Hey, I’m Svenja. I’m 27 years old and originally from Halver. I’ve lived in Hamburg for the last four years. There I worked as a church educator and led the youth work at the Apostelkirche Harburg.

Last year, I felt the call for a change. So I quit my job, gave up my apartment and decided to travel for six months. It was clear to me that something had to change, but I didn’t know exactly what that change should be. So I decided to take a trip that would also be a journey to myself. I want to take this time to find out what God has planned for me next.

When I decided to go to Cape Town to the NPO Learn-Live-Support Masiphumelele , I had no idea what to expect. And what I have experienced here since September 22nd is more than I could have imagined. It moves me to see how much it does to the children “just” to learn. How they come running up to you the next day and greet you with hugs. Or thank you after learning math with them. I remember being annoyed by having to learn math as a child, but it’s different here. It moves me to hear the stories of the employees and I am always amazed at the trust they have in God.


Experiencing the work of the NPO in various projects and seeing how much good it does for the people here makes me think about what I want to trigger in people with my work. And I am grateful for every conversation I have here. Especially for the small conversations I have with Doris in her kitchen, where she hits exactly the right nerve to take me one step further.

And yet I keep realizing how I live in two worlds.In the mornings I sit in the township and study with the kids, but in the evenings I sit on the beach sipping my cool drink and everything I experienced in the morning seems so far away, like another world.And sometimes that shocks me because it’s as if I forget that not everyone can lead a life like mine. And that’s exactly what I want to achieve with my journey.I want to be more grateful for all that I have been blessed with in my life, but at the same time look at how I can help others who don’t have that.What does that look like?I don’t know yet. But I will find out at some point and I’m looking forward to it.