Languages are an important key to building and maintaining partnerships and to meeting the other person respectfully and “at eye level”. African languages in particular are rarely learned in Germany, as it is still the former “colonial languages” – especially English, Spanish and French – that dominate. However, as language not only enables communicative understanding, but also conveys a great deal about basic cultural assumptions and living environments, learning it is a step towards greater partnership. In order to intensify the cooperation between the Tanzanian and German Sisters of Mercy of Saint Vincent de Paul in Untermarchtal eV, we are running a 3-day compact Kiswahili language course in Untermarchtal.