Program Reviews

My name is Carlinho. I'm a local volunteer who had a super wonderful experience at SKIP. Working at SKIP changed my life and children's live who worked with. It taught me how to interact with them and develop my hidden skills. But noy only that, it also let me to meet new awesome people as local and international volunteers. People from diferent parts of the world and Peru with a nice heart who taught me many things. For example, english language, working in group, learning about their cultures, problem solves and so on. I really loved all the people I worked with. To sum up, Thanks to SKIP I have gained more confidence on myself, met different kinds of people and developed my hidden talent. For that reason I am very thankful with SKIP. SKIP <3

I volunteered for SKIP for 2 months in the summer of 2018. I had been looking for an opportunity that allowed me to use my Economics degree within a real life situation and because of this I spent the majority of my time working within the Economic Development programme. I also worked within the English teaching department, where I felt my work was appreciated and made a difference to the children. In both departments, the work I completed was interesting, fulfilling and challenging. Within the EcoDev department I was able to complete day-to-day tasks in the running of the micro-finance schemes and Talleres workshops, as well as use my skills to make an impact in the long run sustainability of the scheme - through attempting to improve family saving and links to formal banking.

SKIP provided the perfect opportunity to learn and live in a culture that was completely different to what I had previously experienced and this was enhanced by the diverse profiles of the volunteers. The people who volunteered at SKIP were some of the smartest and kindest people I have had the pleasure of meeting, and this social experience really added an unexpected bonus to my time at SKIP.

I developed economic, communication and personal skills whilst working within SKIP because of the huge array of opportunities the organisation provides you with to make a difference. Working at SKIP provides you with amazing memories and the ability to make positive change in the lives of the local community - an experience I would truly recommend.

I’m Tom from Ireland and I volunteered with SKIP for the first six months of 2017. It was my first time in South America and my first time to teach a class of children, but I was better able to face these new experiences with the support of SKIP’s volunteer leaders and staff.

I was struck by the camaraderie of the volunteers – encouraged in no small part by the volunteer leaders – which made it a pleasure to be part of the volunteering team. There were volunteers from all over the world, and everyone had a valuable contribution to make; regular family dinners served as a reminder of this.

My time at SKIP also offered possibilities to learn Spanish. Between lessons taken with a local language school, time spent with a local host family, a conversation club organised by a volunteer leader, and of course day-to-day activities at the SKIP centre, there was no shortage of opportunities for me to improve my Spanish skills.

At the end of the day, SKIP is about ensuring that children get access to a good quality education, and the knowledge that you have contributed to this worthwhile goal is something that will stay with you long after you have returned home.

All of these things together helped me get the most I could from my volunteering experience, while also giving the best I could of myself. If you're looking for a way to develop your skills, make friends and experience Peruvian language and culture, all while helping to provide much-needed and much-deserved educational opportunities, you'd be hard-pressed to find an organisation that balances these things as well as SKIP.

Want an experience that takes working with local communities seriously? Want to learn and contribute and have fun? This is the organisation for you! Skip Peru has been running for over 10 years, has a core local and international staff and provides training and support to all volunteers to ensure that the children and adults who access Skip services are provided with a high quality service. The area is safe and there is a lovely beach and vibrant city nearby.

At SKIP I held 50% of a role as Volunteer Leader and the other 50% as a psychologist assistant for 9 months during 2017-18. My experience in both roles was outstanding and exceeded my expectations. Standing out for me was supervision, which in both roles was of great quality and regular, easing the learning curve and leading to continuous personal and professional growth.

Overall, the program is:
a) holistic due to work in areas of social work, psychology and economic development as well as education, meaning support of the children's environment for better educational outcome.
b) sustainable thanks to the involvement of both local and international staff, some of which have been involved in the NGO for almost a decade.
c) impacting the community positively, by listening to their needs (e.g. parental association) and respecting their culture, for instance by providing lessons in line with national teaching curriculums.
d) stable and growing; they are a grassroots International NGO running for 15 years that are continuing to expand their programs and plans to help the community.
e) NOT a volunturist organisation; their policies and practises are built around the organisation's service users for the sake of their protection and benefit, putting them first. This ensures ethical and best practice at the level of volunteers, and consequently at an organisational level too.

For these reasons I am delighted I chose this NGO to dedicate a long time to and have gained skills and knowledge that I feel privileged to carry on with me in the future.

My name is Selene Cruz, I'm from Peru I study in London, and I volunteered at SKIP in 2017 for about two months. I was studying international business at that time.
I'm so grateful and happy I chose to volunteer at an organisation like SKIP, it was an incredible experience of learning and know more about my own culture at the same time. I learnt so many things; how the micro-finance program works, how to teach and how people from my own country deal with poverty and with people in general. I experienced things I never did before, but I honestly can say that each of that experience make me realize how grateful someones are and how actually can we help them. Since the beginning, I thought it was going to be simple and easy for me because I speak the same language, but there were many things I learnt from skip such as understand the reality of other, teach children, had empathy for other and so on. The volunteer leaders, the teachers and other people who work permanently at SKIP guided me in the best way possible. If someone who study or work is looking for a unique and incredible experience and want to meet a lot of new people from all over the world at the same time helping people in need to make better changes for the future, volunteering at SKIP is what you should do!

My name is Selene Cruz, I'm from Peru I study in London, and I volunteered at SKIP in 2017 for about two months. I was studying international business at that time.
I'm so grateful and happy I chose to volunteer at an organisation like SKIP, it was an incredible experience of learning and know more about my own culture at the same time. I learnt so many things; how the micro-finance program works, how to teach and how people from my own country deal with poverty and with people in general. I experienced things I never did before, but I honestly can say that each of that experience make me realize how grateful someones are and how actually can we help them. Since the beginning, I thought it was going to be simple and easy for me because I speak the same language, but there were many things I learnt from skip such as understand the reality of other, teach children, had empathy for other and so on. The volunteer leaders, the teachers and other people who work permanently at SKIP guided me in the best way possible. If someone who study or work is looking for a unique and incredible experience and want to meet a lot of new people from all over the world at the same time helping people in need to make better changes for the future, volunteering at SKIP is what you should do!

I volunteered for SKIP the summer of 2014 as an English Teacher and Sports Coach. It was a fantastic summer and I wish I had had the opportunity to stay longer. The work was interesting and challenging in its own ways. I worked with students of all ages and each class brought its own insights. It was great to see the community of families that rally behind the kids to encourage them to stay in the program. SKIP's program is such an important need for the community as the public schools are not always the most reliable and consistent form of education. I remember one school shut down for months in the middle of the school year due to scandal. Luckily, SKIP was still able to provide students with supplementary education in the meantime.

One of the best parts of this experience is the other volunteers. Everyone came from different walks of life, different countries, and different reasons for being there. It was an amazing group of people that provided lots of world views and experiences. The other volunteers are like a family. We had family dinners almost weekly, helped each other with difficult classes or subjects, and enjoyed our free time together. I chose to live with a host family so that I could practice my Spanish. In hindsight, I probably should have stayed at the volunteer house because I spent so much time with the others at the house, but it was still a great experience.

Overall it was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend it to people considering it.

My name is Dave, and I am from England. I worked at SKIP for 8 months back as the Sports leader.

I undertook the position at SKIP, having no prior teaching experience and a sketchy level of Spanish - I had somewhat thrown myself into the deep end. Through the help and support of those around me within the charity, I was able to ensure that my relative lack of knowledge and experience did not prove to be a problem.

The Sports Coordinator role takes patience, enthusiasm, energy, and creativity. The role included teaching students at both primary and secondary school level. In addition to the teaching, there was responsibility for creating and maintaining a curriculum, managing volunteers, and assisting where help was needed in other departments. The limited resources and requirement to keep lessons fun, interesting, and engaging will drag out your inner creativity! Although, at times, the work was hard and tiring; patience, persistency, and perseverance pays off in the end making the good times all the more rewarding. The kids themselves are amazing to work with, full of energy, talented, kind, and caring.

My highlights at the school came in through the trip out into the countryside with the kids, the father’s day football tournament, and the Saturday football training sessions that we ran. I felt proud to be able to look back and compare the differences in the first classes that I took and the last classes.

In addition to the role, the opportunity to work at SKIP is unique. Living together with other volunteers helps to create an inseparable bond – the family meals, house BBQ’s, nights out at La Barra, and trips during school holidays all stay with me today. Living in Trujillo also provided too many highlights to list but the stand outs – Hermelinda Markets, playing football against the locals every night at the Stadium Mansiche pitches, and amazing street food!

I volunteered with SKIP for six months, from June-December 2012. Although it’s impossible to sum up my time at SKIP, there are several things that stand out to me about my time working with the organization. First of is the amazing team of volunteers who come from all over the world to work with SKIP—in my time there, I worked with people from over 15 different countries! The volunteer house is a great place to get to know the other volunteers and there’s never a dull moment in the house. I was constantly amazed at how committed our volunteers are and loved working as a part of that team.
Secondly, the way SKIP is set up makes it a great organization to work with. We holistically support our students’ families through our economic development, psychology, and social work departments, in addition to our education department. This means that our families are supported in every way and also that we have volunteers who have varying interests and experiences.
Finally, of course, are the incredible Peruvian families that we work with. During my time as a primary teacher, I got to know my students and some of their families and this experience has left a lasting impact on me. The motivation and commitment of the parents and students is amazing and something that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. While I can confidently say that I made a difference in my students’ lives as a teacher, I can also say without a doubt that I learned more from them and their families than I was able to teach them.
SKIP is a great place to make lasting friendships, learn about how development work really functions, get to know Peruvian culture, and to make a positive impact on a community. The SKIP experience is truly unforgettable.