2008: Exchange student placed with unqualified host-family

The following is an excerpt from e-mails regarding DM Discoveries’ (now ISE) terrible placement of a Chinese exchange student. Her host-parents were hearing impaired. That led to her having to take care of crying children, both after school and at night. A headache started because of the high noise level from voices and television. Excrement from the children could be found in washing machine, on the floor of the bathroom and the air reeked of urine. The case came to CSFES’ attention September 2008, 3 weeks after the student’s arrival.

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Dear Sir,

…. Second of all, I really like going to Sulphur Spring High and I like the classmates and teachers.

March, this year, I knew that I was assigned to TX and I was aware that the host parents have problem with the hearing and the two girls are cute from the photos. …

However, it is not what we (my family and I) thought after I live with them for about 3 weeks.

Followings are the issues I am having now:

1. before school starts, I had stayed at home for two weeks and during the time, I only visited church twice.  Other than that, no more activities with the host family inside the house, not even mention about going outside.  I realized that no family activities taken in this family.
2. two little girls, one is 3 and one is 4, I was awaken by their crying most of the time.  The kids were crying outside their parents door but their parents could not hear them for some reason.  Finally, it was me who opened the door and made them calm down.  Sometimes I cried with them together for helpless. It was not me to make them stop crying, it is because the kids were too tired to cry.
3. after school starts, I am so happy and think I should be busy with school stuff and forget about the headache I am having with the family.  But the reality is, I have to face an environment which is full of mix sound of video game, TV and kids crying whenever they like to.  Host father was shouting at kids because of the hearing problem.  I can not image what I will be in the following 9 months if I were going to live with them.  Will I become a shouter, have bad temper or someone I can not accept totally?
4. the host family is not organized, the air is full of urine smell and its mark on some places, kids droppings in the restroom sometimes and droppings found in washer and dryer sometimes. When I want to wash or dry my clothing, I have to clean the machine before I do it.

… As a high school student, my purpose is very simply here. To study with local youngster and have good interaction with host family.

… Please help me because no one does but you.

Sincerely,
Karen Chiu

2008 September 11

Ms. Grijalva-

Karen Chiu is in my office this morning …..  Becky Sanderson has told her that she must make a decision this weekend about where she is going to live ….. either in Emory or stay here with her current host family.  Becky has also told the home office that Karen’s sister is very unhappy with her host family in Indiana-and that is not true.  Karen’s sister is very happy with her situation.  Karen’s mom believes that Becky is trying to convince the home office that these two girls are just trying to stir up trouble and that they are “bad” kids.

… Karen is depressed and confused about this whole matter.

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The entire exchange can be found HERE

2009: DM Discoveries merges with ISE

2003: SMG manages DM Discoveries and ISE

Helpline US Department of State

1-866-283-9090 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) The Department of State activated the helpline to ensure the health and safety of its exchange participants. Students have a right to be treated fairly and to report abuse without retaliation or threat of program cancellation. (Dep of State)

Blind trust in exchange organisations

You would not send your child to a house at the end of your street if you knew nothing about the person living there. Yet on the strength of a glossy brochure, the payment in some cases of vast sums of money, and an assumption that someone else has asked the right questions, we send our children thousands of miles across the world to stay with strangers.

The companies, organisations and individuals that abuse this blind trust cannot be allowed to continue to profit from it and we must all take responsibility for the care and safety of our young people. (Chris Gould)