Rotary clubs seek exchange participants

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Local Rotary clubs are looking for a few young professionals to participate in an expenses-paid exchange program with India this January.
As part of the Group Study Exchange, participants will travel to the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, to experience the local customs, vocations and lifestyles. The goal of the program is to further international understanding and goodwill.

“This is just a terrific opportunity,” Janet Napier, organizer of the exchange, told the Daily Sound. “We never understand why we don’t have people banging down our doors.”
Rotary clubs in Santa Barbara County as well as San Luis Obispo, Ventura and Kern counties, hope to find four to five people willing to take part in the cultural exchange. Airfare will be paid and Rotary members in India will provide housing, meals and access to cultural museums and events, Napier said.
The trip will last about three weeks, beginning in early January, and only those with direct connections to a Rotary club will not be eligible to apply.
“We’re looking for someone who is on a professional career path of some kind,” Napier said.
She said after candidates are interviewed and selected, an extensive orientation process - about 25 hours of meetings during the months leading up to the trip - will familiarize the participants with the political, geographic, religious and cultural aspects of the region in northern India they will visit.
Candidates will also prepare information about their lives here and gather gifts for their host families. Exchange members from India will be visiting Santa Barbara County later this year as well, Napier said.
So far, she said only one person has applied for the January trip. Last year, Napier served as the team leader for a similar trip to the Philippines with four participants, two of which hail from Santa Barbara County.
“We had such a great time,” Napier said. “It’s just amazing.”
Applicants should be between 25 and 40 years old, live or work in the Rotary district and hold a full-time job with a recognized business or profession. For more information or an application, call 805-965-7260 or e-mail janetnapier@cox.net.