Zug Government Councillor praises lifesaver from Neuheim

19-year-old Tamara Doswald saved the life of a man lying lifeless on the ground. Her courageous actions have now been honoured with the Zug Prize for Civil Courage.
 

On Wednesday of last week, Tamara Doswald received the 2025 Zug Civil Courage Award, worth CHF 1,000, at the Dorfmattsaal in Rotkreuz. Zug's Director of Security, Government Councillor (Regierungsrätin) Laura Dittli, opened the award ceremony with the words: "One September evening, she discovered a man lying lifeless on the floor of a hair salon. She reflexively switched into first aid mode, alerted the emergency services, and began resuscitating the man. Twenty minutes after the alarm was raised, the emergency services gave the all-clear: the man was alive!" (We reported at the time).

Nineteen-year-old Tamara Doswald acted quickly, but not without practice: she is in her third year of training as a healthcare professional, and has been working as a youth first-aider since childhood, as she told the Zuger Zeitung newspaper on a previous occasion. She emphasizes: “It makes a difference whether someone practices first aid regularly or attends a half-day course every ten years – but really, the only way to do something wrong is to do nothing at all.” She internalised this principle and acted accordingly.

Tamara Doswald acted quickly   Photo: Matthias Jurt
Tamara Doswald (centre) with – from left to right – Michael Metzger, Head of Regional Police, Councillor Laura Dittli and Municipal Councillors Patrick Wahl (Risch) and Drin Alaj (Cham)         Photo: zvg/Canton of Zug
 

Letter of thanks and a dinner
Tamara Doswald is a worthy winner of the Zug Civil Courage Award. Councillor Laura Dittli, who, together with Risch municipal councillor (Gemeinderat) Patrick Wahl, honoured the prize winner with a cheque and a bouquet of flowers emphasised: ‘It takes a great deal of courage, steadfastness and empathy to be able to act so quickly and selflessly. Tamara Doswald is not only an inspiration for young people – we can all take her as a role model.’

When asked what the award means to her, Tamara Doswald simply said: ‘I feel honoured and think it's wonderful that civil courage is being rewarded.’ She added that those who show civil courage do so consciously, adding: ‘Fear, ignorance and a lack of sensitivity are probably reasons why certain people lack civil courage.’

The open-minded and likeable Neuheim resident reveals that the man she rescued sent her a letter of thanks and invited her to dinner. And what will the young woman do with the CHF 1,000 she received from the canton of Zug and the municipality of Risch? ‘I'll definitely put some of it in my bank account,’ she says.