Become a Global Health Volunteer in Peru

Volunteering at Project Huancayo, Peru with FIMRC was debatably the best week of my life. I experienced so many things that I would never be exposed to back in the U.S. I stayed in a hostel and went to a park full of friendly stray cats in Lima, rode on the nicest coach bus of my life, and went to the gigantic Sunday market in Huancayo, all within the first 24 hours of landing in Lima! Every single day in Huancayo was different, and I loved it; for example, I tried some beef heart on the final day, and it was wonderful! I stayed in a homestay with 8 other wonderful volunteers and the amazing Rivera family. The family was very friendly and loved to chat with us despite our language barriers, and they even took us hiking the hills outside town, taught us to salsa at a local nightclub, and took us to a Wanka park. Some of the variety of volunteering experiences including going on rounds in the local hospitals (Carmen & Carrion), teaching children at orphanages how to brush their teeth, observing surgery, learning to suture at the medical school, and observing both a live birth and a C-section! I felt as though we had a good mixture of hands on work and observation during our time there. The one issue was we worked on a presentation about high cholesterol and hypertension for people in a rural village about an hour away from Huancayo, but the locals never showed up. On the bright side, we got to help at a tree farm, that helps fight against deforestation, while in the village. Overall, I would definitely volunteer again through FIMRC, and I feel I bonded with our host family, my fellow volunteers, and everyone else along the way. Also, shoutout to Natalia for being amazing at running Project Huancayo.

My trip to Huancayo was a very eye opening and humbling experience. Day to day we went to the hospitals and schools and did different projects around the community that included cleaning many of the people's teeth with fluoride throughout the community. We got to observe the operations in the emergency rooms, tend to women going into labor, see births and caesarian sections, and stand in on major surgeries. The people of Huancayo were very welcoming and saw the best in what they had. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone and everyone because we can all use a different perspective sometimes.

In the summer 2013, I participated in a global health volunteer program with FIMRC in Huancayo, Peru. Huancayo is a small city located in the midst of the Peruvian Andes, where I spent time to work in the orphanage, children shelter, public elementary schools, and clinics.

Probably one of my most highlight experience was the dental campaign. My team and I cooperated with the Pevurian dentists to provide fluoride treatments and distribute toothbrushes to nearly 800 children in the community.

I couldn't believe that I have done all these things for the Peruvian children. Of course thank you FIMRC for providing me this unique opportunity. I left with many beautiful memories and I felt thankful for knowing the beautiful people from that enriched, native land. I will be back for sure.

FIMRC is an absolutely amazing organization. All of their funds and fees go to their project sites and you can really see the impact they are making. On my trip, I got to make rounds with doctors and medical students in a few hospitals, including a women's and children's health clinic. We learned about the Peruvian healthcare system through the eyes of the health workers there. I got to observe surgeries, read charts and talk to patients, nurses, doctors and other students to get their perspective. As the name suggests, children are the focus of this organization. During my trip, we visited an after-school program for street kids to teach them about nutrition and sanitation and also to play with them and talk with them.
This was my second trip with FIMRC; my first was to a different site in Peru as well. During that trip we visited the shantytowns around Trujillo to work with mothers and kids. We also taught a nutrition class to recovering TB patients in a hospital in the city.
Both trips were absolutely amazing and completely unique. I have not been able to find another organization that does what this one has achieved and continues to do!

This was an eye-opening experience. You learn not to take things for granted and realize the real value of things. After this experience, I definitely felt empowered and I realize that small actions can have a huge and meaningful impact on others.