Larissa Neumann (34) is going to Malawi for three years from June 2025. There she wants to set up a physiotherapy ward at the Madisi Mission Hospital. We Franciscan Sisters of Salzkotten are her partner in this project, as well as an association that places specialists with church and civil society organizations worldwide on the basis of the Development Workers Act.

From 2010 to 2011, Larissa Neumann spent a year in Malawi as a volunteer in the “Missionary on Time” (MaZ) program. She also helped in a hospital there. Since then, she has been fascinated by the country and its people. She has traveled to the “warm heart of Africa” eight times in the past few years alone. After completing her training, she gained experience in physiotherapy practices and rehabilitation clinics in Germany. She also completed a bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy and was a lecturer at a school for physiotherapy.

In February 2025, she quit her job to devote herself to her new tasks. Under the motto “With heart and hand – physiotherapy that gives quality of life”, her aim is to improve the quality of life of people in the very poor country of Malawi with her knowledge and skills. Her aim is also to recruit, train and educate local physiotherapy professionals.

There is an urgent and growing need for physiotherapy care in the catchment area of the Madisi Mission Hospital. The nearest hospital or physiotherapy practice is 85 kilometers away in the capital Lilongwe, which is an insurmountable hurdle for the villagers. She wants to offer a wide range of physiotherapy treatments, including visits to villages and training for family members.

Until her departure at the end of June, she collected money and donations in kind for the construction of the physiotherapy station. She presents her project at www.malawi-physio.de. In addition to gym mats and balls as well as wheelchairs, bandages and orthoses, a container also contained soccer shirts and soccer boots for children and adults. The latter is due to her other passion, soccer. As a women’s soccer player, she would also like to take her sport to Malawi and introduce it to the people there.

Written by Michael Bodin