By Emelli Laleska, Development Volunteer team April 2024 You have certainly heard about volunteering or even had the opportunity to experience it. But if you haven't yet, allow me to share a bit of my experience. More than just donating time and effort, for me, volunteering is an experience that nourishes the soul, fills the heart, and sparks deep reflections. By the end of this text, I hope to inspire you to embark on this transformative journey as well. I came to give my help – but received much more… I believe that most people who engage in volunteering seek...

By Anna Ferello and Laura Hospital / Development Volunteer team July 2024 Anna and Laura  have been volunteering with Humana India at the teachers training (NeTT) in Baruasagar, district Jhansi, Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, since October 2024. Soon their 6 months are over and they will be heading back to CICD. We look forward to seeing them again soon and hear all about their experiences! Sports day with students and teachers On the 8th of January, we helped the Humana staff to organise a Sports Day Event for around 120 students. The objective of the event was for all students to...

By Santino Rossini, Argentina / Development Volunteer team April 2024 Santino shares his thoughts after volunteering for 6 months  at the Teachers Training College in Dowa, Malawi. " Throughout the entire process at CICD, I was filled with a mix of excitement and uncertainty, embarking on a long journey into the unknown. I had no idea what it would be like or how it would change me, but one thing was clear: it would change me forever. At first, I thought the journey would be smooth because I was full of enthusiasm at CICD. Meeting new friends who shared the...

By Ellen Nayara Kotai Costa. Brazil / Poverty Activist team August 2024 In my world before Malawi: From the very first moment of the day, I had to be immersed in networks of immediacy. Even when engaging in deeper reflections, everything had to be strategic to succeed— and now . To go viral. Likes, shares, metrics, studies, and absolute precision to achieve success today, tomorrow, and always. If I leave it for the next day, I’ve lost! But my tracking, my connections are missing. I lose my work. Everything is about timing! Oh, my followers! What time is it? When should...

By Rafael Nunes & Susan Steffensen Friday the 7th of February was a big day for the whole community here at CICD. 14 students had come back to the College after the last period of “Bringing it to the Public”. They had been giving presentations for hundreds of people in 8 countries about their development work in Zambia and Malawi. Together they finished their programme with a Graduation Party where all of us, students and staff, celebrated their achievements with a special evening programme. The students got their diplomas and enjoyed the speeches, remembering a lot of common experiences and...

By José Inocencio Becerra Lagos, Colombia / Development Volunteer team April 2024 “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart” Nelson Mandela. The first day I landed in Malawi I was very delighted. The landscapes, the people, the weather, but the energy itself that I felt in contact with the continent was awesome ( beautiful = okongola ). It gave me a big impulse to do, feel, find, whatever I wished, of course into the frames of cooperation, sustainability...

By Emelli Laleska, Development Volunteer team April 2024 Malawi - one of the poorest countries in the world... Malawi is among the least developed and poorest countries in the world, with approximately 50% of the population living below the national poverty line and 25% in extreme poverty. This was the reality I expected to encounter. However, the project I was assigned to was located within one of the largest refugee camps in Africa, where the challenges were even greater. Being in direct contact with these two distinct realities—the local communities and the refugee camp—revealed not only the scarcity of resources...

By Carolina Ortiz, Colombia / Development Volunteer team October 2024 Hello everyone, I’m Carolina, from Colombia. During the last year in Colombia, I was looking for new challenges and experiences for my personal growth, especially wanting to have a different perspective on the world and on the realities that many other people live daily, and be able to help, even in a small way. While I was in this process, I came across CICD College, a place that sparked even more of my curiosity from the moment I learned about its programs and methodology, the opportunity to travel to Africa...

By Ellen Nayara Kotai Costa, Brazil / Poverty Activist team, August 2024 It's not a surprise that traveling abroad can be a change in our lives and bring remarkable memories. But have you ever thought about travel, study and volunteering all in one experience? CICD - College for International Co-operation and Development brings this unique opportunity to people around the world. Check out the 5 best reasons to join CICD: 1. Make friends from different countries in the world CICD is in England, a country that gathers people from everywhere and this also means that you will - for sure!...

By Elena Modesti, Climate Activist team October 2024 If you are thinking about joining CICD, or you have already taken that decision, you might be building up some expectations in your mind. Naturally, I did too, when I decided to join. And that is why here I will share with you my thoughts and expectations - compared to what I found here at CICD, so that some of your questions might find answers and bring you closer to this experience. What will the atmosphere and nature be like? When I started imagining what the place would be like, my primary...

By Monica Owen, Argentina I am Monica, a 58-years-old Argentinean retired woman. I have always wanted to experience living in a community, living in England. If you dream it, you can achieve it!!! I was interested in the 7 month program about climate change and sustainable living that started in October 2024. It was all planned for that, but fortunately, something good happened!! Marie, our promotion responsible person, told me about a place left to join the Gaia team and raise a scholarship to help cover the costs of the program. So, I joined CICD’s life in August 2024. An...

By Jose Becerra, Colombia, Development Volunteer team April 2024 Here you can enjoy parts of the monthly report from Jose about his work with DAPP Malawi. Supporting preschool teachers in Amalika with DAPP Malawi We have been visiting the seventeen preschools to talk with the teachers and get a deep understanding of their needs and ideas about education of the children around. It has been an advantage to have the children on holidays, because then we can talk quietly in long conversations. As almost all of them are not well English speakers, we took the decision of making some interviews...

Ellen Nayara Kotai Costa, Brazil, Poverty Activist team August 2024 CICD has “Sister Schools” and institutions in Europe, that share the same values and the aim to practice “Another Kind of School´s pedagogy”. Because of that twice per year CICD´s students have the opportunity to participate in events in Denmark. As a DI, Development Instructor, I participated in the "Olympic Games" in Tvind - a school centre in Denmark, and I still feel impacted by this experience - it can be described as deep, busy and at the same time transformative in my life. Not because of something in particular,...

By Edson Eduardo, Brazil, Development Volunteer team April 2024 Where I live July... we arrived to Malawi, it looked like a dream ..... we were all so excited and thrilled, everything was new for us, language, culture, people, and environment. And now going to the third month in Malawi I would like to share briefly my experience here. My quartet and I live in Dowa/Malawi, which is based on one of the most huge refugee camps in Africa, called Dzaleka. I've never been in a refugee camp before, so living near one have been a new experience for me. In...

By Franz Rodriguez-Gualdrón, Development Volunteer team July 2024 Volunteering abroad is more than just checking off the "doing good" box—it’s a crash course in life, growth, and sometimes, the ultimate "what am I even doing here?" moment. Here's a sneak peek into several things a Colombian volunteer in the UK is learning, and that hopefully will stick around long after, whether working, travelling, or crushing life goals! 1. The political: "Recycling, upcycling…learning?" ♻️ Living and studying in the UK have been the opportunity to open my eyes to the subtleties of global politics and social responsibility. From an "obsession" with...

By Ana Jesus, Poverty Activist team August 2023 My name is Ana and I will tell you about my impressions of Malawi - the culture, the people and the impact that had in me. I did the 12 month Poverty Acivist programme - with 5 months of preparations at CICD, 6 months at the project country (Malawi) and 1 month back in England for the Bringing It to the Public.    Toghether with my Trio - Ivett, Peter and myself, in Amalika we worked with two different projects, as  Pre-School Supervisor and Core Group Teacher. During 6 months we worked...

By Ana Jesus, Poverty Activist team August 2023 Hello, my name is Ana and I am going to tell you a bit about Learning by Doing. At CICD, "Learning by Doing" does not mean just today, but it is also about the future. As a student you are part of the daily activities like cooking, cleaning, and working in the garden. So you will learn many practical and soft skills which are useful in the future , especially within community development p rojects . You are about to get ready to contribute to the creation and reali s ation of...

By Diana Heinfarth, Hungary, Poverty Activist team February 2024 My team and I were given the task of conducting research on real problems in our society. We chose to investigate poverty in England. In the UK, more than 22 % of the population were living in poverty in 2022/23 – that’s 13.4 million people. This included: - 8.1 million (or around 2 in 10) working-age adults - 4.2 million (or nearly 3 in 10) children - 2.1 million (or around 1 in 6) pensioners. During our investigation, we delved into the following topics: - What is the extent of immigration...

By Andrea Barreto, Brazil - Development Volunteer team April 2024 At another time in my life, before CICD, I had other experiences living in a community, in Buddhist centers. Especially at the beginning here, I felt a similar sensation, a certain similarity in the routine and the energy. From my point of view, everything starts with the motivation of the community's members. In the Buddhist center, the motivation was to study, practice, and pray for the well-being of all beings. At CICD, I believe it is the preparation for volunteer work in the African continent and, in a way, to...

By Sebastián Rey, Development Volunteer team, April 2024 My responsibility area is "Grass and wood". It's an experience to value the work in the countryside. Every Wednesday, I step out of the desk, put on my boots, and dress in warm clothing. The meeting to receive instructions is at 9:00, and we are five minutes late. After listening carefully and asking a few questions, I'm ready to start my first day driving Fred, a 1973 Massey Ferguson tractor. It is the biggest machine at the school. Though it has lost the streetlights, mirrors, and some glass panels, and its doors...