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!
I have always known this statement to be true but never with the magnitude that l have witnessed at Mushawevana Children’s Home. It reminds me of the parable from the bible where the Lord asked “who is thy neighbour?.” People are also right when they say that the size of the gift does not really matter but the heart that gives the gift. It’s also the small things that matter the most in life - great things are built from small things....
1. Hola, Hello, Buenos Días!
The people of El Carrizal are some of the friendliest you’ll ever meet. Whether you know them or not, or you’ve just seen them 10 minutes ago, greeting with a friendly Buenos Días is a must everytime! We feel very far away from the sullen silence of the London underground here and it’s brilliant.
2. Tortillas, Tortillas, Tortillas!
In the UK we are experiencing an increasing number of people who have started to grow their own fruit and vegetables. These people have cast off the shackles of the supermarket grocery aisle in favour of the peace of mind and sense of satisfaction that cultivating their own crops can give them.
Hey people, we’re back! We have now met the farmers in Dora at Kentucky Farm and they are awesome; so full of character once they got to know us! They all work very hard to maintain their crops, with some walking up to 6km to get to work, as covered in our last blog. Most of the farmers grow covo, butternut squash, sugar beans, green peppers, cucumber, carrots (which I have tried and they are so good!), and mangoes.
A vital part of the ICS experience is the cultural exchange between the UK and national volunteers. What better way to learn about the intricacies of a culture than to spend three months working with the locals? In order to squeeze the most out of this opportunity we decided to arrange a weekly session during our lunchbreak, where the two groups of volunteers can take turns to showcase something from their culture, from the Beatles to Baleadas!
HIV is not a death sentence. As our first week of presentations roll to a close, the classrooms and village halls we conduct them in erupt into a chorus of chanting as our audience echoes back this statement, again and again, growing louder and more affirmed in their belief in this reality.
In a country devastated by the effects of HIV, we aim to shine a light on the people living with the disease and encourage them that life does not end with their diagnoses.
There is no better feeling than the feeling of belonging, knowing that somewhere someone loves you and calls you family. After losing one’s parents or being neglected by the people one calls family, one’s future becomes void, bleak and meaningless. It’s amazing to know that people don’t have to have blood ties to be called a family, but love and that realisation that the next person will always be there and stand by one’s side through it all. This is the hope the children in alternative care institutions carry with them each day...
Two weeks in and Team Chinombo have finally got to work in Rumphi with the local communities. After weeks of planning, it was great to get started with work in a very challenging and rewarding week for the team. Even after the first week we had already encountered various scenarios, which have challenged the team but everybody has pulled together and managed to overcome them. Before we got to work the team was split into three groups to maximise the amount of different projects we could visit each day.
Un saludo fraternal de parte de todos los voluntarios Brita-Nicas, desde la comunidad de Parcila, Limay, Estelí, a todas aquellas personas que nos siguen en este blog.
Quiero contarles sobre las experciencias que hemos tenido durante esta cuarta semana. La pasamos muy bien, ya queremos comenzar a trabajar con los proyectos, pero necesitamos las capacitaciones y realizar algunas encuestas y estudios para estar preparados a trabajar con los miembros de la comunidad. Ha pasado el tiempo para adaptarnos al ambiente del lugar y ahora sí ya podemos iniciar.
As soon as we touched down in the hazy Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa we were whisked off into the mountains for a week of in-country orientation, training, informative talks from guest speakers and tons of training with our fellow British and Honduran volunteers.
