ICS blog

In the UK the concept of attachment parenting (“AP”) has gained popularity in recent years, with celebrity endorsement from Angelina Jolie, Pink and many more reinforcing this trend. This way of approaching parenting in the early stages of a childs’ life looks to me like it could have been taken directly from observation of Malawian women - this “new way to do things” for Western women is normal care of a new born for Africa.

As we come to our last week of work as Team Tilitose in Rumphi, we thought it appropriate to share our lessons learnt from the past 10 weeks. 

My journey started with the struggle of whether I should apply as a volunteer for Progressio ICS, working with Youth Net and Counselling (YONECO) as a partner organisation. I was sceptical about the impact that it would have on my life considering that the post will have no monetary gains. I recalled my Head Teacher’s advice during our secondary school graduation...

Para todas las personas que esperan ansiosamente la primera vez para experimentar algo nuevo en la vida, otro medio de ejercitación y meditación, de cómo sincronizar la mente con el cuerpo, trabajando con ambos para un solo fin, llevando a un nuevo mundo el “ser”, donde no existe nada ni nadie, solamente tu vagando en un mundo imaginario que te provoca olvidarte del mundo real.

To live in Nicaragua is to live immersed in great swathes of beauty. Certainly the same could be said of the UK, but as circumstances have not yet forced me to spend a lot of time in contact with its natural splendours, I remain shamefully ill-equipped to write about them.

Driven by excitement and with a keen interest in politics, I spent some time researching the political and economic profile of Malawi before starting my ICS adventure. The overall picture I got was of a country which had had more than its fair share of poverty and economic problems, with a recent World Bank study ranking Malawi as the poorest country in the world. On the other hand, Malawi has also enjoyed absolute peace since its independence 1964 and its nascent democracy sees little sign of faltering.

Marcala La Paz, Honduras.

Progressio was working with the parthner organization COMUCAP, It is a rural women’s organization based in La Paz, during six months (From October 2012 to June 2014) where the volunteers worked to promote women’s rights through campaigning within the town. Also they supported organic coffee farms as well as aloe vera and vegetable farming.

Guayape Olancho, Honduras.

Progressio was working with the parthner organization Fundación Democracia sin Fronteras, during six months (July - December 2014) where the volunteers worked on a proporsal on the management of waste which was delivered to the town hall, raising awareness in the community and the establishment of a tree nursery to reforest the surrounding area of the community. 

“For me, this project has been one of the most satisfying experiences that I have had working in these communities” Salomon Perdomo.

Reality has just set in. I'm sitting here after what I would describe as an emotional conversation with my host mum and its hit both of us. I've only got two weeks left. Two weeks! After which this cycle will be over and I'll be leaving Santa Catarina Masahuat, a place that's been home to me for the last two and a half months.