Projects Abroad: Volunteer in Peru

Over the spring break, I went to the Taricaya Ecological reserve in Peru, and I loved it! This was technically meant for university students, however Projects Abroad was super accommodating and still let me go even though I am in high school. I received lots of information and my contact was incredibly helpful, and answered all of my questions quickly and thoroughly. They offered to book flights for me and sent me an option, but I ended up finding a cheaper option and booking them myself. Once I arrived in Peru, there were always staff around who were very helpful and kind. I loved working Taricaya, doing research and conservation work, and I felt like I was genuinely being helpful, rather than just volunteering to make myself feel good. The only thing that I wish could be improved is the overall cost, as it was a little expensive. All in all, I had a fantastic time, and Projects Abroad was very helpful during my travels.

I've just returned from Cusco, Perú where I worked for the last three weeks. In January I decided to join Projects Abroad, a project that wasn´t well known in the country where I live (Buenos Aires, Argentina) but I made my research and decided to go for it. In february I arrived, unsure of what I would find there, but everything went excellent, I have absolutely no complaints. My host parents were nice and welcoming, and I lived with other two volunteers from Australia and the UK with whom I became really good friends. My role at the placement was working with little children in a Wawawasi, which is Quechua for a daycare center. I helped making activities for the children, teaching maths and hebrew to both students and teachers; helping with the cleaning, cooking and others. I feel as I received much more than I gave; everyone was so caring and lovely that they were constantly telling me how much they appreciated my visit. In fact, the teacher invited me for lunch to her place the last day and cooked for me a typical peruvian dish! I couldn't be happier for my experience, and I would definitely recommend it to others, and even repeating the experience in the future.

I was part of a group of volunteers from the company I work for, and we had the great opportunity to be in Cusco, Peru doing some volunteer activities.
Before the trip, Projects Abroad assistant was very helpfull, we got to know the weather, traditions, type of food, money system, among others, ahead of time; that gave us the chance to be prepared and bring the right clothes for the trip.
In our volunteer activities, we helped in basic level schools, doing some projects with the kids and helping teachers with their classes, it was a very satisfying experience. Kids were very happy and they always participated. As a part of our volunteer duties, we helped painting part of the wall schools and desks.
From day one, Projects Abroad staff was there to assist us, since we got off the plane, they were waiting for us with transportation ready, they took us to our host family homes with a quick tour of the city. They'd be ready everyday with our daily plan and activities, on the afternoons, we'd have a meeting and feedback of our journey. It's essential to know the places we'd go, and situation we'd experience, with their help we were definitevly be more safe and calm, knowing that they're proffesionals and are there for us.
I'd reccomend to know the wheather depending the time of year you're going, so you could be prepared with right clothing. June and July are the coldest months.
It's definitevly a one-life time experience, Peru's landscapes of rainforest, mountains and of course Machu Picchu, are the extra ingredient to have a great volunteer experience. Go for it!

My 4-week volunteer placement in Peru was the most enjoyable experience I have had abroad. Not only did I stay with an amazing family who welcomed me into their home with open arms, and make relationships with the greatest support staff in Urubamba/Cusco - but I spent my weekdays in a Kindergarten classroom with wonderful children. I spent time working alongside the teacher and she encouraged me to get involved by teaching games and basic lessons, in both English and Spanish. It was great to be involved and help out where I could. It is a placement I would do again and again, and an experience I will never forget!

Volunteering at Taricaya with Projects Abroad was one of the best months of my life. From the hands on activities to the supportive staff, I could not have asked for a better experience! It was amazing to be able to meet so many people from all over the world and to work with them to further the conservation of the rainforest.

All of the staff was so knowledgeable and ready to teach the volunteers everything they could. I learned so much not only about the Peruvian rainforest and animals that live there, but also about cultures and languages from all over the world. When we weren’t doing activities, the staff was more than happy to talk about their experience and what they have learned over the years and even sometimes gave lectures about their specialties.

The accommodations and food were great as well. Granted, they may have taken some getting used to, but the bungalows come to feel like home before long. I would recommend picking up some food in town if you are used to having snacks- but there is always a bowl of fruit and bread and jam to eat if you get hungry.

The weekends were a great time to go into town to get wifi and a change of pace. The staff is very helpful in getting you checked into a hotel and giving recommendations of things to do and places to eat. A few friends and I even took a weekend trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu and the staff was very helpful in the planning process and in giving recommendations for where to go and stay and the best ways to go about getting to Machu Picchu.

All in all, I would not trade my month at Taricaya with Projects Abroad for anything! It was absolutely an amazing month and I learned so much! If you’re interesting in the rainforest and are okay with not living in 5-star conditions and doing some manual labor this trip is definitely for you. I would recommend volunteering at Taricaya in a heartbeat! Oh, but don’t forget DEET because you can’t buy any good stuff there.

What an amazing experience it was travelling and volunteering in Peru through Projects Abroad! The staff members of the organization were truly wonderful and supportive before applying and during the placement, always ready to give advice and answer any questions. This past June, I travelled to Peru for four weeks on the teaching placement. I was both nervous and excited during my travels and once I arrived at my destination; however, the Projects Abroad staff, my host family and the volunteers all made the transition into this new and beautiful culture much easier! It was truly amazing to live with a host family during my stay in the town of Urubamba. They were so welcoming from the day I arrived. I loved learning and speaking a little bit of Spanish with them, while also learning more about the Peruvian culture.
My teaching placement took place in a secondary school in the town of Ollantaytambo. I will always remember the bus ride to the school, seeing the beautiful mountains surrounding the towns we passed through! It was a challenging, but rewarding experience having the opportunity to teach the students conversational English. The moments I will always cherish was seeing the growth in the students’ learning after a lesson and how grateful they were for my help. On my last day, the students in my classes sang songs in their native tongue as a thank you for the time I spent working with them. No matter the duration of your stay, you will always make a difference in the lives of the students you have the opportunity to teach! Having had the opportunity to live in Peru was very different from home, but is an opportunity I am so grateful to have experienced. I loved the feeling of learning about and adapting to a new culture and environment and meeting so many wonderful people from all over the world. During my weekends, I always enjoyed meeting with the other volunteers and travelling to Cusco, and the other towns seeing the many different ruins. The four weeks I was there definitely didn’t feel long enough to see and experience the beauty this country has to offer, so next time I would definitely go for a longer duration. Having had the opportunity to travel to a new country and be a part of a culture so unlike my own was a true blessing and continues to remind me of how lucky we are. I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity and am so happy I chose to experience it through Projects Abroad. Thank you Projects Abroad for the amazing memories!

As parents, we were SHOCKED at how little adult supervision there was on the programs. Our child went on what we'd thought was a generally supervised program for 16-19 year olds. Instead, we discovered that the Projects Abroad teens were on their own almost every night, ending up drunk at the local bars and discos 3-4 nights per week! LOTS of drugs being offered to the tourists, and no Projects abroad adults anywhere around.

We paid for the Projects Abroad meal plan, and learned that the first three dinners served were: (1) cake and hot chocolate, (2) plain bread, and (3) a slice of bread and spam. After the kids finally complained that they weren't getting enough food to live on, the meals improved a bit, but our child spent a significant amount of additional money just buying FOOD.

We liked that Projects Abroad promised that our child would stay with a local host family, to learn about the Peruvian culture and get a local experience, but most of the kids on the program were simply put up in a hotel. The Medical program was supposed to be shadowing doctors for two weeks, but there was only four total days of that - the rest was mostly busy work. Not quite the hands-on experience we were promised.

One P.A. student spent 1.5 of her two weeks sick in the hospital with a nasty stomach bug she picked up, possibly from the unfiltered brown tap water. Another kid ended up going to the hospital after getting into a bar fight with another Projects Abroad student.

We spent a LOT of money on two separate two-week Peru programs and felt that the P.A. overall supervision was seriously inadequate. I could go on and on about the two Peru programs, but, in summary, as a parent, I wouldn't recommend sending my teens on a Projects Abroad program. We're not especially nervous parents, but we don't feel that the program was NEARLY safe enough to send kids that far away.

I first heard about Projects Abroad through my university. I was looking to complete a Poverty Studies internship internationally and Projects Abroad was one of the recommended organizations. Peru was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my life, and I have Projects Abroad to thank for organizing it and being with me every step of the way before I even boarded the plane. All the host families I met were so warm and loving and I was also very lucky because I immediately fell in love with my placements. I taught English to students in a secondary school and served as a volleyball coach and mentor to 10-11 year old girls. Both of these programs were fun and incredibly rewarding and Projects Abroad was always there if I needed help with anything. They even offered teaching workshops to help the teachers come up with activities for their lessons. Overall Peru was a great area to be located and I was lucky to meet great volunteers during my stay. My one complaint would be the price but I definitely think every penny was worth the experience.