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!
El día lunes 17 de abril nos presentamos todos los voluntarios a desarrollar temas y habilidades.
Donde estuvo presente Elisabeth quien nos presentó el proyecto de las eco-estufas viendo fotografías y la importancia que tiene las eco-estufas para las personas beneficiadas por que así no se gasta mucha leña y no afecta el humo la salud de las personas ya que las eco-estufas están muy bien diseñadas.
As the title suggests, we are the latest addition to the Progressio ICS programme and safe to say greatness unveiled!
Team Matabeleland AIDS Council (MAC) is the team of the moment. Our partner’s vision is - “a vibrant membership based organisation accountable for sustainable empowerment of communities coping with the impact of HIV and AIDS.”
Legacy is a funny concept to define, yet it is one which we, as the fourth cycle of a four cycle programme at Simukai, have been tasked with ensuring. The ten men and women that make up this team will be the final group of individuals working with Simukai and its beneficiaries in the rural area of Rowa.
If we could describe our pre-departure feelings, apprehension, anxiety and adrenaline would be the most accurate. We had no idea what to expect. No amount of training and research can prepare you for this type of journey. This is not a deterrence, this should leave you with a stomach fluttering feeling. A journey is not something that will always be smooth but it will be worth it. After all, who wants to stay still forever?
Tapiwa’s thoughts
A national volunteer’s initial thoughts of the UK volunteers
After being chosen I and my fellow volunteers had some fears and expectations. One of our fears was what our fellow UK volunteers would be like, and if they would get to like us or not. We wondered how we would interact as it would be the first time we were meeting each other.
La semana del 10 al 15 de abril realizamos la bienvenida de nuestros compañeros británicos. Nosotros, los nicaragüenses, hicimos diversas actividades con los niños y las personas adultas. Pusimos la cola del burro, hicimos la dinámica de competencia de baile de la silla, la chimbomba caliente y también compartimos nacatamales y café a las socias de nuestra organización contraparte - ASOMUPRO y a los niños confites.
Our adventure starts with six UK and seven Nicaraguan volunteers squeezed into a mini bus. With estimated journey times ranging from three hours to six, the mere four and a bit hours it took to reach the rural location of Parcila from Managua was a breeze.
Parcila is a rural community within San Juan de Limay, in north-west Nicaragua. The houses here are simple and small, mostly built of breezeblocks, timber frames and with either tilled roofs or corrugated iron, depending on the available resources and funds.
The first few hours in my new country consisted of commenting about the humid heat, being relieved to have wifi at the airport and being picked up by the Progressio staff to be told we will be involved in some exciting ice-breakers.
Unlike our rocky Rowa roads, the Rowa Runners cycle 3 was a smooth ride to success. Those of you who follow our blogs will know about the various differences between the UK and Zimbabwean cultures. Shira and Ela showed the world how Zimbabweans were weird to the UK volunteers, and Ronnie explained what makes the UK volunteers weird to us Zimbabweans. If you’re not from Zimbabwe or the UK, you might find us all weird.
Starting as my competitors during the recruitment exercise, Taonga Kamanga, Memory Msowoya, Richard Munthali, Kennedy Nkhata and Chiza Kumwenda have been a strong team since being told that we were successful to work as national volunteers for Progressio. After our pre-placement orientation training the team got stronger. Our common fear was how we would get along with the UK volunteers. Most of us, if not all, had fears on what type of UK volunteers we were going to have. Our negative thinking was crashed after the first meeting with them.
