Neighborhood families build global friendships through CISV Jacksonville

Neighborhood families build global friendships through CISV Jacksonville
L to R: First/second row: Alice Reisinger, Sona Deshmukh, Kaia Roychowdhury, Leo Rasch, Jack Powell, Audrey Brown, Elizabeth Lawrence, Landon Vihlen, Nels Reisinger, Samantha Lee-Duffell, Piper Lynch. Back row: Ian Rasch, Abby Bradley, Sarah Thomas, Sahana Gummadi, Sohan Gummadi and Tyler

About 20 youth from Avondale, Ortega, St. Nicholas and San Marco represented the USA at international and national CISV programs this past summer.  CISV, formerly known as Children’s International Summer Villages, is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and inspiring action for a more just and peaceful world. In summer 2022, CISV Jacksonville sent over 65 children and leaders to programs all over the world.

CISV’s flagship program is called Village.  It brings together 10- and 11-year-olds from around the world to live together for a month to learn to live together cooperatively, share cultures and build global friendships. Its Interchange program, which operates like a foreign exchange student program, allows families from different countries swap their 12- to 13-year-old children for an immersive two weeks. For ages 14 and 15, CISV offers the Step Up program, a three-week international leadership camp.

Ian Rasch with his Interchange group in Vienna, Austria.
Ian Rasch with his Interchange group in Vienna, Austria.

“Village was the best camp I have ever been to!” said Landon Vihlen, a sixth-grader from Avondale. “I made lifelong friends from Finland, France, Mexico, Argentina and Korea. This coming spring break my friend from Finland is coming to visit me.”

CISV’s Step Up program encourages young people to take a leading role in planning and organizing activities. This past summer, CISV Jacksonville sent 16 kids from Jacksonville to Step Up programs in Indonesia, Ecuador, Denmark, and Italy. Ninth-grade Riverside resident, Piper Lynch, participated in Step Up in Indonesia.

“I loved that everyone on my trip felt comfortable to be themselves and open up to the experience. Once you get deeper with everyone you can feel the connections and friendships and you feel safe with everyone around you,” said Lynch.

2023 summer programs will be announced at an event on Nov. 13 at 4 p.m. at the Bolles Bartram Campus auditorium. More information is available at https://jacksonville.cisvusa.org.

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