Kebrab Tesfalem arrived in Germany in 2018 after a long odyssey. A few years earlier, the now 29-year-old left his home country of Eritrea, a dictatorship in East Africa. He fled on foot to the neighbouring country of Sudan, from where he reached the North African Mediterranean state of Libya. He endured inhumane conditions in a refugee camp there until he finally made the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to Italy in a small boat with 700 people on board in 2017. In May 2018, Kebrab Tesfalem was finally allowed to enter Germany from there and received a residence permit. For a year, he set about learning the difficult German language at a language school with ambition and enthusiasm.

From internship to apprenticeship
As he had already worked in a small grocery shop in his home country, he soon tried to enter the German labour market with the help of an internship at a REWE supermarket. However, his German language skills were not quite good enough at the time. But even this did not deter the young man, who continued to learn German diligently. "I just spoke the language and accepted that I would make mistakes. And I always asked to improve," recalls Tesfalem.

Through the Joblinge initiative (see box), he finally managed to get a new internship and then an apprenticeship at REWE in Wiesbaden: In April 2022, he joined the team of store manager Robin Tewari (29), who manages a REWE in the Mainz-Kostheim district of Wiesbaden. In June of this year, Tesfalem completed his training as a sales assistant there with an overall grade of 2 - he even achieved an A in his oral exam. "It's important to me to achieve something and have goals," he says, explaining his motivation.

Best oral exam
"Kebrab is a stroke of luck for REWE and an absolute asset to our team," says Robin Tewari, who also supports his peer in private matters. "Despite or perhaps because of his history, he is happy and incredibly positive every day. With his attitude to life, he is a role model for us all. He shows us that our everyday problems are not really problems at all compared to what he has experienced." What has he learnt for himself from his encounter with the Eritrean-born man? "When you get to know someone like that, you get a different perspective on things," says Tewari. He is particularly proud that his colleague and friend was the only candidate to answer all the questions correctly in the final oral examination.

"Like a brother": Kebrab Tesfalem (right) and store manager Robin Tewari have become friends through their training. Favourite department? "Everything"
Kebrab Tesfalem also feels at home in Robin Tewari's team. "Robin is like a brother to me. I trust him completely. And our store is not just a workplace for me, I feel at home here. I am infinitely grateful that REWE has given me the chance to gain a professional foothold in Germany."
Kebrab Tesfalem is popular with customers. You can tell that he is someone who likes people. And food. When asked about his favourite department, the thoroughbred salesman simply says: "Everything." And in fact, he has already learnt so much during his two-year apprenticeship that he can work in any department. However, he has set himself further professional goals that he wants to achieve step by step. The next one has already been decided: Tesfalem would like to become a retail salesman. Robin Tewari is there to help him with advice and support.