Hello!

My name is Dana, and my main interest at the moment is creating an internet community for MKs (missionary kids) who are part of a larger group called Third Culture Kids (TCKs). TCKs span the globe in vast numbers, made up of missionary kids, military kids, diplomats' kids, business kids, etc.


TCKs Defined

I appreciate the definition of TCKs that was provided by the late Dr. David Pollock, founder of Interaction International, an organization that advocates on behalf of TCKs and their families. Dr. Pollock defines a TCK this way:

"an individual who, having spent a significant part of the developmental years in a culture other than the parents' culture, develops a sense of relationship to all of the cultures while not having full ownership in any. Elements from each culture are incorporated into the life experience, but the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar experience."


MKs Defined

A missionary kid is someone who accompanies his or her parents to the mission field, most often in a culture other than the parents’ home culture. However, every MK's experience is varied and unique. They may live abroad for as little as one year or as many as twenty years. Some attend international schools or boarding schools, while others attend local schools. Some have regular contact with family or friends in the home culture, while others do not. Some MKs are familiar with their home culture before leaving it behind, while for others the host culture is the first one they experience. Some MKs move to several different host cultures, while others will only experience one. All of these factors influence an MK’s sense of personal and cultural identity to some degree.

mkPLANET is a growing community designed and run by current missionary kids (MKs) and adult missionary kids (AMKs) as an active community providing information, interaction, and support. The aspect of mutual support can be very important to any group of people who share common experiences, and the internet plays a key role for groups such as TCKs and MKs who are scattered around the globe without a physical place for them to meet and support one another face-to-face. That's what has motivated the creation of mkPLANET. We're excited about the growth of this online community and look forward to discovering how it will continue to grow and develop as time goes on.