ICS blog

Much of the work we do in Honduras is based on fincas, small farms which are owned by local people or by the COMUCAP cooperation. We help out the women by preparing the soil, weeding the area and planting under the guidance of Progressio development worker, Roger Diaz. Roger’s job is to travel around the area and introduce agroecological techniques to small-scale farmers.

Joining the efforts of DOMCCP, our partner organisation, in reaching marginalised people we have begun a youth group for Out-Of-School youths. This group was formed to engage these youths in positive activities; building their confidence and inspiring them to be active in their communities. Youth unemployment is high throughout the country of Zimbabwe and it is very easy to overlook young people who may have drifted from school and have not achieved much success academically, however it is crucial that these young people are not forgotten.

Our busy week (April 26th) started with a session on child abuse with a women’s group from Nzvenga village.  They took the session with much enthusiasm and appreciated learning how to better take care of their children’s wellbeing and ensure that they grow up with healthy emotions. After the morning session, we prepared for an afternoon session with the youth group, with whom we discussed issues on voluntarism. The previous Monday we had held a session on disease awareness only, with the women and had not mobilised the youths so it was great to have a busy day. 

Malawi is so peaceful and the people are so friendly it’s unreal. I did not expect the country to be so welcoming. I have learnt so much by just being here, the culture is so different to mine it’s like another world. The kids at the schools pay attention and show a lot of respect. I did not think they would be so good and listen as much as they have. I am grateful they are like this as it is easier to facilitate because I feel more welcome. I enjoyed the session I did on stigma with a local community. They were very nice people and I hope to see them again.  

A teacher once told me that development starts with the education of women. But when there is a lack of support and education for women, how can this happen? - Especially women living with HIV.

This is where people like Lexa Mkandewire are fantastic.

After living in England for a while, Lexa returned to Mzimba, Malawi in 2001 and soon became aware again of the issues women face in the area. She noticed many didn’t do a lot in the day time, many were single parents, most only met at funerals and most of them needed an outlet.

As a group we recently visited a local farm, owned and managed by a gentleman called Catalino and his family. Catalino works in integral farming, where the waste of the farm is used as a resource, saving money and contributing towards environmental protection. Even the waste of the farm’s pigs is put to good use in the making of gas for the kitchen, with any plants which would otherwise have no use made into fertiliser.

Newspapers, online media and popular entertainment have an influential role in shaping the imaginations of citizens in the global North and their understanding of the Global South.

News reporting and media coverage of Africa today plays an enormous role in shaping our perceptions of African events and issues. Watching news coverage of Africa there is a structural bias toward news reporting on Africa that dehumanises and portrays Africans as backward and incapable of developing the capacity to sustain their own livelihoods. This could not be further from the truth.

This very special day for COMUCAP celebrated their hard work in bringing independence and stability to the new factory. Usually the cooperative has to pay larger corporations to sort and dry the coffee, have it packaged and then shipped. At this particular factory they now employ COMUCAP associates to run the factory and do it all themselves. The inauguration saw the coming together of many important people such as members from the UN, charity donors and Gladis Aurora, the local MP.

On my iPod I have a song called  ‘Everybody is free to wear sunscreen’ by Baz Luhrmann. In this song it says “…..accept certain inevitable truths - prices will rise, politicians will flounder”

But when you can’t feed your families or send your children to school - how can you accept these inevitable truths?

From my short stay in Malawi, I have listened to the people around me in Mzimba. Their main problem is their lack of money due to inflation. I can see people struggling to cope with basic needs.  Every day I hear again and again “Everything is toooo expensive”

From Monday to Thursday we spend our time working on farms in partnership with COMUPL, with Saturdays split between visiting a children’s home in La Paz and working towards creating a mural, but as a group we always look forward to Friday mornings, the one day of the week that we teach at Marco Aurelio school, in the centre of the town. The whole morning is split between 5th and 6th grade classes, children aged between 10 and 12, with lessons spanning across English, sports and arts and crafts.