Volunteer Peru Project
| Duration | 1 to 12 weeks |
| Hours |
Mon to Fri, 5 to 6 hours per day |
| Activities | Community support, orphanages, library, vulnerable children support. |
| Location | Cusco, city with all amenities |
| Accommodation | 3* Hotel |
| Requirements | Aged 18+ |
| Donation | From UK£575 / US$920 |
The Volunteer Peru Children's Project is based in the magnificent city of Cusco, the oldest continually inhabited city in South America and the staging post for Machu Picchu.
Globalteer is UK registered charity providing volunteer placements working with children in Cusco. The project includes orphanages, a free education programme, library, community development and vulnerable children support.
The project focuses on the young and vulnerable to assist them in finding a way out of the trap of poverty by providing their current nutritional needs and to support them in their education so that they can become contributing members to their families and society.
Orphanages and vulnerable children - Provide safe places for the children to live, learn and play. More than 70 children are provided with a home in two locations, one for boys and one for girls. The children are 4 to 18 years old and either have no family or come from high risk families that are unable to care for them. The children are provided with food and education as well as vocational training to allow them to support themselves in the future.
Volunteers - Assist the local staff to teach Spanish or English. Play sports, arts and fun activities, teach the children vocational skills. Manual work to improve the orphanage, painting, decorating, gardening, cooking.
Community library - A place for children, ages 6 and older to come, open the door, and enter the wonderful world of reading. Each page of a book will be an opening of a door that brings a child to a new place or one they already are familiar with; introduces them to new people, characters, and animals; presents new and fascinating ideas and concepts.
The library provides children a safe and quiet place where they can do their homework, with texts, references, tools, and personal warm, and friendly help presented with positive reinforcement. The children are given an opportunity to engage and share with other children while playing learning games that develop thinking skills, such as chess, puzzles, dominoes, drafts and checkers.
Volunteers - Read with the children, assist with homework, organise games and fun activities for the children, teach, assist local staff, manual work improving the project facilities.
Free Education Programme - English is now the global language, and in a city such as Cusco which sees a million foreign visitors a year, English has never been so important for the children to learn. By speaking English, new opportunities are available to the children that would otherwise be destined to stay in the cycle of poverty.
Volunteers - Teach English, assist the local staff.
Vocational Training - An essential component in the providing the children with a future. We can house the children, feed them, keep them safe, but we wouldn’t be doing our job if they then leave the project in adulthood without the skills to survive. The vocational programme teaches the children the skills they can use to earn a living for themselves and their families in the hope of breaking the cycle of poverty. The children are taught computers, carpentry, cooking, weaving, ceramics, recycling paper into sellable products and secretarial work.
Volunteers - Teach using their own particular skills.
Community support - Globalteer make regular trips into the countryside to support projects, schools and communities outside of Cusco. Specific foods are provided to supplement the diets of the children. Assistance is provided with sports and equipment to allow the children to compete in the Cusco province track and field games. The children are taught hygiene and cleanliness to help prevent disease.
Volunteers - Take a unique experience of travelling into the Peruvian countryside with Globlateer to support the children.
The Location
The project is based in Cusco, Peru. Cusco is undisputed archaeological capital of South America and the closest city to the lost Incan city of Machu Picchu. Full of beautiful plazas, cobbled streets, massive Inca walls, colonial architecture and surrounded by the amazing Andes, Cusco is known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Machu Picchu was voted the best place in the world to visit by a survey of worldwide travellers.
Due to the number of tourists visiting each year, Cusco caters to all tastes and has everything a foreign traveller may need. There are many restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs as well as museums, plazas and ancient ruins.
Accommodation
Volunteers will stay in a comfortable 3* hotel. The hotel is well situated about a 10 minute walk from the main square. Rooms are single occupancy or can be shared if volunteers are travelling together. The rooms are clean and comfortable, each with private toilet, shower or bath tub. The facilities include hot water, cable TV, free basic breakfast and Wi-Fi.
What we do and why we need your help
Despite the wealth of tourist money that enters the country (particularly Cusco), very little of this money filters down to the average Peruvian. Peru faces high levels of poverty and inequality. In 2007, just under half of Peru’s population was in poverty and about 20 percent were in extreme poverty.
Poverty levels are significantly higher in rural areas, while urban areas are the most unequal. This means a lack of education, healthcare and nutrition effects the poorest the hardest. With volunteers we hope to help the least fortunate live healthily, with dignity and with a future.
Funds are used to:
Provide decent health care for the children.
Provide additional nutritional needs for the children.
Provide educational materials.
Supplement the running costs of the projects.
Provide sports equipment.
Our work is not possible without the invaluable assistance of volunteers and the donations generously provided.
Extra activities
To say that every person visiting Peru has Machu Picchu on their mind would not be an exaggeration given its reputation amongst travellers of being the best place to visit in the world. You can go there by train, trek the amazing Inca trail high in the Andes or take any other number of routes all ending with lost city itself. Built, but never completed by the Incas around 1450 the lost city was only re-discovered in 1911. Machu Picchu is now discovered by 1000’s of visitors every year.
There are many of ruins scattered around Cusco that are worth a visit to prepare you for Machu Picchu. The Sacred valley of the Incas is a magnificent drive from Cusco and has many small villages with bustling indigenous markets as well as rafting and paragliding for the adrenaline junkies.
For long weekends or those travelling through, Lake Titicaca is 6 hours from Cusco. For an amazing experience you can also visit the Amazon Rainforest in Manu or Puerto Maldonado.
Daily schedule
You can join the project for a minimum of one week up to three months (extensions are sometimes possible). Volunteers can choose to join the 'intensive' or the 'diverse' volunteer programmes as described below.
Volunteers take part in various activities from teaching, assisting local staff, sports, games, arts, cooking and vocational training. You will be required to be available for 5 hours per day with 2 days free time per week on Saturday and Sunday.
Your free time can be spent relaxing, exploring the local area, partying in the city or socializing with the other volunteers.
*Intensive Volunteer Programme:
This programme is suitable for volunteers who like to work directly with kids and young adults and who wish to work intensively in two different projects while developing their social skills.
Monday to Thursday:
10.30 to 13.00 - Volunteers will work with Globalteer staff at the home for girls rescued from child trafficking.
Activities include teaching basic English in small casual classes, cooking lessons, arts and crafts, sports and other leisure activities.
16.00 to 19.00 - Volunteering at the community library, reading with the children and helping with homework.
Friday:
Visiting a small village outside of the city to distribute fruits, teach the children about hygiene and organise fun and sports activities.
*Diverse Volunteer Programme:
This programme is suitable for volunteers who wish to have an overview of the Globalteer partner projects and who wish to immerse themselves in a broad range of activities. Volunteers will assist Globalteer staff in their daily tasks. This programme requires maximum flexibility but is very rewarding for those interested in the Peruvian culture as a whole and is ideal for volunteers wishing to take Spanish classes in the mornings. A typical week may be:
Monday - Sporting and physical education activities with the girls at the rescue home for trafficked children. Preparing dinner with the girls and eating an evening meal together.
Tuesday - Maintenance work at an orphanage in Cusco, gardening, feeding the livestock, helping with homework.
Wednesday - Mixing traditional Peruvian flours and distributing to various projects in Cusco. Teaching the children the benefits of the nutritional grains.
Thursday - Taking a group of children from the orphanage to the community library, supervising and interacting with the children's activities.
Friday - Visiting a small village outside of the city to distribute fruits, teach the children about hygiene and organise fun and sports activities.
If volunteers are also studying Spanish long term then we can place them at a project for half a day.
*These are only examples of what your daily activities may be, the projects are continually evolving and their requirements may change before your arrival. Rest assured we are very flexible with volunteers personal needs and expect the same flexibility in return.
Required Donation
The required donation to the project is stated in UK £pounds and US $dollars.
Why is a donation required to volunteer?
*1 week will be
£575
$920
*2 weeks will be
£650
$1040
*3 weeks will be
£725
$1160
*4 weeks will be
£800
$1280
*5 weeks will be
£875
$1400
*6 weeks will be
£950
$1520
*7 weeks will be
£1025
$1640
*8 weeks will be
£1100
$1760
*9 weeks will be
£1175
$1880
*10 weeks will be
£1250
$2000
*11 weeks will be
£1325
$2120
*12 weeks will be
£1400
$2240
The donation includes -
Project donation. The donation does not include flights, visas or insurance although we can provide information as required. The volunteers are required to pay for their own daily transportation to the projects (Between £0.20 to £0.70 / $0.40 to US$1.50). Globalteer works closely with a well respected agency in Cusco which can arrange services such as visits to Machu Picchu, Amazon trips, Lake Titicaca as well as many other amazing trips in Peru.
Airport pick up from Cusco international airport.
Project and Peru orientation guide and induction on arrival.
Town tour.
Accommodation for the duration of your stay at the project with basic breakfast.
Occasional lunches and dinners with the children.
24 hour In country support from our project co-ordinator.
Further information
Click on the links below for further reading…
Application process & requirements
The minimum age for volunteers is 18 years old. No previous experience or qualifications are necessary but we do require volunteers to be respectful and open minded to the cultural differences they will encounter in Peru.
Click on the link below to fill out an application form.- Add "@globalteer.org" to your E-mail safe list to ensure that you receive a response.
- Your application will be reviewed and if accepted you will be notified via E-mail within one week.
- Pay your deposit to secure your placement within one week of acceptance.
- Research your destination, book your flight, inoculations and ask us any questions you may have.
- Full amount is to be paid 10 weeks before the start of your project.
- A comprehensive information folder will be sent to you with all information including a packing list, Peru cultural differences, etiquette, useful language phrases, project rules, useful phone contacts and full project information.
A background check of applicants may be carried out. This is solely to ensure the safety of the children. Volunteers are also required to read and sign Globalteer's Child Protection Policy before working with the children.