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!
It is a pleasure to be a new member of the ADES - Progressio ICS volunteer programme.
This week, I had the opportunity to meet the twenty volunteers from the UK. They have come all the way to visit us in El Salvador, specifically Santa Marta, in order to be a part of this fantastic programme.
We have been able to share many things such as knowledge, about each other's cultures, musical taste, etc.
After spending the whole of Sunday and Monday getting to know the other UK volunteers, I was very excited to meet the Nicaraguan volunteers for the first time, but I knew that the language barrier was going to be a huge issue. At first, meeting them was a little awkward, particularly as my Spanish is pretty restricted at the moment. It took me by surprise when the girls came in for a kiss on the cheek as a greeting, the general touchy feeliness of the Nicas was a bit of a culture shock for me, but after a few days of it I think I’m finally starting to get used to it.
Nuestra Experiencia
Nuestra aventura empieza con la estadía en Santa Lucia, lugar en el que damos inicio al proceso de conocimiento del Proyecto 'LENCAS EN ACCIÓN', que tiene como objetivo empoderar a las mujeres Lencas de la comunidad de La Esperanza, Intibucá, para fortalecer sus habilidades de emprendedurismo y además apoyar en la capacitación de jóvenes para que desarrollen habilidades mediante procesos formación que servirán para sus vidas y el trabajo.
It’s been brilliant to share experiences with the UK volunteers in the community. The first day after their arrival in Santa Marta, we went together on a tour of the community of the most important places and the work sites of the previous cycles.
At the beginning of the week, our work began…
- Monday, we had a meeting on our roles and how to have an excellent cycle.
- Tuesday, we went to meet our partner organisation ADES (Asociación de Desarrollo Económico Social Santa Marta) and during the afternoon we went to our other work site in San Felipe.
Our preconceptions of Honduras were tainted by what we hear in the news and in documentaries. It is renowned for its gang wars, political strife, and poverty, and flying into Tegucigalpa only confirmed what we had first thought. However, what had not crossed our minds was how beautiful the country could be; the striking green mountains mixed with the pure white clouds and blue skies.
On our way to the first location for training, Santa Lucia, we were struck by the poverty of the country: tiny houses, tinned roofs, and roaming hungry dogs.
After doing some last minute fundraising and packing, we left for Nicaragua on Sunday. After only 22 hours of busses, planes and waiting in airport security, we had arrived. Stepping out of the airport into a hot and humid night was the moment that it finally clicked that we were in a very different country to sunny England.
Day two into a week-long in-country orientation training in San Salvador and the whole experience has suddenly become very real. In this week, our aim is to adapt to our new surroundings, learn about El Salvadorian culture, bond with our national volunteer counterparts and begin to understand some of the causes and consequences of key events in this country’s history.
The night is closing on my Progressio ICS experience. I flew out to Nicaragua; completed lots of projects; made many friends; came home; attended my cycle’s returned volunteer event; and have even gone some way to completing my action at home. As the hardened Progressio ICS veteran that I am, I shall impart some pearls of wisdom regarding that dogged first hurdle: fundraising. You have limited time, a fundraising officer breathing down your back, and a seemingly insurmountable amount of money to raise (£1500 in my case).
In your final year at university you can be forgiven for thinking that if you don’t want to apply for a graduate scheme at a huge accounting company, law firm or insurance company then there’s not much else for you. Such is the ubiquity of recruitment fairs put on by these organisations and the constant reminders by staff and university-generated emails that you should be applying for graduate schemes well before you graduate, it can all be a bit depressing if that’s not really what you want to do.
The last week in the community is the hardest for all the volunteers, saying goodbye to the place where they’ve had so many special times, so much laughter, anger and anxiety. So the cycle is coming to an end and it’s time to say goodbye to the people you now care about.
