Hosting an Iraqi student in your home presents a unique opportunity to foster cross-cultural understanding and friendship, enriching both your life and theirs. By welcoming a young leader from Iraq into your home, you're not only providing them with a supportive environment to experience American culture firsthand but also contributing to the larger goal of strengthening global connections and promoting mutual understanding. This experience allows you to share your values, traditions, and way of life while learning from the perspective and experiences of someone from a different background. It's a chance to make a meaningful impact on a young person's life and create lasting memories and connections that transcend borders.

The primary goal of the exchange is to strengthen future relations between Iraq and the U.S. by cultivating leadership skills among Iraqi youth, enabling them to contribute to building strong institutions in their country, as well as strengthen cross cultural understanding between our countries.

The students participating in the program are high school-aged youth. While we don't have their exact ages available yet, they attend English-speaking high schools in Iraq and are selected for this special initiative by the U.S. Embassy of Baghdad and State Department through a rigorous selection process in partnership with World Learning.

Host families will need to provide students with a private bedroom. Students do not necessarily need to have a private bathroom, but should be able to comfortably and easily access a bathroom. Host families provide Halal-friendly meals to students. On weekdays, students eat breakfast and dinner with host families. Students spend weekends with families and therefore receive all three meals. Host families also transport students to and from programming days with GTAZ.

Host families are responsible for getting their exchange student to and from program days, Monday through Friday, during the program. GTAZ will define one or two central meeting locations that will serve as a daily drop off and pick up point.

Halal, in Arabic, means "permissible" or "allowed." In the context of food, products, and practices, Halal refers to what is permissible or lawful according to Islamic law (Shariah). It encompasses not only food and drink but also various aspects of daily life, including finance, trade, and personal conduct. Halal guidelines dictate what Muslims can eat, how food should be prepared, and the ethical treatment of animals. It involves specific rules for slaughter, avoidance of certain ingredients (such as pork and alcohol), and adherence to cleanliness and hygiene standards. Overall, Halal is a fundamental aspect of Islamic dietary and lifestyle practices.

A Halal diet entails consuming foods and beverages that are permissible according to Islamic law. This includes avoiding pork and its by-products, alcohol, and any other substances deemed unlawful. Additionally, meat must be prepared in a specific manner, known as Halal slaughter, and certain foods, such as gelatin, must be sourced from Halal-certified sources. Overall, the Halal diet emphasizes cleanliness, ethical treatment of animals, and adherence to religious guidelines in food consumption. You can learn more about the Halal diet and permissible foods here.

Costco and other supermarkets, including Baiz Fresh Foods, sell Halal-certified meats. Ask for them at the meat counter. GTAZ will also provide further guidance on meals.

While there is a U.S. exchange program, Arizonan students would need to apply for that program separately. The program GTAZ is implementing focuses on hosting Iraqi students in the U.S. and does not currently involve outbound travel for American participants.

Yes, adults without children at home are welcome and encouraged to host.

Global Ties Arizona will cover the cost of background checks for up to two adults in each household. If additional checks are needed and financial hardship is expressed, GTAZ will work with the family requesting additional checks.

Yes, you certainly can! However, please keep in mind that students must have a private bedroom unless they are sharing a room with another student of the same sex. In this case, each student must have his/her own bed.

GTAZ does not offer payment to host families but plans to offer assistance in the form of gift cards to help with defraying costs involved with hosting.

No, unfortunately Arizonan youth are unable to participate in the Monday through Friday programming provided by Global Ties Arizona. However, there may be select engagement opportunities for your children and the rest of the family.