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Blue Sparrow

Blue Sparrow

4.5 Rating
4 reviews
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Why choose Blue Sparrow?

Looking for a genuine Andean experience, where you're encouraged to tackle challenges and inspire new projects? Blue Sparrow works in education, agriculture, and microfinance in communities of the Andes mountains around Huancayo. Live with a host family in the same community where you serve, and become part of a team that entrusts you with high level of independence and adaptability.

At the heart of our projects are high schools, where we offer digital skills training to ignite creativity and help students express themselves and create a public voice while gaining applicable job skills. You don't need to be an expert--some students start with turning on a computer, and we can train you for all the rest. Other areas of support include English, art, sports, and after school programs. Depending on the season, you can also help families plant or harvest potatoes, or take care of a family guinea pig farm.

Don't just join a program. Come make a difference!

Website
www.bluesparrow.org
Founded
2008

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Reviews

Default avatar
Rachel
31
Female
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program
Program:
Blue SParrow Help Andean students express themselves

Volunteering in Pachachaca

May 9, 2014

My days in Pachachaca typically consisted of teaching at the escuela or colegio from 9am to 1pm and then helping our host family in the fields or playing with kids in the afternoon. In our alone time we would either go on long walks or read at the house. Highlights definitely included the host family and the students. The kids were filled with enthusiasm in class and broke out of their initial timidity very quickly. Dificulties for me, typical of south america, was a degree of sexism that existed throughout the community. Whether it was the teacher who hit on me while I tried to teach his class or the fact that most of the community never learned my name and all new my boyfriend's name immidiately, it was a part of life there that was definitely irksome.

What would you improve about this program?
I think the program really is quite effective and a great experience! The schools should be encouraged to make more use of their computers since they are a valuable resource that are currently pretty much unused.
Read my full story
Default avatar
Bryan
31
Male
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program
Program:
Blue SParrow Help Andean students express themselves

Pachachaca

May 9, 2014

Pachachaca is an incredible yet very rustic experience. You can really help through teaching and working in the fields. Additionally, living with a family is wonderful and you will build a wonderful relationship.

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Sander
31
Male
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program
Program:
Blue SParrow Help Andean students express themselves

REAL

Apr 30, 2014

Although my main focus while volunteering with Blue Sparrow was their working field of education, I have also explored many other areas of the NGO and of course of Peru, the Andes, and it´s culture. Through conversations and practical work I have learnt about microfinance and agricultural projects, and living with a local host family is a worthwhile experience - sometimes difficult, but reflecting certainly valuable! Through the direct contact with many different people you really get a true sense of the local life, and the volunteer positions available reveal what development work means in and of itself, and how this can be applied to the greater Huancayo area, where Blue Sparrow works. A true, direct experience, with its ups and downs.

What would you improve about this program?
Make the daily live slightly more exciting - more social impact and more hours and variety of volunteer work.
Default avatar
marie
31
Female
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program
Program:
Blue SParrow Help Andean students express themselves

Great life experience

Apr 21, 2014

Had a blast with this program whater it is when I think about the host familly, the help we did, the everyday life or Math and Serei.

I am pround and happy after this whole experience.

Thanks for these amazing months

What would you improve about this program?
You have to be ready for flexibility and adaptation. You need to be autonome. For me these are positives points but I mention it because it can be hard or negativ for others.

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Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Rachel Davidson

Program
Blue SParrow Help Andean students express themselves
Rachel Davidson is 23 and volunteered with Blue Sparrow in April and May of 2014. She is from Bethesda, MD in the United States and went to Lafayette College in Easton, PA before moving to Peru in September 2014 to work for the micro finance bank, FINCA Peru. She is currently teaching English and Human Rights at La Universidad Continental in Huancayo, Peru and plans to return to the United States in the near future to pursue a graduate degree in international development.
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Why did you decide to volunteer abroad with Blue Sparrow in Peru?

I decided to volunteer with Blue Sparrow for a number of reasons. I am hoping to pursue a career in international development and moved to Peru in order to work for a microfinance bank based in Lima.

While my work with the bank was a very eye-opening and educational experience, I knew that the Peru outside of Lima starkly contrasted with life in the capital.

After working in Lima for 7 months I felt it was time to experience another side of the country, and knew the only way to gain a real understanding of rural Peru was to immerse myself in their culture and way of life.

After doing research on different programs, I felt Blue Sparrow provided the best opportunity to have a multifaceted, holistic experience in a rural community for a short period of time.

What did you wish you knew before going to Peru?

Honestly I felt really prepared for my experience in Peru thus far.

Some of the things that were most challenging about Blue Sparrow were things I anticipated but never thought would be so difficult, like not showering for 6 weeks, and things that I thought would be difficult ended up coming easier than I had expected, like teaching English.

Tell me about one person you met.

Norberto, the gym teacher at the colegio in Pachachaca. I'd say one of the biggest issues in the rural education system in Peru is lack of attendance and enthusiasm on the part of the teachers.

Although we were only supposed to teach English Thursdays and Fridays, we taught every day of the week to fill in for other teachers who just didn't show up. The one exception outside of the school director was Norberto, the gym teacher.

While we might think that physical education is not the most important school subject, Norberto's enthusiasm and dedication taught a lot more than jump rope.

Teachers like him show the importance and joy of education and have a positive impact on students far beyond the subject they teach.

What was the most interesting cultural difference you encountered?

I would say the funniest, if not the most interesting cultural difference, was trying to explain our parents' professions back in the States.

My boyfriend's dad works for a well-known lawn care company, and when we tried to explain his line of work the entire concept of a lawn seemed completely puzzling to them.

They kept asking what kind of crops or animals we keep on our lawns, and I had to explain that we just really like pretty lawns but that we don't use for anything very productive.

What was the best moment of the entire trip?

The best moment from my time with Blue Sparrow was the 11th anniversary of the colegio, or secondary school. We extended our stay so that our last day in Pachachaca coincided with the anniversary and it was such a good decision.

All of the parents got together to prepare a huge pachamanca (delicious food cooked in the ground) and each grade performed a dance or song. It was just incredible seeing the students whom we had gotten to know so well at that point, getting all dressed up in traditional outfits and doing wild dances in front of so many people!

I never would have guessed that some of them would be up for that sort of thing and I was so impressed. It was definitely an experience that had more meaning at the end of our time in Pachachaca, having gotten to know they students and the families.