Volunteer in Peru

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Gandhi famously stated, “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” And it harms children the most. Global Volunteers serves in Ventanilla, Peru along the Pacific coast where nearly half of the population live below the poverty line, approximately $4 per person per day.

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Ending poverty is a complex challenge; however, education, especially for girls, is one of the most effective long-term tools. Our mission is to create, nurture and sustain the wellbeing of the world’s children, so they might realize the full promise of their human potential.

Volunteers are needed to help Peruvian children and families break the cycle of poverty. Knowing English can be like a passport out of poverty. Basic numeracy and literacy offer greater economic opportunities, improved health awareness, better decision-making capabilities, and the possibility for additional education.

Experience the enchanting Peruvian coast, stay in a comfortable three star hotel, enjoy Peruvian cuisine, and learn from and about local people in the Lima metropolitan area, where Global Volunteers has worked since 2004.

“This was such an amazing opportunity, and I enjoyed every second.” Maya Parks, Peru volunteer 2025

“This program is absolutely amazing. Everyone is so full of love and appreciative of us being there. It filled me with so much joy so see all the amazing work this community has done thus far in making a safe and joyful place for kids and families to join.” Reagan Colby, Peru volunteer 2025

“Throughout the service program, I felt very safe, welcomed, and was worry-free, since the whole week was organized really neatly!” Shan Balandang, Peru volunteer 2026

“This was awesome. I came in thinking I would teach the kids, but they taught me even more.” Calvin Maierhofer, Peru volunteer 2026

“I worked in the medical clinic during most of the week, and it was an amazing experience, working with a large number of children, who were absolutely amazing. I plan on volunteering again with Global Volunteers. Without question!” Jeff Francis, Peru volunteer 2025

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Peru Service Program Information

Explore Peru, where Andean culture meets Amazonian wonder.

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The Difference You Make As a Volunteer in Peru

Click the tabs below to learn about the community work projects available in Peru. 

Why Volunteers Are Needed

The first years of life are critical for healthy brain development and lifelong learning. Yet many young children in Ventanilla have limited access to nutritious food, educational materials, structured play, and early learning opportunities that prepare them for success in school. Without adequate food and a basic foundation in language, numbers, motor skills, creativity, social interaction, and healthy habits, children are not ready to enter primary school to learn and thrive.

The Difference You Make

Volunteers are needed to support students’ education by engaging children in creative, age-appropriate learning activities through music, storytelling, arts and crafts, educational games, and imaginative play. Volunteers also help reinforce healthy habits by demonstrating proper handwashing, hygiene practices, and other daily routines that promote children’s well-being. Working alongside local caregivers and teachers, volunteers provide encouragement, positive attention, and joyful learning experiences that nurture children’s curiosity and confidence. Volunteers also work in the greenhouse and community gardens, help in the school kitchen, and present parent workshops on nutrition and healthy foods.

Impact

Exposure to volunteers from other countries and cultures broadens the children’s horizons, improves their English listening and speaking skills, and helps them feel more connected to the wider world while still valuing their local traditions and identity. It also encourages students to aspire to a brighter future, helping them understand that setting goals and working towards those goals can enable them to reach their full potential and open doors to opportunities beyond village life.

Why Volunteers Are Needed

It is nearly universal that parents, especially mothers, want what’s best for their children. However, in Ventanilla parents are unaware of or do not have access to reliable science-based information on how to best raise their children. Knowledge regarding healthy pregnancies, adequate nutrition, child development, disease prevention, family planning, and emotional well-being is limited and there are too few resources and little professional guidance. The lack of regular support during pregnancy and throughout early childhood places enormous strain on parents and adversely affects family health and children’s development.

The Difference You Make

Volunteers work with Global Volunteers Peruvian staff to conduct interactive workshops for pregnant women, parents, grandparents, and other caregivers.

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Using educational materials developed by volunteer professionals, volunteers with applicable backgrounds lead discussions on more than 40 topics including family planning, fetal development, maternal and child health, personal hygiene, disease prevention, nutritious meals, child psychology, and family well-being.

We provide PowerPoint subject matter outlines and presenter guides, so volunteers have a solid starting point. Each thorough topic outline was drafted by a volunteer professional and reviewed by a team of other professionals. The presenter fills in the outline with their personal experience, knowledge, education, and stories. During the workshop, the power points are shown on a large-screen, and our staff translates the presentation from English into Spanish.

Volunteers also accompany staff on home visits, where families receive individualized psychosocial support, review the lessons from workshops, discuss their children’s health and development issues, and identify local resources that are available to improve family health and nutrition.

Impact

Families gain practical knowledge and greater confidence in supporting their children’s physical, emotional, and educational development. Educational workshops enable parents to make more informed decisions that benefit their children and future generations while home visits reinforce the workshop lessons and strengthen relationships between families and community support services.

Why Volunteers Are Needed

While English proficiency is becoming increasingly important for higher education and future employment, many students have little opportunity to practice conversational English with native speakers. English is the international language of commerce, technology, and opportunity. However, classroom instruction often focuses on memorization rather than communication, leaving students with limited confidence using English in real-life situations. Young people who don’t have the chance to practice speaking the language are seriously disadvantaged because in Peru, and many other countries, conversational English is the principal functional use for learning language. It is spoken English that offers young adults the opportunity for a better paying job that allows them to perform better on their higher education admission exams.

The Difference You Make

Every fluent English speaker can help a student improve their conversational English simply through speaking with and listening to children from kindergarten through high school. You do not need to be a teacher to do this.

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 This is all about conversations. We provide each volunteer with our Conversational English Teaching Guide which includes sections for beginners, intermediate, and advanced English language learners. Each section offers lesson plans, games, songs, and interactive activities all of which encourage the students to listen to and speak English. Every fluent English speaker can help students improve their English because.

Practicing spoken English, reviewing lessons, reading with students, and tutoring one-on-one, you strengthen these children’s confidence and enthusiasm. It’s all about having a conversation in English at the level students are at. Through songs, games, sports, and a wide variety of other activities you will help these young boys and girls improve their language skills and create opportunities for a more fulfilling life.

Impact

Knowing English can be a passport out of poverty. Your one or two weeks with these kids will not make them fluent English speakers; however, your interaction, along with other volunteers, throughout their primary and secondary school education will enable them to become fluent in this “Language of Opportunity.” None of us knew how to speak any language until someone took the time to speak with and listen to us. That is the impact you can have on a child growing up in poverty.

Why Volunteers Are Needed

Many children in Ventanilla attend schools with insufficient educational resources, overcrowded classrooms, and few opportunities for individualized attention. Teachers work hard to meet the needs of their students but often lack sufficient time, instructional materials, and support to provide the encouragement many children need. Sagrada Familia, a private K–12 school, attempts to mitigate these educational shortcomings by providing enhanced educational opportunities. However, the Sagrada Familia students are from poor families with limited resources and Sagrada Familia is understaffed and under resourced.

The Difference You Make

You change the arc of a child’s life by enhancing their educational opportunity. You work alongside local teachers and other volunteers to provide individualized learning support for children from kindergarten through high school at Sagrada Familia.

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Situated in the heart of Ventanilla, Sagrada Familia’s student population includes 200 resident students and another 1,000 day-students from Ventanilla.

The resident students are orphaned or abandoned children, or those who the government’s social service agencies have determined cannot remain at home because of abuse. The day-students are from area families who pay modest tuition so the children can have a more enriching education. All 1200 students are among the loveliest children you will ever encounter.

Volunteers who work with older students who have some English language capabilities, teach in the classroom, tutor one-on-one, assist with homework, and reinforce learning while building students’ confidence and enthusiasm all in coordination with the local teachers.

Spanish-speaking volunteers assist with teaching mathematics, science, geography, biology, public health, and literacy to students of all levels. Depending on local needs, volunteers with specialized skills occasionally help introduce practical vocational activities such as baking, sewing, carpentry, or welding.

By giving students additional attention, encouragement, and opportunities to practice new skills, volunteers help create a more engaging learning environment while supporting local educators.


Impact

Students benefit from volunteers who offer positive role models, expand their understanding of the world beyond their local experience, and inspire them to pursue their educational goals, as they gain greater confidence in their academic abilities. Exposure to volunteers from different countries and regions of the US broadens children’s perspectives and strengthens cross-cultural understanding, helping them to envision greater opportunities for their future. Teachers benefit from additional classroom support, allowing them to better meet the diverse needs of their students. In the end, you can play a vital role in improving the ark of these students’ lives.

Why Volunteers Are Needed

Sagrada Familia is a large campus constructed on a shoestring budget seemingly held together by duct tape and sustained with WD-40. While it’s truly amazing what the founder and staff of this remarkable institution have accomplished, the campus requires constant maintenance and repair. Limited financial resources make routine care and upkeep challenging to achieve. Safe and well-maintained facilities are essential for effective student learning and supportive community programs that serve children and local families. Without regular attention, buildings and infrastructure deteriorate, reducing the quality of services available to an already underserved community.

The Difference You Make

Volunteers work alongside local staff to complete maintenance and improvement projects that help preserve community facilities. Projects include painting, carpentry, plumbing, masonry, welding, electrical repairs, and general maintenance, depending on the priorities at a particular time and available volunteer skills. Every project is identified by local leaders to address genuine community needs and improve the safety, functionality, and appearance of the facilities that serve children and the community. Every volunteer who participates in these efforts boasts about the friendships they established and how much they learned from local people.

Impact

Improved facilities provide safer, more functional, and welcoming environments for education, health services, improved nutrition, and community activities. By helping maintain these important community spaces, volunteers contribute lasting improvements that benefit children, families, teachers, and caregivers long after their service has ended.

Why Volunteers Are Needed

Many children at Sagrada Familia and families in Ventanilla lack regular health screenings and access to needed medications. Even those who may have health insurance struggle because their assigned health center is often too far away for routine checkups. Anemia, malnutrition, acute and chronic illnesses, and limited access to basic medicines can lead to serious health problems. Without regular medical checks, children and families suffer from consistent health issues that can lead to life-threatening diseases down the line. Sick children cannot learn and sick parents strain to care for their families.

The Difference You Make

Volunteer medical professionals conduct community health assessments and prescribe essential medicines at no charge to members of the Ventanilla community. The community is made aware in advance of each volunteer team’s arrival and community members line up at the Sagrada Familia clinic to be seen by a medical professional. In addition, volunteers conduct science-based educational health workshops and visit families who are unable to travel to attend the health assessments at their homes.

Impact

Children and parents can heal and be healthy enough so they can learn in school and support their families. This is a vital step in breaking the cycle of poverty. You can be a part of something significant.


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Global Volunteers
375 East Little Canada Road
St. Paul, MN 55117-1628 USA
(800) 487-1074 | toll-free
(651) 482-0915 | fax
globalvolunteers.org
email@globalvolunteers.org
Federal EIN: 36-3352680

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