ICS blog

After months of preparing for what will be one of the most challenging, educational and exciting times in our lives we are finally here, in Nuevo Gualcho. A once in a life time opportunity, one that we all hope we will really get stuck into.  One where we will try to not let any opportunity we're given pass us by. We have no idea what to expect yet, but we all know that this is going to be an experience where we will grow, mature and become better human beings because of it. Some of us have done something similar to this project in the past and for others this is the very first time.

The beauty of Nicaragua’s northwest highlands was appreciated all the more after the week long training in bustling Managua.  As the wheels of the American school bus sped us towards Las Manos we glimpsed canyons and peaks, snaking rivers and valleys.  Further north, the scenery fast becomes hilly and forested, and the cooler temperatures nourish a very different landscape.  Banana trees and pine swayed together in a curious union as we reached the dramatic slopes of Dipilto.  I was elated.

Nestled deep in the vast green desolate mountains lay a well hidden community which borders Honduras, which at first sight seemed to only consist of one small white house with a silver road, which sat at the side of the American highway. 

Most of the houses were hidden behind the arrangement of juxtaposing trees. Arriving at our host families we were greeted by friendly faces who showed us our homes which we would be staying in for the next 10 weeks. 

Our ICS experience began with a whistle stop tour of Managua. Horns blowing, traffic racing and market stalls lining the streets gave a lively first impression of the Nicaraguan capital. The city streets are a collection of low rise buildings thrown together with a distinct lack of structure; the reason for this being a 6.2 magnitude earthquake which left the city in tatters in 1972. Despite best intentions, the city was never rebuilt properly and a maze of streets and mish-mash of buildings have sprung up in the meantime.

Progressio and People Serving Girl’s at Risk (PSGR) have been working with a number of people in the Blantyre region of Malawi over the past year and that work is being drawn to a close by the current cohort of national and UK volunteers in Cycle 4. The previous cycle of volunteers worked with Mr Laillo Salad, 56, who lives in Chinyangute village, in the rural north of Blantyre, Malawi.

On the 4^th week of our Basilwizi volunteer’s placement we decided to hold two career guidance workshops on the 23^rd and 24^th of October, in two newly built schools in the rural areas of Binga. The bumpy off road two hour journeys led us to Senga and Sinansengwe secondary schools. Upon arrival the one building schools were a first for our international eyes, we received a further shock when entering the buildings to be greeted by 150 plus students staring eagerly back at us.

We are over halfway through our Progressio ICS project, and it is a comfort to wake each morning to the crowing of the roosters, and the pat-pat of our host grandmother making tortillas. Sometimes, however, this awakening is accompanied by the acrid smell of burning plastic. At first, all the UK volunteers found it quite unsettling to see these quemas, small bon-fires, littering the yards and gardens of Dipilto Viejo, but we know now that it is an unavoidable part of daily life in rural Nicaragua.

It’s been an important week for politics in Honduras, as Presidential elections have taken place. These elections were seen as a test of democracy for the country, as its political life has always been turbulent.

‘Monitoring and evaluation’… doesn’t sound like the most exciting job ever does it? But it is one of the most important aspects of our development work here in Malawi. There is no point holding a conservation agriculture awareness campaign in a village or giving an educational talk on HIV/AIDS to a school, unless we know how effective it has been. It’s also essential for us to follow the progress of our long term projects, such as the Moringa trees which were planted in their thousands.  The aim being to provide an important source of nutrition and income for the local community.

Following the morning rains, the sun beat down upon the local baseball pitch where the festivities were held. Makeshift gazebos and shanty stalls lined the field, selling various local foods, jewelry and of course, plantain.