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Mainz, Wolfsburg, Frankfurt,
Bonn, Walldorf, Ingelheim,
Mannheim, Darmstadt und
Schweinfurt; wir waren
bereit, überall jede Chance zu
ergreifen. Neun Monate lang
war die Herausforderung,
F ü h r u n g s k r ä f t e v o n
Deutschlands besten
Unternehmen zu begegnen
und zu begeistern, unter
A n w e n d u n g u n s e r e r
u n t e r n e h m e r i s c h e n
Fähigkeiten, die fortlaufend in
d e n I n t e r n a t i o n a l e n
Management Trainings weiter
geschärft wurden. Wir
überquerten das Mittelmeer
für uns, für unsere Länder
und für Deutschland. Ein Jahr
ist vorüber, doch die
Erfahrungen leben weiter,
t iefe Einblicke in die
W i r t s c h a f t , K u l t u r ,
Kooperation - und in die
Menschen.
Orezi Emeotu
Unser erstes zu Hause war
Bonn, Geburtsort des
berühmten Beethoven und
ehemalige Haupstadt von
Deutschland. Die Stadt gab
uns das erste Gefühl für die
Deutschen und dort legten
wir den Grundstein für un-
seren “kulturellen Austausch”
in diesem Land: Wir lernten
deutsch und aßen die erste
Currywurst. Schon bald
hörten wir von der
viertgrößten Stadt Deutsch-
lands, nicht berühmt für ihre
Bevölkerung, aber für die
Kathedrale. Ohne die Brücke
der Liebe mit den tausend
Schlössern gesehen zu haben
und ohne die Atmosphäre
der Kathedrale mit über 600
Jahren Bauzeit gespürt zu
haben, wäre unsere Erfahrung
nicht komplett gewesen.
Als wir den Boden der Stadt
Trier betraten, wurde unsere
Jugend, unsere Kraft und
unser Glanz weiter genährt
mit der Weisheit der Geschich-
te. Ich denke, wir brauchten
eine gute Portion Weisheit, als
wir später in die Finanz-, Mode-
und Messemetropole Düsseldorf
fuhren, um an einer Podi-
umsdiskussion auf dem GIZ
Stipendiatentag erfolgreich
teilzunehmen. Mit wertvollen
Modetipps und geschärftem
Geschäftssinn ging es danach in
die deutsche Hauptstadt, um
den damaligen Bundespräsiden-
ten Herrn Christian Wulff zu
treffen. Es folgten vier Tage
intensiver Einblicke in die
zukünftige Zusammenarbeit
zwischen Deutschland und
Afrika und die Möglichkeiten
regionaler Wirtschaftsförderung
und –kooperation. Kurz danach
waren wir über Deutschland
verteilt, hungrig auf Wissen und
Chancen , inspir iert und
angetrieben von dem Willen zur
Veränderung.
Von Berlin nach Stuttgart, über
Hamburg, Hannover Essen,
Über Wirtschaft, Kultur, Kooperation - und Menschen
Afrikommtazine J U N I 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2
I N S I D E
T H I S I S S U E :
Editor’s Note 2
Gone with the Wind! 2
The Merchants of
Knowhow 3
Environmental arbor
Inspired by German
Experience
3
My Experience in
Germany 4
Erfüllung eines Kind-
heitsraums 6
Insights after the
“Afrika Kommt”
Internship Program
7
IMAGINE 8
Can it get more
international ? 9
Steve A. Ngatia
Maina - Kenia
“Das Programm geht
über das Lernen von
internationaler Un-
ternehmenspraxis
hinaus; es geht
vielmehr um unseren
Beitrag als Akteure
des Wandels.”
P A G E 2
“I am writing
pages of my life in
one of the world’s
most renowned
company:
Siemens.”
Gone with the Wind!
Editor’s Note Liebe Leserinnen und Leser,
“Afrika Kommt!” war eine
große Exposition mit
vielfaeltigen Moeglichkeiten
und Erfahrungen für die
siebzehn Teilnehmer und
die deutsche Unternehmen.
Professionellen Netzwerken
wurden erweitert, neue
erworbene Wissen and
interkulturelle Verstandnis
haben sie sich durch die
verschiedenen interaktionen
gefoerdert wurden.
Die dritte Auflage des
„Afrika Kommt“ Newslet-
ter wurde unter dem breiten
Thema „Die Erfahrungen“ in
Deutschland. Durch Artikel,
Bilder und technische Schreiben
wird die Geschichte erzaehlt. Es
war erhebend zu erhalten auch
Artikel aus den bisherigen
teilnehmern, wiel wir ein starkes
Alumni aufbauen wollen.
Unsere herzlichen Dank gilt an
den Bundesregierung Deutsch-
land, Partnerunternehmen, und
der Gesellschaft für Internatio-
nale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) und
den teilnehmer.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Ihr Redaktionsteam
Chefredaktor: Gift Mangozho
Kreativdirektorin: Sandra
Ayingono
Angela Rwegellera
Orezi Emeotu
I attended a number of train-
ings which have significantly
enhanced my knowledge and
understanding of wind energy
business best practises. A site
trip to a wind farm in Leck
(Germany) during which I had
the opportunity to witness
turbines being erected, to-
gether with a manufacturing
facility tour at SWP Head-
quarter in Brande (Denmark)
shed light on the massive
scale of the organisation. I
must say being impressed
with these visits is an under-
statement.
For that I would like to thank
specifically Mathias Renner
and Bettina Husten who went
the extra mile to make me
feel welcome in SWP Ham-
burg in such a pleasurable way
and gave me the opportunity
to take part in these activities.
I also extend my appreciation
to Hannes Höhn for his sup-
port throughout the pro-
gramme.
Currently, an awakening of
Africa wind power generation
is taking place. There is a
strong pipeline of wind power
projects on the continent. In
North Africa, Egypt with the
El-Zayt project 200MW that
begun in 2012 or in Morocco
where a 300 MW project in
Tarfaya is being carried out. In
Kenya the construction of the
Lake Turkana Wind Power
310 MW recently started and
in South Africa 8 wind farm
projects with a potential 643
MW were awarded in De-
cember 2011 and more are
expected be awarded in 2012.
This clearly shows the inter-
est for wind power on the
continent, as opposed to 10
years ago. More countries
such as Ethiopia, Tanzania, or
the Gambia are also showing .
a similar interest in wind en-
ergy.
With insufficient energy in
some countries such as Nige-
ria or an increasing demand in
others such as South Africa,
the abundance of wind power
This is my story at Siemens
Wind Power (SWP) AG in
Hamburg and my name is
Sandra Ayingono Moussavou.
I feel like Margaret Mitchell
who wrote the novel “Gone
with the wind”, I am writing
pages of my life in one of the
world’s most renowned com-
pany: Siemens. The pro-
g r a m m e “ A f r i k a
kommt” designed by
the German industry
for future leaders in Sub
Saharan Africa is the
platform of my story.
12 months into the
programme I have
learnt the challenging
German language and
have been exposed to
nearly all SWP Sales
internal processes.
From getting familiar
with acquisition, bid prepara-
tion and contract negotiation
phases of projects, to using
elaborated process tools
incorporating different as-
pects of the business.
Sandra
Ayingono
A F R I K O M M T A Z I N E
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2
that the whole new German sur-
roundings from my apartment, the
people, the cities, the office among
others, all formed a complete pack
of lessons to acquire and shape
me subsequently.
Top of the list the surroundings
were always stunning to experi-
ence and admire. Every City has a
garden whether big or small with
my local garden during my stay
being the “Herrenhäuser Gärten”
in Hannover well manicured and
always green except the trees that
dropped their leaves during win-
ter. Cycling, jogging and walking
along a river that was in the back-
yard of my apartment block was
one experience I was sure to miss
when I returned home. The water
was so clean with beautiful white
ducks to admire while relaxing on
the green lawns along the banks
either reading a book or watching
the sunset.
Besides my daily work at conti-
Criss crossing through major Ger-
man cities and finally residing in
Hannover located in the north
central area of the country , re-
gional capital of Lower Saxony at
the intersection of major high-
ways, rail connections and home
of the largest industrial fair in the
world CEBIT, one thing was con-
sistent a clean safe hygienic envi-
ronment!
Although my core reason for be-
ing in Germany was for the leader-
ship training by Inwent GmbH and
work at continental AG a tyre
manufacturer, my realization was
nental AG regarding tyres, my
interest in what technologies or
procedures were in place to en-
sure such clean environment was
burning and I would watch on TV
environmental documentaries as
well as surf the internet on the
same topic. By the time I was
returning home it was clear in my
mind that I wanted to get involved
in Environmental management.
More so in activities or products
that will ensure that people in my
country one day can have the
experience of a safe clean environ-
ment like I had in Germany. Thus
when I was offered a job as a sales
engineer for waste water treat-
ment & recycling systems, I did
not hesitate to take it up immedi-
ately despite it being a new tech-
nology and an unusual sector.
Since then there has been no
looking back.
In Kenya the building and con-
struction sector is expanding rap-
idly and this demands expansion of
Our eyes have been opened to
the offerings of her people and
places, Deutschland. Our abilities
enriched vastly within a puny
short year. As we return home,
Africa presents a unique oppor-
tunity for each of us to embrace
her and to play part in her further
ontogeny. A gathering of 54 well-
endowed economies is making
conscious efforts to encourage its
economic growth by exploring its
own, as well as international mar-
kets alike. What then, other than
a brighter future, can Africa birth?
Who then, if not us, the dexter-
ous merchants of knowhow, will
secure such a future?
The Merchants of Knowhow
Lucy Wanjiku
“Truly speaking,
the german
experience was
an eye opener
and daily as I
execute my
work, I envisage
a clean safe
environment for
all of us here in
Kenya.”
By Tafadzwa Taruvinga
Environmental Arbor Inspired by German Experience
potential in Africa needs to
be harnessed. Siemens is
building local competences
by joining “Afrika kommt”
to address these markets
and I see this as a vital key
success factor to conduct
business in Africa.
Sandra Ayingono
“What then, other than
a brighter future, can
Africa birth?”
P A G E 4
the existing council sewerage
in tandem, but that is not the
case. This then means that for
all new upcoming develop-
ments that cannot be accom-
modated in the existing sew-
erage system, On-site waste
water treatment and recycling
systems have to be installed.
The On-site systems receive
the waste water, recycle,
treat and sterilize it back to
clean water applicable for
secondary uses e.g. irrigation,
dust suppression, fire fighting,
flushing toilets etc. but not
potable!
Owing to my confidence in
German technology, I recently
convinced my company’s top
management in attending the
IFAT ENTSORGA, the
world’s largest waste water
trade fair to see available
technologies and identify a
German manufacturer and
supplier. Excloosive ltd is now
the reseller for Klaertechnik
Reinhardt GmbH systems in
addition to reselling systems
from NORWECO Inc. of the
US.
Truly speaking, the German
experience was an eye opener
and daily as I execute my
work, I envisage a clean safe
environment for all of us here
in Kenya.
Lucy Wanjiku, currently
Head of waste water treat-
ment & recycling Division, at
Excloosive ltd, Kenya
A F R I K O M M T A Z I N E
“My time at
Continental AG in
Hannover has
been amazing
both from a
professional and
social point of
view.”
My Experience in Germany multi-cultural teams cannot
get any better.
My time at Continental AG in
Hannover has been amazing
both from a professional and
social point of view. I had the
opportunity to interact and
learn from a diverse team
from all corners of the world.
During my training I spent
some time at plants in India,
Slovakia and the Czech Re-
public. What I appreciated the
most was the level of prepara-
tion for my training and con-
tinuous feedback from my
supervisors.
Outside of work, I made a lot
of friends and we shared ex-
periences and these are some
of the memorable questions I
had to answer to a few of my
friends who were curious to
know more about Africa:
1. “…When you go to
Africa, do you pass
through Moroc-
co..?”
2. “…Do you know,
so and so, he is also
from Africa?”
3. “…How many com-
panies are there in
Africa”
4. “…Africa , a big
country or a conti-
nent”
It is a dream of many engi-
neers, at least once in a life
time, to be in Germany. A
country renowned for its
technological expertise, un-
compromising quality and
efficiency. Thanks to the
“Afrika Kommt!” initiative, I
lived and realised that dream.
On a typical working day, it is
an early morning start on the
tram and I seat between two
colleagues from Mexico and
France. As we disembark and
take different entrance routes,
I find myself chatting
to another colleague
from Romania. A few
seconds later I am
seated in the office
adjacent to a Brazili-
an, at the coffee ma-
chine we enjoy a
drink with a gentle-
man from Portugal…
Gift
Mangozho
P A G E 5 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2
P A G E 6
„Ich war so
beeindruckt von
dem Bosch-
Gerät, dass ich
schon als Kind
davon träumte,
einmal bei
Bosch arbeiten
zu dürfen.“
Opeyemi Anthony
AMUSAN
Erfüllung eines Kindheitsraums Gekeult durch von Bosch
Global Network
Weiterbildungsinitiative:
Eine
Nachwuchsführungskraft
aus Afrika sammelt
Erfahrungen im
Geschäftsbereich
Packaging Technology in
Waiblingen, Deutschland
Schuld war ein Kühlschrank,
der in der Küche der Familie
Amusan im nigerianischen
Lagos stand. „Ich war so
beeindruckt von dem Bosch-
Gerät, dass ich schon als Kind
davon träumte, einmal bei
Bosch arbeiten zu dürfen.“
Für Opeyemi Anthony
Amusan hat sich der Wunsch
jetzt erfüllt. Er arbeitet seit
k u r z e m f ü r d e n
Geschäftsbereich Packaging
T e c h n o l o g y ( P A ) i n
W a i b l i n g e n .
Seit seinen Kindheitsträumen
hat der Ingenieur Bosch von
vielen Seiten kennengelernt.
Als Mitarbeiter der Firma
International Energy Services
Limited in Lagos und als
Doktorand an der Federal
University of Technology
Akure arbeitete er oft mit
großen internat iona len
Unternehmen zusammen –
und kam dabei immer wieder
mit Bosch in Berührung.
Wis s en vermit te ln ,
K o n t a k t e k n ü p f e n
Seit Oktober 2011 ist Amusan
nun in Waiblingen. Sein
Aufenthalt ist Teil des
Programms „Afrika kommt!“,
das von der deutschen
Bundesregierung initiiert und
v o n d e r D e u t s c h e n
Gesellschaft für internationale
Zusammenarbe i t (GIZ)
koordiniert wird. 17 junge
Führungskräfte aus Afrika
arbeiten im Rahmen dieser
Weiterbildungsinitiative neun
Monate lang bei einem
Unternehmen in Deutschland.
Beide Seiten sollen dabei
profitieren: die Teilnehmer
vom Wissen und den
Erfahrungen der Arbeitgeber,
die Unternehmen von den
Kontakten nach Afrika.
„Wir haben langjährige
Beziehungen zu Afrika, einige
Länder wie Nigeria stehen
aber bislang kaum im Fokus“,
sagt Olaf Wehrstedt. Er leitet
die Vetriebskoordination und
das Vertriebscontrolling bei
PA und ist Amusans direkter
Vorgesetzter. „Wir wollen
mit multinationalen, aber auch
m i t t e l s t ä n d i s c h e n
Familienunternehmen dort
nun in den Bereichen
L e b e n s m i t t e l - u n d
P h a r m a v e r p a c k u n g e n
Kontakte aufbauen.“ Mit einer
Marktanalyse wird Opeyemi
Amusan den Geschäftsbereich
dabei unterstützen.
„ P ü n k t l i c h k e i t ,
F r e u n d l i c h ke i t u n d
Z u v e r l ä s s i g k e i t “
„Ich habe mir für jeden Monat
ein bestimmtes Ziel gesetzt,
das erreicht werden soll – die
Z i e l s t r e b i g k e i t u n d
Konsequenz habe ich bereits
von den Deutschen gelernt.“
Schon vor seinem ersten
Arbeitstag hatte sich Amusan
au f besondere Weise
engagiert: Gemeinsam mit
einer weiteren Teilnehmerin
von „Afrika kommt!“ hielt er
eine Rede bei einem Empfang
d e s d e u t s c h e n
Bundespräsidenten Christian
Wulff in Berlin.
Deutschland ist nicht ganz neu
für den Nigerianer. Während
seines Studiums hat der 37-
Jährige schon einmal für
mehrere Monate in Bonn
gelebt. Was ihm immer noch
s e h r g e f ä l l t : „ D i e
Pünktlichkeit, Freundlichkeit
und Zuverlässigkeit – und vor
allem die Ruhe.“ Kein
Wunder – aus seiner
Heimatstadt Lagos mit ihren
mehr als zehn Millionen
Einwohnern ist er schließlich
ganz andere Lärmpegel
g e w o h n t .
„Vor allem fühle ich mich bei
der Arbei t sehr gut
aufgenommen: Die Kollegen
sind sehr angenehm, und mein
Chef ist fast schon wie ein
zweiter Vater für mich.“ Was
ihm fehlt, sind seine Frau und
seine beiden Kinder Joan und
John. „Aber wir telefonieren
fast jeden Abend, und
vielleicht können sie mich ja
irgendwann besuchen“, so
Amusan. „Dieser Aufenthalt
ist aber letztlich eine tolle
Chance: Ich kann etwas für
die deutsch-afrikanischen
Wirtschaftsbeziehungen tun
und gleichzeitig viel lernen.“
Amusan will sich auch für das
Gemeinwohl e insetzen :
„Damals in Bonn habe ich
mich in der evangelischen
A F R I K O M M T A Z I N E
P A G E 7 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2
Kirche engagiert. Ich habe
i m m e r h i n e i n e n z w e i t en
Universitätsabschluss in Theologie
und Kirchenmanagement. In
Stuttgart möchte ich das jetzt auch
tun.“ Integration par excellence
a l s o . F ü r A m u s a n
selbstverständlich: „Ich möchte
hier so viel wie möglich tun – und
ein Maximum an Erfahrungen mit
nach Hause nehmen! „Das
Programm – AFRIKA KOMMT ist
enorm interessant. Wir machen
viele Erfahrungen, und ich denke,
es ist ganz wichtig für unsere
Zukunft.“
Die In it iat ive „Afr ika
k o m m t ! “ | W i r s i n d
Nachwuchsführungskräfte aus
Afrika absolvieren eine einjährige
Weiterbildung in Deutschland.
Wir sollen unsere Management-
und Führungskompetenzen
stärken und Erfahrungen in der
deutschen Industrie sammeln. Das
Programm besteht aus einem
dreimonatigen Deutsch- und
Vorbereitungskurs und einer
neunmonatigen Praxisphase im
Unternehmen. Herr Tilman
Todenhöfer, geschäftsführender
Gesellschafter der Robert Bosch
Industrietreuhand KG und
A u f s i c h t s r a t s m i t g l i e d , i s t
Mitbegründer der Initiative.
In light of the new experience
acquired in the program; I think a
next step in entrenching environ-
ment conservation ethics even
deeper in the minds of our people,
would be to adopt practices such
as sorting of domestic refuse.
This could also open up new are-
nas in the area of eco-business
ventures in Africa.
The story of the rehabilitation of
the Rhein River in Bonn was a vital
lesson for me, on how conserva-
tion practices can reverse the
challenges posed by practices that
cause climate change.
Back in Africa, the challenges of
unemployment for young people
and professionals alike remain
high. One of the approaches in
which our countries are tackling
this problem for their people is by
encouraging many to engage in
business start-ups. This was one
of the ideas that was proposed to
me when I was searching for em-
ployment soon after my return.
This has been successful to a
point, but faces an obstacle in that
there is
still need for many innovative
business ideas that can be turned
into profitable business ventures.
As the German industry seeks to
partner with African countries in
development, one way, may be to
look into how quality high-tech
innovations made in Germany can
be translated into Micro business-
es or medium sized enterprises. These can be adopted by the en-
trepreneurs in Africa and struc-
tured as joint ventures with their
German counterparts, subsidiar-
ies, off-shore businesses for Ger-
man companies and production
agencies with benefits for all par-
ties. The need for innovative
ideas suited for Africa exist in all
sectors including Agriculture, Eco
business and the service sector;
the list is endless.
It is my hope that the program
continues so that it can inspire
many professionals from Africa for
the success of all parties; the Ger-
man industry, the participants and
the participants’ countries.
Two years, after the successful
completion of the “Afrika Kommt”
internship, I look back at the time
spent in Germany and as a partici-
pant in the program with much
appreciation. The time we spent
studying, working and interacting
with the partner organizations and
participating companies was
worthwhile.
I personally appreciate the time I
spent at Adolf Wuerth GmbH Co.
KG and the practical experience
and exposure I gained while there.
The entire experience gave me an
orientation to life in the first
world and introduced me to the
work culture in Germany.
Practices such as sorting of do-
mestic refuse as is done in Germa-
ny, impacted in me and I am cer-
tain in my other colleagues too,
thoughts of environment conser-
vation.
Growing up in Kenya, I had
previously learnt of soil conserva-
tion and tree planting as some
practices that aid in environmental
conservation.
Insights after the “Afrika
Kommt” Internship Program
Phoebe W. Kinuthia
“The need for
innovative ideas
suited for Africa
exist in all
sectors
including
Agriculture, Eco
business and
the service
sector; the list is
endless.”
P A G E 8
“If I were to paint a
portrait of the
exchange I speak
about, it would be
one of multiple
colors and deep
brush stroke
impressions
highlighting the
cross pollination of
ideas and the
potency of a single
meeting…”
Orezi Emeotu
IMAGINE I write not to reiterate so
much the facts and events of
the last one year of my
“Africa Kommt” experience,
but to stretch the borders of
my imagination in trying to
capture and quantify the pos-
sible broadening that might
have taken place in the minds
of 17 young enthusiastic Afri-
cans from ten African coun-
tries in the space of one year.
I want to explore the role, a
different geographical business
location can play in the devel-
opment of the strategies re-
quired to recreate and trans-
form our African cities.
If humans are actually a prod-
uct of nature and nurture,
then the cross pollination of
ideas is essential for the in-
ception of an unconventional
idea. I believe this will be
measured in time when my
words are rewritten in a dif-
ferent tense which does not
exist only on paper but would
have materialized as a power
plant, a bridge, a centre for
business capacity develop-
ment and cultural innovation,
a business solution or a foun-
dation, only then would we
fully have uncovered the solu-
tions now rooted in the
chambers of our minds.
If I were to paint a portrait of
the exchange I speak about, it
would be one of multiple
colors and deep brush stroke
impressions highlighting the
cross pollination of ideas and
the potency of a single meet-
ing, that in café lounges, can-
teens, castles, government
offices or city streets, all plus
one thing have taken place;
the subjection of our imagina-
tion to finding answers and
the freedom to ask why not.
Whether it is in meeting Afri-
ca’s energy and infrastructure
challenges or the develop-
ment of insightful leadership
and management capacity or
the deliberate strides in mov-
ing African countries from
consumer to producer na-
tions; our imagination mind
map will be updated, the data
of ideas collected within this
one year collated, processed
and revisited. The lessons of
history reiterated for the
future of an emergent Africa
portrayed by graphs, charts
and numbers would require
more than fanciful slides but
an unending resolve to devel-
op ideas and implement sus-
tainable solutions might be
first in our garage but one
step at a time, slowly but
surely we will eat the fruits of
an emerged continent.
Forced to imagine as I pace
through a country transition-
ing to renewable and cleaner
sources of energy, yet bewil-
dered in my mind on finding
solutions to meeting the basic
energy requirements in my
own home country, I must
develop a new paradigm, for
the questions that have stared
us in the face for decades
cannot be answered conven-
tionally. We have to IMAG-
INE.
Do our choices of food,
clothing, habits, cake, coffee,
gardens, dogs, cats play a role
in what solutions we accept
and the ideas we naturally
gravitate towards?
When talking about business,
management, economic devel-
opment and international
cooperation or regional de-
velopment, we have to leave
the abstract and embrace
reality, for facts need to be
presented and substantiated if
positions taken and decisions
made are to be defended.
While I let others take stock
of the events attended, meet-
ings held and the skill sets
acquired which were essential
in building this well rounded
experience, my question to
myself and every other young
African would be, the world
says we are emerging, have
we come to believe we are?
This might sound like a fig-
ment of my imagination or
maybe snippets into what I
believe to be Africa’s future
possibilities but the energy
fueling my thoughts and future
endeavors is summed up in
this quote by Barack Obama
that “Change will not come if
we wait for some other per-
son or some other time. We
are the ones we've been wait-
ing for. We are the change
that we seek”.
A F R I K O M M T A Z I N E
Can it get more international ?
P A G E 9 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2
07h42: And I am late for the bus
again. Every morning it’s the same
routine. I know I have to leave my
apartment at 07h41 to catch the
07h48 bus. If I miss it, I will have
to wait 30 min for the next one,
and that I cannot afford! Let’s try
to catch it.
As I run for the bus, I get myself
thinking how the transport system
is different in home town. In Ma-
puto, one leaves the house when
ready, goes to the bus stop and
waits for the Chapa. In the next
couple of minutes, a Chapa will
certainly come and will leave when
the driver decides to do so, or
when it is full. Chapas have no
time schedule; they have a reve-
nue target. There are several of
them, competing on the same
route. So the more trips they
make the more people they carry,
the better (for them). I remember
once asking a Chapa driver: “I
have to be at work at 07h30, can
you make it?” He looked at his
watch and said, “Yes”. And that
was the fastest Chapa trip of my
life! He would only stop at the
busiest bus stops or when people
wanted to get off. ‘Na ja’, this is
Wolfsburg, not Maputo. Here
buses have time schedules. So I’d
better run.
As I get on the bus, I look for
seats for 2 people. I need to re-
serve a place for Tatiana. Tatiana
is a Portuguese (Cape-Verdean
descendent) I met on this bus.
One day, on my way to work, I
was listening to
some Portuguese
music on my MP3
(like most of the
young people on
the bus) and after a
few bus stops, Tati-
ana came in and sat
next to me. My
music might have been too loud,
because a few minutes later, she
asked: “A musica que estas a ouvir
é em portugues, não? falas Portu-
guês?” (That song is in Portuguese,
isn’t it? do you speak Portu-
guese?); and ever since we started
riding the bus together.
I love these morning chats in
Portuguese. Most of the time, we
talk about the cultural differences
between Germany and our coun-
tries. This morning she was telling
me how she once fell in front her
neighbor entrance and broke a leg;
how surprised she was when the
insurance company made her
neighbor pay for hospital fees, for
not clearing the snow at “HIS”
entrance. How we laughed trying
to imagine how it would have
been in Cape Verde or Mozam-
bique if an insurance company
tried to make you pay for not
clearing your entrance.
12h30: Mahlzeit! I arrived at work
at about 08h30 and since then I
have been communicating only in
German:. I had a team meeting,
followed by an hour one-on-one
presentation done by a colleague. I
am proud of myself on how much
I can understand and interact in
German now. I remember how
different it was when I arrived in
Wolfsburg/Volkswagen. I used to
panic every time I had to speak in
German, and as soon as the per-
son in front of me made a strange
face, I would switch to English.
Today, I am the one who some-
times have to remind my col-
leagues: “German, please!” I still
ask them to speak ‘langsam’ and
they have to repeat quite a few
times, until I finally understand
what they are saying. Some days it
feels like I could actually work
only in German; others, it feels as
if I still have a long way to go.
21h26: Sitting on the bus, on my
way to my apartment. After leav-
ing work I went to meet some
friends in a pub in Wolfsburg. We
meet every Tuesday, in a pub or
restaurant and most of the people
who come are international in-
terns or trainees at Volkswagen.
We call it the English Meeting,
because the purpose of it is to
meet new people, make friends
and speak English. The diversity of
nationalities (and English accents)
is impressive. Every continent is
represented here. And almost
every week a person leaves
Wolfsburg or a new one joins the
group. It took me a few months to
discover this group, but I can’t live
without these Tuesday’s meetings
anymore. As I jump from conver-
sation to conversation, the lan-
guages also change: from English
to German, from German to
Spanish, and even from Spanish to
Portuguese. The interesting facts/
histories you hear go beyond the
simple chat: for example, after one
meeting I found myself on Google,
trying to know more about the
1994 genocide in Rwanda, because
I had just met a Rwandan who was
affected by it; or to hear from a
Mexican the real reason why they
put a slice of lemon on the bottle-
neck of their beer; or even want-
ing to watch the 2012 Eurovision
Song Contest this coming week-
end, because someone was enthu-
siastic about a song performed by
a Russian group of grandmothers.
Home time: I take my shoes off,
and relax for 5 minutes before
cooking dinner; I look around,
thinking that in 3 weeks time I will
be packing and leaving Volkswagen
and Wolfsburg. How do I feel
about it? Mixed feelings! I miss my
Loide
Mudanisse
“Don't cry
because it's
over. Smile
because it
happened.”
P A G E 1 0
family, my friends, the food
(Oh! How I miss it!), attend-
ing weddings/family parties
almost every weekend… but
at the same time, I feel sad to
be leaving the life I built here.
Being in charge of my time
(and planning every minute of
it), adapting so quickly to a
new environment and lan-
guage and most importantly,
this international cultural
exposure I have been blessed
with. Will it ever get this
international again? I guess
only time will tell. As I stand
to cook, I remember one
famous quote: “Don't cry
because it's over. Smile be-
cause it happened.” And I
smile.
Chapa – mini and midi buses
(and sometimes pick up and
cargo trucks) privately owned,
that provide transport services
inner and inter-cities.
Mahlzeit – Mealtime.
Langsam – Slowly
Loide Mudanisse
Initiative der Deutschen Wirtschaft für Führungsnachwuchs
aus Subsahara-Afrika
Mit tatkräftiger Unterstützung des Auswärtigen Amts und der
deutschen Botschäften in Subsahara-Afrika
Die teilnehmenden Unternehmen 2010 - 2012:
Kooperationspartner:
Mit freundlicher Unterstützung durch Spenden von:
Weitere Informationen:
www.afrika-kommt.de
A F R I K O M M T A Z I N E
P A G E 1 1 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2
