Peru Volunteer Programs from $23/day | Most Affordable & Trusted

I loved working with the mamas in the orphanages, they are so sweet and welcoming. As someone who doesn’t know Spanish either, everyone in the program was so helpful and supportive. Getting to experience what it is like to be in an unfamiliar place with a language I don’t know was valuable to me so that in the future I can better understand migrant kids that I would like to work with in schools. I feel more empathetic and understanding than ever before.

The local staff was so helpful providing guidance with different places to visit in and around Lima. I went in a dune buggy, paraglide, and hiked a 4600 meter high mountain, all things I had done for the first time. I really got out of my comfort zone. Plus, the local staff’s responses were timely and they checked in with us often too so I always felt supported. I felt very safe and cared for with them. And the host families are so wonderful too! The food and hospitality made me feel welcomed and right at home.

Volunteering in Lima was a life changing experience. I know this is the cliqué thing to say, but it honestly did change my life. Volunteering allows you to remember, in case you've forgotten, how lucky you are. Others are much more unfortunate than you are. Being able to give your time and effort to help others is so full filling and life enhancing. I feel in love with helping others, and now, even being back home, I´ll continue to volunteer with kids with special needs and I´ll never stop doing it. IVHQ provided me with much more than just a volunteering program. Volunteering with IVHQ is an amazing experience because they link you with a honest and reliable local organization. People from all over the world come to volunteer and because of this you will be able to make the best friendships ever. You might just know some people for a few weeks and still make friendships to last a life time. I volunteered for 2 months and loved it! I would really recommend this amazing experience for anyone who's willing to go out of their comfort zone and whose ready to help others! do it, you won't regret it.

Had a really amazing experience living in jungle, met some lovely people, did some really cool treks into jungle, mammal monitoring, caiman monitoring, harvesting orchids etc. The Panthera reserve is really beautiful, especially at sunset! Couldn't recommend IVHQ highly enough- the staff were always so helpful before/during/after the trip and the other volunteers were also really great! Lots of friendly monkeys around the place too!

I recently came back from volunteering on a medical project in Cusco, Peru. Partnering with Maximo Nivel, I volunteered at a small clinic called Centro de Salud Dignidad Nacional doing a variety of tasks. I got to work closely with the chief of medicine there as well as rotate with other doctors and nurses. I honestly loved every second of this experience.

I became extremely close to the clinic staff there, so much so that they invited me to parade with them during their annual Inti Raymi festival. We still keep in touch and I am currently making plans to return in December! Cusco is a magical place full of history and kindness. You will definitely find adventure here! So much to do, especially in the month of June.

Traveling to Peru and working with Tarpuy Sonqo resulted in two unforgettable, humbling, educational, and incredibly enjoyable weeks and I would go as far as to say these were two of the best weeks of my life. From an extremely kind family with whom I stayed with to the medical program coordinator, everyone was always there to help if they were needed. The medical volunteering program itself exposed me to a new life. Nothing was more humbling than being able to do my part in working with the Peruvian children and seeing the smiles on their faces was more memorable than even Machu Pichu itself. I felt safe at all times and we even went on a tourism day which gave us a chance to explore Lima. I would recommend this program to anyone who is interested in traveling abroad!

My overall experience at the program was amazing. Everything was well explained and I definitely made an impact on the children. I definitely recommend knowing Spanish though because of the language barrier! I got to help out a lot in the classroom working with the children, and the teacher I was working alongside with even let me teach the children some English (animals and colors). I had a great time working and traveling and met amazing people.

Overall, if I can do this program again I would! The attitude you have is very important when teaching english is important. Especially if the kids are only 7 years old and up! Bear in mind when teaching (If you can not teach and explain the topic to someone like they are five years old then you are making it too hard!) this was a rule of thumb I tried to use when teaching and helping each student. Ensuring they understand, numbers, words, climate, landscapes, and Animals each with a simple lesson. With pictures, worksheets, games, tandem conversation, one on one practice and repetition.

Key tip if you are doing this program for over two weeks take the time to learn spanish it greatly improves the learning for the kids and your growth and experience while teaching english. I took spanish classes for a total of 3.5 weeks and the kids will help you learn spanish! Funny enough it is like an exchange or tandem conversation sometimes my Spanish greatly improved with the combination of lessons, and kids helping me. Correcting me and laughing at my broken spanish! Practicing with kids is one of the best ways to improve your spanish. You have nothing to lose they are young and only care to laugh, learn, and help you! Just like how you might find it funny when they are speaking english and say some words with a different accent. You are a team help each other get better at English and Spanish. I was very glad to have practiced spanish and if there is one additional recommendation I would try to have done more tandem conversations or one on one spanish lessons in addition to my group lessons as I have come to the final week my Spanish has really gotten stronger as a result of working with the kids and teaching English.

Be prepared do not show up to the class with no plan, I did my best to have at least 2 different lesson plans to adjust for different student groups and skill levels. Always have a back up plan because there will be days where the students are not motivated! That is alright not one person can be motivated everyday that is your job to adjust and see what makes the student more interactive. Colour worksheets, games, and getting students to write on the board really helped them. Another technique is to understand what each student may want to get out of english one of the students really enjoyed to have vocal basic conversations with me each day in English. As a result I made it a goal to have at least one full conversation in English when I saw him.

Another student she really enjoyed to write on the board. As a result she would listen to me say a topic in english or a word/number and she would be instructed to write on the board. This helped with her listening, communication, and writing skills in english. If you can find the benefit and reason the students want to learn you will do great!

Go out, explore, talk to the locals and embrace the chance to be here. I loved the kids, local life and hiking of course the food was great!

For as long as I could remember I had wanted to explore the Amazon. In 2017, with the help of IVHQ, I did just that. The experience was a highlight of my travels and something I will never forget.

We were an hour's boat ride from the nearest town, with limited electricity and no cell coverage or WiFi. The Rio Madres de Dios provided us with a means of showering, and our diet relied almost solely on non perishable foods. It was remote, basic and awesome.

For the reasons listed above, there was plenty of time for cards, board games and banter amongst the volunteers. By the end of the two weeks I'd made a lot of cool and interesting new friends, some of whom I caught up with again later in my travels.

The volunteering was interesting, valuable and at times challenging. Helping to develop an agroforestry plot, night time reptile monitoring missions, cutting jungle tracks and more; it was definitely varied.

What I'll remember most though, is the pure thrill and excitement of being in the Amazon. Wading at chest depth through Aguajales, keeping an eye out for anacondas. Paddling though caiman filled lakes in a leaking canoe. Discovering a tarantula crawling on my boots just as I'm about to put them on.

A unique experience such as this is probably best suited to a unique type of person, but don't be too put off, it's not all snakes and spiders. Just make sure you bring a head torch!