Great Program for Cheap

I loved my experience with IVHQ. Throughout the whole process, they were extremely helpful and accomodating. They answered my emails quickly and even managed to sign up my friend less than a week before our departure. One we arrived to Cusco, we were welcomed by their local partner, Maximo-Nivel, who took care of us throughout our stay.
I went to Cusco with two of my friends for two weeks. I wish we could have stayed longer! We lived in a host family with about ten other volunteers. The family was extremely nice and the meals were good, although they sometimes forgot about my dietary restrictions. We lived ten minutes away from the Plaza de Armas, the most touristy place in the area and 15-20 minutes away from the Maximo-Nivel office. Cusco felt really safe and we were never afraid to walk alone at night, even if we were only three girls. However, we prefered to be with guys when we came home after midnight.
We were in the Childcare Work program, so we volunteered in a christian school for children from difficult backgrounds. We were two volunteers in each class and we helped the teachers with whatever they had to do that day. Most of the time, we prepared the supply needed for the artwork the children would do that day, but we also helped with homework and discipline. Our shift was from 8:00 AM to noon and the bus we took to get there cost us less than a dollar per day.
Overall, I loved my stay in Cusco. Since we worked in the morning, we had the rest of the day to visit the city and we took the weekend to visit Pisaac and Machu Picchu. One afternoon, we also booked a horseback riding tour to the ruins around the city with Loki Travel.