From Tom and Lilka Areton – Cultural Homestay International turns 30!
November 1, 2009
Dear Friends,
Today marks a CHI milestone, the first day of our 30th year!
As with every undertaking, CHI started with an idea. The idea was to form a better student exchange program, to more effectively contribute to friendship and harmony among the young people of the world. The concomitant goal was to show off the best of our country, the USA, to the future leaders of their respective nations: our experiment in democracy, the ideals of volunteering, the willingness of host families to share their hearts and homes with complete strangers, the businesses risking so much to employ or train unknown students from foreign lands, as well as the endless spontaneity, inventiveness, and optimism that is America. The third goal was to educate our own citizens about other countries, cultures and customs, and to experience the commonality of the human experience that unifies all of us.
It is hard to believe today that our “first” students are almost 50. They have careers, families and children in their 20’s. Many of the life decisions our students have made were profoundly affected by their homestay experience in the United States. Just as we envisioned, the students Lilka and I hosted have become “better,” more involved, citizens of their countries. Their jobs range from doctors, English teachers, overseas travel directors to business leaders and commercial artists. It is a source of joy to visit them and see CHI’s pictures, itineraries and even insurance cards hanging on the walls of their apartments and houses as mementos of their life-changing journey.
It makes us truly proud of all of you to see CHI flying so high with endless activities of fun, education, and self-discovery, involving thousands of Americans and our overseas participants. I think Lilka expressed it best, when, after reading the latest issue of CHI Chatter, she wrote to the Directors:
I am looking at this little business we started so many years ago. Today I see such a vast organization for good that I hardly have words. The part I like is that everyone is sort of running his/her own little business. Those who do this open for themselves a huge opportunity for creativity and for positive action. There is no way anyone could do this alone. It is done by hundreds of people who are given some guidelines and then released to be all they can be. I am so utterly moved by all this and I truly believe that each person who follows his/her dream and passion can bring so much goodness to the world. It doesn’t seem to take money. It doesn’t take authoritarianism. It just takes opening to possibilities, believing in one another, realizing and releasing the genuine humanity we all have within us. I am proud that Tom and I had the courage to start this organization. I am honored to be here among all the participants who do all these incredible deeds. But most of all I am humbled by the beauty and the inspirational generosity of CHI’s people. Thank you all, Lilka
The truth is that CHI outgrew both of us long ago; it has a life of its own. From two telephones on the family room table in 1980 to this multi-faceted, global organization, dedicated to making our world a better place. So on this day both Lilka and I salute all our tireless CHI staff, our courageous students, the giving American host families, our work experience program employers, as well as the U.S. Department of State and all our overseas partners, for making this wondrous organization possible.
Let’s make this, our 30th year, the best, most productive and most innovative year in CHI’s history.
Happy Founders’ Day!
Tom and Lilka
