Become a host family
A safe place to stay when they are far from home
You can join the 300 plus families that currently look after a sick child during their stay in France. You don’t need to have any medical knowledge but your role is crucial, as during the child’s stay in France (eight to 10 weeks) you will care for them as though they are your own.
Selection criteria for host families
- Available for around two to three months and able to care for a child on a day-to-day basis
- Have a car
- Live in or near Caen, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Rennes or Toulouse.
- Willing to host a child for free (all medical expenses are paid for by La Chaîne de l’Espoir)
The key steps in our hosting programme
- Screening:
Our medical representatives identify the cases which require urgent surgical intervention, from new-borns through to children of 16 years old
- Selection:
The medical commission chooses which cases it can accept
- Travel:
The child travels to France, accompanied by a volunteer from Aviation Without Borders (Aviation sans Frontières)
- Reception
The host family are at the airport to take charge of the child as soon as they arrive in France.
- Hospitalisation
This usually lasts around five days.
- Convalescence
The child returns to the host family to recover from surgery.
- Going home
The child returns home, subject to medical approval.
- Follow-up
The medical representative will regularly monitor the health of the child and communicate this information back to La Chaîne de l’Espoir.
