IVEP and SALT participants connect in Zambia

Mennonite Central Committee
Tuesday, 12 December 2000

MCC's International Visitor Exchange Program (IVEP) is celebrating 50 years of bringing young people from countries around the world to Canada and the United States for a year of cultural exchange and vocational training.

Calvor Muchindu left his home in Zambia in 1998 for Goshen, Ind., where he worked as a teacher assistant at Bethany Christian High School and as a daycare assistant at Campus Center for Young Children. Muchindu's wife, Jaryn, participated in MCC's 1995 Youth Discovery Team musical ensemble.

This year the couple is hosting Shannon Ehleringer, of Oregon City, Ore. Ehleringer is a participant in Serving and Learning Together (SALT), a sister program of the IVEP. She works in the nutrition department at Macha hospital.

"Because Calvor spent a year in the States, he was very understanding of my feelings when I first came to Zambia," said Ehleringer. "Because he has a general knowledge of my culture, I think he better understands my 'strange' behavior."

"IVEP is about connecting, about shattering stereotypes, about self-discovery, about sorrow, about pride, about peace, about God, about building bridges that outlast time, space and other human limitations," said Ana Zorrilla, VEP program director.

This year 64 young people from 27 countries are participating in the IVEP program. The IVEP Celebration Packet, a collection of ideas for incorporating international flavor into worship, is available at your nearest MCC office. Churches and families interested in hosting an IVEP participant should contact IVEP staff at vep@mcc.org or call (201) 261-6381 in Canada or (717) 859-1151 in the United States.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org