ICS blog

En nuestro grupo suceden cosas divertidas tales como el martes en la construcción de una eco-estufa, con una beneficiara (Gloria). Tuvimos un pequeñito problema en acomodar la chimenea, la poníamos de un modo se nos caía, la poníamos de otro también y al fin supuestamente la pusimos y todos confiados. Al rato una voluntaria (Meyling) estaba repellando, cuando de pronto un viento sopló fuerte y botó la chimenea y le cayó encima. Voluntarios nicas y británicos reíamos sin parar. Afortunadamente no la golpeó, solo fue el susto.

La semana 6 fue una experiencia muy bonita primeramente por la entrega de materiales, donde las personas beneficiarias tenían una gran alegría recibiendo su beneficio, brindado por Progressio y ASOMUPRO.

Lo más emocionante que se miró en la entrega de materiales, fue la voluntad y disponibilidad de los voluntarios británicos y Ramón para ayudar a una familia de escasos recursos para llevar sus materiales. Fue muy conmovedor para todas las personas que se encontraban en el lugar donde se daban los materiales, aunque fue un poco agotado por el sol que había.

“What do I have to lose?”, I say to myself as I apply to a programme that I came across by luck. Little did I know that six months later, I’d be on a flight to Malawi (lovely place by the way, you should definitely go) to spend 10 weeks as a volunteer under the International Citizen Service programme for Progressio.  10 weeks of hard work, good times, and an unforgettable experience… Decent. 

To borrow from that great thinker, raconteur and wit, Jon Bon Jovi, we’re halfway there. That is at the time of writing - by the time this is published we will have completed seven of the twelve weeks and thus will be 58.3% of the way there. Who ever said that pedantic arithmetical accuracy does not good lyricism make?

T.I.A. stands for ‘This is Africa’ and is used to describe anything normal in Zimbabwe and absurd in the UK. 

The following are 15 times we have used the phrase T.I.A. on placement.

1) When your transport to work hasn’t had a MOT since it was brand new and the road you travel on has more big dips than Colossus.

2) When you forget your ‘bag for life’, but it doesn’t matter because you can carry you weekly shop on your head. 

Now, we’ve all had our fair share of hard work and we’ve all had those days where we thought that nothing could be more difficult. I’ve felt this before, and I could never have guessed I was so wrong. Bio construction, unlike normal construction, requires not only collecting materials from the top of a hill but tireless readjusting to make the product you need. Let me break it down for you.

My ICS journey started with me browsing the internet looking for opportunities to volunteer abroad. I had little money and luckily found ICS, which is a fully-funded government scheme to volunteer abroad. I applied and I was asked to come along to a selection day. Looking back on the selection day, if there was one thing I wish I could tell myself, it would be to be more relaxed. I was only 18 at the time and hadn’t experienced many interviews, so I was overly nervous, but the Progressio staff were really comforting.

Esta semana ha sido muy buena, hemos trabajado mucho y con entusiasmo. Vamos avanzando en el trabajo de bio-construcción. Mientras que la obra de teatro es bastante difícil y a la vez muy divertida, ya que aprendemos muchas cosas nuevas; por ejemplo, como participar en una actuación. Esto es nuevo para las y los voluntarios. Las prácticas son cada lunes por la mañana.

Mid-February marks five months since I returned from my ICS placement abroad. My team and I stayed and worked in Mutare, Zimbabwe, and the surrounding towns, from July to September 2015. 

Looking back over the last few months has allowed me to appreciate and digest the experience and, from this retrospective place of awe and love, I have created my ‘Five things, five months on’ list… 

1. Perspective

Let me first begin by clarifying that my whole experience in Malawi was memorable, however, there were particular moments that really stood out in my mind and will do so for the remainder of my life. 

In Malawi, I worked for a HIV & AIDS organisation called Tovwirane. The charity is based in the northern district of Malawi, in Mzuzu. Our target audience were in and out of school youths and bicycle taxi operators. 

1. The cockroach attack