Volunteer in Peru

Volunteer Peru Delve into a new language. This is a great opportunity to take Spanish lessons while being part of a community project in Cusco/Cuzco. Be fully immersed in Peruvian culture, learn Spanish, live with a local host family, all the while contributing to the volunteer project.

Spanish lessons are half day while you volunteer the other half day. Lessons from 1 to 4 weeks, if you need more lessons you can pay locally to our coordinator. Language Immersion classes can be combined with any of the Cusco/Cuzco based volunteer projects: teaching, medical, orphanage support, pre-medical. Language lessons are given by local tutors. Lessons focus on conversation practice, grammar, vocabulary and will be customized based on your Spanish levels.

A Broader View Volunteers thrives on the efforts of our volunteers. All of whom contribute to the current needs and ongoing health initiatives. Whether you're assisting a new mother in the hospital, giving health education to teenagers, observing surgery, your experience allows you to better understand the Peruvian healthcare system as well as contribute to the improvement of health in the Cusco community and surrounding areas.

A Broader View partners with local hospital directors and local health organizations in Cusco. We have built a partnership-based model in Cusco Peru to provide support with community outreach programs and preventative health education.  ABV makes responsible contributions year-round to our local partners, and supports the local communities by using homestay accommodations.

To maximize your contribution, ABV will tailor your experience based on current needs, your interests, Spanish levels, training, and amount of time that you spend with us on-site in Cusco Peru. 

• Rounds with hospital staff
• Observing minor surgeries
• Direct patient care in elderly care centers
• Health screenings during community outreach days
• School based health education in local schools
• Orphanage education program (health/hygiene lessons)

We accept volunteers traveling individually as well as groups of various sizes. Spanish proficiency is recommended, but not required by ABV Volunteers. However, volunteers may find that any level of Spanish comprehension will enhance interactions with medical staff, patients, and community members. This program is suitable for physicians, physician assistants, licensed nurses, EMT trained volunteers.

Being able to speak English is a great way for children in Cusco Peru to evade a life of poverty. With Peru being one of the most visited tourist spots in South America, the growing tourism trade brings a lot of opportunities for English speaking locals.  ABV teaching English programs are focused in Cusco’s Mariscal Gamarra neighborhood. Volunteers help at schools which are under resourced and lack dedicated English teachers

TEFL training is not a requirement, and in this program volunteers gain useful work experience by teaching abroad.  Whether volunteering while on a gap year, over a vacation, or as a trained professional, you will have a significant role in our teaching project in Cusco Peru.

Schools in Peru close for two weeks around the end of July/beginning of August for winter break.  Summer vacations are mid-December through early March.  During this time volunteers help at the girl’s orphanage, at the special needs children’s center, or have language immersion lessons.

Support a local community kindergarten with a group of 30 children between the ages of 4 to 6 years old.  These community schools face a massive challenge to keep their classes running, receiving very little support from the Peruvian state. But receiving ABV volunteers to assist in the classroom has been a huge help.  Volunteers will assist with classroom activities and play time with the children.  Since they are often lacking enough classroom space or playground areas, teaching supplies, volunteers need to be creative and come with ideas.

Spanish speaking volunteers are needed at a local primary school in Mariscal Gamarra.  Volunteers are welcome to create their own lessons plans and techniques, and will work under the direction of the local teacher.  Classroom size range from 25 to 30 students, and volunteers are expected to work minimum 6 hours per day at the program.  As a volunteer you will be involved in:

• Supporting the local teacher with English classes
• Create lessons ideas, and teaching games to engage the students
• Act as a tutor for children which require individualized attention

Volunteer Peru, Many of Cusco’s medical and dental facilities are critically understaffed and underfunded. The hospitals are overburdened with patients, many of whom have illnesses preventable by basic hygiene and healthy living practices. International medical volunteers fill a necessary gap.

Undergraduate students (medial, global health, nursing, dental) are welcome to join our health-related projects in Cusco Peru.  These projects not only provide a hands-on learning opportunity in universal health care practices, you will also make a lasting impact on the community of Cusco.  

Pre-dental students will shadow in a local Peruvian dentist and assist the staff with non-evasive tasks. Procedures such as fillings and repairs are most common, as well as root canals and extractions. Pre-medical and Student nurses will support the Centro de Salud which provides both primary and basic emergency care to low-income families.  Some of the daily volunteer task may include

• Assist with patient consultation and diagnosis
• Assisting in different departments, shadowing the doctors and nurses
• Working in the triage/admissions area
• Outreach campaigns: preparing materials/and set up

Our program is open to volunteers of all ages and educational or professional backgrounds. As our sites are open year-round, volunteers are welcome to travel at any time and for any length of time.  Volunteers in Cusco Peru are housed through ABV’s homestay program.  Homestays are with local families, in clean, comfortable, safe neighborhoods.  All homes have western style toilets and showers.  Homestays all have telephone access and are located within walking distance of internet cafes. Volunteers are asked to indicate all housing preferences, including meal requests and pet/food allergies in the application forms.

Sample Itinerary - Monday through Fridays

• 730am Breakfast at your homestay
• 800am-1200pm   Hospital/clinic rotation (shadowing, assisting, charting)
• 1200pm-200pm Lunch at your homestay
• 200pm-500pm Hospital/clinic rotation or Language Immersion lessons
• 730pm Dinner at your homestay

Requirements: All clinic/hospital/medical placements include an Extra Administrative Fee. $120 for one month, $240 for two months, $360 for three months.

Volunteer in Cusco Peru working with orphans, special needs youth and other vulnerable children. Living and working in Cusco is an unforgettable experience. Be part of the real life of the Cusquenians, explore their family traditions, customs and taste the authentic Cusco cuisine at your homestay.

Although in recent years Peru has benefited from a rise in tourism offer some economic relief, millions of Peruvians live below the poverty line. More than half of the country's people struggle to survive, close to one fourth of the population live in extreme poverty

Volunteer support at residential home for orphaned and abandoned girls and young adults. The home is operated by a religious organization but with the atmosphere of a large family. There are 50 female residents at the home ranging from 10 years to 18 years old. Volunteers support, care for and nurture the children’s emotional and physical needs.  Since many of these girls have come from mentally and emotionally challenging beginnings, volunteers need to be caring, open minded and understanding.

Volunteers in the orphanage / child care programs will be:

• Helping to provide homework support
• Teaching English and basic computer lessons
• Organizing extracurricular activities like dance, yoga, kickboxing
• Provide guidance with vocational training in baking, pottery and other income generating activities
• Spanish knowledge is recommended

Program donation: US$50 payable with the program fees.

Volunteer Peru The Elderly Care Center is a non-profit organization created for the care and attention of low-income older people living in Cusco. Most of the residents have no other living options. Most of them have been abandoned by their own family. The home provides place to live, meals, clothing, medical treatment and therapy needs.

Volunteers will help with recreational and cultural activities, help to prepare food, and feed some of the ladies and gentlemen. Help them to dress, bathe them or help them in their personal hygiene. Some -ladies/gentlemen- simply need people to talk to them, or read to them for a few hours or play cards or walk around the center. And we also need health care providers to help with the care of the people.

*This program can be combined with the medical projects, as volunteers are needed to provide health checks like checking blood pressures, sugar levels, administering medication and physical therapy needs.

Volunteer in Cusco Peru are needed at a special needs center located in Cusco Peru. All residents, regardless of their age, suffer from various physical and mental ailments. The home is for adult and child residents who come from the poorest communities in and around Cusco. The center is quite large and has several dedicated areas, including separate buildings for women, men, and children. There is small therapy room for children and large outdoor areas for sitting, reading and talking with the residents. As a residential facility bedding and food are provided for all residents, and most of the home's funding comes from donations and international support.

Hours for volunteers are: 8am-12pm and 230-5pm. The mornings are spent with the children who are unable to attend school doing physical therapy, playing, feeding and changing. In the afternoons the children who go to school are at the orphanage and you may spend your time working with them on homework, feeding, getting children ready for bed by 5pm and cleaning.

Requirements: Admin fee $100 for one month, $200 for two months, $300 for three months.

Volunteer in Peru, Women’s Rights Support Program - Cusco has one of the highest rates of domestic violence reported throughout Peru, as it is estimated about 80 thousand Cusco women have been affected by some type of violence. Volunteer with a local grassroots organization in Cusco Peru which offers ambulatory care and temporary shelter to women and children escaping a life of abuse. Help make an impact by volunteering for women's empowerment and women's right in Cusco Peru. By spending your time supporting women and girls in need, you can help them towards a better future.

• Provide psychological and legal assistance of excellence to women who suffer from violence to offer them better quality of life in their family and social environment.
• Develop training, awareness and prevention activities on human rights, types of violence and abuse, self-esteem and values.

The Women’s shelter provides services to 40-50 woman and children on a yearly basis, with most staying 2-3 months at a time. Woman and their children, survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, receive medical care, educational and psychological support services. The shelter has a holistic approach offering classes and therapy focused on intervention, prevention, education and empowerment. The center provides educational creche classes for the young children living at the shelter with their mothers. Body and mind strengthening focus has volunteers helping in areas of dance workshops, sports, recreational walks, and cooking workshops. Volunteer also help with the ongoing agricultural projects: weeding and soil preparation for growing vegetables, medical herbs, aromatic plants etc.

Volunteer Peru Delve into a new language. This is a great opportunity to take Spanish lessons while being part of a community project in Pto. Inca. Be fully immersed in Peruvian culture, learn Spanish, live with a local host family, all the while contributing to the volunteer project.

Spanish lessons are half day while you volunteer the other half day (12 hours total per week). Lessons from 1 to 4 weeks, if you need more lessons you can pay locally to our coordinator. Language Immersion classes can be combined with any of the Pto. Inca based volunteer projects: teaching, Conservation Programs. Language lessons are given by local tutors. Lessons focus on conversation practice, grammar, vocabulary and will be customized based on your Spanish levels.

Programs are open from April 15th to December 15th of each year.

One of the programs that we are working on is teaching English. We provide free English classes for children, teenagers and adults. Therefore, everybody can participate. We believe that English lessons will provide a valuable opportunity to help local people gain the skills they need to communicate with tourists and also help the younger generations to have better life opportunities. TEFL Certificate is not a requirement but, it is a plus.

The intercultural exchange experience between volunteers and local people is priceless. This is one of the reasons we bring volunteers from around the world to the Amazonian province of Pto Inca, Peru. Volunteers help teaching up to 4 hours daily 3 days a week from Monday through Friday. You can combine these program with the other programs we offer in Pto. Inca.

Summer vacations are mid-December through early March and also, it is the rainy season in the Amazon of Peru. During this time volunteers help at senior citizen center with educational workshops, or have language immersion lessons and cooking lessons as well (Peruvian Gastronomy).

Programs are open from April 15th to December 15th of each year.

The Communal Reserve protects the ecosystem of the Cordillera, which is a unique ecosystem. The area features breath-taking landscapes and spectacular geological formations, with unique flora and fauna, the result of the isolated nature of this mountain range. The area is home to at least 300 bird species, 124 mammals, 140 reptiles and 109 types of fish identified to date, although the real numbers are believed to be higher. Volunteers are needed to assist with research at the reserve and help reforesting areas damaged by illegal gold miners and commercial logging. We go camping up to 10 days exploring the reserve.

Volunteers with experience and special interest in the field of ecosystem could support our project taking pictures of the flora and fauna during our trips to the reserve as well as cataloging and taking samples.

**We recommend volunteers to bring, fresh clothes, rain coat (poncho), trekking boots, hat, sunglasses, flip flops, flash light, knife, sun blocker, mosquito repellent, water filter, swimming suite. We also recommend volunteers to bring cash because de closest ATM machine is 10 miles form the program.

Programs are open from April 15th to December 15th of each year.

The journey from cocoa tree to chocolate bar is not complex, but it requires several steps, each of which require careful treatment to get the best from the finished product.

We will follow the whole process since visiting local plantations to get the best cocoa fruits until finding the perfect molders for your chocolate.

Volunteers will participate during the 10 steps to make our delicious chocolate.

• 1. Harvesting
• 2. Fermenting
• 3. Drying
• 4. Roasting
• 5. Cracking and Winnowing
• 6. Grinding & Conching
• 7. Tempering
• 8. Flavoring
• 9. Moulding
• 10. Tasting!l

This will give volunteers an understanding of the multiple steps that is necessary to produce the finished product and of course, they can take an original present home. Local farmers also benefit from this cooperation.

Programs are open from April 15th to December 15th of each year.