ICS blog

Llegar a la comunidad de La Sabanita en un segundo ciclo es encontrarte con una gran familia que dejaste por un tiempo, llegas y la gente te saluda, te sonríe, te dice adiós, te abre sus puertas en palabras cortas, te quiere.

Despite the political turmoil, ongoing environmental devastation, lack of opportunities and clean water scarcity, the frankness and openness with which Salvadorians talk about their lives and their past has impressed me greatly. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Santa Marta through the eyes of the community leaders. I thought deeply following one of the community leader’s comments about the village requiring a machine to sort rubbish (some future thought into a machine that can separate plastics from non-biodegradable material would be beneficial for the community). 

Es increíble cómo pasa el tiempo tan rápido en este hermoso lugar. Hemos tenido mucho trabajo operativo como de planificación, el proyecto marcha muy bien. Pero en esta ocasión quiero escribirles y compartirles acerca de nuestros voluntarios británicos y como ha sido su trabajo en la integración del equipo, la comunidad y con el proyecto, desde la perspectiva catracha. 

We, the DOMCCP (Diocese of Mutare Community Care Programme) team, are a forward thinking, enthusiastic group of individuals who are committed to working hard together to lay the firm ground work needed for future Progressio ICS cycles to build upon. We have been tasked with forming strong links with DOMCCP representatives and advocates of change in the communities within the different wards of the Mutasa district, in order to begin our activities in the coming weeks.

This week was a huge success, Group 1 has established a steady pace and the result has been incredibly positive; with approximately 15 vegetable patches finished.

This first month has been a very good experience thanks to the good communication between the national and UK volunteers. Without a doubt we’ve progressed a lot in the project, and we hope to continue progressing together.

I feel really happy and, at the same time proud, to be part of this team of volunteers for Progressio ICS. Not only because it has given me opportunities to help my community with the other national volunteers, but also because we can count on the help of the UK volunteers.  This is undoubtedly the start of a good experience for me. 

After a week of in-country training and spending the weekend with our new host families, we were eager to get to work! On Monday 13 July we gathered at the Simukai gates at 8am ready to get started. The first few days have been filled with even more orientation, getting to know the area and figuring out where we can continue the previous cycle’s great work. Plus lots of fun and games with the children who, despite being shy at first because of all the new faces, have warmed to us after many games of football and UNO.

This week we again went out for a walk around the local communities but this time we were completing surveys to find out the reach of the library we are renovating and how much interest there is surrounding it. This in itself was rewarding. Many of us UK volunteers are now at a point where we are happy to ask questions in Spanish and are able to write down the answers of what the locals say, proving how quickly you can pick up a language and begin to understand it in such a short space of time!

Achieving objectives

Around 300m of the trail which links the bat cave with the Aguirres farm was cleaned. One of the greatest difficulties which the volunteers faced was the rocky path and the large spikes alongside it. Now, after a lot of work, there is a new route to get to the viewpoint which is located at the farm.

A productive week

Team CEGI arrived in Mzuzu on 9 July after a week of in-country orientation in Lilongwe. We have met our Malawian volunteers, been introduced to nsima, and learnt a few basic Chitumbuka phrases. We were ready for Malawian life!