ICS Raleigh International: 13X Charlie Uno Week 6 to 10

This blogpost is an account of week 6 to week 10 (part 2) of my voluntary placement in Nicaragua with Raleigh International ICS, 30th September to 9th December 2013.

Week 6 

• Produced and repaired 33 vegetable plots collectively as a team (2 a day, per mini team).
• A Film night was run by the Youth Group. 
• We hosted a Healthy Eating Community Action Day.
• A environmental School group session and Women's Group meeting. 
• A Trip to Achuapa to print reports. 

        (Blue: Volunteer Duties, Red: Activities with the community, Green: Team Activities)

It's Sunday 10th November and Naomi, Yamil and I are lounging in a bed together with hero-cat nestled between us. It's our only day off for the week and we embrace the relaxed pace morning with a lazy lie in.   


Our 'Healthy Eating' community action day was scheduled for 2:00pm in the afternoon, however the attendance numbers were marred by the heavy and relentless monsoon rainfall. The torrent of water drenched our community regularly, creating grey and hazy afternoons. 

We decided to carry out the action day across the course of a few days. Overall, we had around forty attendees to our event. The action day was for raising awareness of the health benefits of vegetables. We designed information posters and we drew inspiration from reusing waste such as plastic water-bottle plant growers and wind chimes from discarded metal. 

It's the start of a long and strenuous week of constructing vegetable plots. We are trained on how to prepare them, the ideal location, the dimensions and how to construct plots on slated land. Laxmi and Diabelis distributed the workload of 33 vegetable plots across the course of the week and we tackled 4 - 5 plots per mini team. 

Mini team: Me, Ben, Chama and Ana. 

Lugging big, heavy bags of compost/fertilizer! 

It's a wonderful feeling working with the families, next to their houses. We see the results of our work straight away and most of the vegetable plots only took a few hours to complete. We are also treated to a random array of refreshments throughout the course of the week by the different families we built plots for. From freshly made lemon grass tea to coffee to tortilla with beans, each occurrence demonstrated genuine Nicaraguan hospitality. After finishing each plot, we handed the families an assortment of seeds (provided by the co-operative) for planting fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, onions and pepinos. 

A day before changeover, Mark, Karen and I embark to Achuapa in order to print reports. It's a beautiful and scenic walk. The river reflects the deep blue sky and the surrounding hills and mountains are a vivid, flourishing green. We caught a glimpse of the national bird of Nicaragua, a brightly multicoloured motmot. 

 

Week 7

• A 2 -  3 day changeover reunion at Jinotega.
• House to house survey for eco-ovens across all five sectors.
• Eco oven construction.
• Hosted a Women's Group meeting and a Youth English lesson. 
• ICS Staff and Ross & Dan from Raleigh visit El Cacao.
• A Weekend break to visit Charlie dos in their community, Las Tablas.

(Purple: Changeover, Blue: Volunteer Duties, Green: Team Activities)

2nd Changeover

It's a long, bumpy and mountainous drive up to Jinotega in Northern Nicaragua! We weave through the green, rolling mountains, driving through wisps of cloud to over a thousand metres in elevation.  We total over eight hours on the bus. The air is noticeably cooler and we shiver as we disembark at the hotel, all of us a little dishevelled from the long journey. It's 15 - 18 degrees here, half of what we are used to in El Cacao! 

The drive up to Jinotega 

We wrap up the evening with six different team video presentations,  a tasty meat dinner and a crackling bonfire.

Overall, the second changeover is relaxed paced and calming. Although I really enjoyed Esteli, there were a lot of set activities which I did find a little overwhelming after allour hard work in El Cacao. There was an air of tranquility in Jinotega, where we were given the free time to chat to our peers, unwind, and explore the local area. The hotel grounds had a lake with a small cascading waterfall, an extensive maze, and a nature hike through the forested valleys.  

             

The hotel Maze entrance 

Phase 3

Suitably invigorated after changeover, it dawns on us that are only 2.5 weeks left in El Cacao! There are a group of kids waiting for our arrival, sitting beneath the community tree. They greet us joyfully as our bus trundles in and we walk back together to our host houses.

The next day, we divide into small groups. We cover house to house surveys in order to produce a final list for the households who were interested in eco-ovens. We gave each family a list of materials they would need to provide for construction. All the ingredients were freely obtainable, for example buckets of water, sand, mud and horse poo!

As Mark and I are about to leave a house, Maylin, a lady who hosted Raleigh volunteers before, hands me a large bunch of small, sweet bananas on a stalk. At first, I tell her not to worry and to keep them (in bad spanish). She insists and hands them to me with a smile. I am completely taken back by her act of casual generosity, she only just met me! I thank her over and over, I love mini bananas and I contemplate of how I can reflect back her act of kindness. 

In the evening, Naomi was attacked by a scorpion! It was a horrible, terrifying moment where I couldn't quite comprehend the situation as it happened. It was a typical evening of antics in the house of five, with Naomi and Yamil play fighting in the living area. Yamil yells "don't move!" over and over. I could've cut the tension with a knife, I thought it was a cruel joke to begin with. Naomi was stood rooted to the spot, utterly unaware of the creature perched on her shoulder. Yamil slowly moves towards her, carefully pulling off the hoodie and dropping it to the floor. Jader, our host dad handles the situation, killing the scorpion with a shoe.

     Scorpion #2

I am terrified and completely shaken after the encounter, I can't begin to imagine how Naomi felt that evening with the scorpion clinging on her. We work out that the scorpion fell from the ceiling, into Naomi's hair then onto her shoulder. It was extremely lucky that it didn't sting her! We'd already had one previous scorpion attack in the house of five, with Yamil being stung on his leg by a pregnant scorpion on the bed. 

Scorpion #1

Over the next few days, we are trained on how to construct eco-ovens. We have a list of fourteen families to make eco-ovens for in the next 2 weeks. 

For the afternoon, Raleigh staff members came to visit our project. It's another classic Charlie 1 candlelit dinner with basil pasta and soft tortillas! Mark and I host the evening entertainment: a game of pictionary whereby one has to answer in their non-native language (English for the Nicaraguans and Spanish for the Brits!). We had some funny answers e.g. "horny" from Luke attempting to guess the Spanish word for kitchen.

A visit to Charlie dos, Las Tablas

We rise early and depart together at 6:30am for a 3 - 4 hour walk to Las Tablas. Upon reaching Achuapa, we stop at The Co-operative where we are given a tour of a organic sesame seed oil factory.

After lunch, it's a long, steep and taxing walk up a hill to Las Tablas. We all struggle in the heat, dragging our feet and rucksacks up a hill that inclined painfully steeply for the whole way.

We meet up with Charlie Dos, where we are given a list of items for a scavenger hunt! It's a great way to explore the community. We gather the items whilst traversing around the calm and serene community of Las Tablas, gathering bits and pieces such as an ear of corn, charcoal and Jamaican tea. 

We finish the evening with a film night together (The Internship). The night is spent camping out as a group in a primary school with a mish mash of soft, colourful sleeping bags laid out pell mell in a classroom. 

We left Las Tablas at 8:30am the following morning. We had free-time to explore the town of Achuapa, we ate chicken for lunch together (satisfying meat cravings!) & we went for a refreshing dip in the river on our way back to El Cacao.

Overall, it was a fun, varied and engaging weekend. It's the start of my 'weekly team leader' role tomorrow. As part of the ICS placement, we all have to lead and organise the team's work schedule for a week, working in pairs. 

Week 8 

• Constructed and finished 14 eco-ovens (worked in mini teams).
• End of project report writing and a Youth English Lesson. 
• A team social: Facundo's bonfire.
• A Youth cultural entertainment event. 
• The last Charlie one team banquet.

(Blue: Volunteer Duties, Red: Activities with the community, Green: Team Activities)

Bricks for making Eco-ovens

Before constructing eco ovens, we had to make bricks with the materials gathered by the households. The bricks have to be made early on in the week, as they take 3 days to dry. 

I visited Maylin (the lady who gave me bananas) and I handed her a big pack of waffle biscuits as a thank you for her gift earlier on in the week. As Mark and I leave, her son rushes after us and hands me a guayaba, a sweet fruit that makes a delicious drink. I really, really wasn't expecting anything back, nevertheless it was another incredibly kind gesture from her. 
It's Kati's (a daughter of a host mum) birthday today as well. As I pass her house I give her a present I picked up in Jinotega: a disney colouring book with colouring pencils. I wanted to reflect back the generosity that I've experienced whilst staying in El Cacao.  

It's a terribly sad day today. There is a call from Raleigh HQ and Ana was told that her grandma was terminally ill in hospital. She left El Cacao that day to visit her grandparents. We've lived together for over a month and a half. With a team member missing, it felt like a gap in our family.

Making Eco-Ovens 

The following day, we divide into sub teams. We all went to different households to make bricks. Producing bricks involves:

• Shoes off and plodding through the mud/sand/horse poo/water mixture in order to stir it up! 
• Grabbing handfuls of the sloppy, mixed material and putting it in moulds in order to make bricks.
• We get extremely dirty doing this! :)

Making bricks in Los Carbones

It's a lovely, relaxing evening. To my utter delight, Chloe's host mum gave me a strawberry pancake on a visit to her house! I love Chloe's host sister, Margely. She's the most affectionate child I'd ever come across, with a gentle, loving and caring persona. 

I spend the evening seated on the doorstep, staring out at the blanket of stars. Genedree's, my four year old host brother, fell asleep in my arms. I retire to bed early that night. 

The next day, Mark and I continue making bricks in the afternoon at Facundo's house. We make all the preparations for our team bonfire in the evening. We realise that Facundo's wife has gone above and beyond for hosting the bonfire. She slaughtered over three chickens to feed fifteen of us and insisted that we came for dinner too. I am both bewildered and utterly grateful for her generosity, feeding fifteen people is no easy feat!  

 The delicious meal Marianna (Facundo's Wife) cooked
 for us,one of the best meals I had in Nicaragua! 

Mark and I hide praise notes for everyone in our team. We decided that sometimes people felt a little underappreciated for all the work they did, thus the notes were a little morale booster. 

Throughout the evening, Facundo plays the accordion and the fire is crackling and glowing. Mark and I host the evenings entertainment: 'How well do you know Charlie Uno?'. We split the team into Brits and Latinos, and each group has to answer corresponding questions about the opposing team members. It was an incredibly memorable evening due to the hospitality of Facundo and his family. 

It was extremely windy that night and the house of five had an interrupted and erratic nights slumber. The tin roof was clashing and banging loudly throughout the night. We wake up the next morning to find a small hole in the roof of the house. 

As the day draws to a close, Kati turns up to my host home. I understand the word 'dinner', as she speaks to me rapidly and she asks me to come along. Kati has her auntie and her grandmother round! Laxmi, Diabelis, Mark, Chloe and I eat together with her family. We have fried plantain with a spicy tuna, onion and carrot salad with a slice of pineapple cake to finish with. Two delicious meals, two days in a row?!  What a treat! 

3 days later, the bricks have dried! Chama, Mark, Daibelis, Emma and I embark together to Los Carbones to build our first ec0-oven.

              Starting off with an empty base!

Eco-oven building involves the following:
-  Mix more mud/water/horse poo and sand together to form a gooey paste.
- Lay bricks in L shape and stack chimney bricks, with mud paste between each layer. 
- Install Metal hoops for the stove holes and metal stick supports.
- Eco Oven is done! No more smoky rooms and up to 70% less wood usage! :)

Our finished Eco-oven in a soon to be kitchen!

The lady was really happy with the work we did, and she thanked us gratefully, shaking our hands. The eco-oven was part of a new extension for her house and she's glad that she had the opportunity to have one. For the afternoon, a group of visiting youths from Los Hornos participated in a Culture event hosted by our youth group. Over 50 attendees came to the event where there was lots of singing, dancing and acting. There was a parody 'Raleigh volunteer' play and our point of contact, Nacho, sang beautifully with a guitar. 

The next day, it's eco-oven take 2! This time its just Naomi,  Mark and I getting mucky and building in El Pacon.

Our last team social for the week is a final Charlie One group dinner. We go all out of our way for this one! There was a feast of food! We brought beef and fish from local sellers. 
The beef, surprisingly soft and tender, was marinated with a fresh chilli and garlic sauce. 3kg of fish was pan fried with lemon and basil. The mains were accompanied by salty, garlic potato chips and stir fried carrots with shredded cabbage and I made fried strawberry pancakes. Not too shabby considering we cooked it all on a log fire eco oven! :). There was a warm, team ambience and it was a wonderfully satisfying end to a long week of eco-ovens. 

Week 9 

• Constructed the last 2 eco ovens and built x2 eco latrines, one for the school and one for the community centre. 
• We painted a large mural on the outside  of the community house with the help of PioresNada, a art group specialising in street art. 
• Our Community Farewell party.
• Genedree's 5th birthday party. 
• A final Team Bonfire with Charlie 1 Awards.

(Blue: Volunteer Duties, Red: Activities with the community, Green: Team Activities)

It's dawned on us quickly, that it is our final week in El Cacao. I spend a productive Monday morning with Ana, Emma and Alnufo, constructing one of the final eco ovens for Tello, a local shop owner in the community. 

Tello is cooking near us. My eyes sting and I cough as I work. The kitchen is thick with cooking fumes and smoky oil.  I wonder what it must be like to be in this room, day after day, for local women who don't have eco-ovens to channel the smoke out...

Chimneys which carry the smoke out. 

We're about half way through the work and Tello beckons us over. We see him serving up sauteed pork, with tortilla and a side salad! My heart jumps with joy! Meat two days in a row!? We sit at a table outside and relish upon our unanticipated lunch. The pork is heavenly! We're also given cold, thirst quenching pepsi which was an absolute treat. I get back to work with a skip in my step, what a lovely, generous guy! 

In the afternoon, my fourth and final eco-oven is made at a large house, with a local lady called Isodora. I feel that the projects have got more and more enjoyable:

• Water infrastructure was ok, but some of the days did spiral into endless digging.
•  Vegetable plots were a step-up. They were quicker to do and you were working for families as opposed to random areas by the roadside.
• Eco-ovens: you make something totally from scratch! There is no digging and there are so many benefits for the families using them. 

With two eco-ovens built in one day, there was no doubt I was completely and utterly filthy :). Dregs of dried mud crusted my legs up to my knees and my clothes were begrimed with dirt. There was a permanent layer of crud I could never shift beneath my nails and my forearms were browned with mud. 

It took me 30 minutes to wash the grime out of the shirt I was wearing. To this day, there is still a orangy clay tint on the material. All part of the Raleigh experience I say! 

The days passed by quickly for our last week in El Cacao. Instilling the help of the youth group and artists, we painted a colourful and eye catching mural on the outside of the community centre.

Before (top) and after (bottom) photo!

We also start the construction of two eco-latrines. It's been a wonderful Phase 3, we've all worked diligently and we've spent lots of evenings together with our impending departure date drawing ever closer... Work hard and play hard: It's a great combo!

In the afternoon, a local elderly lady gave us a tour of her farmland and the local honey production, up in the midst of beautiful hills overlooking El Cacao. 
We have a final, late night team bonfire in La Mora. Ben hosts the 'Individual Charlie 1 awards' with quirky categories such as "Charlie Millionnaire, Charlie guapo (good-looking) and Charlie bandit." 
All the voting was done in secrecy, with everyone assigned a number to input into an anonymous spreadsheet.  There were 18 - 20 categories in total for 15 of us. I scooped 3 titles and I was voted "Raleigh baby, Charlie dreamer and Charlie kind/amable!"

The Last Day

Thankfully, there is no work on our last day! 

Morning of the last day: we painted and cemented rocks with our names on. 

I trek together with Mark to El Pacon to say bye to Facundo and Maylin one last time. The kids follow us suite with Dennis, Candida and Margaly hand in hand with us.

We mess about with the kids, as per usual. Denis would speak to me rapidly then say "no entiendo?" (don't/do you understand?) Si Entiendo! I insist! No, he says laughing! Yes I say! Regardless of the language barrier, there is so much more to communication then just words. We laugh and joke together. 

The kids had a long lasting game with me that went along the lines of: "lets tickle her and run away, she'll chase us but she can't catch us because she's too slow". I happily play along, I've realised with working in a school is that sometimes the very best thing you can give to a child is your attention.  

When we reach Facundo's house, we play with the hammock together. I wrap the kids up inside the net, and tip them upside them. They squeal with laughter, as Mark prevents them from escaping. 

Saying Goodbye...

Marianna, Facundo's wife, generously prepares us and the children some beans and tortilla. We hug and say our goodbyes afterwards. 

Marianna's eyes well up with tears, the sight made me shake a little in emotion as I bid her farewell and give her a long and tender hug. How wonderful is it, that in Nicaragua, I can go to a community member's house, with three local kids, and be welcomed so warmly? Why did Marianna go out of her way to prepare chicken for fifteen strangers? It is humanity: it's unconditional, it's fondness and respect for others, untainted by wealth, race or social status.

I want to bring this back to the UK. I've seen it in so many LEDC countries and I get rare glimpses of it back in London. Even if the behaviour of others never change, at least I am in control of my own. I value and respect other people and I know one thoughtful or kind act towards an individual can go a long way. 

I return back to El Cacao in the afternoon and I join Mark, Chama and Alnufo on a venture to California, to bid farewell to Chama's host grandma. 

As we approach her home, she mumbles fondly I felt in my heart that someone was coming today". Chama presents her with bread as a small gift, as we hug and say goodbye. I brought 30 cordobas worth of bread with me too, to give away to Angelica (the lovely, free-spirited elderly lady in our vegetable plot video). We walked pass another local lady in California, who proceeded to hug us and thank us for the love we showed towards El Cacao. 

Mark, Chama, Alnufo and I rush back to El Cacao, just in time for the community goodbye party for us. It is an extremely deep and emotionally upsetting day: the host families make speeches on behalf of us as we hug and say goodbye to one another.

We eat together as a team, many of us depriving the night of sleep until the early AM's in order to stay with each other. Some play guitar and sing and others stare out at the stars.

The bus arrives early the next morning, at 7:30am. We board and bid a final, heartfelt farewell to our home. For me, this moment felt a little surreal, like it wasn't happening, yet it was at the same time. The seven hour journey  to Managua lulls me to sleep as I think of my host family that I'm leaving behind in El Cacao...

Round Up

• A link to our end of project report is at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw_svIa6rMDqcnJnYndtN3BzNGc/edit?usp=sharing
• We finished together as a complete team, Ana came back to El Cacao after visiting her grandma :).
• In the final 2 days (known as 'wash-up'), we visited Masaya market, Masaya Volcano National Park and we had a end of project party.
• To volunteer with ICS, go to http://www.volunteerics.org/ to apply and select 'Raleigh International' as the preferred sending organisation.
• You don't need much spending money for the placement at all. I brought around £55.00 ($90.00) and it lasted for the 10 weeks.
• Things I wish I brought: A proper first aid kit (I went with a few plasters & painkillers!), more pens/batteries, more chocolate, little gifts for the kids and aloe vera (for the weird skin condition I got and for mosquito bite relief).
• You can get internet access once every 2 weeks or so on placement. It varies if there is electricity or not, depending on where your project is.
• If you have any questions about ICS, please feel free to email me or comment here. 
• Thank you SO MUCH to anyone who sponsored me! £800 was a high target for me and I am truly thankful for every single donation. 
• To read Week 1 - 5 of my blog, go to: http://days-of-adventure.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/ics-raleigh-international-13x-charlie.html 

Charlie 1: El Cacao - http://www.raleighinternational.org/ri-blogs/raleigh-nica-ics

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ICS Raleigh International: 13X Week 1 to 5

 Charlie 1 - Natural Resource Management Project

Week 1 

Pre-Project Induction

It's a two hour flight to Managua from Miami, we fly in the midst of a thunder and lightening storm and land in Nicaragua, all of us a little ragged from the 15+ hour journey. After a night's stay at Ipade Hostel, we board a school-bus for a three hour transfer to Esteli, where we begin our 3 day induction into our ICS placement. 

Cuallitlan Hotel - Induction Location

It's a quirky, cosy and characteristic hotel setting, where our first induction day consists of: 

• A cultural awareness presentation
• 1:1 medicals
• A brief history of Nicaragua
• 6 project briefings
• Raleigh ice-breakers!

It's my first full day in Nicaragua and I genuinely feel settled and happy to be on the ICS programme with Raleigh. The induction helped to ease any previous doubts or worries I had before departure and the fellow volunteers I'd met so far have been lovely. 

We were given the option to choose our team leaders after the 6 project briefings. I chose not to express a preference, as all the projects sounded equally rewarding. 

The morning after, all the Raleigh volunteers were buzzing with energy and anticipation. We were given the task to 'hunt' our new team leaders, all of whom were scattered within the grounds of the hotel. I find out I'm placed in Charlie 1! A team I grew to love and appreciate after 10 weeks together in El Cacao.

Charlie 1!

Our project focus was 'Natural Resource Management - Climate Change Mitigation' with tasks such as extending the water system, producing vegetable plots and eco-ovens and forming Womens/Youth groups. After we all divided into our 6 project groups (called Charlies), we continued our induction with a safety & First-Aid presentation, a visit to Esteli town and a dance evening!

 On our last induction day, we took the bus straight down to the riverside in order to practise using tools safely, how to cross a river and how to perform a team 'casevac' (casualty evacuation: taking an injured team member on a make-shift stretcher to a safe location!). 

Fiery, little red army ants 
at our practise site

Picturesque river crossings

 We close the final day with a classic 'Charlie vs Charlie' challenge! Each task involved teamworking whether solving a logical puzzle or a physical feat. With just 1 - 2 days together, we were thrown straight into the task, attempting to teamwork amongst 14 others in our group. 

The evening closed with a slideshow of pictures and the announcement of the CvsC winning team....Charlie 1! I felt a genuine burst of happiness and pride, having secured such a early victory in the induction phase. 

Introduction to our Community

It's a four hour, mountainous drive to our community, El Cacao, in Achuapa. There is a small crowd awaiting our arrival and a welcome speech is made.

Ben, Ana and I are placed together in a household. As we gather our belongings, we realise that we are staying in the same house as Yamil and Naomi. We become fondly known as 'the house of 5' and we spend our first day playing frisbee with the kids in the monsoon rainfall and conversing with our new host family (our host dad, Jader, was an ex-Raleigh volunteer!). 

My new room

Casa de Cinco! (Naomi, Yamil, Ana, 
Me, Ben and our host mum, Patricia)

Week 2

Our first week was spent integrating as a team and within the community. 

(Green: Team activities, Red: Activities with the community, 

Blue: Volunteer Duties)

• We wrote up and brain stormed team rules.
• Designed a map of the local community, showing all the homestay locations for Raleigh HQ.
• A visit from another Raleigh group, Charlie II. 
• A trip to the river with the locals.
• Macheted and cleared an overgrown football pitch with the help of the locals (3 - 4 days to complete due to monsoon rainfall).
• Planned the first Women's group meeting. 

Trip to the river with local youths 

A snake outside the community centre!

Clearing the football pitch!

The bonds grew quickly and there was a great sense of community spirit as we macheted and cleared the football pitch together. Our project began falling into motion as we established mini committees for planning the Womens and Youth group meetings. 

However, 8th October marked the day when I fell sick with terrible stomach cramps and traveller's diarrhoea. I wasn't the only one, with nearly every British team member down with the same symptoms or unexplained fevers. Looking back, I found this the most difficult time during my ICS placement. The illness lasted eight days for me, where it became a repetitive and draining cycle of toilet trips, lack of appetite and lack of energy. I was dehydrated and frustrated at feeling lethargic. Rocky, our team leader, reminded us that this was the most difficult time of our project: adjusting.

Regardless of illnesses, we gave it our all with our team member numbers varying on each day. On the 11th October, we celebrated Emma's birthday and planned the day for Charlie two's visit to our community. 

After door to door invitations, the turn out to our first women's meeting was incredibly high with over 50 attendees! We gave out refreshments to the women and elected a committee leader for each sector of the community.

Women's Meeting

Week 3 

Week 3 marks feeling at home in El Cacao and momentum for the project with most of us recovered from illnesses. 

(Blue: Volunteer Duties, Red: Activities with the community, Green: Team activities)

• The clearing of the overgrown plants outside the community centre.
• The start of water infrastructure work (digging trenches: 7:00am - 12:00pm).
• Environmental youth film night.
• Translation of water manual and formulation of waterworks map.
• CAPS meeting (Water committee) and Womens Meeting.
• x2 school sessions on conservation and environmental issues.
• Trek to a coffee plantation.
• A visit from a Raleigh staff member, Pedro. 
• Trip to the local town, Achuapa. 

I feel week 3 is the time we all felt fully settled as a team, with our host families and in our new community. I drew joy from the everyday encounters, from holding a baby chick within the palm of my hand, to bonding with the children through playing games and providing impromptu English lessons. 

There was one afternoon where I sat beneath the community tree with two girls. Tatiana found 5 pesos (UK equivalent of 15p) on the ground. She was overjoyed with her luck. She skipped to the shops and purchased three lollypops, graciously handing me one with a smile and another to her friend. It is within these small moments we encounter compassion, empathy and genuine selflessness. 
I loved how such a small but significant act demonstrates utter humility. I think of the UK. There is a stark difference in wealth, I wonder if we would act in the same manner. If I or a friend found £5.00 on the floor, would we share it? 
We make these conscious decisions everyday and I feel that the exposure to these random acts of kindness upon my travels makes me thrive to be more and more loving as an individual. 

The Start of Water Infrastructure Work 

Day 17 marks the beginning of the water infrastructure work. On the previous day, we trekked together as a team to the old Raleigh built water system. I was bitten by a lot of bugs but the setting was incredibly beautiful: a concreted water source amongst hummingbirds, trees with dappled sunlight, trickling streams and rocky rivers.

Captacion

From that day onwards, we dug for up to five hours each morning, working in collaboration with the locals. We split into small groups of 3 - 4 Raleigh volunteers plus 3 - 4 local volunteers, digging at different sites in order to lay down pipes to extend the water system.

                 


Excluding Sunday, we dug everyday for the following 8 days. The trenches had to be a minimum of 50cm deep. Digging in the Nicaraguan sun can be really tough. I had small blisters beneath my fingers and I felt a constant, unquenchable thirst as I worked. Although the mornings were difficult, we worked together as a team. There was a strong group spirit and feeling fatigued after work was often cured by a long bucket shower and a hearty portion of rice and beans! 

Rice and beans really grew on me after the first week! 

It was monsoon season. Some evenings we spent as a team playing cards together, listening to music and having mini review meetings. The night storms were hauntingly beautiful, with claps of thunder and lightening across a expanse of glowing, moving stars. 

We became a Charlie One Family, working together and living together. I cooked tuna mayo pasta (Naomi brought ingredients!) with Ana as a little treat. We devised a little initiation for a visiting staff member, Pedro, which involved catching chickens and eating choco-bananas. Karen made a improvised condense milk & biscuit cake for Alnufo, after he kept his birthday a secret. We trekked together as a team to a local coffee plantation, on our day off on Sunday. 

During one lunchtime, Chama arranged a surprise 'rain circle'. Arm and arm with each other, we spent the time reflecting on our time in the community and giving each other appreciations. We were in the forest, utterly drenched in the monsoon rainfall. It was a wonderfully unique moment. We were given the opportunity to envisage our goals and feel and listen to our thoughts. 

Alnufo's Birthday 

Visit from Pedro! 

The final days of Phase 1 flew by. We were delivered a lovely food package from the Co-operative consisting of fruit and veg. There was a full community house for the youth environment themed film night, and as a team we greatly anticipated 'Changeover'. Changeover is a 2 - 3 day break away from the project site, at a Nicaraguan city. The time is normally spent reflecting on the project work, meeting up with the other volunteer groups and free-time to explore the town. Our first changeover was in Esteli in Northern Nicaragua.  

Week 4

• 2 - 3 day Changeover in Esteli (Myers Briggs and Action at Home presentation, x3 Charlie vs Charlie challenges: video-making, a team presentation and a dance-off. 
• Finished water infrastructure work!
• Community House Action Day 
• x1 Womens Meeting and x2 Environmental School Sessions
• Film night: screening of Arizona
• Eli and Yahoska (Raleigh staff members), visited our team. 

         (Purple: Changeover,Blue: Volunteer Duties, Green: Team activities)

Phase 1 Changeover

Our bus breaks down on the way to over to Esteli, just twenty minutes away from the city. We all go a little crazy! (fun crazy).

Ana my homestay sister and her 'baby' whilst we wait for another bus

It's lovely reuniting with the other teams. We exchange little anecdotes, catch up with friends and we spend the first day exploring Esteli town and succumbing to 3 weeks worth of cravings such as fruit smoothies, chocolates and internet communication to the outside world.

The evening is spent comprising a team presentation to show to the rest of the group what we've been up to in our communities.

On our second day of changeover, we spend the morning together as a team producing a video for the topic 'How to play Ninja'. Ninja is a famous Raleigh 'energizer' that we played throughout the 10 weeks. The video task helped to equip us with the skills to make a project video in the next phase. The penultimate evening closes with a Charlie vs Charlie dance off competition!

Charlie 1 dance off winners! :)

Back to El Cacao (Phase 2)

It's a restful Sunday on our first day back in El Cacao. A change of environment can be incredibly stimulating, I feel renewed and content to be back and I realise that El Cacao feels like home to me. I spend the day at Mark's house with Emma, Karen and Chama where Mark prepares a lovely meal for us all.

It's back to digging the following day. We've now dug the majority of trenches for the pipework. Day 29 is when Daibelis and I install our first tap for a neighbouring house.

 As Mark and I are sticking up posters advertising the community events, we hear a rumble and bump into Eli and Yahoska driving into the community. We spend the afternoon cooking together as a team, preparing a group banquet and laying out a long table for the 17 of us to eat together. 

Home-made mud candle holders!
(Made by Yamil + kids) 

Chloe, Laxmi, Karen and Ana prepared a delicious chilli & basil pasta served with soft, floury tortillas and garlic oil. We spend the evening conversing as a team with Eli and Yahoska and finish with dinner party antics such as the cereal box game and charades. 

A month has now passed. We have all gelled together incredibly well and there is a powerful group calibre. We stand with our arms round each other. We make 'massage chains'. We buy each other treats, make hair braids and organise film nights. Yes, there are food cravings and the infrastructure work is hard but it makes me appreciate the little treats even more. From a make-shift powdered oreo 'milkshake' with Mark to watching World War Z with the team, there is so much joy to be had from these little moments we have together as a team. 

Community Action day - 1st November 

Work-wise, we organised a Community Action Day. New, electrical lights were installed in the community centre and we repainted the entire inside of the building with the help of the local people. The walls turned from a washed-out, unpainted grey to a bright yellow with a dark green stripe running parallel to the floor. 

My host brother
with the new tap at
 our house.

We finish off all the water piping and tap installations this week. There is just work at the water source to finish off the extension. Water access in the community has now increased from 28 to 45 houses and we installed a total of 2275 metres of additional piping.

  

Week 5

• Community Sports Day with the youth.
• House to house Surveys for next project phase: Organic vegetable plots.
• Made first vegetable plot.
• Women's Meeting and CAPS meeting (Water committee).
• Team Bonfire.
• A visit from Dan and other ICS staff from London.
• Trip to Achuapa.

(Red: Activities with the community, Blue: Volunteer Duties, Green: Team activities)

We spend our Sunday afternoon on the newly cleared football field, playing football and volleyball with the local youths. 

Our new week of work started with house to house surveys across all five sectors: La Mora, El Cacao, California, Los Carbones and El Pacon. We covered 74 households in total in order to comprise a list of families who wanted organic vegetable plots/eco-ovens.

We were midway through our placement, and tensions did begin to arise in our team. There were poor dynamics such as team members coming late to the morning meetings, people finishing work early without informing the leaders and not following instructions. We had a evening meeting with our team leader's in order to address this and the problems were attributed to lack of motivation and a lack of free time in the work day. The meeting was a gentle reminder about respecting each other by working well and our overall goal of being in Nicaragua with ICS to make a difference.

It's a week of strange health ailments for me. My toenail fell off in the shower (it's been purple since a long walk I did) and the random appearance of dark red/brown marks on my legs and that didn't disappear for the rest of my time in Nicaragua. Regardless of this, Chloe, Alnufo, Mark, Daibelis and I produced the team's first vegetable plot in El Pacon. 

We were welcomed warmly into the household. Half way through working, the mother invited us in and presented us with sour cream, tortillas, cuajada and warm cinnamon milk.

Yum!

  

Our project video was on Vegetable plots and how to construct them, the video we made can be watched here:

It's a bit of a uncomfortable week. There was no water due to the construction at the water source, and the alternative shower block was quite exposed with short walls, nearby a busy path. 

We spend the afternoon preparing a vegetable curry for Dan and Ross's visit. Luke prepared a presentation to sum up everything we've been doing for the past month. We wrap up the evening with another classic Charlie 1 group banquet and a dinner quiz.  

Chloe making use of the opportunity to shower
at a house where we finished a vegetable plot!

Round up

• The 3 Raleigh/ICS objectives are project impact, volunteer personal development and the creation of active global citizens. This is done through: 1) Action Research, 2) Peer to Peer Education, 3) Training, 4) Awareness Raising, 5) Infrastructure and 6) Resources.
• A summary of our activities from 1st October - 9th November: We completed all the water extension (Infrastructure), held a Community Action Day (Awareness Raising), re-painted and installed electricity in the community centre (Infrastructure), established a Women's/Youth Group and planned meetings (Peer to Peer Education), held 5+ school sessions on health/hygiene/environmental topics (Peer to Peer Education), Completed 74 house to house surveys (Action Research), produced a water system map and a translated water manual for the CAPS committee (Resources), organised a vegetable plot and compost training with the local co-operative (Training) and showed videos and hosted information meetings with the CAPS committee (Training).  
• Rest and relaxation activities included: a trek to a coffee plantation, swimming in the river, film nights, 2 group dinner nights, 2 town trips to Achuapa and a team bonfire.
• 8 Raleigh/ICS Staff members visited us: Eli, Yahoska, Pedro, Ross, Dan, Sarah, David and a photographer. 
• x1 snake encounter and x1 scorpion encounter (both in the community house).
• x1 poisonous caterpillar in Yamil's bed.
• x1 'adopted' pet in Casa de Cinco - hero cat! (we named it hero cat after it ate a cockroach that was about to crawl into Naomi's bed in the middle of the night).
• It's £800 to fundraise for a 10 - 12 week placement, go to: http://www.volunteerics.org/ for more information and to apply for the scheme.
• To read part 2 of ICS blog go to: http://days-of-adventure.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/ics-raleigh-international-13x-charlie.html  

El Cacao

Hero Cat