Volunteer in Peru

Be the Change. Be a Global Volunteer in Peru.

Help children and families overcome severe poverty

Inspire and guide youth to productive futures as a volunteer in Peru. Working in partnership with inspired community leaders since 2001, we enable you to help eradicate hunger, improve healthcare and enhance cognition on our Reaching Children’s Potential Program. Work with inspired teachers and managers at a safe harbor for babies and youth, and support families with essential services in the barrios of Ventanilla, a dusty mountainside community outside Lima.

Get Started in Peru

Volunteer in Lima’s Ventanilla District along the Pacific coast.

Local time in Peru:

Required Mobility Level:
Mobile

Minimum Age(s):

Lima - 7

Call: 651-407-6100

Request Program Information

Quick Online Registration

FAQs:

Genuine development projects to help children thrive. Exceptional service-learning for families, groups and individuals.

Community Projects

Conversational English:

Work one-on-one with children from kindergarten through high school on English language skills, primarily through reading, writing and recitation, to encourage their interest and proficiency in basic English. At the university level, you help students anchor their independence through conversational English practice and lesson reviews.

Parent and Family Workshops:

Conduct interactive workshops for pregnant women, mothers, fathers and grandparents on health, nutrition, early childhood development, education, psychology, or related topics in your field. Choose from 37 prepared outlines and presentations.

Home Visits:

Accompany our caregiver staff on family home visits to meet mothers to provide psychosocial support, discuss their families’ health and nutrition, and review topics introduced in monthly workshops.

Classroom Teaching and Tutoring:

If you have good Spanish skills, you can teach math, science, numeracy, geography, biology, and world history and help students of all ages with their homework and testing. Help children read, write and speak in English on literacy projects. Enjoy serving as an inspiration in learning environments lacking material resources.

Early Childhood Education:

Stimulate and guide preschool children with arts and crafts, music, storybooks, and educational toys; demonstrate hand washing with soap and water; and teach other hygiene skills.

Repair and Maintenance:

Help protect and maintain center facilities by painting, repairing, and maintaining buildings, and lend a hand on plumbing, carpentry, welding, masonry, and electrical projects.

Dates & Fees

Upcoming Volunteer Dates in Lima, Peru

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Registration is quick and easy!

Choose program date and duration above.
Click on the option you prefer in the result list.
Complete the online registration and hold your place with a $350 deposit.

Be sure to select all applicable discounts. All payments tax-deductible.

Groups of 10 or more participants interested in dates not shown below should inquire with our Partnerships Department about adding exclusive dates to the schedule. Please email any inquiries to groups@globalvolunteers.org.

Arrival and Departure

Leave the details to us!

Your service program officially begins with the evening meal on the first Saturday. You may arrive at Jorge Chavez International airport (airport code LIM) anytime on or before Saturday. Check in at our program hotel begins after 1 pm.

You must confirm your flight itinerary with us at least two weeks before the service program arrival date to confirm your team airport transfer to the hotel. Departure for the airport after the program ends can be arranged for anytime after 8 pm on Friday or Saturday morning.

Food and Lodging

Rest and comfort for a productive program.

You’ll stay in comfortable accommodations in the beautiful seaside community of Ancon, where fishermen, boaters, and vacationers share the quiet beaches and the 1.2 mile-long esplanade. Additional features:

Wi-Fi
Beach nearby
Onsite breakfast
Single rooms available for an extra fee

Peruvian cuisine is world-renown, and commonly features rice with beef, chicken and a wide variety of vegetables, sauces, herbs, and nuts. Bottled water is provided each day. Vegetarian diets can generally be accommodated. We strive to keep you well-fed, well-rested and comfortable so you can concentrate on offering your best.

: Enjoy world-renown Peruvian cuisine as a volunteer.

: Anticuchos de Carne are a popular party food.

: Peruvian food is distinctive and nutritious.

: Three meals per day are included in your service program fee.

: Peruvian food is distinctive and nutritious.

Health and Safety

Your Safety is Our Priority.

Your lodging, food and transportation are provided always with a mind to protect your health and security. Your team leader is trained in CPR and first aid to handle most emergencies. Global Volunteers includes emergency medical evacuation insurance in your service program fee. Read more about health and safety here.

We strongly recommend you consult your own physician, public health clinic and/or travel clinic for detailed travel health information. For general recommendations, consult the following sources:

Centers for Disease Control | Health Canada Online | Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

We also recommend health insurance that covers you while you are outside your home country, and trip cancellation insurance in the event you must cancel your participation on the service program. Your travel agent can refer you to travel insurance providers. Click here to read risks associated with international travel.

Global Volunteers’ Respiratory Viruses Policy for Service Programs in the U.S. and Abroad

Team Leader

Expert team leading is our hallmark.

In addition to facilitating every aspect of your service program in Peru, Jorge Prieto, our Peru-savvy Team Leader will share insights about cultural traditions, cuisine, language lessons, must-see attractions, and more.

Jorge was born in Colombia, grew up at Sagrada Familia in Ventanilla, Peru, and knew from an early age that he wanted to learn English. In 2016, he graduated from the Instituto de Educación Superior Tecnológico Privado in Lima as an English teacher. Shortly thereafter, he moved back to Sagrada Familia to teach English to children growing up in the same circumstances as he did as a child. Jorge, as our Peru Reaching Children‘s Potential Program Manager, also manages the outreach to impoverished families in the barrios of Ventanilla to obtain Global Volunteers’ RCP services.

“Jorge was an exceptional team leader who prioritized our safety and enhanced our experience. He made the experience really fun!” ~ Ravi Amaravadi, Peru Volunteer

“Jorge is a true community leader who provided an authentic bridge and leadership to us as volunteers. He is thoughtful, and communicative and helped make our experience very special.” ~ Chiara Grabill, Peru Volunteer

“Jorge was accommodating. He was good with communication and I felt well taken care of.” ~ Juliette Miller, Peru Volunteer

Free Time

Oh, what sights there are to see!

Ample time is available after the work day and on the weekend to enjoy the numerous nearby natural and cultural attractions.

Lima’s restored colonial center, upscale Miraflores district and many museums, markets and cafes are within an hour’s drive. Weekend trips include the Ballestas Islands and the Nasca Lines, Pacific Ocean coastline, mountains and nature preserves outside Lima.

You may visit Machu Picchu – one of the New Seven Wonders of the World – either before or after the service program. Because this is a physically challenging tour, we ask that you do not attempt a Machu Picchu trip during your service program. Your team leader will provide a list of the many opportunities to explore the region with tours or on your own.

Family Opportunities

Share the gift of giving to others.

Something like magic happens when children and parents volunteer together. Young children can play with toddlers, teach games and songs to pre-schoolers, read stories and practice English with grade school students, and tutor and encourage teens their age. Please visit here for minimum age requirements.

Families of many compositions – grandparents and grandchild, daughter and mother, father, mother and teen children, and niece and aunt – serve together and care for children in Peru. Their need is so great – and your reward so vast – that volunteering as a family will be an experience you’ll remember forever. Read more about family volunteering here.

“In general and overall, the trip was breath-taking and very wonderful for us, individually and as a family. We loved volunteering in Peru.”
Jeanne Blaustein, mother in volunteering family of four

To ensure a positive experience for everyone, you must comply with Global Volunteers’ minor supervision policy.

Minimum Ages for Family Service Projects

Parents and legal guardians of minors – under age 18 – must complete a Minor Registration and travel with their children. Children 15 and under must work closely with their parent or legal guardian on family service projects.

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Group Opportunities

Maximize the capability of your group.

Student, professional and community groups are engaged in an especially open and welcoming service-learning opportunity in Peru. Because of the wide variety of community projects, every member of your group can fully engage their unique skills and interests in meaningful service to Peruvian children and families. Learn about each other in a non-traditional way as an intact volunteer team, and know that your unique contributions on genuine development projects advance the futures of the Peruvian people.

Peru service-learning for high school and college groups

For instance, educators and health care professionals of all specialties are needed to contribute their skills to projects providing the 12 Essential Services to Peruvian youth of all ages. It’s here where a coordinated effort makes an enormous positive impact! We work with your group to develop a lasting relationship with the community – and to enable you to continue to support Peruvian families after your service program. Health care professionals can help at the local Health Clinic with primary care. There are more than 1,500 children needing care and thousands of low-income families in the surrounding shanty towns. Students and teachers practice conversational English with Peruvian students, help with homework, and tutor students in math and science. Best of all – comparing notes with your teammates at the end of the day over an authentic Peruvian meal, you reflect on the contributions you’ve made and the culture you’ve experienced together.

Read details on group volunteering:

“As soon as I reached out, they came with outstretched hands into my arms. I was no longer a stranger. It was very heartwarming.”

Thelma Chun Peru Volunteer

“If English is the language of opportunity, it’s our rare privilege to play a small supportive role in our students’ quest for graduate studies, professional employment, and success.”

Efy McDonnell Peru Volunteer

“This is my third program in Peru. It is absolutely unfathomable the depth of poverty in the partner community! But, I am positive my experience advanced understanding between cultures. They wanted to learn Conversational English, and I was able to give that to them.”

Elsa BoykinPeru volunteer

“Miracles do happen each day, and Global Volunteers has an appreciable percentage of them!”

Christine Avila de Bramhall Peru Volunteer

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