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!
La primera semana de mayo fue una semana de mucho trabajo porque estuvimos ayudando a las familias que están participando en el concurso de patios con actividades como: elaboración de abono orgánico y preparando la tierra para la elaboración de huertos de patio.
It’s natural to have your own personal reservations about what charity to choose when applying to volunteer abroad. The press doesn’t exactly promote a kind image of young people wanting to work in international development, marketing them as ‘third world groupies’, saving the world one ‘gap yah’ at a time. But after being here for just over a month now, it is clear to me that this is not another voluntourism fad.
How did I benefit from my ICS experience?
Being part of the placement benefited me a lot. The programme was rich in knowledge to support the community that I live in. It gave me the chance to apply theoretical knowledge of community development into practise. I learnt a lot from this experience as I could witness first-hand how the local people in my area were benefiting from the ICS programme.
In the village of El Bramadero there lives a man called Don Armando, he is one of the local leaders in charge of water for the community. He is wise and has a lot of knowledge about the local area, the history of Nicaragua and its agriculture.
Living in La Villa is undeniably proving to be a learning curve. From attempting to communicate in a new language to discovering that Primark flip-flops WILL NOT withstand uneven terrain, each day brings with it new tasks and difficulties. Armed with Spanish dictionaries and open minds (plus a handy tube of nail glue for sandal related catastrophes), we march through the school gates every morning ready to conquer the challenges we are faced with.
Says the Kung-fu instructor to us every morning at 6am on El Bramadero’s football field. A concern for me before embarking on my ICS placement was how I was going to maintain my fitness levels. Luckily, the El Bram group are all very likeminded in being adventurous and active throughout the day. This means most of our days begin with a run, followed by a personal training session courtesy of an exercise app on my phone. We’re also fortunate enough to have a few avid yogis’ amongst us, which has been the best stress coping mechanism we could have asked for.
I was heading home after a day at SPRODETA, crossing the dusty red football field, when I noticed a group of young women playing netball. They quickly noticed me watching and beckoned me over to join them. They played on the edge of the field, on a patch of sand surrounded by trailing weeds and overgrown bushes. The young women, aged between 24 and 26, were being trained by a male coach of the same age. They were taking his advice with enthusiasm; his expertise and familiarity with his players obvious.
As the last cycle of Progressio ICS working with DOMCCP (Diocese of Mutare Community Care Programme) in Mutasa and the surrounding districts, we have been giving the task of finalising project plans and leaving a structured, successful legacy behind.
As part of our work with Simukai, we have the chance to go to a rural community, Rowa, and help spread awareness on sexual reproductive health, child rights and responsibilities, and income generating activities. In small teams of four people - two national and two UK volunteers - we conduct sessions on these topics with our beneficiaries (children between the ages of 12 and 22) and their guardians. At the start of the cycle, we had twenty homes out of one-hundred-and-ninety-one that we had to visit, with forty-five follow-up visits planned.
Having been nervous up to our travel date (5 April 2016), I had researched and read every blog posted onto the Progressio website, to prepare myself on what’s to come. But having arrived in Lilongwe, Malawi, all of my expectations had simply gone out of the window.
Team Bonding
