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COMMITMENT PIONEERS WITH PROSPECTS There is already a shortage of geriatric nurses in Germany. And in Viet Nam many young people cannot find work. A pioneering project generates benefits for both sides. TEXT CHRISTINE MATTAUCH PHOTOS STEPHANIE FÜSSENICH 32 32 akzenteakzente 3/15 03/2014 COMMITMENT he arrives every morning at 6:30 am (MOLISA) in Hanoi – are paying close atten- nurses and care assistants. The purpose of this wearing black leggings, a red anorak and tion to ensure that all stakeholders benefit, is to ensure that participants have a clear idea Sa small rucksack slung across her shoul- both now and in the long term. of what lies ahead. For in Viet Nam, where der. At just 1.60 m tall, you might easily mis- ‘What excites me most is that they have grandparents and great-grandparents are tra- take her for a schoolgirl, though in some ways the same starting conditions as Germans in ditionally looked after in the family, the career that is exactly what she is. For Thi Thuy Ngan professional terms,’ says Reinhild Renée Ernst of geriatric nursing is not yet fully established. Kieu has come from Viet Nam to learn. The from GIZ. The Vietnamese taking part in the As the youngest of six children, Ngan 25-year-old is training to become a geriatric project are not engaged as cheap auxiliary grew up in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Sai- nurse at Leonhard Henninger Haus, a resi- workers. They learn the job from scratch and gon and Viet Nam’s largest city. She read dential nursing home in the Munich suburb earn in line with the going rate. And contrary about the project ‘on the internet’, she says. of Schwanthalerhöhe. to popular perception, the pay is not at all By that time she had already completed her She is one of 100 young men and women bad: on completion of training, a qualified training as a nurse. But she knew little about taking part in a pilot project geared to secur- nurse can expect to take home around EUR Germany: ‘Somewhere in Europe, possibili- ing skilled workers. The project is organised 1,800 per month. The Vietnamese also have ties for travel, and, well, famous for beer.’ by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal the same opportunities for promotion. Fur- She tells how she was invited to a Bavar- Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy thermore, after five years’ work – including ian restaurant when she first arrived and there (BMWi) in cooperation with the Interna- the training period – they will be eligible for was roast pork on the menu: ‘This big’ is how tional Placement Services (ZAV) of the Ger- permanent residency status. she remembers it, her hands making a circle man Federal Employment Agency. Germany the size of a waggon wheel, and it tasted salty. already has a shortage of geriatric nurses: in Direct entry into the ‘I didn’t like it.’ That sentence alone shows 2014 there were just 39 unemployed nurses second year of training how well she has adapted to her new life. In for every 100 vacant positions. By 2030, there Viet Nam it would be considered impolite to could be as many as half a million unfilled Ngan quickly takes the lift to the third floor say such a thing, but not in Germany, she has posts. The southern and eastern EU member of the Leonhard Henninger Haus care home learned. ‘Germans are always very direct.’ states are experiencing a similar demographic and disappears into the changing room. She ‘At the beginning, whenever we met in trend to Germany. At the same time, however, reappears wearing the uniform of a nursing the corridor she would look down and walk many people in Viet Nam have no jobs. So assistant: a purple smock and trousers with by nervously,’ says care home manager Frank one obvious solution is to provide training white pumps. Her long straight hair is tied Chylek. Respect for superiors is much and offer rights of residency in Germany. In back in a ponytail. Her first task: the wake-up stronger in Asia than in Germany. On the September 2013, Ngan and her colleagues – call. ‘Good morning, ready to get up?’ she other hand, there is also a greater sense of mostly women, but also a few men – began calls softly into the first dimly lit room. She community in the workplace. Ngan was lucky their new lives in Germany. Training courses helps her charge get out of bed, puts her feet to have Zuhra Iljkic as her ward manager. were held in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, into her slippers, brings over the walking Like many of the nurses, Iljkic comes from Berlin and Lower Saxony. A second group ar- frame, accompanies her first to the bathroom Bosnia, and she leads her team of 14 nurses rived in Germany in summer 2015. In future and then to the breakfast room. Then it’s off with maternal affection. ‘I just integrated it is anticipated that the nursing homes them- to the next bedroom. Nani into the team,’ she says simply. Part of selves will play an active role. She has grown used to the routine now. her approach was to insist that everyone com- Ever since the first generation of ‘guest Nevertheless, ‘Nani’, as she is known to the municated only in German – to ensure no workers’ arrived in Germany in the 1960s and residents and colleagues, will never forget the one felt excluded. 1970s, however, the country has grappled difficult first few months. Her biggest prob- with the problems of migration. So those re- lem was the language. ‘It’s so complicated,’ Everyone says how friendly sponsible for the project – including the Min- she says, ‘a different melody.’ Like all partici- the Vietnamese are istry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs pants in the project, she was required to com- plete a six-month German course before her The Vietnamese nurses also had to adapt to arrival in the country – but that was nowhere European customs in terms of greetings and near enough to prepare her for everyday life. personal space. Physical contact in Viet Nam Especially as the Vietnamese go straight into is only common between family members the second year of the course on account of and very close friends. Ngan has adjusted ‘A wonderful nurse’: 91-year-old Liselotte K. is full the professional experience they already have. well. ‘She greets us all with a kiss, just like the of praise for Ngan’s friendly and caring nature. Applications are accepted only from trained Bosnian girls,’ says Iljkic. » akzente 3/15 33 COMMITMENT It is breakfast time for the nursing staff. Ngan Ngan says she has never experienced any hos- puts bread and yoghurt on the tablecloth with tility towards foreigners. In any case, 60 per the pink tulips. ‘N’ Guadn,’ (‘enjoy!’) she says cent of the nursing staff at the home are from to her colleagues in perfect Bavarian and asks a migrant background. Any minor irritations them to pass the jar of nutella. A nurse from have largely been to do with language or be- Also available on the akzente app for tablets: Angola chuckles: ‘You trying to put on weight?’ cause they were new to the job: unfamiliar the video features trainees talking about their It has been an issue with Ngan since the outset: faces can be unsettling. The oldest resident day-to-day routines. (only in German) some of the residents didn’t want to have her as on Ngan’s ward is 105 years old; and quite a www.giz.de/akzenteapp their carer because they thought the tiny Viet- few of her charges suffer from dementia. namese wasn’t strong enough to lift them out Top: Playing games with the residents (left) is of the wheelchair. ‘But there are techniques you A sense of fun despite as important as providing care – from personal can learn,’ says Ngan self-confidently. Liselotte rigid routines hygiene to help with hearing aids (right). K., a cheerful 91-year-old with immaculate Below: Just one of the many day-to-day responsi- white hair and a neat neck scarf agrees unre- Ngan pauses when she finds Hildegard S. sit- bilities of the Vietnamese nurse is to prepare and servedly – she was Ngan’s model for the nurs- ting in her wheelchair in the recreation administer residents’ medicines (left) and take ing exams. ‘Nani just uses a bit of momentum,’ room, her head slumped on her chest. She blood pressures (centre). In the evenings, Ngan she says, ‘she is a wonderful nurse.’ carefully helps the 79-year-old to sit up goes shopping so she can cook with her friends Everyone at the home says how friendly straight, pulling her shoulders back: ‘It’s bet- (right). the Vietnamese nurses are. And for her part, ter for you to sit up straight,’ she chides gen- 34 akzente 3/15 COMMITMENT COMMITMENT tly. Then she kneels down to be at eye level with the elderly lady. When she starts to sing, Hildegard S. immediately joins in: ‘Kein schöner Land in dieser Zeit…’ It’s a GOOD PROSPECTS song Ngan learned at her vocational training college. Along with an assortment of idioms FOR EMPLOYMENT and expressions for memory training. ‘At night…,’ the Vietnamese begins, ‘…all cats PROJECT: are grey,’ responds Hildegard S. TRAINING NURSES FROM VIET NAM Ngan loves combing the ladies’ hair, to BECOME GEriatric NURSES IN GERMANY painting their nails and helping them put on COMMISSIONED BY: eye makeup and lipstick. Then they giggle GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTRY for ECONOMIC AffairS AND ENERGY (BMWI) like best friends.

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