Proposal Preparation Notes

Why are re-entry orientations important for Returnees?

Continued support from AFS and not feeling isolated after you return
Reverse cultural shock needs more support
Informing Returnees about ways to get involved with AFS and how important it is to give back
End-cap their educational experience and that their experience is not over and how they can direct their focus now
Connecting Returnees with other Returnees, connecting Returnees with volunteers, how to connect them to other volunteer teams
What AFS can do for Returnees and what opportunities they can get involved with nationally, locally
Support for Parents, so they feel AFS is supporting their son/daughter, they can get involved with volunteering

What are the challenges?

Welcome home events are challenging because there is a lot of effort to put into it, and there is not enough of expectation from Returnees yet
Orientations can be dull and not motivated to go
Reaching students in rural areas and logistics to pull those students
Busy time for volunteers when students are returning and lack of resources
Staggered arrivals - May- Aug and challenging to coordinate
What is the cost? Need to factor the cost
Geography is challenging for AFS, but AFS wants to support re-entry orientations
What should be our success rate? (30% success rate from other partner countries, 70-90% come back for the second orientation)

Hard to determine now. It will be successful no matter what because slowly it will grow and any impact will make a difference

How can these re-entry orientations work best?

Orientations occur soon after they arrive back home, or a month or two after they return giving Returnees time to adjust and notice more culture shock issues
Orientations need a personal touch rather than by the book, interactional
National, regional, local possibilities
Have someone more dedicated for planning these re-entry orientations and having meetings to have a social aspect for Returnees and volunteers
Returnee Coordinators and Returnees have a role in assisting in the orientations to help take the weight off of volunteers feeling like they have to run them
Communication from the Team before Returnees get home
Combining with hosted student events
Grass root Returnee Meet-ups- low cost
Area Teams communicating to students ahead of time
Orientations are paired with distance learning to support returnees who are unable to make it
International integration- looking to create more e-learning opportunities