The 6 R-s: Repair, Reduce, Refuse, Reuse, Recycle, Repeat Our Climate Activist summer programme has just started, and one of the themes they study is the 6 R-s. Maybe you wonder: Does it really makes any difference what I do? The answer is YES – it does! Why re-cycle and repair and reuse..? Our “consumer society” is one of the reasons for rising CO2 emissions, causing global warming and climate change. We are often called "consumers" rather than "citizens". And our habits of shopping and consuming are causing huge environmental problems - because we are so many, and it has...

I was part of the Gaia Corse, as well as the Fighting with the Poor 12 month’s course. During my preparation I have got a lot of new knowledge. The studies have been a eye opener, I got information I never had before. I have learned about politics, history, economy and science. I have learned so many things about Poverty, Global Warming and Climate Change, compassion and togetherness. Besides the studies on itself, what really made a big impact on me was the practical skills that I have learned during my time at CICD, those skills and my new knowledge...

When studying at CICD I had the opportunity to develop personal and professional skills in so many ways. The concept of living in a community was a relevant part for my preparation to the project and to the world - everyone counts on everyone and I learned how to deal with difficulties that can arise at any time as a group and as an individual. I always remember the good comradeship and the respect people had for each other even when things weren't at their best and I believe I keep taking that with me through life. Working at a...

At CICD we have close to a negative carbon foot-print, because of our clothes and shoes recycling project. But we want to become much more sustainable in more areas. The slogan "Think global - act local" says it all -  this is exactly what we practice with our programmes and in the daily life here at the college. We are Another Kind of School - and we also have another kind of exams. It's called a People's Exam. Instead of a panel of experts in a possibly quite narrow field, the exam-board is everyone at the school – all who...

Aitana asked Noemi to tell a little about her life and her experiences from Mozambique. I’m Noemi, I come from Romania, from the part of Transylvania and I studied social work. I always had a special attraction to Africa, I knew that one day I will go and work there. When I was 3 years old I wanted to become a pediatrician so I could go and help the kids in Africa. To become a pediatrician you need biology and chemistry but I didn't have teachers who could give me the desire to learn and understand these disciplines, so I...

By Daniela Morales, Poverty Activist October team 2020 That's right ... it's amazing how in five words (An African Night at CICD) you can summarise in a simple way what a whole week of dedication and teamwork organising an event at school was. But, how did the idea of organising an event emerge, who organised it, how was it to manage and organise it? In this short text I will explain a little more about the life and activities that we develop as students (DI’s, as we say) at our school. When you start your training period or preparation for...

Since I arrived here at CICD, I feel as if many moments of the day are acquiring more value thanks to the sharing of them with other people and I'm very grateful for that. There is a place in Yorkshire, lost between the fields and the English farms, able to recreate that harmony between man and nature that today seems to have been lost. Here you can walk alongside the trees with squirrels, rabbits and, when you’re lucky, roe deer. Peace and silence accompany you throughout the day, especially in the early morning or late at night. In the midst...

WHY I DECIDED TO VOLUNTEER We say we love Nature, but do we really care about it? We say we love people, but do we know what is going on around the world? Do we know something about pollution, hunger, slavery, illnesses, forced prostitution and child abuse? Maybe we know a lot of things, maybe we can watch a touching doumentary and feel deep emotions for an hour or two, but then we always go back to our little structured reality made of work, family, hobbies and stuff. I was growing up between school, family and friends, struggling with what...

Hello! I am Margarita, the result of a love between Colombia and Spain, a person curious about the world, an admirer of the different and a believer in human kindness. I am writing to share my story and encourage you if at any time you decide to take a different step in life. I grew up in the country of magical realism, a place for which I feel immensely grateful for having given me love, study and work at times when it was not always easy. After working more than 10 years in the corporate world and with great achievements,...

My personal journey as a Development Instructor with CICD My name is Agustina Bastías Solis, I am 28 years old and I am from Chile. I am currently at CICD waiting to restart my program that was interrupted in Botswana due to Covid 19, although my trip started much earlier. Before coming to CICD in July 2019, I was working in my country as a psychologist in programs related to the protection and the restitution of the rights of children with difficult backgrounds. At that time, my motivation for volunteering was related to acquiring new work experiences and growing personally...

An unexpected summer experience! By Sara Simson, Poverty Activist teacher at CICD My first experience as a Development Instructor (DI) teacher in CICD has been unusual; due to the pandemic my team and I, as all the rest of the world, were really affected by it. Our program had to change and we needed to readapt our life and activities to it. It wasn`t easy for any of us, but together we organised a new routine. Adapting to another daily life As everything else in the program, even the date of the travel to Africa had to change. The start...

Hey! My name is Tomás Cunha, I’m 25 years old and come from Portugal. I’m the current responsible for the garden here at CICD. I first arrived at this college almost 9 months ago. I had just finished my masters in Evolutionary Biology back in Lisbon. After several years of studies, I knew I wanted to experience something different from my reality until then. Something that pushed me a bit away from the course of actions I was taking. I needed to learn more about the world and also about me and what I want. I lived a quite privileged...

About the course “The Effects of Industrial Farming” This course is part of the curriculum for the Development Instructor teams, so they can gain a better understanding of the reasons for the huge economic inequality in the world today and why billions of people are living in such poverty – in spite of all the existing resources. After studying The Effects of Industrial Farming it was clear to us that some of the effects of industrial farming are: Rupture of the generational transmission of knowledge of uses and customs of natural resources and good practices. This makes us lose the...

About the course “Wars and Pollution” The consequences of the military on our environment are significant. How come that the huge military complex, that use a big part of state budgets and consume enormous amounts of oil and other resources, are not made to take their responsibility in cutting down to fight the Climate Crisis? To learn about this is one part of understanding the reasons for the Climate Crisis and the imbalance of our world.... My comments to the course “Wars and Pollution” By Iasmin Maionchi from Brazil, Development Volunteer 10 month February team 2020 Today we have studied...

Studies and workshops in our lock down CICD Hello, my name is Mel and I am a teacher at CICD. Today I write to tell you a bit about the past weeks and how we managed to continue with the programmes even in times of Covid-19. Let me tell you about how we rearranged the daily life in the safest way possible. At CICD we were around 30 people a month ago. We changed the whole set up of the school by dividing into 3 groups. 9 Development Instructors (DI-s) plus + 2 teachers are now living in Malawi building...

I remember the first day they told me that I would have to drive on the different side in the car. A challenge was presented and I overcame. And then came the next challenge: driving the van. Same as the car but with a few more meters of metal sheets. I was accompanied during the first few days and then I did it by myself. Satisfactorily I finished my four months of driving in the clothes collection. Good days and bad days! As I highlight freedom, enjoying your own company, being able to leave...

In the end of January our Poverty Activist team is travelling to join DAPP Zambia for 6 months as volunteers - in the ZAMFAM (Zambian Families) projects run by our partner DAPP (Development Aid for People to People) and prevention of malaria and diarrhoea, and in a boarding school for young adults in Nakambala. Before they left they wrote down some thoughts and expectations - and some advice! -  to share with you, while getting ready to continue on this new and fantastic experience....   Carla Barrado, Spain Hello World. I am Spanish and I am 24 years old. I...

Alvaro from Chile , volunteer in CICD-s 10 month August team 2019, shares his first impressions from living and volunteering in Amalika Teachers Training college & Pre-school project, run by DAPP Malawi - in "the Warm Heart of Africa"....and he reflects on the new perspective he got on his life until now. My first Impressions of Malawi We have ...

By Sara Simson, Development Instructor in DRH Lindersvolds Fighting with The Poor programme This program and the wealth of experiences that now I carry with me have changed me. The programme was 24 months in total, and 8 of them I spent in Malawi. If I think about how it all started, I realize how different I am. I started with a small idea of what I should have faced and learned in this program. A romantic idea of volunteering, childish and probably selfish. The first year was a fundamental part of my personal growth for different reasons. A year...

From the final report from May 2019 team - Pablo, Yessi, Beatriz and their teacher Miguel. “The beginning of our period here was about get introduced to the project and see how each area works. After a while, we started to understand in which way we could help. First of all, we started to learn about Humana India and the Anganwadi centers (Academies for Working Children). We were asked to make some suggestions about cleaning, organisation and educational activities or games for children, in order to help staff and improve children's environment." Sunil, the project leader, also asked us to...