International Service
Rotary Friendship Exchange
Take turns hosting Rotarians from around the world in your home and club — and travel to theirs — building enduring friendships across cultures, one visit at a time.
Rotary Friendship Exchange (RFE) is an international exchange program for Rotary members and friends that allows participants to take turns hosting one another in their homes and clubs. You can join as an individual, a couple, a family, or a district team — and Rotary membership is not required. It is one of the most personal ways to experience Rotary’s global reach: you don’t just visit a country, you live with Rotarians, see how their clubs serve, and welcome them back into your own community in return.
Get in touch
Interested in joining or hosting an exchange?
Whether you’d like to travel with a District 5330 team, help host an inbound visit, or just learn more, our District Friendship Exchange chair is glad to help.
Ladd Seekins
Three themes at the heart of every exchange
Every Friendship Exchange centers on at least one of three themes. Most blend all three.
Culture
Live with host families and discover a region’s people, food, languages, customs, and history first-hand — the kind of immersion no tour can offer.
Service
See how partner clubs serve their communities, find partners for Global and District Grants, and lay the foundation for lasting joint projects.
Vocation
Explore your profession in a different context, comparing how your trade or industry works abroad. Club or district funding may help offset costs for vocational exchanges.
Who can take part
Anyone — Rotary members and their friends and family alike. Participants travel as individuals, couples, families, or as a district team. Exchanges can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks, and partner districts arrange the dates, hosting, and itinerary together.
What it costs
Participants (or their districts) cover their own travel costs. Hosts provide lodging and most meals at home, so host communities are never expected to carry a significant financial burden. No Rotary International or Rotary Foundation funds are used — though clubs or districts may help offset expenses for vocation-focused exchanges.
Want the full program details, the global Exchange Finder map, and quick-start guides? Learn more about Rotary Friendship Exchange at rotary.org →
Past Friendship Exchanges
District 5330 Rotarians have been building exchanges with Rotary districts in India — here’s a look at our recent exchanges.
District 5330 & District 3040, India — 2025
Led by Ladd and Gail Seekins, a District 5330 team traveled to Rotary District 3040 in Madhya Pradesh, India from March 3–15, 2025, hosted in Rotarians’ homes across Indore, Chittorgarh, and Udaipur. The team saw how Rotary works in District 3040 — a district of 111 clubs and nearly 2,500 Rotarians — through club visits and service projects, with an optional Golden Triangle extension to Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi.
District 5330 returned the welcome June 4–16, 2025, hosting the inbound team from District 3040 in homes across the Riverside/San Bernardino area, the Coachella Valley, and Temecula — just ahead of the RI Convention in Calgary.
A wider invitation to India — November 2024
Exchanges often open their doors to neighboring districts. In November 2024, neighboring District 5300 organized its own Rotary Friendship Exchange to India and shared the opportunity with District 5330 members — a reminder that RFE openings are frequently posted across districts, so there’s often a team forming that you can join. If you’d like to be notified when an exchange to a region you’re interested in comes up, reach out to our District Friendship Exchange chair, Ladd Seekins.