I am a community development manager for a housing association. I live in Brighton and work in the south and south-west of England.

Housing associations are an interesting metamorphosis of an NGO and a corporate company. They have evolved into micro local authorities. They not only provide affordable, social housing but also a support mechanism to a wide range of tenants with complex needs in sometimes very disadvantaged communities.

I work within a community investment team. It has three sections: employment and training, financial inclusion and my area of work – building stronger communities. All three use mentoring and coaching techniques to support people of all ages and help them identify and resolve barriers and issues in their lives and those of their families. For example, young apprentices within the organisation are mentored on a one to one level to ensure they are more efficient and effective.

I took a year´s sabbatical and began a six-week tour of South America, including Argentina, Patagonia, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, in March.

I developed a number of volunteering links. Two placements occurred, one in northern Peru, teaching English in a favela or shanty town on the outskirts of Piura, a desert-like city. The other was through ICA: Chile. ICA International president Martin Gilbraith brokered a meeting for me with ICA: Chile president, Isabel De La Maza and her mother, a renowned figure within Chile and the founder of ICA: Chile in Santiago.

We agreed that I would return to Santiago after my tour and support ICA: Chile in a number of projects. In exchange, I was given a room in Isabel´s home for a small rent. And, I have to say, a fantastic welcome by her and her family. In fact, it went so well that my scheduled departure to New Zealand was delayed by seven weeks so that I could volunteer further. This involved support to communities within Region V of Chile, translation and workshop delivery.

Isabel and I met regularly to reflect on my experiences in Chile to enhance my input as a volunteer. Some of the projects I was involved in included:

Emprendedores en Accion (“Entrepreneurs in Action”). Disabled people in Chile have a hard time with limited access to resources, financial and otherwise. A lot of the support they get comes from other disabled people. ICA: Chile has been working with a group to provide additional support. I met the group a few times and was lucky enough to be able to plan and deliver a visioning workshop. Within a two-hour framework we identified a vision for the management group. We looked at the barriers to this using ICA's ToP Focused Conversation method and created an action plan.

I had a more difficult time at Cerro Merced (“Merced hill”), a rather quirky, interesting artistic city in a large, hilly district to the east of Valparaiso. It used to be very rich, considering the quality of the buildings in the city but is now a shanty town. In April, a fire had swept through the community. Many lost their homes and some, their lives. The immediate response from people from all over Chile was amazing. The government was much slower. About 1,700 families are still living in what could be called plywood boxes with no access to running water or proper sanitation.

My work was to support the planning of a day-long workshop with some fire victims. It was led by two experienced facilitators. They guided them through a process that helped them acknowledge their loss and figure out where they were and what they needed to do to move on. It was a powerful session, held at a local youth centre in the heart of the community. Other work has been scheduled to help the fire victims.

My third project was to support ICA: Chile itself. I was privileged to mentor Isabel. We met regularly to reflect on her position and that of the organisation. We agreed to hold a number of meetings with the Board and do a visioning workshop to look at gaps and issues and the future work of ICA: Chile.

Reflecting on my time in South America, I see many similarities to my own country – we face the same hurts and challenges. But there were some things that challenged my very English way of doing things. One was punctuality. I haven’t got to the bottom of why things are so laid back. Everyone complains about punctuality but little is done to resolve this issue – I saw this across the continent – from the running of buses to the conduct of workshops. However, everyone seems to take things with good grace.

My time with ICA: Chile and with Isabel and her family was one of the highlights of my time in South America. My skills as a facilitator were improved through the mentoring and meetings with Isabel. My Chilean Spanish has improved significantly. My time there has given me an insight into the cultural, governmental and material differences between my own country and Chile. Would I go back to Chile? An absolute resounding yes!

Barry Winchester, 47. lives and works in the
UK. Currently on a year sabbatical.