When I first heard of Progressio ICS I thought it might not be very useful but I proved myself wrong. When you talk of volunteering, it is not about money. I find the programme very important in as far as personal experience is concerned. Different people have had different first impressions of Progressio ICS and here I will talk about the first impressions of the UK volunteers and also of the in-country volunteers. When it comes to working with someone whose culture is different from yours (and only our culture is different because we all have the same goals), it is sometimes a challenge. However, it has not been as challenging as I first thought. Working outside your country is also a challenge, for example the climate and language are different, which are just a couple of the challenges faced.
The UK volunteers have felt the warm heart of Africa, Malawi. Before coming to Malawi, some had true imaginations but some were on the contrary. Now that they are physically in Malawi, the UK volunteers have told me what their first impressions have been...
“Malawi truly is the warm heart of Africa, both in climate and in the kindness, generosity and welcoming nature of the in-country volunteers and host families” said Laura Cullen, one of the UK volunteers. Another volunteer said that “the food is nice especially ‘nsima’, people are friendly, the country is beautiful with beautiful trees and flowers, and the in-country volunteers and host homes have given us a sense of acceptance.”
These are some of the phrases, which the UK volunteers described Malawi. Despite this positivity, there are of course some challenges. These include the fact that Malawi is very hot and has a lot of dust, and also communication can be difficult. “Despite all the in-country volunteers speaking English, there is definitely Malawian English and British English! Expressions are different so exchanging can sometimes be a challenge” said Kate Warner. But this cannot hinder us from bringing ‘kusintha’ ('change' in Chitumbuka, the local language) and now we are getting to know each other more and are working well as a team.
In-country volunteers also have things to say about their first impressions of working with the UK volunteers. Their experience so far has been good. Initially they thought it would be difficult to work with them, but now it must be said, in the words of Mphatso Mwandira an in-country volunteer, that “they are the best people to work with, very nice and friendly... they are very chatty, have good time management and are keen to bring change and to learn, which is a character one needs to have in order to bring change into the society because no man is an island.”
When I talk of the experience of the past two weeks, I could write as many pages as I can, but instead let's look at this group photo:
Team Kusintha and field officer George outside the Tovwirane office in Mzuzu, Malawi
Despite everything, good or bad, I have some good news to tell you about the Progresio ICS UK and in-country volunteers. That is, we are able to work as a team as if we were born from one family (indeed we are eating from the same bowl as eagles of the same family). Thank you Progressio ICS and the partner organisation we are working with – Tovwirane in Mzuzu – for creating such a conducive environment for young people from different cultural backgrounds to work together. As Team Kusintha we are really looking forward to bringing about change in various sectors of our mission. Let's join hands and get our objectives accomplished and meet our targets. Team Kusintha, on fire!!!
Written by ICS volunteer Gift Kumwenda
