Well hello
there. I feel like a stranger to this as it has been well over a year where I
sat to write an actual blog post. I thought this would be a perfect time for me
to hop back on to my blog as I have quite a bit of time being stuck at home due
to the corona virus. I hope that wherever you are in the world, you are keeping
safe and taking all the precautions that have been put in place.
If you
follow me on Instagram, you would know that A couple of months ago I went to Nepal with ICS
(International Citizen Service) who are a government funded organisation providing volunteer placement for 18-25 year olds. They also have team leader placements for 23-35 year olds. ICS has projects running in some of the most poorest places in the world. They currently work in a number of different countries.
ICS is split
in to various smaller organisations who all work in different areas of the
world and focus on different aspects. I went with an organisation called
Restless Development who mainly focus on Livelihoods and supporting communities to end child marriage or prevent HIV.
Here is the link which will take you directly to the ICS website if you would like to read more.
The main reason for me to come on here is because I thought it would be nice for me to share snippets of my experience for anyone who is looking
to go or just if you wanted to see what sort of stuff I got up to whilst I was
there. I will split this into a series of different posts so it’s easier to
read as well.
This post
will just be based on an overall perspective with a small insight of the sort
of things I got up to whilst being away.
So, if you’re
wondering what made me want to apply for this... well it was something pretty spontaneous.
I was just scrolling through jobs and I stumbled across this. I thought I would give it a
shot and apply... What did I have to lose? Plus, I had read up a lot about it
before applying and I loved the whole concept and idea of going out and making
a difference to other people’s lives. Before I knew it, I had got an email for
an interview and from there it just all continued.
Once you get through the
interview, there are few other small stages you have to go through but nothing
major or extreme. They also will do a few checks such as a DBS check just for
safety purposes.
As mentioned earlier this is
a government funded organisation but there are a few criteria’s you must know
before applying. In order to go you have to meet the criteria and be willing to fund raise £800 and be okay with going away for 10 weeks as this is the length
of the placement.
I remember
feeling a whole bunch of emotions when it came closer to the time of me going.
I was so nervous about this whole trip because it was all so new and daunting
at the same time but then I was also super excited for this new adventure.
Knowing that you’re going to the other side of the world but not knowing what
to expect was the scary bit.
I don't regret going
out of my comfort zone and doing this one bit as I had the best time ever, met
some of the loveliest people, grew as an individual and got to help people on
the other side of the world.
When it was all actually
happening, I couldn’t believe that I was going away to do such a big thing and
for me this was a huge achievement as I had never been away completely alone
before. I did get to meet all the other volunteers during the training weekend
which was nice as I got to know them before going away with them. They were all
so lovely and I got along with everyone so well 😊
I went thinking and preparing
myself for the next 10 weeks ahead but with the circumstances that had arisen; corona
virus pandemic, our time had been cut super short and we were only there for
about 5 weeks. ICS will always put your safety and security first and in this
case, they had to send us back as the UK was preparing for lockdown so getting us back home safely was their main priority. It was sad to
be leaving early because there was so much more we wanted to still do within
the community, but it was nice to be back home with our families during this
time.
During my
time in Nepal, I had recorded and wrote down some short diary entries for me to
look back on. I will share a few random days of my first and second week in Nepal on a
separate blog post so you get to see the kind of stuff we got up too.
During the
first week in Nepal, we had in country training which took place in Benepa. The training was very useful as there
were a lot of things we needed to know for the actual placement. This was quite
intense as there is so much to take in, but the staff were so understanding of
this and always made sure to give us breaks and keep us energised! This was the
chance where we really got to bond and get know each other as well as the
Nepali volunteers as this was the first time, we had properly met them.
We did loads of different things during training too. The training sessions usually lasted until about 5ish (I think) and then after that we had the rest of the day to ourselves. we usually would go for walks nearby or just chill and relax!
Dinner
was at 7 pm during training and then the staff sometimes had activities planned
after dinner if we wanted to join and take part. My most memorable night in
training had to be the cultural night - hands down! We had so much fun and it
was just nice to come together with everyone and learn more about Nepali
culture! I will put a few pictures below so you guys can see but I will leave a
more detailed insight in the travel diary post.
I didn’t
know what I was expecting from this experience but the fact that I had a bunch
of amazing , motivated young volunteers with me who all had such unique
personalities made my experience so fun. Everyone brought something so
different and it was so lovely to meet so many people from different places and
backgrounds. It’s crazy how quick you become so close with people! I felt like
all the UK volunteers got on very well and so did the Nepalis.
If your
sitting here and wondering if this is something you should go for… I highly
encourage you to go for it. It’s a once in a life time opportunity and honestly
you learn and see so much. It makes you appreciate all the little things we
take in life for granted and also see how people actually live their everyday lives in a completely different part of the world. Most
importantly, your going out there to do some good in the world and that feeling
of giving back is the best <3
I'm going to round this post off and just say that my overall experience on ICS has been super positive. I got the chance to meet some lovely people and create so many
amazing memories!! This has probably also been the highlight of my 2020 (seeing
as I haven’t really done anything exciting since being in lock down) I
was in two minds about going to do this but this has opened my eyes to the
bigger world out there and taught me so much. The Restless Development team
took great care of all the volunteers and were always available if there was an
issue or if you ever needed to chat. The staff are all so understanding and supportive
and are more than happy to help you out with any problems.
I hope this
post helped in some sort of way. If you have any questions, then feel
free to leave them down below.
In my next post I will just go into a bit more detail about the actual placement and stuff that me and my counterparts did whilst in our community.
Speak again soon,
Lots of love
Fatima xx
