Mataa Wakumelo

My work at Credit Suisse

Besides all the excitement of being in Switzerland, I was particularly worried and concerned about how my experience at work would be because I knew that was the main thing I came to do in Switzerland, to work. I was worried about how I would fit in my department and begin to contribute to the work. However, the welcome I received from my two mentors and the whole team was so overwhelming that all my fears disappeared the very first day I reported for work. On my new work station, I found a welcome card signed by my two mentors and the whole team with a nice welcome message in it and a lot of chocolates on my desk. I also found a new laptop with a tag carrying my name on it. At this point I just felt so much part of the team and my internship would then begin on a very good note. A lot of people stopped by my desk to greet me and encourage me and one thing was common in all their messages, “If you have any question, please feel free to walk to my desk and ask at any time”. One of them I will never forget told me, “If you have any question, please feel free to ask me, even if I don’t know the answer, I will help you figure it out”.

One thing I benefited greatly from were the Coffee breaks during workdays as they provided a platform for me to learn a lot from the team members but also to tell them how things worked differently back home. Those exchanges were amazing! My two mentors, Zoltan and Michele were very helpful as they gave me time to do my tasks and corrected me when I was wrong and still gave me time if need be to do it again. They were both flexible and patient with me. I learnt a lot of things about Real Estate and Sustainability which are topics that are not so common back home. I am greatly thankful to my two mentors and the entire Global Real Estate team.

My Swiss Host Family

I was privileged to have stayed with two Swiss families during my internship. In the first two weeks, I stayed with Robert, Marianne and our dog Uambali. My bridging family introduced me to life in Switzerland and they were simply amazing. Marianne and I so happened to both love music. She belonged to a choir and eventually took me along to join the choir too and we would spend our Thursday evenings at the choir and I enjoyed every second of it. Robert on the other hand took me out to see many places within my first two weekends. A weekend spent with Robi was never a boring one! Two weeks later I went on to join the Abdulkadir family which was my host family. On my first day, I found a big welcome package with a lot of chocolates and biscuits in my new room from my host mother Madeleine. She received me too well and she was no different from my first family. Our dinner times were usually a lot of fun as we exchanged stories about Zambia and Switzerland. Madeleine also loved music and so we sang a lot in the house. At the end of it all, I thought to myself that B360 did a great job to assign me to these two families as they were so right for me.

Highlights and Challenges in Switzerland

I found my stay in Switzerland so enjoyable that it may be difficult to point out one major challenge. After missing Nshima too much in my first week, I went on to love the food so much and my favourite dish was Risotto. Language was one challenge but eventually I learnt a few words in German and could do basic communication.

My Future Plans

My immediate future plan is to complete my Master’s Degree and hopefully get a job in the banking sector. Besides this, I would like to invest into a farming project.

Personal Message

The B360 education partnerships is a great initiative and a good platform for knowledge and skills exchange. Am highly indebted to B360 for this internship and I will ensure to be a good ambassador of the B360 education partnerships.