Teaching in Arequipa, Peru

I really enjoyed my 6 weeks volunteering in Peru! The people were great, it was well organised and the project coordinators were very helpful and supportive and the work that GVI are doing in the community is amazing!

I really valued the work being done there! The kids are not only being supported in the schools but are being provided withgood nutritous food (cooked by a local mum who GVI employ), are provided with school equipment and scholarships to continue schooling after primary school, they're given the opportunity to be involved in fun activities such as inter-school soccer tournaments or swimming lessons and there's support for kids with learning difficulties. I was really impressed once arriving in Arequipa to find out the work they're doing there. An organisational downside is that I didn't know much of this before going so found it hard to know how to prepare for my trip. But once getting there and meeting everyone, communication and support on the field is excellent and the work inspiring. I found the language barrier very frustrating. GVI are good in that your first week there is dedicated to language learning, however as someone who knew nothing before arriving, one week wasn't quite enough for me to feel like I could be really useful.

GVI are good in ensuring you're with a good family and are being looked after. They organise weekend side trips which were a great experience. Overall I highly recommend volunteering with this project!