Susanne Kümmerlin – three months in Zambia
Adults of all ages volunteering in Lusaka
Susanne Kümmerlin from Karlsruhe was on site working with the Franciscans in Lusaka for three months in 2019. Unlike many of the much younger volunteers, the then 51-year-old brought along a solid professional background as both a doctor’s assistant and a secretary. In addition, she was able to make use of her life experience of having her own family.
A wide variety of tasks
Like other volunteers, Susanne Kümmerlin took on a broad range of different tasks and left with a number of impressions about life in Lusaka at the end of her stay. Thanks to her medical skills, she was able to take of and successfully treat a few patients in a slum herself. Above all, she looked after of the many children who spent time at the Franciscans during school break, teaching them knitting, playground games, and much more. She also held a cooking and baking class for the mothers of the community so they could increase their prospects of finding a position as a housekeeper in a private household.
Working at a preschool
When school resumed, Susanne Kümmerlin took care of the children at the Franciscans’ preschool who had learning delays. Due to the difficult family situations in some children’s lives, they were hardly making any progress at preschool. But extra lessons can achieve miracles: within only six weeks, Susanne Kümmerlin successfully helped the children get ahead in very small groups. “This was very moving for me, because the children were so thankful that they were able to keep up with the class again.”
Pack some openness in your luggage
If she had any advice for people thinking about volunteering in Lusaka, it would be this: it goes without saying that you should think about the skills and knowledge you can use during your stay and what you want to do. But you bring along a generous portion of open-mindedness.
After all, you cannot always implement a task the way you planned. And the many different and often unexpected tasks which arise can create a variety of insights into life on site and make working in Lusaka an extraordinarily enriching experience.