ICS Malawi

Trees are essential to our welfare. Not only do they improve the quality of the air that we breathe, but they provide food and shelter for humans and wildlife, prevent floods, conserve both water supplies and the environment. Therefore Team Catseye participated in a tree planting exercise at Msiki Village in Mzuzu on Friday 30 January 2015.

We arrived at 9:15 and were joined by 8 people consisting of Msiki AIDS Support Group members and individuals from the community including the Village Headman.

The in-country ICS volunteers (ICVs) of the January to March placement started their journey on 12 January 2015 with a two day pre-placement training workshop at Mpatsa Lodge in Salima.

ICVs were taught about Progressio Malawi, the ICS programme, the Monitoring and Evaluation process of Progressio, Orientation on UK culture, among others.

First meetings always fill me with nerves, second meetings make me feel awkward. Meeting the people who you’ve met once and then are going to be living with for the next 10 weeks was like seeing that aunt you see once a year. Or at least that’s how I thought it would be, it was like seeing a friend you haven’t seen for ages; picking up exactly where you left off: the banter and inside jokes just like before you parted. They say you don’t really know a person until you go on holiday with them (not that this is a holiday, we are working very hard), and that seems true. 

The journey for WESM ICS volunteers continues! On the 4th of February, ICS volunteers visited Nasambe youth group and spoke with the Chairman, Isaac Chipululu. The purpose of the visit was to check up on the youth group after their involvement in a tea planting special project which took place with previous ICS volunteers in 2014. During the visit, Fwasani Mhango (National volunteer) asked a few key questions about the tea fields to investigate how successful the project was.

Sapitwa Bee Keeping Association (SABA) in conjunction with Mount Mulanje Conservation Trust (MMCT) and the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) organised a tree planting launch on Friday 30th January 2015 in the area of Chief Nkumba under the traditional authority Njema in the Mulanje district. 

The Journey started with a pre-placement training in Salima at Mpatsa Lodge for the In-Country volunteers. Among other things, the ICV’s were taught about what ICS Progressio  is, how it works and what is expected from them. A successful three day training in Salima lead to a week's orientation in Lilongwe at Crescent Guest House, where the UKV’s journey started. We spent a week here forming friendships with our new arrivals.

International Volunteer Day (IVD) is a day celebrated by the United Nations since 1985. The day falls on 5 December, where it offers an opportunity for volunteer organizations, individual volunteers and communities to celebrate and promote their contributions at local, national and international levels- focusing on the achievement of the millennium development goals.

 Ever thought of how you will be remembered when you are gone?

After a productive stay in Mulanje, Team Sapitwa did not just leave Mulanje with nothing; rather, a mark that will stay in people’s hearts forever, sustainable special projects.

After working with different schools and youth clubs, Team Sapitwa finally settled for Namalowe Secondary School and Milonde Youth Club for their special projects.

Recently, Team COWLHA Wa Mawa conducted learning workshops with the support groups we’ve been visiting. In these workshops we covered upcycling and composting as well as conducting questionnaires about their HIV status and discrimination.

On Saturday 22nd November team Umoza’s community liaisons organised a football tournament between secondary schools. I took this opportunity to raise awareness about the effects of cannabis and alcohol usage at a young age on young people’s mental wellbeing. This was personal to me because I have had friends who developed mental health issues because of misinformed choices they made about taking drugs as young teenagers.