By Rahul Jain, Host Father of Francesca Antonelli
“I am very happy and fortunate to be part of this program. Hosting a child has helped us to be able to have a permanent emotional bond with the child, their family, country & culture. Hope and wish they also would be able to connect similarly to us.
By hosting, my kids have learnt how to live with a kid from a completely different culture. Their spoken English has improved as they could communicate in English only. Their confidence level has gone up and improved well. It has helped us to open doors for new countries and cultures. It’s been a journey of mutual learning along the way.
My host child has got to know about our culture, food habits, way of living & dressing and our festivals by living them for a month. She has visited places in and around Delhi to know more about India and its diversity. She takes home a beautiful image of our country and has become a brand ambassador of India in her country and wherever she travels.
Finally, I write today when she returns to her family, she feels she is leaving a family where she can come back whenever she wishes. Penning down my feeling, till last month I was father of 2 daughters and today I am father of 3 daughters and the new one is the eldest of all.
Hope this sharing of two cultures makes us and them a better person and human being.
I thank all who were part of this program i.e. DLF family, AFS India, my host daughter, her family and other Indian host families.”