Volunteer in Peru

Transform children’s lives – teach, mentor, build, care and learn as a volunteer in Peru. Since 2004, we’ve worked in partnership with community leaders to address myriad social problems resulting from severe poverty. Our new community partner, Sagrada Familia, is a model of compassion in action. Which of these important community projects are you willing to lend your own talents to? Review below, then give us a call: 800-487-1074.

Volunteer Projects in Peru

English Teaching
Although the Peruvian government promotes English in schools, most children in poor areas don’t formally learn English until the 4th grade or later. You work one-on-one with children from kindergarten through high school; 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.
REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE
Do you like to work with your hands? No professional experience is required! Help protect and maintain center facilities by painting, repairing, and maintaining buildings, and lend a hand on plumbing, carpentry, welding, masonry and electrical projects.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Infants and toddlers at two houses need additional loving attention. Stimulate and guide them with arts and crafts, music, storybooks, educational toys; demonstrate hand washing with soap and water, and teach other hygiene skills.

HEALTH CARE
Health care professionals are needed at the clinic, serving all of the 1,300 children of the community, and people from the surrounding community. The clinic employs three doctors, one dentist, one nurse, a pharmacist and nursing technicians. They specifically requested specialists – radiologists, ophthalmologist, pediatricians, dental hygienists, lab techs, etc., but all health care professionals can be engaged. Non-medical assistance is also needed at the clinic to help sort medicines, make cotton balls, etc. The local people pay a small fee; however, all of the students are free of charge. Health Care volunteers who provide care to the children do not need any special permit or license.
CLASSROOM TEACHING
Are your math and science skills sharp? Do you enjoy geography, world history and other classroom subjects? Work one-on-one and and serve as a classroom resource in numeracy, math comprehension, science subjects and more with students of all ages. Note: Spanish language ability is required for this project.

Volunteer in Peru Service Program Snapshot

1 & 2 weeks year-round

Contribution:
$2,317* – $2,950

* with qualifying discounts.

Projects Include:
Caring for Children, Teaching, Labor, Health Care, Gardening

Local time:

Request Information

Request Program Catalog

Download Full Program Schedule

Visit Program Blog

Retired Long Distance Friends Unite as Volunteers in Peru

March 8, 2019/by Michele Gran

Peru Program Update – Building a Partnership for Progress

September 6, 2018/by Michele Gran

Help Children in Peru on an Exceptional Service Abroad Opportunity

February 23, 2018/by Maggie Bjorklund

Provide Hands On Help While Volunteering

August 11, 2017/by Daniel Salazar

Volunteer Opportunities for Families in Peru

FAQs: How to Volunteer in Peru

Dates & Contribution

Your program contribution is tax-deductible, provided you follow our itinerary. Select program options below to see upcoming service program dates for Peru. Then select a program date to volunteer in Peru with your $350 deposit. Call a volunteer coordinator at (800) 487-1074 for help if needed. If you prefer, you may print a text application and submit it by mail or fax. Minors – under age 18 – must complete a minor application and travel with a parent or adult legal guardian.

Most partner community lodging is double-occupancy, with a single room option for an additional fee. Click for single room fees in countries where this option is available.

Upcoming Volunteer Dates in Lima, Peru

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Team Leaders

Peru Country Manager Daniel Salazar coordinates all aspects of our programs in Peru.

Daniel has lived most of his life in Peru, but also spent significant time in the US. He earned his BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from The King’s College in New York and worked as an intern at the US House of Representatives in DC. He has managed many groups and individuals in a variety of settings and has engaged volunteers on community development projects. He’s deeply committed to the development process. Before joining Global Volunteers’ staff, Daniel was a teacher at Universidad SEL in Lima.

“Daniel did a great job leading the team and managing the project. I would recommend him as a team leader to anyone interested in doing a volunteer project.”
Darrell Stanley, Peru Volunteer

Arrival & Departure

Our service program officially begins with the evening meal on the first Saturday. Plan your arrival in Lima at Jorge Chavez International airport (airport code LIM) anytime on the Saturday your program begins. Please note that check in for the hotel does not begin until 1 pm that day. You are free to depart anytime on the Saturday your program ends, or any time after 8 pm on the Friday night before. Provided you send us your flight itinerary at least two weeks before the service program arrival date, you’ll be transported to the partner community with your teammates. This coordinated schedule helps us account for all team members, and provide smooth in-transit transportation. If your flight is delayed, please contact us as soon as you confirm your new arrival plans so your team leader can arrange an airport pickup for you.

Health & Safety

Your health, safety and security is our top priority. Your lodging, food and transportation are provided always with a mind to protect you while at the work site and in your hotel. Your team leader is trained in CPR and first aid. 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

Global Volunteers includes emergency medical evacuation insurance in your service program fee. 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.

Free Time

Ample time is available after the work day and on the weekend to enjoy the numerous nearby natural and cultural attractions such as Lima’s restored colonial center and many museums, markets and cafes. A favorite option among past volunteers is a visit to the Miraflores district to dine, shop and walk miles along the boardwalk that overlooks the water crashing on the cliffs below. Weekend trips to the Ballestas Islands and the Nasca Lines are also popular among volunteers to Peru. Several beaches dot the Pacific Ocean coastline north and south of Lima, and you can enjoy day trips to nature preserves and hiking destinations outside Lima. While our non-profit status prohibits us from planning your free-time activities, our local staff will provide a list of the many opportunities to explore the region.

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 over free time during your service program, as it requires at least a half day off from your work schedule.

Family Opportunities

Something like magic happens when teens serve and care for other children in Peru. Youth age 8 and up 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. 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.

The service opportunities are comfortable for team teaching with parent and teen. Your entire family can contribute to common projects – or pair each parent or adult guardian with children among different work sites, according to their individual interests and capabilities.

“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

Chose program dates during school breaks and summer vacations. Parents and guardians are expected to supervise their child volunteers, and collaborate with our team leader and local partners to maximize the service experience for everyone. Youth are invited to offer their own perspectives in team meetings and fully participate in free-time activities. In this way, your child can form a rare, personal perspective of this exotic culture beyond what they can find online, in school or in personal study. What’s more, they’ll gain life-long friends in one of the world’s most intriguing countries!

Group Opportunities

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.

Details on group volunteering in Peru

Food and Lodging

Your health and safety are our highest priorities when you volunteer in Peru. You’ll stay in comfortable accommodations in the beautiful seaside community of Ancon, where fishermen, yacht club members, and summer vacationers share the quiet beaches and the 1.2 mile-long lovely boardwalk. Additional features:

Available Wi-Fi
Only yards from the beach
Swimming Pool
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, herbs, and nuts. Bottled water is provided each day. Vegetarian diets can generally be accommodated.

“As soon as I reached out, they came with outstretched hands into my arms. I was no longer a stranger. It was very heartwarming, and the people I met are friendly and caring, all working hard to make a living. In Peru, there is still the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor, as in any other country. However, there is hope in all humanity.”

Thelma ChunPeru Volunteer

“I love the short walk to our classes – taking in the beautiful landscape around the campus and being immersed in this culture. It’s fun to see the students’ faces relax and smile. To share our cultures with one another leaves me feeling very grateful and blessed.”

Lauri MolnarPeru Volunteer

“Our Peru program was everything we expected and more. Our team leader was absolutely wonderful! She took such good care of us, going above and beyond in her job to make sure we were all having a great experience. We have rarely met someone who worked so hard and was so dedicated to the job.

Glen and Kathy SortePeru Volunteers

“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. We’re inspired by their motivation; our hearts are warmed by the graciousness of the students, staff, and faculty of La Molina.”

Efy McDonnellPeru Volunteer

“I learned a lot; that happiness exists in poverty, and that people who have little still have their pride. Most importantly, I learned that children are healing to cynical souls.”

Chelsey TollefsonPeru Volunteer

“Miracles do happen each day, and Global Volunteers has an appreciable percentage of them! I feel I have attained a more complex view of South America. I learned that Peruvian people work very hard and that human needs are a constant.”

Christine Avila de BramhallPeru Volunteer

Be The Change.

Through important, full-day volunteer assignments, cultural activities and time for personal adventures, you’ll learn about the Peruvian people, and remain forever invested. Our time-tested and proven philosophy of service ensures your efforts help advance the host community’s development vision and goals. You contribute to genuine development projects, and in doing so, you’re accepted as family. Our commitment to work in partnership on long-term community projects enables you, in just a short time, to serve as a critical link in a chain of volunteer support spanning three decades.

Volunteer Voices:

Read more about our Peru program though the prospective of our volunteers below or on our program blog.

Request a Peru Program Fact Sheet

Request a program catalog here or by calling 800-487-1074.

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