Opinion Piece: Working at the IWCN

As the IWCN celebrates its 10-year anniversary this November, we’re taking time to reflect on our achievements and the experiences that have shaped our journey. Erika Pacheco, one of our Event Coordinators, shares a personal story about how she began working at the IWCN, offering insight into the passion and dedication that drives our work. 

Light in complex times

By Erika Pacheco

I think one of the moments I remember the most at IWCN was when I started as an Event Coordinator. My colleague Natalia and I were trained for the new job for two weeks and when we were ready to kick it off,  and then COVID came! The city went into lockdown and everything suddenly changed. With the office closed and not being able to have face-to-face events, what do we do now?

From then on, we spent about two years working mainly from home, trying out new technologies, thinking of creative and novel ideas to be able to continue supporting internationals in the northern provinces. This is how, with the help of some volunteers, we were able to carry out online events that were significant for the international community, such as Tips for working remotely; How to cook easy recipes in lockdown; How to reorganize your house harmoniously with Marie Kondo’s methodology; Workshop on the challenges of living together as a couple during lockdown; meditation practices and strengthening the immune system; coffee morning (with just 2 spots keeping a distance at the volunteer’s house); and Meeting with a Stranger (we matched two people to have a walk outside), among others.

Adapting again and again to government regulations, to the rhythms of work with our own family life and constant reorganization of tasks when a colleague had to be in quarantine was a daily issue. Plus, the moral challenge of having an international team that could not visit relatives in their country of origin for a long period.

It was certainly a challenging time, but at the same time it was a time of great vitality in the midst of adversity that made us develop many new skills and ideas from which we learned a lot. It was my first job opportunity in English after two years as a housewife adapting to live in NL that sometimes felt like a ´kind of lockdown´; so, for me, starting a new job, paradoxical at the time in COVID years, felt like oxygen and freedom.

Above all, we worked with a commitment to continue fulfilling our duty in the service of the international community, which undoubtedly also went through moments of loneliness and confusion. Today we are very happy to have been able to do it well and to have overcome those challenges. I keep those years with special love in my heart. Thank you IWCN (In that time Connect International) for giving me this opportunity!