Volunteering in Villa Maria was an amazing and life changing experience

We organised and ran games and holiday activities for the deprived children of Villa Maria, a large slum on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. We visited two communities a day, playing games and activities ranging from football and volleyball to jenga, colouring and painting. Each day ended with an hour in the local pool being used as human climbing frames by dozens of excited kids. Every Saturday we organised a feria (fair), which involve dressing up in costumes and running a range of games where children could win sweets as prizes. Sundays saw the group put on costumes and face paints and perform group dances at the Sunday show. During our last week we swapped toys and costumes for safety gear and power tools constructing a new classroom at the Quest school.

We lived in rooms above the Quest School. Living conditions were fairly basic and we were responsible for buying and cooking all our meals and keeping our accommodation clean and tidy.

It was a great experience. I would definitely go back and recommend Quest Overseas gap year trips to anyone looking for a gap year trip that involves volunteering and lots of fun. The Quest Staff and local staff were great creating the right balance between providing advice,support and direction and allowing us freedom and independence. The local staff and communities were very welcoming and by the end it felt like we were part of a huge extended family.