Our Mission

Ons Missie


The FSA Youth Exchange (FSA = Friends of South Africa / Freundeskreis für Südafrika) organizes a student exchange between South Africa and Germany since 1996 with the following objectives:

To give the South African youth an affordable opportunity:

*          for exposure to the way of living and reasoning of a different culture;

*          to be young ambassadors for South Africa and

*          for personal growth and development.

Our History

Ons Geskiedenis

The FSA Youth Exchange was founded in 1996 by Lodie de Jager who was a German school teacher in the Free State from 1984.  The FSA has its roots in the tours and exchange visits he arranged for his students to Germany.  From 1991 – 1996 he was stationed in Germany from where he was responsible for the exchanges from and to South Africa.  He returned to South Africa in 1996 to found the FSA.  The FSA operates as a closed corporation.  

FSA Youth Exchange has two offices in South Africa. The office in Naboomspruit (Alta Botes) organizes the exchange for South African pupils to Germany. The office in Boksburg (Suzanne Baker) is responsible for the incoming German pupils and South African host families.

In Germany the FSA office is situated in Bielefeld.  The programme leader, Petra Jacobi, organizes the exchange for German pupils to South Africa, is responsible for the South African pupils during their stay in Germany and the host families in Germany.  Although working together, FSA in South Africa is an own juristic entity independent from FSA in Germany.

The FSA Youth Exchange in South Africa has three programmes to Germany and three programmes to South Africa.

To Germany

1.  June – July       ( 4 weeks)

2.  Nov – Jan         (10 weeks)

3.  Nov – Jan         ( 6 weeks)

4.  Dec – Jan         ( 4 weeks)

 

 To South Africa

1.  Four / six weeks programme July /August.  Four different date groups determined by German school holidays in different provinces.

2.  Ten week programme from July to end September (term 3)

3.  Four / six weeks programme  December / January.

4.  Ten week participation (term 1 or term 2).  (individual dates as arranged)

 A few German students get permission from German schools to visit on individual dates for one or two school terms.

From December 1996 approximaely 5 132 learners from South Africa were selected to take part in the exchange programme and approximately the same number of German learners took part in the programme.

 Year Number of SA Participants
  •  1996  55
  •  1997  97 
  •  1998  158
  •  1999  140
  •  2000  144 
  •  2001  196
  •  2002  265 
  •  2003  266
  •  2004  278 
  •  2005  308
  •  2006  285 
  •  2007  280
  •  2008  275
  •  2009  247 
  •  2010  206
  •  2011  220
  •  2012  233
  •  2013  197
  •  2014  202
  •  2015  172
  •  2016  186
  •  2017  172
  •  2018  167
  •  2019  151
  •  2022  115
  •  2023  125