Archive for 'ICS'
My fellow volunteers mocked me when I first arrived in Burkina Faso, asking me why I had brought such a ridiculous garment to a 40 degree climate. However, back at Heathrow I very much appreciated my large puffer jacket, and I hugged it closer as it protected me from the icy wind. Our last day [...]
We spent our last few weeks in Afjalpur making sure we had met all of the targets laid out in our day-to-day plan and compiling a handover folder so that the next ICS volunteers know every detail of the work we have done. Whilst our programme followed the ethos of sharing skills, knowledge and good [...]
One week left in Ouagadougou - a city that will remain close to my heart for years to come - and our workload appears to have tripled. Before I began my project with Tigoung Nonma, a co-operative dedicated to helping artisans with disabilities, I never expected to find the work quite so challenging. During our first [...]
I've been back in the UK for five days, during which I've desperately missed Ethiopia. The last few weeks of my time there were hectic, but incredible: here are some highlights from that period. All the female members of the team took part in the Choice Women First 5km run, which was part of Addis' [...]
My plane touched down in the UK at around 5.30 on the 5th March and I happily ate my first steak and chips in three months three hours later in a pub. The excitement of being home prevented me from sleeping that night, excluding two hours in the car on the six-hour journey back to [...]
I'm not going to lie, fellow ICS bloggers, I've been getting a tiny bit jealous reading about all the different cultural experiences you have been exposed to - Villa El Salvador is so different to the UK in many ways but, essentially, it is a growing urban settlement where day-to-day life is not always so [...]
The Ethiopian population is approximately 35% Muslim and 65% Christian. While this kind of religious mix has caused bitter conflict in numerous countries around the world, the two faiths live in relative harmony here. My counterpart national volunteer, Hana, has two close friends who are Muslim, while she is Orthodox Christian. Although, she does admit [...]
Organising Community Action Days is an important part of our role here in north-west Bangladesh. They are a great opportunity to bring the whole village together and raise awareness about issues affecting the community. Knowing the importance of gender issues in Bangladesh, we decided as a group during our in-country orientation in January that we [...]
As I've already mentioned in previous blog posts, community participation plays an important role in daily life here in Peru, but today was the first day that I really felt part of it. We were invited to a celebration for Maria Elena Moyano. Whilst that name probably doesn't mean anything to most of the people [...]
As I write under the light of the moon, my first thought is that the moon is not designed as a side light. It is there for those without pen and paper; those who can and cannot write; and even those who don’t have the time to stop and bask in its beauty. Sitting here [...]
