We are delighted to welcome another South–North volunteer to the Bremen Mission office. Here, he introduces himself in his own words.

My name is Daniel Tignapa Susu. I am 26 years old and come from Ghana. I live in northern Ghana, in the town of Tatale. I grew up in Tatale, where I completed my education from primary school through to senior high school. I attended Tatale R/C Primary School and later Tatale EP Agric Senior High School. The area where I come from is well known for agriculture, so every young person is expected to be involved in farming. After finishing senior high school, I had no alternative but to take up farming. It was the only way I could earn money to continue my education. While working in agriculture, I also taught at one of the private schools in Tatale, Tatale Kings Gate International School. There, I was responsible for one class and taught around eight subjects. My students were already about 18 years old, making them considerably older than is usual for a school class.

In my church, I served as the youth leader of the Tatale Evangelical Presbyterian congregation and worked closely with the pastor. I supported him in many different ways. The Tatale congregation consists of eleven Evangelical Presbyterian churches, and not all of them are located within the Tatale municipality. Some of them require several hours of travel to reach. For this reason, I regularly accompanied the pastor on a motorbike and helped by translating from English into Konkomba and from Konkomba into English. Not everyone in Tatale understands English, and not every pastor who comes to Tatale speaks Konkomba. The most widely spoken languages in Tatale are Konkomba and Bassari, which most people refer to as Likpakpaln. This makes the pastor’s work more challenging, so I make myself available as an interpreter. In addition, there are many different cultures and ethnic groups within the congregations in Tatale, making interpretation essential during church services and other church activities.

My expectations for this year are that I will enjoy working with the people alongside whom I will serve. I also hope for a strong team spirit and good communication. Another expectation is to receive clear guidance in my work and to gain a deeper understanding of the work of the Bremen Mission. As this programme is an intercultural exchange, my greatest hope is to learn more about German culture during the year while also sharing my own culture whenever the opportunity arises. Learning the language is another of my priorities, as it is the most important means of communication. I therefore look forward to learning German as one of my main goals. I believe that all of this will make my year as a volunteer a successful one.