Famworld is the story of two families coming together. A Mother and Son, and a Father and Son. Clare & Robert Davitt from Kildare, and Raomal & Rohan Perera from Dublin. Famworld was started when we all saw an opportunity to improve the traditional international learning experience.
Clare Davitt (Robert's mum) began hosting international students as a way to help her four children experience other cultures. Becoming a host family in Ireland led to meeting new friends and broadening their horizons. It also didn't hurt that it was a nice way for a full-time mum to make some extra money for the family.
With 18 years of experience working in PR, Sales and Customer service at Coca-Cola, an interest in Irish tourism, and extensive experience raising a family, Clare was in a unique position to rethink how kids from all over the world could experience new languages and cultures. Clare has been creating unique Home Stays for young international travellers since 2017. Not focused merely on students, we help young travellers find a home away from home and experience different cultures in a truly immersive and safe manner.
She quickly realised, however, that the traditional systems didn't really work. Most international students spend their time in dormitories or classrooms with a large number of other students from the same country. Welcoming a student into the home of a host family in Ireland was a much more immersive and rewarding experience for everyone involved. Clare started to then run her own coordination business.
Robert then built a database for Clare to help her manage all the incoming trips, be it for full immersion stays, summer camps in Ireland, academic stays or guardianships in Ireland. Other host families in Ireland also benefited from this system when upcoming trips were being organised. This is where Raomal and Rohan joined also, to help provide more business experience into the process. Both in the Education industry, they had been teaching in Universities across the world as a Father and Son team.
Robert & Rohan partnered up to lead Famworld to fulfil a new process of connecting parents and host families directly, from anywhere in the world, giving more transparency and control to Host Families and Parents everywhere. Famworld was born, with Robert Davitt and Rohan Perera now enabling this vision to become a reality, under the guidance and experience of Clare and Raomal Perera (serial entrepreneur and INSEAD professor).
When Rohan was 15, he went to stay with a Host Family in France, and although it was an incredible experience for him, it was an experience that could have been managed better. The agency they dealt with hadn't allowed his parents to be in contact with the Host Family before the trip so Raomal Perera (Rohan's dad) flew over to meet the family first to ensure they were a good fit. Not much has changed in the industry since then. Famworld is changing this.
We at Famworld want to give our Parents, and every Host Family in Ireland that peace of mind from the get-go, so you don't need to worry about where your child is going, or who is coming to your home.
Now with over 1800 host families in Ireland, we're excited to provide young people from all over the world with a safe and unique way to experience new cultures.
The Famworld founding team has a mix of youth and experience and has many unique characteristics that exemplify the power of diversity. Clare and Robert Davitt from Clane, Kildare along with Raomal (originally Sri Lanka) and Rohan Perera from Dublin.
Let us help you create the perfect trip for your child! We are looking forward to welcoming them on their Famworld Adventure!