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!
Last week we found out that we were getting a surprise visit from Spencer Milian, Official for Security and Justice, who works in the British Embassy. All of us were so excited at the news, especially at the thought of the impact this visit might have for the community. This will be the first visit during the seven months Progressio has worked in San Benito!
We’re coming to the end of our third week here in El Bramadero and you may be wondering what we’ve been up to since we arrived. Now that we’ve acclimatised and settled into our daily routines we thought it was about time we talk you through a typical day in the life of a Progressio volunteer.
All the planning and preparation in the world could not have prepared us for our experience at Mpamba School.
We decked ourselves out in our official Progressio ICS t-shirts or our bright green YONECO chitenjes. We looked and felt the part. Ready to go with our notes, posters and leaflets we felt excited and raring to impart some knowledge on our, seemingly simple, topic "Life Goals".
This week’s activities revolved around eco-stoves, from beneficiary training and advice, to construction of the eco-stoves.
The weather added a challenge to successfully completing these actions, however it was clear the UK and Nicaraguan volunteers were definitely up to the task.
Upon arriving in Arcatao in early October 2016, our cycle was greeted immediately by the stunning scenery of rural El Salvador. The seemingly impenetrable peaks of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas reach out to touch every part of Arcatao’s horizon and a sea of tropical cloud forest blankets the mountainous landscape. These cloud forests are called home by millions of species of insects, amphibians and reptiles and their canopies contain the colours of a thousand bird species.
Estuvimos en Darayli en casa de Itza por la mañana. Los nicaragüenses recibimos clases de inglés, mientras los chicos Británicos recibieron sus clases de español. La promotora Elizabeth de ASOMUPRO nos impartió dos entrenamientos, uno sobre las eco-estufas y otro sobre los eco-hornos, y se abordaron los aspectos técnicos de cada infraestructura, sus beneficios y datos específicos para que iniciemos la construcción.
El comienzo de esta semana fue súper especial ya que se castigó a dos voluntarios por llegar tarde al centro de reunión - pero el castigo no fue muy fuerte y a uno de ellos le pidieron que hiciera veinte pechadas y a la otro diez sentadillas. Continuo de eso, la clase de inglés estuvo muy participativa y todos los/as chicos/as nos involucramos de una forma muy buena. Este día lo pasamos en casa de la voluntaria Yeudi. Fuimos a las casas de las beneficiarias a invitarlas a una charla de eco-estufas e informarles que ese mismo día se entregaría los materiales.
Following the orientation and briefing on our roles in line with the partner organisation’s targets, we had expectations and looked forward to getting started.
It’s been two weeks in Honduras now and I’d say the majority of us are over the teething stages of learning Spanish. Obviously, we still make mistakes and sound like absolute fools every day, and will do until the day we leave but I feel like the mistakes we make are as stupid as they were in the first couple of days. Here is a compilation of all the ridiculous mistakes we have made so you don’t make the same ones.
“Estoy frio”
My experience of a Malawian wedding was short but most definitely rich in culture. The wedding preparations began on the Friday, with twenty members of my host mum's family arriving to stay the night, which meant a very busy household. Unfortunately, just as they arrived, the power in the neighbourhood went out. This is something that isn't uncommon in the area, so everyone was well equipped with candles and torches to continue the evening as normal as possible.
