Hello, we’re Debora and Lucas
We’re from beautiful Baselland and got married in 2008. Debora is a qualified bookseller and is passionate about collecting pandas, whilst Lucas is a qualified baker and loves listening to U2. But we both enjoy watching films and are keen on getting out and about.
We were leaders in a youth group for over ten years and regularly took the kids into the woods, built campfires, explored different cultures or followed in the footsteps of James Bond.
Our main ‘hobby’ is the ambulance service. In Switzerland, we worked as transport assistants with an ambulance service specialising in event medical support. In October 2011, we completed our EMT-B training in South Africa and had already spent a few weekends on the ambulance there.
So it came as no surprise that, after moving to Belgium in 2012, we looked to rejoin the ambulance service. We are now qualified paramedics in the ambulance service and regularly ride out in the 112 ambulance here.
Disaster Response, Ambulance Service and Church
In Belgium, we are now members of the Volunteer Red Cross and go on various missions, in a similar context to that in Switzerland. We now regularly attend training and further education courses to stay up to date. We have been recognised as NDLZ (non urgent Ambulance transports) for some time now
Now in 2021 we have also passed the professional training to become a Belgian full paramedic. This enables us to help and assist people in difficult moments.
We have been living in Belgium since 2012, now in the German-speaking Community in the east of the country. We work here with an international aid organisation.
Since January 2017, our personal focus has increasingly shifted to local medical support (Red Cross) and humanitarian missions. Debora works in the administration of the rapid response team for disasters and humanitarian operations. She will be able to do most of this from home. Lucas is involved in the more practical part, including material maintenance.
The organisation actively goes to various disaster or crisis areas to set up first help with the local people and instruct them, so that they can later take it over themselves. This was the case in 2016 in North Macedonia during the refugee crisis, in 2019 in the Bahamas after a storm and most recently in 2022 in Poland, also for a refugee crisis. Living our faith through action and being there for people in need - a light in dark hours.
In addition to our service here, we spend some free time at the Red Cross as volunteers. There we are involved in the first aid post and also on the ambulance service. We have got to know many local contacts and cultural things here, especially the Flemish language and now the German-speaking community.
In order to be optimally prepared for future missions, we attended a ‘Disaster Respons’ course and also completed the Belgian paramedic professional training programme. This means that we have professional training in rescue services that is recognised throughout Europe and we will be able to maintain our licence by continuing to volunteer with the Belgian Red Cross.
But how does this work?
Regularly we share about our live through Newsletters, we are happy to send you one to. You can get it per E-mail or post.
We can only fulfil our ministry here in partnership.
We thank you in advanced for any partnership, be it in prayer, friendship or financially.
The living costs for us as a couple (2x labour costs) amount to approx. € 4'100.- per month (approx. CHF 4'200.- this can change due to exchange rates)
For the pension and insurance, we pay for the employee and employer contributions. So we will have a proper pension later on and we are also well covered in terms of insurance. Compared to Belgian standards, these are ‘low incomes’
The aid organisation and all its employees are financed by donations. Whether large or small, any amount helps.
How can you be our financial partner?
We would be happy to give you more information about this, just send us an e-mail and we will give you the details for donations from your country to us.
