Living with a host family for six months in a foreign country has forced me to reflect on what that term actually means: family. The lifestyle, the relationships, the interactions are all very different from what I am used to and what I have known growing up in Africa; it has challenged some of my preconceptions as well as reinforced my belief in the importance of these bonds, however alien to me their manifestation here may be.
It’s natural to have your own personal reservations about what charity to choose when applying to volunteer abroad. The press doesn’t exactly promote a kind image of young people wanting to work in international development, marketing them as ‘third world groupies’, saving the world one ‘gap yah’ at a time. But after being here for just over a month now, it is clear to me that this is not another voluntourism fad.
After a week of ice-breakers, Spanish lessons, and 35-degree heat in San Salvador, we were ready to make it over to Santa Catarina Masahuat, our home for the next 11 weeks. It’s about a two-hour drive west of the capital up in the mountains. An overturned truck on the highway and one ill passenger meant we were delayed a couple of hours, so by the time we arrived in the community it was already dark. Santa Catarina Masahuat is a small town made up of 12 neighbourhoods. All of our host families are within walking distance from one another right in the centre.
¡Una vez más listo para recibir ensayo de teatro! Al principio no me imaginaba que el pertenecer a un grupo de teatro iba hacer emocionante y divertid, pero a la vez muy interesante, porque te ayuda a conocerte a ti mismo. Dentro del teatro puedes descubrir cualidades que quizás no sabías que se tenías en ti.
In the summer of 2015, I completed a 10-week placement in Santa Marta, El Salvador with ADES and Progressio ICS. The hardest part of the whole experience was leaving the community and all the incredible people I had met during my time there. I made a promise to come back. The ICS experience really made an impact on the return to the UK and I decided that the time was right to quit my job and change my career path to one related to international development. Before this, it was time to fulfil that promise and return to Santa Marta.
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.
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.
While the global gender gap remains immense, and progress toward parity is in many places slowing, today is nevertheless a day for celebration. The extraordinary resilience, courage and determination of women will be recognised worldwide this International Women’s Day, and we must remember that every small step is valuable in the push towards gender justice.
A lot of work has gone into the event this morning (6 March) yet as the early sun dawns, we awaken into a state of semi-panic. There are chairs to move and speakers to set up. Last-minute poem editing, practicing for speeches and a presentation. Then an entire sound system needs moving at the last second, to connect the laptop to both speakers and projector.
1. Put yout hand up
It all started one Monday morning when we were working on theatre roles. We had a problem - there was a small part that needed filling in the MESA theatre production of Antigone, and no one to fill it. We were so desperate that even the UK volunteers were asked.
