Local women to explore German culture through exchange programme

Two local young women will have the experience of a lifetime when they jet off to Germany as part of the Lions Club exchange student programme.

Portia Ngcobo, 24, of Umkomaas and Phindi Mthembu, 25, of Umgababa will leave in the first week of July for Berlin, where they will be split up to stay with different German families for two weeks. They will then meet up again when they join 28 other international students from around the world for a youth camp in the Black Forest region in Germany.

This is the first time both have been issued with passports and neither has travelled outside of South Africa.

“My mother works for Lion John West, so I heard about the programme through him,” said Portia, who was born in Ifracombe and attended Danganya Primary School and Sidelile High School. After school she did short-term insurance and financial services.

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“I don’t know much about Germany, but I’m looking forward to a lot of fun,” she said. “I’m extremely excited to learn about a new culture and langauge, and grow my confidence. I’m so excited about seeing new places and environment, and experiencing different food to what I’m used to.”

Phindi was born in Mfume and did her schooling at Illovo Primary and Ganges Secondary School.

“I did a four-week construction course at Sappi and now I’m busy with an admin course. That is where I met Lion Ken Toward and he told me about the programme. I’m excited to experience different things overseas and be immersed in a new culture with new people, and see how different it is to what we have experienced growing up in South Africa.”

Portia and Phindi met during the interview phase of the programme and are grateful to have someone to travel with.

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Amanzimtoti Lions and Ken resurrected the Youth Camp and Exchange Programme (YCE) last year and Umkomaas resident, Sharon Ngcobo was selected to stay with a family in Meer Hoogstraten, Belgium and meet other exchange students at a youth camp in southern Holland.

“The response this year was still not great, but when we interviewed Portia and Phindi we decided that they are both so deserving and we couldn’t select one, so this year we are sending two students,” said Ken, who is the Lions district governor.

“This is such a great opportunity for these two young women and it is given at the right time in their lives. At the youth camp they will get to mix with such a very big group of international people. We saw the fantastic results in Sharon when she returned – she is now permananetly employed and has a different outlook to make a success of her life.

Both these women are brave to tackle going overseas for the first time, but being together will definitely help them until they go their separate ways in Berlin.”

Both confessed that they don’t know much about Germany, but vowed to do their research before boarding the plane. Each will be sponsored about 700 Euros from Amanzimtoti Lions and, like Sharon, will be sponsored clothes and toiletries. Every cost is covered by the Lions and they only need money if they wish to buy momentos for their families.

“This is what Lions is all about – opening new horizons for young people. As long as we can afford it, we will continue with the exchange programme,” promised Ken.