International Volunteer HQ’s partner NGO in Peru requires volunteers NOW! IVHQ has a wide range of volunteering opportunities available in teaching, orphanage work and medical work in the Peruvian cities of Lima, and Huancayo.
LOCATION OF PERU VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
IVHQ has volunteer placements in Huancayo and Lima. Lima is the capital of Peru, located on the coast approximately half way down the country. Huancayo is located in central Peru (at 3200 metres above sea level) and about a 7 hour bus journey from Lima. Volunteers must specify when they register, which town they wish to work in.
START AND DURATION OF PERU VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
Placements begin on the 1st and 15th of each month. Volunteers can choose to volunteer for periods of one week to six months.
PERU VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
Volunteers must be over 18 years of age at the beginning of the program and have at least a high school education. Volunteers participating in the MEDICAL PLACEMENT must have appropriate training and certification (to be presented to IVHQ partner staff on arrival in Peru).
LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
We recommend that all volunteers regardless of their Spanish language ability (unless they are extremely fluent), take advantage of the very affordable Spanish lessons offered exclusively to IVHQ volunteers by our program staff in Peru. Below is an outline of the various Spanish requirements for each placement.
Orphanage Program Language Requirements - Volunteers participating on the orphanage program in Peru can have little to no Spanish but must have fluent English. If volunteers have no Spanish they must be prepared for some language difficulties at their placement and be willing to take a language course (offered by our team in Peru - outlined below) if they are staying for a period of more than 2 weeks.
Teaching English Program Language Requirements - Volunteers who wish to participate on the teaching program must have at least a basic grasp of Spanish. This is because many of the children (and adults) that volunteers are teaching, only have very basic English, making it almost impossible for the local Peruvians to clearly understand the volunteer unless they have some basic Spanish.
Medical Program Language Requirements - Volunteers who wish to work on the medical program must have at least an intermediate level of Spanish in order to enable them to work effectively on this program.
PERU VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT DESCRIPTIONS
TEACHING ENGLISH
English is widely recognised as the 'universal language' and with Peruvians naturally being Spanish speakers, there is a real demand from local people to be taught English by fluent foreigners. Work is mainly at schools and directed towards children but there is also a lot of demand from community groups and adult groups we work with. Volunteers are placed in community schools, public schools or orphanage schools. Many of the people volunteers teach have only very basic English, therefore it is a requirement for volunteers to have at least a basic level of Spanish to teach on this program. Naturally a volunteer's Spanish will improve over the course of their volunteering but it is highly recommended that the volunteer take advantage of the Spanish lessons offered by our program staff in Peru. N.B. Volunteers DO NOT need to be a qualified or experienced teacher.
ORPHANAGE WORK
Developing and third world countries tend to have a large number of orphaned children and orphanages due to the general poverty and poor conditions, many families live in. Peru is no exception and there is a real dearth of helpers and volunteers willing to work in these orphanages and help educate and develop the children. Work at the orphanage can involve cooking, cleaning, playing with children, entertaining children, assisting with feeding programs, caring for children and babies and teaching. Volunteers on the orphanage program can have only basic to no Spanish but must be prepared to take a language course (this is compulsory for volunteers staying for over 2 weeks - please see below for details).
MEDICAL PLACEMENT
Healthcare can be both very expensive and hard to access for poor and less privileged Peruvians who often struggle to make 'ends meet' let alone pay for health care. Poverty creates a large barrier to the acquisition of healthcare in general, but in a country where a large percentage of the population are struggling to make 'ends meet' on a daily basis such as Peru, this effect is accentuated. The Peruvian Government has authorized our program partner to place medical students and professionals in their clinics and hospitals. These dispensaries and hospitals have very basic equipment and facilities. Volunteers are placed in a hospital or dispensary based on previous medical training and experience. In order to participate on this program, volunteers must have at least an intermediate level of Spanish.
N.B. For the MEDICAL PLACEMENT, volunteers need to be training or qualified in a relevant medical field. Naturally, volunteers are required to present a copy of their qualifications and certificates to our program partner on arrival in Peru.
PERU PROGRAM COSTS
One of the strengths of IVHQ is our extremely affordable fees. CLICK HERE to see the program cost to volunteer in Peru and what you receive in exchange for your fees.
ACCOMMODATION AND MEALS
Volunteers are accommodated in a home-stay where they will live with a local family. We give that family money from your fee for support, food and board. It is exciting to stay with a family; that way you will learn the Peruvian way of life, meet local people, eat local food, speak the local language (Spanish) and engage in local customs and traditions. Living is comfortable and all home stays have electricity and running water. Volunteers can expect to share a room with one or two other volunteers but in some home stays volunteers get their own rooms. Peruvian food is tasty, diverse and volunteers can expect to experience a myriad of flavours and meals during their home stay experience. If volunteers wish to eat out, there are a large numbers of restaurants and diners in both cities to suit all tastes and budgets. If you have special eating needs, please let us know ahead of time so that we can make arrangements for you. However, we need to stress the point that you should not expect to eat as you normally do at home. We will do our best to see that you are well taken care of, but also as a volunteer, there is a need to be flexible.
ORIENTATION
Orientation will begin on the 1st and 15th of each month in Lima or Huancayo (depending on where you wish to be placed). Orientation will be conducted by program staff in Lima and Huancayo and cover everything you need to know for your volunteering placement in Peru – Introduction to Peru, Peruvian Customs, Language Training Information (Spanish), Rules and Expectations, Safety, Travel Opportunities in Peru, Introduction to your project and placement. During orientation volunteers will finalise their placement icity and specific placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing. Once orientation is complete, volunteers will be transported to their home stay (or host city if working in Huancayo) and introduced to all relevant parties – home stay family members and program placement staff.
LANGUAGE COURSE
Spanish language courses are available for all volunteers regardless of their ability. IVHQ strongly recommends these for all volunteers unless they are extremely fluent. If a volunteer's Spanish is none to basic and they are staying for a period of longer than two weeks then volunteers should strongly consider these courses as they will allow them to work and communicate with all parties a lot more efficiently during their stay. These language courses are organised on your arrival in Peru at the program orientation. The language course is tailored to each volunteer's current level of Spanish. The cost is very affordable and offered exclusively to IVHQ volunteers at US$5 per hour.
Basic Language Course - 10 hours per week.
2 hours per day, 5 days a week.
Advanced Language Course - 15-20 hours per week.
3-4 hours per day, 5 days a week.
VOLUNTEER WEEK
First Day: On the first day of the volunteering placement, the volunteers will be escorted to the project and introduced to the staff at the project you will be working with.
Weekdays: While our programs are flexible and can be fitted to your requirements, an example of a typical day is as follows.
- 7.30AM Breakfast with the host family
- 8.00AM Volunteer leaves home and is dropped (or walks) to the project;
The volunteer joins with the local staff. You will be given a duty roster and a plan for your work. There is usually a tea break and a lunch break. Work and hours is dependent on the project and location that the volunteer is participating in. - 2.00PM-5.00PM Work at the project usually ends. The volunteer at this point is free to visit and see places or do shopping. Usually we will have a guide to take you around. You may also want to hang out with the kids up to around 6.00PM.
- 8.30PM Dinner with the host family.
NB If a volunteer is taking advantage of the Spanish language course (most do) they will usually volunteer for half the day and spend the other half of the day (3-4) hours taking Spanish lessons.
Weekends: During the weekend, volunteers have spare time and usually just relax or take the opportunity to explore other parts of their local town and Peru. Long weekends can be taken to travel further afield such as Machu Picchu. If volunteers wish to volunteer over the weekends they can join local teams and visit other orphanages (or other children helping organizations) to spend time simply playing with and entertaining the children.
PERU INFORMATION
Capital: Lima
Population: Dec 2005 Census: 27,219,266
Official language: Spanish
Currency: Nuevo Sol (PEN)
Time zone: PET (UTC-5)
Climate: Peru, unlike other equatorial countries, does not have an exclusively tropical climate; the influence of the Andes and the Humboldt Current causes great climatic diversity within the country. The costa has moderate temperatures, low precipitations, and high humidity, except for its warmer, wetter northern reaches. In the sierra, rain is frequent during summer, and temperature and humidity diminish with altitude up to the frozen peaks of the Andes. The selva is characterized by heavy rainfall and high temperatures, except for its southermost part, which has cold winters and seasonal rainfall.