This is a guide to help families who are hosting guests of the 2014 EWB Kumvana Program.

THEKUMVANAPROGRAM

Some of the leaders then travel to Canada in January for an intensive four-week experience that combines participation in the EWB National Conference, a week of leadership training, and two weeks visiting pertinent Canadian organizations. Participants return home with new skills, new ideas, new contacts and greater motivation to create change within their own organizations and communities. Most of the participants become involved with this growing network of social-change leaders called the Kumvana Program.

What is a homestay?When EWB volunteers spend time in Africa they are almost always invited to live with

a colleague they meet at work or a colleague arranges for them to stay with a friend, family member or neighbour. These “homestay” friendships grow beyond what is possible in a simple work arrangement; many EWB volunteers will say they feel like they have become a member of the family. In all cases, the visitor learns much more about the culture than they might have imagined. EWB hopes you will welcome our guests into your home and make their stay in Canada equally enjoyable.

Home stay guide 2014

What is Engineers Without Borders?Poverty is the product of broken systems that prevent people

from realizing their full potential. Extreme poverty and inequitable development exist because injustices are deeply entrenched in our systems – in behaviours among individuals, within institutions and in the relationships that bind them.

EWB is a social change incubator for people, ventures and ideas. We spark and accelerate systemic innovations in Canada and in Africa that have the potential to radically disrupt the systems that allow poverty to persist.

What is EWB’s Kumvana Program?One of EWB’s primary goals is to build the capacities of EWB’s partners

in Africa who are leading change and to help grow a strong network of partners across Africa who share EWB’s goals. EWB also wants to apply the knowledge and expertise of these African leaders to help bring international perspective to Canadians and to add value to EWB’s efforts in Canada.

Each year, EWB selects a few dynamic leaders who are system change entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and business leaders in their communities and organizations. Over the course of the 7-month program, these leaders participate in an African portion of the program which includes a curriculum focused on systemic change, a 360 feedback process, mentorship & coaching support and networking with past Kumvana leaders.

“UNITE SO WE MAY DISCUSS AND UNDERSTAND”verb, /ku:m”v na:/ Chichewa kumvana.ewb.ca

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THEKUMVANAPROGRAMHome stay guide 2014Why you might enjoy hosting a visitorUnless you’re planning a trip to Malawi or Ghana, this may be your best opportunity to learn about a different and fascinating

part of the world. It will be an amazing cultural experience and you will genuinely be helping someone learn about Canada. You will also be helping support the professional and personal development of an aspiring leader from Africa. And if you are planning a trip to Ghana or Malawi, then you might have just built a friendship that will transform your trip to that country.

Culture ShockTraveling halfway around the planet and arriving in Canada in the middle of winter would leave anyone with more than a

typical case of jet-lag. Your guest has probably never experienced cold weather like Canadians enjoy (or endure). The food is different, people speak with a different cadence, our cultural humor is mixed with inside jokes and euphemisms that are probably hard to comprehend. After a couple weeks of this day after day cultural assault, it becomes exhausting.

Please make it easy for your guest to have some private time. A little private space will help them relax and adapt. Getting a full eight hours of sleep is one of the best ways to help your guest gain the most from their stay in Canada. And please ask them if they are feeling the effects of their schedule and open a conversation about what it is like attempting to learn so much.

“UNITE SO WE MAY DISCUSS AND UNDERSTAND”verb, /ku:m”v na:/ Chichewa kumvana.ewb.ca

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What is the purpose of the work placements?During the course of two weeks, your guest will be spending time at a few different businesses or

organizations. While they are with you they may spend an entire week at a single company or visit several different institutions. Some of the workplaces may be similar in concept to their workplace in Africa -- for example a government office, but may be substantially different in magnitude and scope.

During their time in these workplaces your guest will be learning about the Canadian sector’s specific practices, innovations, management practices, leadership styles and a diversity of Canadian organizational cultures. Before and after these work visits your guest will have formal opportunities to share observations, feedback, and insights about pertinent problems at home with experts they interacted with during their placements.

The comprehensive goal of all these interactions is to expand the breadth and depth of your guest’s skills so they can apply it in their professional career. It is hard work and requires they be continuously looking for ways to adapt what they experience in Canada to the circumstance and context of what may apply to their work back in their home organization.

What hosts did in the past with their guestA typical day:

• Up early, maybe help a family member shovel some snow or attend a hockey practice.

• Breakfast with the family. • A colleague arrives to drive the guest to a work location.

• Perhaps a different work colleague helps arrange for the guest to go home using public transport in the evening. Your guest will have a cellphone so they can give you a call when they are nearby; maybe go grocery shopping after meeting them at the subway station.

• Enjoy dinner with the family and help wash the dishes.• Review the day’s notes and prepare for new meetings the following day.

THEKUMVANAPROGRAMHome stay guide 2014

“UNITE SO WE MAY DISCUSS AND UNDERSTAND”verb, /ku:m”v na:/ Chichewa kumvana.ewb.ca

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Sports & Winter Activities: Typical Canadian activities might include learning to ice-skate, passing a puck around on a back-yard rink, sledding down the neighbourhood toboggan hill or watching hockey practice at a local arena.Meals: Preparing meals together is an excellent way to get to know your guest. Almost certainly your guest will want to share the way some staple foods are prepared in their home too. Religious services: Many guests in the past have enjoyed attending church or mosque service. If this is not part of your life-style, perhaps you have a friend or neighbour who can help. Either way, you should consider asking your guest if they want to attend service. Being a tourist: This may be your guest’s first time outside their home country and almost certainly is their first time in Can-ada. It is common for a group to visit Niagara Falls on one of the weekends. Ask the Kumvana coordinators if something has been arranged.EWB events: It is common for an EWB professional chapter or student chapter to arrange an evening gathering where chapter members have an opportunity to learn about your guest’s work with the EWB partner organization. Your guest has a very modest stipend while they are in Canada that should allow them to cover lunchtime meals and public transport costs and therefore it is important the people who organize these special events be cognizant of the limited funds the guest has for going out -- just $30 per week.

Expectations• Ideally your guest will have a private bedroom for the reasons mentioned above, about adapting

to culture shock. If they will be sharing a room, then the EWB person coordinating the homestay should know this in advance. In either case, your guest should have their own bed.

• There are two weeks when African Leaders will need homestays: (Sunday evening, January 19th, to Sunday the 26th and Sunday January 26th to Sunday February 2nd, 2014)

• Your guest will generally arrive on Sunday afternoon and leave on the following Sunday afternoon.

Logistics• Your guest will have a living stipend to take care of their lunch, transportation

and communications. They are also provided $30 per week for special activities such as going to a movie theatre.

• Your guest will have a cellphone. Please share your phone numbers with them so they can easily communicate with you. Phone numbers will be available on mykumvana.ewb.ca

• Transportation to work may involve traveling with a colleague by car or your guest may take public transportation. They have a stipend, mentioned above, to cover the cost of public transportation.

• Laundry machines may not be a common convenience in the home of your guest, therefore you should explain how it is possible for them to clean their clothes.

• EWB will supply your guest with winter clothing and boots. But if you planned something like an afternoon sledding down the local toboggan hill it may be a good idea to help find them some ski pants or additional warm clothes.

• You can read a short profile and see a photo of your guest on kumvana.ewb.ca

• Your guest will have her/his calendar available on mykumvana.ewb.ca

THEKUMVANAPROGRAMHome stay guide 2014

Internet & Calling HomeYour guest will want to remain in contact with their family. Standard telephone

charges for calling African countries can be expensive and your guest’s family may not have access to high-speed internet to allow something like Skype. Some hosts in previous years have explained to their guests how to use a low-cost long distance telephone service such as Yak which costs just 5 cents per minute to call Ghana or Malawi. You simply dial 1010YAK (1010925) and then dial 011<country code><number> . For more details check out www.yak.ca

If you have any questions, please contact the coordinator of homestays, Shalini Dedunupitiya at shalinidedunupitiya@ewb.ca

“UNITE SO WE MAY DISCUSS AND UNDERSTAND”verb, /ku:m”v na:/ Chichewa kumvana.ewb.ca

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My family and I learned a great deal from Noel. We were enriched by his visit and stay with us. Professionally, I learned the impact of public health interventions on improving health. It was refreshing to see that the things we study and preach in Canada can have a positive impact anywhere. The principles of public health and disease intervention are universal.

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”– Ken Diplock, Immediate Past President, Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (Ontario Branch)