For the past year, 16 year old Rahim Dad, who hails from a village in northern Pakistan, has been a foreign exchange student at Waianae High School and an unofficial ambassador of his country.  He has also become a second son to Crystal and Joseph Nielsen, a Mormon family living in Waianae with their two toddlers.

   Rahim is one of the many scholars of the the 'Youth Exchange and Study program' which works to build bridges of understanding between the United States and countries with predominantly Muslim populations. Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, it has brought more than 2,000 students to the United States since 2003 to live as a "son" or "daughter" in an American family and attend high school.  Read more from the story filed by S. Essoyan entitled 'Kids from Muslim lands try isle life' on the Star Advertiser dated 12 June 2010.