Volunteering, testimony of an experience with International Citizen Service (ICS)

Volunteering, which can be defined as a formal commitment for a limited period of time, has been contributing for several years to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Every year in the world, millions of young people volunteer to serve in their community and internationally. The International Citizen Service (ICS) volunteer program funded by the British NGO International Service (IS) has changed the lives of many young people in Burkina Faso.

 International Citizen Service (ICS) is an international volunteering program led by the UK Government for young people aged 18 to 25. It aims to enable many young people around the world to experience service in their communities for positive change.
For my part, in my home country, this program was beneficial in many ways.
My main goal was to improve my English, which was possible through the brewing with the British volunteers. Therefore, the language barrier is no longer a limit  to my personal and professional development.

ICS is the spirit of teamwork. The dedication to achieving the objectives of the program engaged ardor, a synchronized work; and this stimulated my confidence by valuing my little experience and my skills by others. For "sensitive souls", this allows the improvement of mental health.
ICS was also a challenge for me because my responsability, with my British teammate was to update the web pages of the group, publish each week a bilingual blog to make visible our actions on social networks, what I had not done before .

On a professional level, the work done by the team, in partnership with the associations of people living with disability, allowed to develop a network of support because of the regular contact with these people. For example, in Koudougou, there is a fantastic Handibasket team, a sport similar to basketball, the only difference being that it is played in a wheelchair. I was stunned the first time I saw them play.

In addition to the humanist values ​​offered by volunteering, ICS allowed the improvement of my curriculum vitae (CV). Starting from zero professional experience, I am now competitive in the plan of employment because employers have a habit of hiring people interested in helping their community and making a positive impact in the world.

Thought doing a good action is good, but found the perfect setting to do it is even better. And for me ICS was this frame and if it happened that I had to do it again, it will always smile.
Every young Burkinabé should even for a moment do a similar action because the rewards of this activity are worth more than any financial compensation.

I can't end without thanking the NGO International Service for giving me this unique opportunity to do things that I could not do in my environment. As ICS's slogan says, "Challenge yourself to change your world," every young person must be one of the drivers that will drive change in their community, in their country and around the world.
                           The best is yet to come.