Want a deeper insight into what an ICS placement looks like? Read the amazing blogs written by our past and present volunteers. Enjoy the journey!

Nicaragua: Mid-term review

As we approach the mid-way point in our journey in Parcila and Nicaragua, it’s pretty clear time has flown far too quickly. When I first arrived in Parcila, the shock of where I was going to live for three months, the repetitive meals and the weather made me think that life would probably slow down to the point where each day would feel like an eon. However, this view could not have been further from the truth.

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El Salvador: Bio-construcción

La bio-construcción es un método de construir con consciencia medioambiental. Consiste en reciclar materiales que ya han sido utilizados como las botellas, pajillas, papel, latas entre otros. También se ocupa barro, arena y hoja de pino para hacer el cob en vez de usar cemento, que es un material toxico y daña al medioambiente. Es muy importante en esta época que construimos de esta manera ya que el cambio climático está afectando mucho a nuestro pueblo Arcatao, y a todo el mundo. 

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Malawi: Team bonding

As we learnt in physics, two positive electrical charges repel each other and that is kind of how it started out like in the first week of our placement. This was evidenced by the gap that existed when it came to sitting style in the office and minibus. National volunteers were separating themselves from the UK volunteers.

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Malawi: Lost in translation

I was born and raised in the City of Salford, which is situated in Greater Manchester so, as you can probably imagine, I have quite a strong Manchester accent. I knew that this was likely to be an issue when coming to Malawi, especially as I have met people from other parts of England that have struggled to understand my northern accent. However, my accent turned out to pose more problems for me than I had initially considered. 

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My ICS placement experience

It all started with an enthusiastic feeling as I was so keen to meet my volunteer partners from the UK. The feeling of cross-cultural networking through working together was something I was really looking forward to. Little did I know that my ICS placement was bringing a lot of goodies with it? As a young and ambitious national volunteer, I embraced the opportunity to do well and inspire to change the world under the Progressio ICS programme. 

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Nicaragua: A change of weather… The last few drops

As the rainy, wintery season comes to an end, the Parcilan community (and us eager Brits) await the arrival of a dry and hot summer, which is set to last a mere six months.

For the past six months, Nicaragua has gone through the rainy (monsoon) season, however the amount that has fallen is not anywhere near what communities such as La Grecia and Parcila were hoping for. 

A country that often suffer from floods, now for Nicaragua droughts are the main issue. 

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Malawi: The month that changed my life…

I could only imagine what life would be like working as a volunteer. I was not puzzled with the word volunteer, but before ICS I didn’t know much about volunteering because I was only a business man with a shop and with knowledge of my community. Although I was inexperienced, I was keen to do the work and to focus on my personal development.

First week: Adaptation week

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