The ability for us to work in a team made of people who have such different backgrounds and knowledge has been an enriching experience and has strengthened the bond between us

We have been volunteering with ICS for 5 weeks now and are in middle of our placement. This has been one of the greatest opportunities that we have had the privilege to be a part. Since the 30th of March we have been lucky enough to deliver session to students from 6 different universities from all over the West Bank. These sessions have had a focus on employability skills and English skills helping to build the students’ confidence while speaking English.

International service organised an event for Volunteer Recognition Day at Al-Quds University giving us the opportunity to hear from volunteers here in Palestine. We were about to learn from their experiences which gave us further insight into the challenges faced by young people in Palestine. The aim of finding a job and succeeding professionally are challenges faced by us all, yet the problem in Palestine is compounded by the pressures and problems caused by occupation.

By volunteering with ICS, all of us - UK volunteers and Palestinian - have learnt so much both about each other, and about ourselves. The ability for us to work in a team made of people who have such different backgrounds and knowledge has been an enriching experience and has strengthened the bond between us. This has helped the team through the ups and downs of the project so far. 

Working in Palestine has at times been frustrating with some sessions being cancelled the night before. There have been times where we have prepared sessions lasting a length of time and on the day of the session we found out that the length of time we had for the session had been halved. The challenge of the in country volunteers balancing volunteering full time and university -particularly at this time of year exams and assignments- has been a learning curve which will no doubt be a useful skill for us in the future. 

For the next 5 weeks our project is changing, the universities we work with are about to break up for summer so the employability sessions are coming to an end (for now). The coming five weeks will see us working with a local women’s college with students from refugee camps around the West Bank. We will be delivering sessions designed to help develop the student confidence and proficiency with English. The next 5 weeks will no doubt throw up more challenges and experiences that will help all of us to develop and better ourselves, and we look forward to it!