Volunteer in Peru with Maximo Nivel - Best Rated Projects

Let me start off by saying Cusco is an amazing place. There is so much culture and so many different activities to do there you will never be bored. The Maximo staff was extremely helpful and was always there if you had a question or just wanted to talk to someone. I also really enjoyed how they offered salsa classes, cooking classes and other activities to help you get to know other volunteers and to have fun. My living situation was also really nice and clean. We had one issue of not having hot water for about three days but we just talked to Maximo and they solved the problem for us. For volunteering, I volunteered at a childcare project called Juana de Aza. The kids here were super cute and the moms were really nice. Me and usually two other volunteers would watch the kids while the moms were down stairs cooking, doing laundry or other daily activities. My only recommendation would to not stay more than three weeks. I stayed for a month and had a great time but I was ready to go to another place after the second week. If I were to do it again I would stay in Cusco for two weeks and then travel to another country for the rest of my time. Overall I had an amazing time in Peru!

I volunteered in Cusco, Peru for 3 weeks in the childcare project along with Maximo Nivel. I can without a doubt say that my time there was incredible! I appreciate that my placement was chosen according to my interests stated in my application because I was able to learn more than I expected! Everyone at Maximo was so nice and invested in helping you make the most of your time volunteering. Anytime I had a question or concern they were available to help. I wanted to start a fundraiser for the program I was working with and when I approached Maximo about it, they helped me every step of the way from creating the gofundme page to buying the donations! I highly recommend working with this organization!

I am a young professional working full time and I participated in the Holiday Experience Program with Maximo Nivel in December 2016. The organization has a team of very supportive and friendly staff, as well as many meaningful projects.

With the Holiday Experience Program, we went to a local school which is in the underprivileged area. There we built a roof, painted the wall, and played with the kids. In addition, we were brought to a hospital that's located at about an hour outside of the city. While we were there, we helped out with the health check up process, such as measuring blood pressure and heart rate, distributing medicine, preparing the patients for the doctors and dentists, etc. We were given lots of responsibilities and hands-on opportunities to interact with the local Peruvians, which has been one of the greatest experiences I had in Peru.

At Maximo, volunteers were also given the opportunity to take advantage of the affordable Spanish classes. The price I paid for a week course is not even 1/10th of what I would have been paying if I were to take the class in the U.S. The outcome of the course was also impressive! I had zero experience with Spanish before going into the course, and after that I was able to hold a basic conversation with a local person.

The host family that Maximo placed me at was also phenomenal. The host's name is Monica Pilares, and she is such a lovely Peruvian lady! Despite the fact that she spoke almost zero English, I was able to communicate with her through Google Translate and my Spanish class at Maximo. She treated me and other volunteers as part of her family and we spent a wonderful time together. If I were to go back to Peru one day, I'd make sure I visit Cusco and visit Monica and her family.

The staff members at Maximo all spoke fluent English (many of them are native English speakers) and Spanish, and were extremely warm and welcoming. They will help you with anything you need help with, from recommendations for places to eat and hang out, to breaking large bills and navigating to a bank. It made me want to become a part of the Maximo staff team by the time I left.

All in all, I would highly recommend Maximo Nivel to everyone, whether you want to volunteer in meaningful ways to assist the local community like I did, or simply would like to just experience a different culture and language. You won't regret the decision of going to Peru and doing it with Maximo Nivel.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns as I'd love to share my experiences with you and give you my advises. Dream big and make your dream come true.

Good luck!

Tracy Cui
Cleveland, Ohio, USA

I did 3 weeks total of volunteering with Maximo and I was fortunate enough to spend a week in Tierra Linda in the Peruvian Amazon in January 2017. This week was my favorite part of the entire experience. Maximo arranges all your travel and provides you with a list with everything you need. I lived in a guest house in the jungle with the project manager who stays there year round. You live like a family there; you cook together, work together, clean together, and have fun together. You have no electricity , wifi, cell service and it was great. You don't even realize it when you're there the lack of modern conveniences because of the beauty of living simply. As far as volunteer work, you have to be flexible because the weather is unpredictable. In my short time there I replanted bananas trees in attempts to build an orchard, built a new path, cleaned all the tools, and did basic garden upkeep. My only regret is that I wasn't able to stay longer and work on longer term projects. If you're wanting to reconnect with nature, have some time away from the modern world, and volunteer in a beautiful place then you should do the jungle conservation program.

I spent three months in Cusco during my gap year volunteering at an after school program for children in a poor neighborhood. The establishment provided students ages 4-15 with help from teachers and access to computers with wifi. I went not knowing what to expect in terms of teaching English classes. It was hard to organize formal classes because children's main priority was finishing homework. This meant the classes had to be entertaining to capture their attention or sometimes they simply did not have time to devote to learning English. However I would help out in whatever capacity I could - lending a hand with English homework, reading with them, helping the staff with things that needed to be done around the building. All this to say that although I wasn't doing exactly what I had pictured I was still able to form connections with the children and to work with them in a meaningful way - something that was most valuable to me. I would definitely advise keeping an open mind, striving to be flexible and being active in offering to help in whatever capacity you can. If you are able to do that you will no doubt walk away with a meaningful experience to carry with you for the rest of your life.

I had so much fun in Peru volunteering in the Madre Teresa orphanage. I met wonderful people and felt so good about the work I did. I would go back in a heartbeat, and I hope to continue communicating with my friends that I made. I highly recommend Maximo Nivel as an organization, and the program coordinators there are truly amazing people who go out of their way to help in any way that they can! I got time to visit the sights and saw many wonderful places.

I was nervous. I was out of my comfort zone. But that all dissipated once i stepped into the casita with the kids. They changed my life without me even knowing it was happening. I would like to say that I changed their life for the short time I was with them, but in all honesty, they helped to shape my experience into being one of the best experiences of my life. I thank them for their sweet smiles, their non-judgmental souls and their energy.

I participated with IVHQ for the first week in December (with no volunteer experience), I thrived in being in such a loving and energetic environment. Even though there was a language barrier, body language and positive energy played a huge part in breaking that and I connected with the kids. Whether it was helping them with their homework or teaching them "Pato, pato, ganso...", I felt alive. And I will forever be grateful for the children and the support and safe environment that IVHQ provided for me.

I will never forget this memory. I was sick as a dog one day...all day (stomach sick...), but I knew I had to go see the kids. I arrived. Pale, sick, no energy. I walked into the Casita, the children surrounded me. The sickness left my body as if I was healed. I ended up playing soccer, tag and pushing the kids on the swings that day..it was the most fun, beautiful day. To this day, I will never understand how I was instantly healed, but it happened...

I have never done something like this and I am grateful and will return soon. Words can not express the transformation that has occurred...whether it be the children..the Peruvian culture..the energy in Cusco...but I do know one thing is for sure. I will return.

If Cusco calls you and reaches your soul and you feel a desire to give back, please act on it and see where it takes you. You only have one life...appreciate the beauty of this magical place and the people. It will change you. I will be forever grateful for this change in me and for all that Cusco has shown me...GO!!!!!!!!!!! Let this journey take you....

Much love and gratitude,
Emily

I must recognize that I had a great month in Cusco, involving the volunteer program of English teaching. The children I work with were really impressed. They are kind, passionate and strong in their hard lives.

I will never forget those children were always proactive to clean the classroom after hard raining. I will never forget those little teasing smiles animated their faces, and always repeated what I was talking about in class. I will never forget when I taught them the English word "flower" and "soil", they made a sweet sentence: "I is flower, Yijia is soil. Flower gusto soil."

On my last day, a little girl asked me, "Yijia, can we play chaba on Christmas Day?"
"Oh... I won't be there on Christmas Day... "
"Porque!!!"

I couldn't control my tears at all at that very moment. Seriously.