Teach English and make a Lasting Impact in Arequipa, Peru

I came to Arequipa to work with HOOP as a volunteer English teacher. I am in the middle of my teaching accreditation programme in Austria and needed a break from school and theory in order to actually step into the classroom and also see other educational realities around the world.
What I cared about was for the NGO to be close to where the impact should be made and for the staff and the volunteers to care most about the children and women in the community.

From the application process to the moment I arrived in Arequipa, the inicial teaching training and the ongoing support and supervision opportunities I received throughout my 4 month placement, HOOP has been nothing but professional. The volunteer coordinator is extremely concerned about the volunteers' wellbeing, while the academic coordinator helps out and gives useful advice whenever it is needed, as a lot of the volunteers came here without direct teaching experience. Every week, we have a volunteer meeting where we share our experiences and struggles teaching, get valuable input from the academic coordinator and help each other improve. There are check-in interviews to make sure everything is going well and the organization can respond to suggestions for improvement.

The children are a pleasure to work with and embrace you in their midst from day on, the mothers are just happy and grateful to be able to see their kids thrive. (Another pillar of HOOP are workshops for the moms on topics of health, legal issues etc. They also have an opportunity to finish their middle school/high school diplomas. But all of this is done by social workers so I can't go into detail about it.) One of my highlights was when we performed "The very hungry caterpillar" as a play - during project week we had learned the story, made costumes and rehearsed it. The mothers were very touched to see their little ones and the kids took it very seriously and were proud to show off their learning.

It was honestly one of the greatest things I've ever done, I was very, very happy with HOOP and I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wants to offer their time to make a difference. It's a lovely team, you receive so much support, and the work with the kids is rewarding every single day.

I was hesitant to volunteer with any NGO while in South America due to a lack of my Spanish language, however I did, and I found HOOP a great experience that had a real impact in the local community.
The children are encouraged to attend every day (Mon to Fri) and most do. The mothers of the children are engaged by volunteers who run health and other workshops during the kids classes. The smaller children who don't yet attend the English classes still come to the school and play and are involved, it's a great atmosphere with respect going both ways.
I lived separately from the hostel as I had already been in Arequipa some time, but found the volunteers living in the hostel and the HOOP staff were very inclusive of me even though I wasn't around as much outside of the school hours.
The great thing about HOOP is that you have responsibility here, they don't just give you a sheet and tell you to do it, if you notice that the kids are having trouble on a particular area of English, you have the leave to focus on that. You can teach how you want to for the most part, which for myself, who had never taught before, found this was great as I did what I was comfortable with. All the volunteers share ideas and talk about what they're up to, so ideas are plentiful.
Had a great experience here and so glad I did jump in and do it! Even with no teaching experience I found that I had support from the HOOP team to feel confident to command a class of 20+ hyper fantastic kids!
The great thing about Hoop is seeing physical progress, at the end of my time I had kids saying things that I had taught them in only the time I was there!

I've been an intern at Hoop for 4 months, and it was a really great experience.
Hoop has a real impact in the community it is implemented, and you can see that everytime you are going to the school.
As an in inten, you get the chance to learn about how an NGO is working, the staff is really friendly, and will let you work on what you like; I've learn a lot working at HOOP.
Arequipa is also a great city to live in, and live with volunteers from all over the world is an amazing experience ! Hoop is really becoming like a family the all time you are staying.

The aim of HOOP is to break the cycle of poverty through education in Flora Tristan community: a shantytown located on the outskirts of Arequipa-Peru.
Flora Tristan is a place where almost 250 families live below the poverty line and children attend a public school that doesn’t offer adequate education. English is a requirement to enter many universities and children going to public school don’t start studying it until 10/11 years old.
Education is a way out of poverty and HOOP has six classes to teach English at children aged between 3 and 21 years old and offering after school homework to those in need.

Education is not the only activity that HOOP provides at this community. In the last few years HOOP developed kindergarten, health, English and business programs for the mothers of the children. In the next year the NGO is on the way to build a new fully furnished school and as well implementing a number of new activities. For example HOOP want to starts running maths and cultural classes. A lot of the families have socio-psychological issues, such as domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse. HOOP want to start a psychological session next year to assist the children and the mothers.
I volunteered with HOOP from October to December 2014. My duty was to assist the Director of Communication and Development on the fundraising strategy. As HOOP is a small NGO I was the first intern to work in the office together with 4 more interns. Day by day I got familiar with fundraising as I wrote two grant proposals and helped to organize few fundraising events and set up a contact list of potential partners. I learned the very difficult job to work independently.
I also reached some personal achievement: I made a partnership with a restaurants chain and I managed to organise my own fundraising event: a one day football tournament (it was not the Champions League organizationally speaking but at least a good start for my career), followed by a BBQ.
My supervisor was always present, very polite and patient with me. She was answering all the questions I had and, finally, in my opinion we developed a very good working relationship.
A very significant aspect of the experience was going out with the other volunteers. I made good friends and enjoyed my free time with them.

I really like this NGO's mission. Unfortunately, I did not have a great experience. I arrived in Arequipa with a newly fractured coccyx bone. I was in a lot of pain. In hindsight, I should have told the company that I wasn't fit to work for them and never started at all.
I found myself struggling alone in this new city and country, pushing myself to show up for the job before I was ready. The hostel that was recommended for me is geared for people in their 20's. As I am 60, it was not a good match for me. This all has led to a not happy time for me.
This company is small, and the volunteer teachers do not need to be native English speakers or University graduates. If you are young, willing to try new things, and are up for an adventure, this is the place for you! It is definitely doing good things in an impoverished community, and the help really does make a difference. I highly commend the work being done in this impoverished neighborhood outside of Arequipa.

HOOP has worked with this community for several years, and straight away when I arrived I could really feel the positive relationship that HOOP staff have with the community members. I think this is a great foundation that the charity has, and I found it really encouraging and impressive that the staff are trying to work with the families to find out what their opinions are and what types of programs they want HOOP to focus on for maximum impact in the community. For me, it was important to choose a charity that works in this way, involving the families and being guided by their views.

The families were such a pleasure to get to know, and it feels a real privilege to have been able to spend time teaching English / health&wellbeing / finance / business to the mums and kids. Whatever we all thought we could teach or contribute to the community´s development, I think we all ended up learning and gaining so much more ourselves through the experience of volunteering at HOOP.

During my four months volunteering with HOOP, among other things I was involved in doing the inductions at the start of their placement and the exit surveys at the end of their placement, and countless volunteers said to me as they neared the end of their time at HOOP "I don´t want to leave!"... Some stayed for longer than they had planned to, and others decided to come back to HOOP another time. I think this shows what a great experience it is.

In terms of what you can expect your day to be like... I´d say you´ll spend a couple of hours in the mornings getting ready for your classes and then you might want to have lunch with the other volunteers, and then you´ll spend the afternoons 2pm to 7pm at the school or travelling to and from the school, as the program is right on the outskirts of town. And then in the evenings we´d often have dinner together or learn salsa dancing or do fundraising events in the city.

I would really recommend staying for at least three months, as everyone who volunteered for one month during my time at HOOP told me that they were disappointed to be leaving at just the very moment when they had got to know the individuals in their class and had found the best ways of engaging them in the lessons. Those who stayed longer said that their second month was a great period of feeling you really know what you´re doing and you can see the progress that your students are making, and then the third month brought another level of closeness to the families and a tangible improvement in their level of Spanish.

In case you´re worried about the cost of staying longer, I´d say that it´s actually the flights that cost the most, so staying longer will add only marginal costs and could make you feel that you got better value out of the money you spent on the flights. The cost of living here is really low - in my experience, if you´re staying in long-term accommodation and cooking all of your own meals, you can get by on a budget of 30soles (10USD) per day!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering at HOOP! Getting to know the students and their families was an incredible experience for me. Also, really immersing myself in the culture and in the town of Arequipa and the people that live there really helped to make my time there unforgettable.

I was a volunteer lead teacher for HOOP in the spring of 2014. Overall it was a fantastic experience because you really got to interact with the local community and learn about the people of Arequipa. HOOP really benefits the community of Flora Tristan and its participants, the children love us and its a true joy to work with the children everyday. My Spanish was minimal but I learned a lot from the locals and the children I taught. Safety is a concern, especially in the community of Flora Tristan at night, so be careful and buddy up! It is okay as long as you take the necessary precautions. In the city centre of Arequipa where you live, the nightlife is fantastic and it is a safe area to roam about. It is really fun to get to know the other volunteers, try out the interesting restaurants in town, and you bond very fast with the others in the program. My experience with HOOP was very worthwhile and I'm glad I got to experience something so different from my daily life in Vancouver!

An ordinary day at HOOP: your morning is free but you'll most likely want to swing by the office in the morning to get advice from fellow staff or prepare your lesson. It's located in the center of Arequipa, the most beautiful city in Peru (in my opinion), very friendly and easy to get around. Then you'll grab or make a bite to eat, thanks to the most amazing avocadoes and mangoes and fresh produce from local market, and meet up with fellow volunteers. You are in a group of about 8 volunteers, each one of you is the lead English teacher of a class, students more or less ranging from age 4 to 14. You are free and even encouraged to introduce any themes or methods of teaching to your students alongside the lessons from the book you use as guidance. Alongside teaching them English, you can pass on elements of your culture, songs, art projects, dances, games... Interaction is key. After your hour-long English class, the children can choose to get help with their homework or have an hour of recess. HOOP is basically a commitment in the afternoon, leaving you a lot of free time to discover the fun of Arequipa and take weekend trips around the many destinations in Southern Peru.

The key point for me was to be able to establish a real and personal relationship with my students and their families in the community. It happened, because HOOP is a free afterschool program that children attend only if they wish to. They are eager to learn, full of energy and have genuine love and joy to offer.
I also felt instantly welcome within the HOOP team and met people who I will consider as friends for a very long time, since the memories we shared were out of the ordinary and unforgetable.