Transform children’s lives – teach, mentor, volunteer and learn in Peru. Children around the world are precious. But those who must overcome great odds hold a special place in our hearts. Answer their needs – help provide the essential services which secure their futures. As a volunteer in Peru, you offer impoverished and abandoned youth comfort, compassion and practical assistance to reach their full potential. You can help improve educational opportunities – teach conversational English, guide toddlers and pre-schoolers in developmental activities, coordinate recreational time, help plant and maintain school and community gardens, paint and repair community buildings, demonstrate appropriate tooth brushing, and model hand washing with soap and water. On select programs, you may teach university students at an impressive English language center – helping them gain valuable English skills, which can be a passport out of poverty for many. As a volunteer in Peru for one or two weeks, you contribute your unique talents while immersing yourself in a complex and colorful culture.
Service program fees are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers when you follow our itinerary. Select program options below to see upcoming service program dates for Peru. Then select a program date to hold your place on a team 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.
Peru Country Managers Daniel Salazar and Maria ‘Maru’ Eugenia Moreno coordinate all aspects of our programs in Peru.
Daniel Salazar 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’s orientation was excellent, and his daily role at Alto Progreso was exceptional. He and Maru interact well together. They both are helpful and thoughtful.”
Kevin Kelly, Peru Volunteer
“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
Maru Moreno, an International Affairs student at the American University of Paris, France, is half Peruvian and half Venezuelan. She’s lived in eight different countries and speaks four languages. Maru completed her internships with the UN in Geneva and the UN Refugee Agency, and before joining Global Volunteers’ staff, she worked for more than 10 years as an ESL teacher. Both are greatly appreciated and respected by volunteers:
“Maru is gracious, open, very nice, helpful, and cheerful. I really like her and got to know her well. What a terrific leader and a great person!
Jean Kelly, Peru Volunteer
“Maru is caring, well-versed in Peruvian culture, has a great sense of humor, is flexible, and is loved by the kids at PPA!”
Lisa Thompson, Peru Volunteer
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.
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.
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. The Pacific Ocean hugs the entire western edge of the Miraflores district, and one can walk from the hotel for miles along the boardwalk that overlooks the water crashing on the cliffs below. Weekend trips to Paracas, 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.
Something like magic happens when teens serve and care for other children in Peru. Youth age 11 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 classrooms and residences at the PPA are accessible and comfortable for team teaching with parent and teen. In Alto Progreso, entire families can contribute to common projects – or split up each parent or 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!
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 assist with non-invasive procedures such blood pressure checks, diabetes screening, eye exams, malaria and dengue fever prevention and de-worming programs. Students and teachers practice conversational English with Peruvian students, help with homework, and tutor students in math and science. Social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists and dietitians share their expertise in Peruvian clinics and community centers. Help plant and maintain community gardens to improve family nutrition. 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.
The rapid migration of families from rural areas into Lima and fringe communities has left many thousands of children homeless or neglected. Since 2004, we’ve worked in partnership with community leaders to address social problems resulting from the abject poverty. Be assured that as a volunteer in Peru, your personal contributions make a lasting difference here. Review a standard Peru volunteer work-day schedule here.
1 & 2 weeks year-round
Tax-deductible Fees From:
$2,595 – $2,795
Projects Include:
Caring for Children, Teaching, Labor
Local time:
Your health and safety are our highest priorities when you volunteer in Peru. Your secure, family-owned hotel is in Lima’s popular Miraflores district along the Pacific “malecon.” The bright and comfortable guest rooms are double-occupancy with private baths, twin beds, hot and cold running water, telephone, refrigerator, and TV. Just steps from the lobby are conjoined parks along the coastline, while opposite the seafront are shops, discos, theaters, cinemas, art galleries and museums of a cultural center.
You can expect meals of world-renown Peruvian cuisine – combining influences of the indigenous population with Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese and West African immigrants. Rice is a main ingredient, with beef, chicken and a wide variety of vegetables added and flavored with Peruvian chilies (aji amarillo), herbs, garlic and nuts. Bottled water is provided each day. Vegetarian diets can generally be accommodated, and vegetarian restaurants are available for dining at your own expense.
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.
Read more about our Peru program though the prospective of our volunteers below or on our program blog.
