ICS Nicaragua

A new week arrives like a new blank page with the hope that we write as many new moments as possible on it. Here I share some of these moments with you.

Just as in the week before, the UK and national volunteers united to give their best and further the development of Cycle 10. Both Groups 1 and 2 began the construction of the covers for the eco-latrines in El Pochote, some taking a little more time than others learning how to use the tools. We, in Group 2, have put in the work to improve for this coming week and thus have a satisfactory job.

We are three weeks away from the end of cycle 10 and the eco-latrines have already been completely covered. It has taken three complete cycles to make this possible, but finally 60 eco-latrines have been constructed and covered, by a total of nearly 80 volunteers, both from the UK and Nicaragua, throughout the last nine months. Finalising a stage of a project makes you feel great and you value the work you have achieved as a team, not only with your current cycle of volunteers but also those that came before.

Upon first inspection it can be difficult to reconcile the traditional notion of community with what exists in El Pochote. One would typically consider a community to be a collection of households focused around a central location where inhabitants can converge to participate in social events, or buy essential commodities. This format does not exist in El Pochote to any great extent, which poses obvious challenges for a team of volunteers hoping to help local people improve their communal quality of life.

Many of you who are reading through these blogs, like I was a few months ago, are probably trying to figure out what volunteering with Progressio in Nicaragua, or anywhere else for that matter, might actually be like. Perhaps you’re thinking about applying, perhaps you’ve been accepted on to the programme, maybe you’re the parents of a current volunteer (my mother will enjoy that one). Well, today I shall answer your prayers.

This week we have been working more intensely and groups 1 and 2 have split up to begin covering the eco-latrines. With the help of our facilitators we built the first model to serve as a guide for the mini groups, ensuring we were aware of exact measurements and all the materials we would need. With tools in hand we finished the first cover together.

Dust, sweat, aches and the occasional minor injury; all signs of hard work. We have powered through our sixth week with a renewed vigor, fresh after a productive mid-term review at the weekend and ready to build.

The sun is still blazing, the rice is still being consumed in incredible quantities and the volunteers are still labouring with insatiable enthusiasm and passion. Our fourth week in Masaya has been action-packed; our time consumed by planning, running workshops and learning more about one another.

Another busy, entertaining and informative week in Masaya has come to an end, with time seemingly accelerating by the day. The pace is unrelenting (in a good way): we’ve visited the school in El Pochote for the first time, painted all of the vinyls which will be used to cover the eco-latrines, planned plenty of activities and workshops to hold in the community, and have even had the chance to learn some more about Masayan culture.

With every week comes a new adventure with its own life enriching experiences for the British and Nicaraguan Team.  

It was another week of hard work, fun and new experiences shared between the Brits and Nicaraguans. We put together a series of questions which we used during our visit to the community of El Jocote, surveying the local families with the aim of finding ways in which to potentially improve the area. Problems identified within the community include: