Andrea and Marta, November team 2016 “Fighting with The Poor” Hi, we are Andrea and Marta. We are two DIs from CICD - England and we are in Mozambique since May 2017. We are working with ADPP Mozambique - FFK (“Food For Knowledge”), that is a big project that works with different activities in the province of Maputo. We had the opportunity to decide in which district we wanted to work and we choose Manhiça. Since the beginning the project gave us freedom to work in what we felt more confortable with, so we choose to work with “Clubes Escolares”....

Climate Activists with Homeless Support in Delhi and Green Action project in Behror, India!     Our journey started on March 29st, at 7:30, we left CICD for our next chapter of programme in India. After a long day travelling in public transports, finally we arrived at Heathrow Airport in London at for the flight to Delhi at 21:00. Next day, we arrived in Delhi at 11:00. The impact was very strong because we left UK with 7 or 8º C but here was around 39º C! Our bodies started to react immediately, breathing became more difficult and our senses...

{headtag:customtag} {/headtag}  Report from 24-months Team FWTP - 03.04.2017     We arrived to DAPP Ndola, Zambia, at the end of February 2017.   Travel period will prepare you for a lot of things, but what awaited us wasn't one of them! :-) Right after the arrival day, we dived head-first to the social life. Our arrival was so carefully placed by the Mighty Random that we met all our teams from CICD in just 2 days. That wasn't enough though! – Two days after, a team from far away, from a partner school in USA, has arrived; and our colleagues...

Ana and Ryma  About our experience in the projects, the only thing that we can tell you is that it was the experience of our life! When you decide that you want to do something like becoming a Development Instructor you need to be sure that you are prepared to change a lot of things in your life. Since we arrived here we improved a lot our English, we live surrounded by different cultures, different languages, different food, different way of living.  It is amazing the things that we learned when we lived in a community and that we then...

The “Zamfam Project” (Zambian Family Project) is a recent project being implemented by Development Aid from People to People  (DAPP), together with "Creative", "Kafhi" and "NZPT", with funds and technical support from the American People through USAID.    The aim of this project is to improve the quality of the people's life, in the villages, in communities ….and especially for the children. For example by supporting, protecting and reinforcing the importance of basic hygiene and health conditions for a better and more dignified life. In this project several points are fundamental: To make communities aware of the importance of latrines,...

This is a very weird feeling that we are having, returning to CICD. It’s like nothing changed since we left in May but, at the same time, it’s completely different. There are new people, new students, new teams, same spirit, same habits and same routine and same people also. Since the moment we came back we felt comfortable here, we know all the spaces and all the responsibilities and tasks that came with CICD life. We also feel that we are different, something as changed during our period in Namibia. We still don’t know exactly what but, in fact, there...

On the 9 th of October 2014, I stepped into the unknown as I arrived in CICD. I had my ideas of what the experience would bring, my doubts, hesitations and hopes. During my stay here, all those things I brought with me in my mind were turned upside down and sideways for good measure. Today is the 11 th of November 2016 so I have spent here just over 2 years, in the midst of the Yorkshire fields and strange but wonderful international people. When I first stepped foot into CICD I was honestly quite terrified. I had left...

Humana People to People India NeTT Ujjain Report of Climate Activist Team College for International Co-operation and Development, UK   From 17 to 21 of September of 2016 We arrive around midday in New Delhi, after we took a taxi to NHQ where we receive a good welcome from Cristina (Project Leader), Louise and some workers from HPPI. After Cristina invited us to her house to take some food and rest a little bit. After we take a walk around and we met IDIs from Norway School who guide us to the IDIs apartment where we stayed a couple of...

Hello from Danail . After six months Gaia period , (in which I had many unforgettable moments) I was super excited. The feeling was strange, but in the best sense. In the upcoming five months in which I will enrich my knowledge about issues which are interesting for me: -where the problems in modern society come from; -how to solve them; -how to overcome poverty; -how to protect our planet and the wildlife in it. All these issues need addressing. I cannot tell you everything that happened in those five days, as I fear that might be boring for you,...

  My story and I at CICD My name is David Christian, from Rochdale near Manchester. I was a DI at CICD – the 14 months DI programme in March 2011. My project was at One World University in Mozambique, where my main tasks were the library, promotion and teaching English. My first experience in a developing country; the challenges were motivating the students, communicating in Portuguese, plus coping with the lack of running water, electricity and the comfort of my old life. This is what I wanted, to change myself in this aspect; no longer remaining in my comfort...

My name is Maryssol and to talk about the six months in Zambia is a challenging thing to do, both the bad and good things that happened are going to stay with me forever. I think going to Zambia as a volunteer it was one of my best experiences until now and I just loved it. I thought that as I was born in a poor African country (Cape Verde) I was ready for anything when it comes to the challenges of Africa. But for sure I was wrong. I confess that in the beginning it was hard to be...

The 7th-8th May we had the monthly Gaia Study Weekend in our school. During this period, the subject that all the Gaia’s were working with was: “Why can’t people just agree to make a better world?”. To work with this question we split the class in 5 groups and we tried to focus our presentations on “What are the most important factors that are the hindrances for people to joining hands? ”. After sharing our opinion with the rest of the students, we established 5 factors as the most influencial factors in our society: Money Greed Comfort Education Fear In...

Peace Conference was a 3 day event, which took place from 29th of April till 1st of May in Tvind campus, nearby a town called Ulfborg, Denmark. Around 50 volunteers from various countries in Europe gathered to make it happen during a 3-day long Preparation Camp. Around 350 people attended the event as both participants and guests. Tvind is a place where a windmill (Tvindkraft) was built by students and teachers between 1974 – 1978 as a sign of protest against nuclear power. Students and volunteers from CICD had the pleasure and responsability to take part in the Preparation Camp...

2 years ago I was starting the journey that changed my life! 2 years ago I left my house, my hometown, my country, my family, my first Love, my very first tribe... 2 years ago I started to choose my own path, in my own way... During 7 months I met extraordinary people, inspiring, strong, crazy international volunteers. During that time I met community life and adapted myself to it. was not very easy, I have always been very stuborn, but my new tribe made me grab The Dream so so strongly that the next 6 months were with Africa...

Building a team is much like building a house. You need good support for the house/team to stand strong, strong walls/companions to help you stay warm in even the coldest situations, windows for light/fun and many other things. That is why a team has to be built slowly and with great care. If you just throw all of these things together you will not get a house, but a pile of rubble. A house/ team built too fast and carelessly will fall and collapse. But if you go slow and put the pieces together brick by brick, you can build...

To make the dreams become reality requires a decision, persistence and the place of opportunities. Carla and I found this place in England at CICD, where we have had the opportunity to change our lifestyle and go forward to the life we want to live. Our main targets were to know better the world we live in and to help those in need in the developing countries. After one year of studies and preparations in the school, where we have got knowledge about history, politics and a general understanding of the world around us, we could get a little piece...

I am Veronika (29) from Hungary and I was DI in Mozambique, Cabol Delgado, Biibiza in 2010-2011. First I had to raise fund to DI course therefore I participated in the GAIA course where mainly I was painting containers and could start as a DI in March (March team 2010). During I was a DI, I became the best fundraiser and I tried to teach the others. My secret was to smile and do not give up, just look deeply in the eyes of the people and they will stop. In October all of my team members succeed to raise...

Hi everyone My name is Ana and I come from Portugal. I’ve joined CICD in April 2011, starting with Gaia program and later joining Development Instructor 14 month’s program with placement in Mozambique. The moment I found CICD I knew I had to go for it. I had graduated in Tourism two months before and I was definitely looking for something rather different than getting a regular job. I knew there was something more out there than starting the “real adult life”. I’ve always thought of joining a mission one day, but that thought was never that close to happen....

One day I woke up in a different room, in a different bed, in a different country. The day before I had changed my life forever. Without knowing I have chosen the path that would make me (re)do my existence and attitude about life and people. CICD… Here every single day is a challenge. You are tested in several completely different occasions comparing with what you are used to. I believe that only the ones who experiment this kind of life understand what it really means to live in a community. You are used to do less than you have...

Hi my name is Paulius Baltakis and I’m from Lithuania.  When I became 24 years old I decided to change my life and I joined CICD. I m just a simple person who thinks that the world is what kind of place that you create by yourself.  And if you want to create it of your best vision first of all you must find yourself. So CICD is great place to start doing it. It helps me to keep my mind clean and keep focus on my goal. It gives me opportunity to live with people from all around Europe,...