future he wants to become a cardiac surgeon.

Anis from Malaysia:

Eldest of 3 siblings, Anis enjoys spending time with her family – especially outside! They enjoy going to the beach, heading to the waterfall park, or taking a trip to the theme park. When they’re not outside, they like to wind down with Netflix together. Although Anis is a lover of food, she confesses she is not very good at cooking herself but would love to learn!  A big hobby for Anis is dancing. She has been a cultural dancer since she was 14 years old & is even the President of the Cultural Dancing Club. She enjoys all things math & science & hopes to be a neurologist. HF arrival 1/16/20

As always, not only the reputation of AFS is on the line, but also our standing as a J-1 visa sponsor and YES program implementing partner. This is at risk if these SH20 students are not able to travel as planned on January 16. Thank you, and please reach out to hosting@afsusa.org with any questions.