Sample Volunteer Abroad Projects — Peru
Projects are available in different cities and villages around Peru. Volunteers have the opportunity to work at schools, medical centers, soup kitchens, kindergartens, and day care centers. Projects can be found in rural areas as well as in the outskirts of the cities. Volunteers should be prepared to be flexible with regard to their project placement.
Education - Health - Conservation - Community Development
Education Projects
Las Flores de Villa School is located in the south of Lima, in the District called San Juan de Miraflores. In the 1980's and 1990’s, some departments of Peru (Ayacucho, Cerro de Pasco, mainly) were under attack by terrorists. This caused a migration to Lima, where people rapidly settled around the city setting up “asentamientos humanos” (human settlements). Today the houses are a hodgepodge of building materials, most in a state of continual construction. Most of them have access to electricity but some are still without plumbing.
Las Flores School, which serves six hundred children from the settlements, lacks good infrastructure and some basic educational tools and materials. We have been working for 4 years with Las Flores School which now has a library, computers and a recreation area - much due to the work of our volunteers and extra donations given from some of them.
Volunteers will work as a teacher's assistant at all grade levels. Subjects depend on the grade and level of study, but include math, art, language, English, etc. Volunteers can also be P.E. teacher assistant (both for elementary and high school) or play sports during their break, such as soccer, volleyball, etc. The school has some chess boards, therefore teaching chess or a similar game is possible. If a volunteer has a skill that he/she wants to teach, feel free to tell us, and we can coordinate any additional classes with the school authorities. Intermediate Spanish level is recommended.
Kusi Wasi Kindergarten is located in the city of Cusco which is the capital of the department that has the same name. Cusco is located at the southeastern end of the Andes and is one of the highest cities in the world with an altitude of 3,300 m (10,800 ft).
The official languages in Peru are Spanish and Quechua. In the rural areas of Cusco, Quechua is the predominant language. Part of Cusco’s population is bilingual and it has Quechua as its mother dialect and Spanish as its second language. The majority of the residents of Cusco are Catholic though they do not set aside their traditional beliefs - generally related to the earth or Pachamama.
Kusi Wasi kindergarten is a public educational institution that has more than 30 children from 2 to 5 years old. The kindergarten has a poor infrastructure and is located in one of the main markets of Cusco. The majority of the children come from families that work in the market and who need a place to take their children while they are working. Volunteers will work as a teacher’s assistant doing activities with the kids such as playing, singing, feeding them and taking care of them.
Health Care Projects
The Delicias Health Center is located in the southwest of Lima, in the district called Chorrillos. Chorrillos was once a beach resort town, and was the scene of heavy fighting during the war between Peru and Chile in 1880 – 1881. Much of it was destroyed. Today, Chorrillos offers stunning panoramic views of the bay of Lima and the island of San Lorenzo in Callao.
The Delicias Health Center sees approximately 40 patients per day. The main responsibility of the health center is providing medical assistance to all the community, regardless of socio-economic conditions. It provides the following services: laboratory, pharmacy, general medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, nursery, dental, and emergency room services for minor surgery.
In the medical center, volunteer duties include assisting the staff, and providing primary care and health information to patients and families. Sometimes volunteers will go out to the community to visit patients in their homes. Volunteers may also present a proposal for a workshop to be done during his/her program such as teaching English to staff members or a presentation on new technological developments in the field. The volunteer has a schedule from Monday to Friday starting at 08:00 AM until 1:00 PM.
Belenpampa Health Center is located in the district of the same name in the city of Cusco. The Health center sees approximately 200 patients per day, with 90 people as part of the regular staff. The main responsibility of the health center is to provide medical assistance to all the community, regardless of socio-economics conditions.
Belenpampa also has a special area for handicapped children called PRITE where children receive physical therapy and parents receive training to assist their children at home. The center sees children with paralysis, Downs syndrome, blindness, mental handicaps, hyperthyroidism, etc.
In the health center volunteers duties include assisting the staff, and providing primary care and health information to patients and families. During health campaigns volunteers will go out to the community to visit patients. Volunteers may also present a proposal for a workshop or work to be done during his/her program; for example teaching English to staff members or anything related to health care.
Conservation Project
Villa Natural Reserve is located in the district of Chorrillos at the south of Lima. It has an area of 2000 acres. This reserve is a wetland and habitat for 210 species of birds, 70% of them being migratory, including the plunger, the colored duck, the yanavico, the parihuana and the white heron among others.
This area is also host to 13 species of fishes, such as gupis and tilapia; also rodents, bats, reptiles and 40 classes of insects.
The
wetlands are part of the ecological corridor that goes all along the Pacific coast. In this natural reserve, several kinds of birds come looking for shelter, food and a place to nest running from the cold winter of the northern hemisphere. Flora is represented by 67 species of plants including totoral (grows in swamps and 5 centimeters per day); gramadal (grows in sandy soil) and wild bushes. Volunteers will help to preserve the environment and do activities such as: cut the totoral, improve the visitor’s hiking trails, be a tour guide, research and investigation, etc.
Community Development Projects
The Rosa María Refuge is located in the city of Chiclayo, on the north coast of Peru. Chiclayo is the capital of the department of Lambayeque, located in a productive agricultural valley where rice, sugar cane and cotton are grown. During Colonial times, it was only a simple indian village that connected Lambayeque and Zaña. Today it is a city in its own right, home to important archaelogical discoveries, such as "El Señor de Sipán" (Lord of Sipán) at Huaca Rajada, and "Señor de Sicán" at Batangrande - Pómac and Túcume. Thanks to these important discoveries, Chiclayo has become the second most important destination for archaeological tourism in Peru after Cusco. The kindness and warmth of the people of Lambayeque has earned the city the nickname of "capital of friendship".
The Rosa Maria Refuge is run by Catholic nuns for girls between the ages of 12 and 19. At the moment it houses 65 girls who have come with different problems; some are orphans, others have been sexually abused or have drugs problems. The infrastructure is a big house and in each room there are 6 to 8 bunks. The center receives funds from 2 governmental programs, MIMDES and INABIF. All of the girls receive lodging, meals, education, spiritual and medical support.
Volunteers can work in the areas of art, education, nutrition, hygiene, ecology, recycling and arts and crafts. He/she can also present a proposal for a workshop or project to be done during the program, such as forming an English language club. We can work with applicants to arrange it in advance.
The Limatambo Orphanage is located 2 hours from the city of Cusco. The orphanage houses a medical center, where everyone from the surrounding communities is welcome. The orphanage also has farm animals, such as pigs and goats as well as an area to grow their own crops. The orphanage receives funds from the First Baptist Church. Though volunteers do not have to follow religious rules, there are some rules while being in the community such as no smoking or drinking alcohol. 
Children from the orphanage and children from 5 other communities come to the local school called “Rio Blanco”, which is also in the orphanage area. Some of them have to walk more then 2 hours to get to school every day. Volunteers can work at the school as a teacher's assistant. They can also work in the medical center, visiting patients around the communities or work in the gardens and fields if the season is appropriate. Volunteers can also help with daily duties in the orphanage such as cooking, or by organizing workshops in the arts, education, technology, agriculture, recycling and ecology. Volunteers may also present a proposal for a customized workshop or project in advance of their placement.
Volunteers at the project will stay in homes especially built for them. Each home can have 3 or 4 bedrooms with several bunk beds in them. They will have shared bathrooms with other volunteers, the numbers will depend on the season. There is hot water for the showers and the orphanage will provide all linens.
