Maybe a fun day in the park can help you decide…
The last weekend in November we celebrated International Au Pair Day. Established by the International Au Pair Association, International Au Pair Day is a global celebration of all au pairs and their contribution to cultural exchange around the world.
Its so important for us in Australia to recognise the Au Pair program, as it not only provides busy working families with a much-needed extra pair of hands but also gives us the opportunity to take part in a wonderful Cultural Exchange. Providing our children with the opportunity to learn about different cultures and languages whilst gaining a trusted older sibling or best friend is an experience never to be forgotten and long lasting global, and often multi-generational, relationships can be made.
To celebrate International Au Pair Day we invited all our Au Pairs as well as Au Pairs from other Agencies and any Au Pairs who wanted to come along to a picnic to meet other Au Pairs. These events were held by CAPAA ( Cultural Au Pair Association of Australia ) Agencies in all cities and we invite all au pairs/host families and their children so they can celebrate, connect and very importantly allow au pairs who don’t have the support of an agency to meet new friends.
In Brisbane this year our event was a picnic held at New Farm Park and attended by nearly 40 au pairs, as well as some host families and children – and was a great success. Every Au Pair who came met a new friend , made new contacts and was able to share their experiences.
In particular, au pairs who connect with families directly who don’t have the support of an Agency were so grateful. Many of them took the time to personally thank us for organisnig this event and said what a difference it has made now they have made all these new connections!
Au Pairs are young people who are a long way from home and its sometimes too much for families alone to provide all the support they need- such as connecting them to other au pairs and oranising trips and travel – this Is where belonging to an established agency can really make a difference to your Au Pair experience.
For us, helping ensure an au pair experience is a success where this is an unforgettable experience of a lifetime, is why we do what we do!