11.05.2022

Welcome to the UEM family!

The first South-North volunteers arrived in Germany at the end of April. © Photos: Lena Salewski/UEM

The volunteers are mentored during their time in Germany as part of an extensive educational support programme, pictured here is the entry seminar in Bremen.

The first six UEM South-North volunteers arrived in Germany at the end of April. The South-North volunteers, as well as the North-South volunteers, are being cared for during their assignment in Germany as part of an extensive educational support programme. The programme kicked off with a four-day arrival seminar in Bremen at the end of April. Topics included motivation and expectations of the volunteer service, intercultural and transcultural communication and competence, and intercultural learning experiences. Well prepared, they are now all eagerly awaiting their volunteer placements.
The UEM welcomed its first volunteer from the global South back in 2002, when it was one of the first mission agencies in Germany to add a South-North component to its usual North-South exchange. Since then, the volunteers in the South-North exchange have been an integral part of the volunteer work of the UEM.  In selecting the places of assignment, the UEM can draw on a wide range of social, cultural and educational projects in the church and diaconal environment and thus set new development policy priorities. This makes the UEM a good partner in the "weltwärts" programme, which was founded in 2008 by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development with the aim of offering young people opportunities for intercultural learning. Since 2013, the UEM has received federal grants from the "weltwärts" programme for volunteer jobs in South-North exchanges.
And since 2015, the UEM has been consistently awarded the QuiFd seal (Quality in Volunteer Services). The seal confirms the high quality of the programme.

Regional office for adult education in the Gütersloh church district:
- Joyeux Amani Singira, Democratic Republic of Congo (Church of Christ in Congo)
- Joseph Joshua Kigembe, Tanzania (Northwest Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania)

Kita Melanchthon in Dortmund:
- Frida Bolumbu Lokwa, Democratic Republic of Congo (Church of the Disciples of Christ in Congo)

Haus Abendfrieden retirement home of the v. Bodelschwinghsch Foundation Bethel in Bielefeld:
- Jackline David Ngoda, Tanzania (Northeast Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania)
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Evangelical Reformed Church congregation in Schüttorf:
- Moise Mutuyimana, Rwanda (Anglican Church in Rwanda)

Evangelical Reformed Church Parish in Nordhorn:
- Rehema Joel Nzota, Tanzania (Eastern and Coastal Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania)