Testimonials for Team works!

What do potential Team works! participants have to say about the opportunities offered by the exchanges? What attracts them to get involved on the other continent and what expectations do they have? What can experienced professionals from the Senior Experten Service (SES) report about their assignments in African countries? What do they see as the opportunities of a tandem assignment with young professionals? And what do companies hope to gain from the exchange of skilled workers?

“It was a life-changing and enriching experience where I learnt about different working methods.”

Oloshuku Mbukure Lerug, short Ole Lerug, is a physiotherapist from Usa River in Tanzania. He talks about his experiences as a Team works! participant in Germany. Reflecting about what he shared and learnt at the neurological specialized hospital and rehabilitation centre of the Hegau Jugendwerk, he also describes which aspects surprised him during his stay.

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“I was a trainee and, at the same time, a trainer for the “African way” of making cakes”

Rebecca Biira from Kasese in Uganda works as head of kitchen and trainer at the Rwenzori Royal Institute. She talks about her experiences as a Team works! participant in Germany, what she shared and learnt at Kaffee Wippler GmbH, Konditorei Wippler in Dresden (in the Federal State of Saxony) and which aspects surprised her during her stay.

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“You do occasionally need strong nerves, lots of patience and a bit of creativity for this type of assignment. But if you’ve got what it takes, it’s a fantastic thing to do."

Carolin is 29 and lives in Schwerin. She is a nurse in adult and paediatric healthcare. When a paediatrician who is an expert with the Senior Experten Service told her about the African-German Youth Office and the possibility of doing a joint assignment, she didn’t take long to make up her mind!

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“Home-made peanut butter as a goodbye present”

29-year-old Svenja Bloom from Münster went to Uganda with the Team works! programme. The educational consultant, who works for Eine Welt Netz NRW, spent a few weeks on assignment with a non-governmental organisation - and came back with some useful tips.

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"An international assignment can be a real eye-opener!"

Robert Haas is a volunteer with the Senior Experten Service and has already completed his first assignment for the African-German Youth Office. The former diplomat and ministry official accompanied Team works! participant Svenja Bloom to Uganda this spring.

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The photo shows Antonia’s face and a dog.

“Once is a good start but never enough.”

Antonia Möltgen is 25 and lives between Cologne and Vienna. An aspiring textile and fashion designer, she spent three weeks on a Team works! assignment at ZimTrade in the Zimbabwean cities of Harare and Bulawayo. In our interview, she tells us all about her time there.

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“It was an opportunity to see things from a different perspective and learn from one another.”

Julian Schwab comes from Fulda, a district in Germany. He’s been a volunteer fireman for several years. In our interview, Julian tells us about discovering new perspectives and the hospitality he experienced during his Team works! assignment as a young expert in Kenya.

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“Exchange is a chance to learn and explore things we would never learn when we stay in our very places”

Francis Kalema from Uganda works as director and teacher at a music school in Kampala. He talks about his experiences as a Team works! participant in Germany, how he came to music  and how his personal story motivates him to take action for others.

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“ ... gives you a different perspective on your own culture.”

Max Orthey from Cologne, Germany, is in his last year of training. He talks to us about what aspects of an assignment with Team works! in Africa would appeal to him most, what he would ask his colleagues at the host enterprise and what his family and employer would think of Team works!

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“You can learn to think globally”

Tamryn Iyer from Durban, South Africa, is a marketing expert. She talked to us about her work, training, meeting people from other countries and the advantages of exploring other cultures. Tamryn’s mother is an SES representative.

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Tamryn Iyer

I’ve already benefited from an opportunity to gain international experience. You learn to think globally and I think it would be great for others to learn that too. That’s why I’m such a fan of this programme!

“You can never have enough perspectives to consider”

Nadja Lissok from Cologne, Germany, works as an editor with local newspaper, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, and already has significant international experience. She tells us about her own time abroad and discusses the opportunities that the AGYO opens up for young people.

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“I want to get to know other people and a different culture”

Eric Njung’e Njoroge from Nairobi, Kenya, has just recently completed his mechatronic technician training. In our interview, he tells us what aspects of an expert assignment in Germany would appeal to him most – in terms of specialist knowledge, people and culture.

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“Breaking free of old patterns of behaviour”

Bettina Frommann from Kiel, Germany, is a trained PE and French teacher. Outside of her job, she has been volunteering with the SES since 2019. In our interview, she reveals her expectations of young experts on the AGYO programme and of the assignments.

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Max Orthey

If the African colleagues have developed other solutions, I can incorporate this knowledge into my business.

It is about sharing knowledge. But is also about sharing the culture.

Joseph J. Haule from Arusha, Tanzania, manages a vocational training centre in the city, which is a potential host enterprise for young experts from Germany on the Team works! young expert exchange programme. In our interview, he explains what he finds so exciting about the programme.

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“Young people are the future of our society”

Wolfgang Reisen from Erfurt, Germany, has been an SES expert since 2010. In our interview, he talks about his assignments in Mali and why he’d like to undertake a joint tandem assignment with a young expert through the African-German Youth Office.

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“I want to make young people passionate about modern technology”

SES expert and businessman Friedhelm Ochmann tells us about his assignments in Ghana and why he would like to give a young expert from an African country the opportunity to undertake a Team works! assignment in Germany.

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