- Do you have any rules I have to follow?
Actually, we don't have any rules. But we have something called frames, that are as important to consider and to follow as a rule. They are: no drugs and no alcohol. As a DI you have to serve as a good example for others and you have to be fully aware of what you are doing at all times. The frames apply for the duration of the programme, though the alcohol rule does not apply if you go away from the college during open weekends in the periods where you are based at the college.
- I am from Brazil. Can I get a visa to join the programme?
Yes. CICD is accredited by the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education (BAC) as a Short Course Provider.If you come from outside UK or Ireland, you can join a programme at CICD for up to 6 months with a visitor visa.
- Will I need a visa for going to Africa or India?
You will almost certainly need a visa for the country where you go for your project period. If you travel over land to the project, there will probably be some countries on the way that require visas as well. This we help you with during the preparation – so be sure to have a passport valid for at least 3-4 years!
- How do I live at CICD?
CICD is a residential college. We have 3 accommodation buildings with bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and lounge. You will most likely be sharing a room with a team mate or two.
Students and staff share a common dining hall, which also serves as disco or for karaoke or Good Bye parties....and there are also many other common facilities: a common hall for cultural events and ping ping, a gym, a big park with a pond and a walled garden...
- I am a vegetarian. Is that a problem?
No, not at all. We are used to catering for vegetarians.
The menu planning, shopping and cooking is done by teachers and participants together. So there is plenty of opportunity for you to promote good, healthy vegetarian dishes.
- I am an experienced nurse. Can I cut the training period down to 2 months?
No, the periods in the programme cannot be changed. The education is not one, where you only learn certain skills - you also learn to practice team building , to organise yourself as well as smaller and bigger groups, you practice how to plan and how to make things happen, and you learn a lot about attitudes.
- I would like to stay in London. Can I do my studies there and visit the College occasionally?
No. CICD is a residential College, and all students and teachers live here. The common life we share and the fact that we run the College together also constitutes part of the training and are a basis for important learning experiences.
- Does everybody who starts the training go to one of the projects?
No, some people choose to stop during the training. Some stop for personal reasons, some because it is a challenging programme, and they realise they are not ready for it.Normally, around 80% of the DI-s complete the education and go on to the projects in Africa or India.
- Can I bring my pet?
No, we don’t have conditions for you to bring a pet.
- How many hours a week do we study?
This programme is very much Full Time! It is intensive and varied, and you will often be busy also during weekends and in the evenings. You have programme for 40-60 hours a week, often including weekends.
- What happens if I enroll for the programme and decide not to start?
If you do not start the course, you will lose the enrolment guarantee, and your place will go to another person.
- What happens if I start the programme and then decide not to do it?
If you find out during the course that this programme is not the right choice for you, you can, of course, quit. On the financial side it means that if you have paid your course fees cash, you will have to cover the expenses during the time you have stayed at the school, and a cancellation fee will be deducted from the fees returned to you. If you have raised a scholarship in the Gaia course, you don’t pay anything or receive any refund, as a scholarship cannot be paid out.
- What happens if I don't get along with the people in my team?
Part of the training is to learn how to co-operate with all kinds of people, and you will learn how to solve the conflicts in your team, to accept, respect and compromise. We will have interesting discussions about team work.You will need this capacity at the projects - and further on in life.
- Who are the teachers at CICD?
We are a very mixed bunch – from different countries and with a range of different qualifications and experiences. Most teachers are former Development Instructors, and some also have many years of teaching experience as well as expereince from working at Humana's projects in Africa.There is a short presentation of each of us in the section “Meet the staff group” on this website.
- Can I become a teacher at CICD?
When you have completed the programme, and if you would like to stay on and work as a teacher, you can ask for a meeting with the Principal. Together you will decide if you are ready to take the challenge, and then agree about the next step. We regard completion of the programme as the best qualification to become a DI teacher.
- What do the letters DRH stand for?
DRH is short for ”Den Rejsende Hojskole” or, in English, “The Travelling High school”. This type of school started in Denmark in 1970. This was a time when young adults started to travel all over the world. In those first years of the DRH the students and teachers put into practice that: “ The world is our classroom”. The knowledge that we had in those days about other people in our world was very limited. Therefore, travelling was a big learning experience.
Stereotypical perspectives about other cultures and their people disappeared, and we learned a lot of new things. What was learned and experienced in one year of travel was so rich that you could compare it to fulfilling a whole education. From the beginning the students and teachers at the DRH slept, ate and shared their life with the local people wherever they went.
- What is the DRH Movement?
The DRH movement is a co-operation between 5 DRH schools in UK, Norway, Denmark, USA and St Vincent.
- What is the connection between Humana People to People and the DRH Movement?
The very first of the organisations forming the Humana People to People movement was DAPP - Development Aid from People to People. It was started in Denmark in November 1977 by a group of people originating from the first DRH school. You can read more about it here: https://cicd-volunteerinafrica.org/partners/the-drh-movement-past-and-present
- When did the first Development Instructor programme start?
In 1980. The first volunteers built schools in the newly independent Zimbabwe. Teachers and participants at the first DRH school felt a need to DO something about the injustices they had learned about during their travels. So the first volunteers were called Solidarity Workers.
- Do I have any holiday in the programme?
Yes, there is an app. 2 weeks Christmas holiday and a 1 weeks summer holiday in the beginning of July. Apart from that, there is an open weekend every month, where you can take time off. This applies to the periods when you are based at the college. For the periods when you are away working and saving up, traveling in Europe or Africa or during the 6 months service period at the project, it is obviously not possible to have a very “regular system” for holidays and weekends.
- How many people are there in each team?
There are normally between 5 and 15 people in each team.
- Can I participate in cultural activities like singing, painting and dancing at CICD?
Yes, often students form their own "culture clubs" at the school, and normally there are many activities going on during a week with anything from different sports and yoga to karaoke and painting.If you have a special interest, skill or talent, you should start your own club!
- I don’t want to travel all the way home for Christmas. Can I stay at the school?
Yes, you are welcome to do that. CICD is never closed.
- How long are the programmes?
There are 3 different programmes: the Poverty Activist teams (12 months), the Development Volunteer teams (10 months) and People for Change (4 months). You can read more details about the structure, elements and starting dates of the programmes here
The Gaia scholarship programme is a continuing programme, with starting dates that are connected to the start of the different other teams.
- Can I drive a car in England?
Yes, but normally you must be 25 years old to drive the vehicles of the College because of our insurance.
NB! Be careful in England, if you come from a country where you drive on the right side of the road – here we drive on the left!
- What documents do I need to bring?
For your visa applications for the service period s in Africa or India, and possibly for more countries if you travel overland to the project, you will need a passport valid for at least 3 years, possibly some documents from previous workplaces and college or university, a Criminal Records check, and a health certificate from your doctor including your HIV status. You will also need proof of all needed vaccinations to get a visa, but you can get them here in England also.
- Can I use my experience as a DI in future employment?
Yes it can be useful for you for the future, but of course it depends on what kind of work you are looking for.
- Do you teach English as a part of the programme?
No. But you will have good possibilities for learning it in our English speaking environment – and there are always some students who are keen to teach!
- Can I go back to work at a project again, after finishing the programme?
There are different possibilities for continuing to work together with the College and Humana People to People. You can make a more long term commitment and apply for a position as Project Leader with Humana People to People…or maybe come back to become a teacher at CICD!
- Does Humana People to People work in unison with other NGO-s in the different countries?
Yes! The different country-organisations normally have partners among local NGO-s as well as international donors.
- Does CICD have any co-operation with NGO-s in the local area?
Yes we do, we have a good co-operation about events and different activities with some local organisations in Hull, our nearest city, as well as in the local area.
- Why do you have such a strict “no alcohol” policy? I can understand about the drugs, but in my country we always drink wine with our food and there are no problems.
There are several reasons for this. We have a common life at CICD, where we work hard to make sure that there is a healthy team spirit and the atmosphere is positive and inclusive for everyone who is here. The use of alcohol in this common life we make big efforts to build up would cause problems. It would also take away focus and energy from the studies and the projects and create divisions between the people in the teams. So it is better to just not have it around at all, and to enjoy each others’ company with a clear mind!
