ICS blog

By ICS Empower volunteers Naledi Loate and Laurienne Buhinja

Having spent a few weeks in Malawi we have noticed that it is a slow paced nation and, coming from a fast paced society, the “no hurry no worry” attitude can be quite daunting and at times very frustrating.

A reminder of this came when a member of our team had an allergic reaction and needed to be seen by a doctor. Frustrating as it was waiting so long for medical assistance, we learnt that being patient and keeping calm is the Malawian way of getting things done.

By ICS Empower volunteers Michaela Brown, Nick Smith and Gemma Wren

Finding enough fuel to reach our project sites was not a challenge that we anticipated before arriving in Malawi. Although it’s expensive, the availability of fuel in the UK is something that we take for granted.

I think it’s about time I gave you all an update on what we have been doing in San Salvador!

Why would an otherwise fun-loving sixteen year old boy skip school football lessons? Lily Bland, writing from El Salvador, explains...

I wasn’t sure what this blog's theme would be, I intended to just update you on the week’s activities but it seems to have evolved into a blog about the environment.

Climate change mural
After being ill, I got back to work on Wednesday, where we finished the climate change mural in the school. I painted a few flowers – I was afraid to do anything important and mess it up as it looked really good.

But as usual in El Salvador, “Latin American timing” (of always being late) meant that we had to wait four hours in the rain for a lift home!

Am currently staying in the capital city, San Salvador, after having to go to the hospital to get a persistent stomach bug checked out. It's not nice, but does give me a sense of the health systems here in El Salvador.

The doctors try hard to accommodate but they don't have the resources in the rural communities to make the necessary checks so I was presumed to have a parasite and was sent packing with some very generic pills. Unfortunately to get good health care it seems you need to travel to the capital and have money to pay!

I am spending 10 weeks volunteering in El Salvador, Central America. We have completed almost 2 weeks of training, have just begun the first project in Arcatao (near the border with Honduras) and will spend the last 4 weeks in the capital San Salvador working on issues such as gender inequality, sexual reproductive health and environmental sustainability.

So it’s the end of Empower week 2 and we’ve got lots to tell! I have spoken to the group, now known as ‘team Papaya,’ and here are some thoughts and reflections on what we have been up to so far….

We arrived in Salima to find the accommodation good and the people friendly. The food seems to take a while to come after ordering but this is part of the famous ‘Africa time’ which we are still getting used to, after all the local slogan is “no hurry, no worry”. The lodge we are staying at is well appointed with an outdoor sitting area.

Feeling absolutely on a high from watching the people come together in triumph to perform at a theatre in district three of Villa El Salvador I felt the need to write about it…

The four walls of a black box studio lit with a few lights and with wooden benches placed around was filled with the joy of people who came together to perform, watch, dance and sing as well as present some of the most amazing aerial silk skills, juggling and brilliant acting.