If you’re ready to embark on an adventure like no other, Peru should be on your must-visit list. Ancient ruins such as those at Machu Picchu – and a trek along the Inca Trail – are some of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, though there is so much more to see.
Peru has among the most diverse landscapes in the world: the country has 28 individual climates between the snow-capped Andes, arid deserts, Amazon jungles, gorgeous beaches and islands, and the deepest canyons in the world. You can explore remote villages, small towns, and bustling cities like Cusco, the gateway to Machu Picchu and the ancient Inca capital. Peru is a welcoming and beautiful country for travelers worldwide, with amazing culture, colorful history, and wonderful people – though it’s also a developing country that benefits from the support of volunteers who want to make a difference and build a better future for people and communities in need.
Nearly one-third of Peruvians live beneath the poverty line – that’s about 8 million people – and communities most affected are rural or remote villages largely comprised of indigenous families. Cities are affected by poverty as well: Lima, in particular, has experienced rapid growth in recent years but is in great need of sustainable community development as well as support for those living in shanty towns and unable to afford proper education or healthcare.
Some of the best ways you can make a difference in Peru are through education, healthcare, community development, and construction and infrastructure improvement. Peru is an excellent place both to teach English and other subjects, and to pick up Spanish: Cusco has many Spanish schools, and some of the organizations highlighted in this article have Spanish immersion programs in Peru. If you’re a student or professional in the healthcare or medical field, there are clinics, hospitals, and community outreach programs you can work in to improve your skills and to teach people about proper nutrition, disease prevention, and hygiene. And if you want to help literally build communities, construction and clean water programs abound, particularly in small towns and villages.
If you’re ready to start exploring the many ways you can see Peru and give back to the communities welcoming you to this amazing country, read on!
Great Volunteer Programs in Peru
International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ)
If you’re looking for an affordable, impactful volunteer opportunity, check out International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ). Since 2007, IVHQ has sent more than 80,000 volunteers around the world on 200+ projects spanning from childcare, to community building, to medical care, and beyond. With programs in North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, IVHQ has no shortage of opportunity for travelers who want to make a difference and pursue adventure. And depending on where you go, your program fee starts from just $180.
IVHQ offers a wide variety of volunteer projects in two different locations in Peru: in Lima and in Cusco. In Cusco, you can choose from 10 different programs to sign up for, with each hosting between 20 and 60 volunteers each month. And in Lima, IVHQ offers four different placements, with anywhere between 5 and 20 volunteers signing up each month. Depending on which project you take part in, you can stay with a host family, in a volunteer house, or dormitory-style accommodations and your program fee in Peru starts from $180, plus a registration fee of $279.
Cusco Special Care Program
One of the many volunteer projects you can sign up for with IVHQ in Peru is a Special Needs Care program in Cusco. As a volunteer, you’ll work in a home for mentally and physically disabled children, and will assist in the children’s personal care by providing specialized attention, helping with feeding, assisting with clothing and bathing, and organizing crafts and games for playtime. The children in this care center have a range of disabilities, so you may need to help them with basic functions and skills depending on the severity of their needs. Learn more about this program here.
Amazon Jungle Conservation Project
If you’re more interested in volunteering with wildlife, definitely check out IVHQ’s Jungle Conservation Project. Through this program, you’ll have the opportunity to live and work at an Amazonian jungle conservation base while learning about and experiencing this unique ecosystem. Some of the tasks you’ll take on throughout your placement include research, reforestation, monitoring of animals, and organic agriculture. Your work will vary depending on the needs of your base at the time. Because you’ll be placed where your help is needed the most, you may not be able to choose your specific project location, and you must be flexible and willing to take on different types of work depending on program requirements at the time. During your weekends and free time, IVHQ encourages you to explore your community, take side trips, and learn about Peruvian culture to gain the most from your amazing experience abroad. Click here to learn more and sign up.
What Volunteers Say: Review from Annalise
I spent two months in Cusco Peru volunteering with IVHQ it was hands down one of the best experiences of my life. I meet so many amazing people from volunteers to locals who made my trip who I wouldn’t of normally met if I hadn’t gotten out of my comfort zone. I highly recommend IVHQ for anyone who is a first time volunteer the support is great as well being the most affordable that I have come across.
Global Leadership Adventures
Since 2004, Global Leadership Adventures has provided impactful travel opportunities for teens and high schoolers by combining community service with hands-on learning and adventure. Emphasizing safety (as outlined in GLA’s five-point safety system), this organization sends thousands of travelers to 23 different countries every year on projects ranging from public health to community development, and much more. And as a leader in youth development, Global Leadership Adventures’ co-founder was recognized by President Obama for making a positive impact in Africa. GLA currently offers three programs in Peru: Service in the Sacred Valley, Spanish Service Adventure, and Amazon Service Adventure.
Service in the Sacred Valley
This amazing trip invites you to help alleviate rural health issues, trek to Machu Picchu, go river rafting, and immerse yourself in Peruvian culture. As a volunteer, you will help with public health projects for women and children by constructing greenhouses, building communal fish farms, and much more. You also will learn about the culture in the Sacred Valley are through dance and music workshops, visiting a local llama and alpaca farm, talking with a traditional shaman, and shopping in a local market. And for adventure, you’ll explore the city of Cusco, hike to Machu Picchu, and even go whitewater rafting. This program lasts two to three weeks, with tuition starting at $3,499 – learn more and sign up here.
Spanish Service Adventure
Through this Spanish immersion program, you will have the chance to improve your language skills, volunteer on local community projects, and much more. For the community service portion of your trip, you will help with development projects that benefit children and families in a rural area. Through cultural exchange, you’ll improve your Spanish speaking skills through talking with locals during service and cultural activities – plus you’ll be able to attend Andean music and dance workshops, listen to talks about cosmology, and even meet with traditional healers. For the adventure side of your trip, you will go hiking to Machu Picchu and go rafting, biking, and much more. This 21-day trip is open right now for summer travelers – learn more and register here!
Maximo Nivel
With many programs throughout Latin America, Maximo Nivel offers several opportunities to visit Peru, learn about the country and its culture, and impact the lives of people you’ll meet. Through Maximo Nivel’s placements in Peru, you can learn Spanish, volunteer, pursue an internship, teach English, and study abroad for university credit. Maximo Nivel’s volunteer programs start from $595 for your first week abroad and include airport pickup, housing, two meals per day, program orientation and management, classes, and much more.
Volunteer for Jungle Reforestation
Maximo Nivel invites you to help protect Peru’s landscape and ecosystems through its jungle conservation volunteer program. As a volunteer, you’ll help with several different tasks depending on the needs of your program, including:
- Reforestation, including planting trees and shrubs, and removing invasive species
- Organic gardening
- Wildlife and animal monitoring, including observing and counting birds, insects, amphibians, and primates
- Trail maintenance
- Leading workshops for the community to educate about environmental protection
You’ll work four to six hours per day, Monday through Saturday, and you’re asked to stay at least two weeks. Your work is incredibly important to ongoing efforts to research, understand, and protect one of the world’s last primary forests, and to protect the plants and wildlife that live in it. To learn more, click here.
Intern for Human Rights
If you’re interested in social work, international development, or another related field, check out Maximo Nivel’s human rights internship in Peru. Through this program, you’ll work with a community organization, NGO, or a government agency to help drive positive change through social justice and human empowerment. You’ll work alongside social workers and other professionals to help with community outreach, education, research, and fundraising while learning about Peru’s culture, social values, and much more. This internship starts for four weeks, and you must have intermediate Spanish language skills to sign up. If you’re not a Spanish speaker, Maximo Nivel has an online Spanish class or a Native Spanish Program to help prepare you for your internship in Peru. Click here to learn more.
Teach English in Peru
One of the best ways to make a positive difference for people in need is through education – and Maximo Nivel has an amazing English teaching program you can sign up for right now in Peru. Most public schools in Peru don’t teach high-quality ESL to their students, and private schools that do have better classes can be unaffordable to many people in poor communities. As a volunteer, you’ll help develop people’s educational and professional prospects through teaching in a public school, community center, after-school program, shelter for street children, or at other locations by creating lesson plans, teaching courses, tutoring students, organizing games and activities, fundraising, and much more. While this program starts from one week, Maximo Nivel encourages you to stay longer to learn as much as you can from your project, and to help your students as best as you can. To learn more and to sign up, visit this page.
Study Abroad in Peru
Right now, Maximo Nivel is offering fall and spring semester, winter term, and summer term study abroad programs where you can study part-time or full-time in Peru for university credit. There are several programs available, including:
- Service-learning, where you can specialize in animal care, construction, medical care, and more
- Internships specializing in education, hospitality and tourism, human rights, and more
- Spanish studies, with several courses for beginner and intermediate speakers, composition, advanced grammar, and much more
- Medical studies, where you can learn about community medicine, medicinal plants, public health, and other topics
- Conservation and science, where you’ll take courses in ecology and conservation, tropical coastal marine systems, and other areas in conservation and biology
- Interdisciplinary studies, where you can learn about international development and business
Specific courses may vary from term to term, and some programs may qualify for financial aid. Depending on your program, courses may be taught in English or Spanish, and Maximo Nivel strongly recommends you add courses from their Native Spanish Program and Tandem Conversation Program. Throughout your stay in Peru, you’ll live with a host family or in a private apartment or student residence, and on your weekends, you’re free to explore the area, take a tour (either arranged by Maximo Nivel or scheduled on your own), or just relax. To learn more about studying abroad in Peru, click here.
What Volunteers Say: Review from Alexa
I went to Cusco, Peru on a one-way ticket back in 2009 and had the time of my life. Maximo was a big contributor to my positive experience. I volunteered with underprivileged kids and helped paint a battered women’s shelter. I also took inexpensive Spanish lessons with them.
The accommodation they provided was great (I recommend Arcopata Family House). I lived with fellow participants of the program in a house and was provided really good meals. When I got sick, they had a doctor come to the house to check on me and give me medicine too.
After volunteering, I became TEFL certified with them during a 4-week course.
All in all, I was very impressed, and I would recommend them to anyone. The experience changed my life.
Love Volunteers
Love Volunteers hosts volunteer and intern abroad programs in more than 30 countries worldwide, with programs such as teaching, conservation, childcare, medical care, and lots more. More than 20,000 volunteers have traveled with Love Volunteers so far, with another 4,000 expected to embark on meaningful trips this year. You’re welcome to sign up for short-term or long-term projects based on your interests and availability, and if you’re ready to travel to Peru, a two-week stay with Love Volunteers starts from just $355. Love Volunteers offers six different programs in Peru for volunteers 18 years of age or older, for a minimum of two weeks. For these projects, you must have at least intermediate English language ability, and there are Spanish lessons available if you’d like to boost your communication skills in-country.
Women’s Empowerment Volunteer Program
One of the many different volunteer programs you can sign up for in Peru with Love Volunteers focuses on women’s empowerment. On this placement, you’ll support women who have suffered from domestic violence – and as many of them have children, you may help with childcare as well. Volunteers like you are needed to guide these women through the emotional healing process and to help them regain control of their lives through teaching English, supporting them in workshops, and lending a hand with basic tasks at the women’s shelter. During your stay, you’ll have the chance to organize skill-oriented training and activities that incorporate your experience and insights into the subject area. While in Peru, you’ll have accommodations provided with a host family, who will prepare breakfast and dinner for you each day. To learn more and to apply, click here.
Healthcare and Medical Volunteer Program
Love Volunteers also offers a healthcare and medical program to volunteers who speak at least intermediate Spanish and have an educational background or career experience in a medical field. On this project, you’ll have the opportunity to assist with local medical staff at a clinic, with tasks such as helping with laboratory work, conducting health campaigns, and performing routine hospital tasks such as making beds, cleaning, talking with patients, preparing equipment, and more. Your independence on Love Volunteers’ medical projects is dependent on your training and expertise, Spanish language ability, age, ability to take initiative, and how long you’re staying on the program – you’ll also need to be able to bring a few basic supplies, including a white coat, scrubs, and stethoscope. To learn more and to apply, click here.
What Volunteers Say: Review from Ariella
I had no idea what to expect before I came to Cusco. It turns out that coming was one of the best things I’ve done. Working with the kids was eye-opening. A little overwhelming at first, but you quickly adapt. They are so kind and friendly, always greeting me with hugs, which never ceased to fill me with joy.
The homestay was very important to me as I wanted to be culturally immersed and practice my Spanish. I was so lucky to have a brilliant family and will no doubt stay in touch with them in years to come. I felt part of the volunteering family too, which was great as I also wanted to make long-lasting friendships with people from all over the world. The coordinators were always helpful and very welcoming. I would 100% recommend Love volunteers to anyone who is thinking of volunteering. Do it!
Abroadly
Since there are so many volunteer programs in Peru, it can be time-consuming to find the best project for you. To streamline your research, use Abroadly, Volunteer Forever’s new booking platform.
All programs and organizations on Abroadly have been vetted for safety and ethical commitment, which eliminates the need for you to do investigative research. Also, when you apply to a program on the site, your application fee is guaranteed 100% refundable if you’re not accepted.
Apply on Abroadly, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $500 scholarship. To make your trip more affordable, you can also use Volunteer Forever’s crowdfunding platform for free. How great is that? Begin your search for volunteer programs in Peru today!
Volunteer in the Peruvian Amazon and Tour Machu Picchu
The Amazon Rainforest covers more than two million square miles, making up more than half of the world’s remaining rainforests. By volunteering in this program offered by Bamba Experience, you’ll play a big role in protecting this vital natural area and ensuring its future survival. Your volunteer time will be spent at the Taricaya Ecological Reserve, where you’ll perform biodiversity research, assist with wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release, engage in turtle repopulation initiatives, and help with building and trail maintenance.
During free time, you can explore the city of Cusco (which will be your arrival point), visit Machu Picchu, the historic Incan citadel, and tour the surrounding scenic spots. The program fee is $2,194 for two weeks. Read more and apply here!
Volunteer for Construction in Cusco, Peru
Build community centers and clinics, refurbish schools, and improve animal shelters with Maximo Nivel in Cusco, Peru. During the project, you’ll work about four hours per day, performing tasks like removing dirt, mixing cement, carrying bricks, painting, and general beautification work.
You have the option to stay with a host family or in a dorm or private apartment. When you’re not busy building, you can check out Cusco, a city known for its Inca ruins (Machu Picchu is close!) and Spanish colonial architecture. The program fee is $710 for one week, with stays up to 12 weeks available. Read more and apply here!
Volunteer for Animal Care in Peru
Join Maximo Nivel in Cusco, Peru, and choose to volunteer at a dog shelter or the Cusco University Zoo. If you work at the dog shelter, you’ll care for stray and street dogs, helping with everything from grooming and exercise to medical treatments and obedience training. If you work at the Cusco University Zoo, your duties will include feeding, cage cleaning, basic conservation activities, and rehabilitating animals.
When you’re not caring for animals, you can see the sites in and around Cusco, including Cusco Cathedral, Coricancha (the most important temple in the Inca Empire), and Machu Picchu. Volunteer for one week for $645. You can stay for up to 12 weeks. Read more and apply here!
Volunteer to Teach English to Preschool Children in Peru
Offered by Love Volunteers, this program gives you the amazing chance to help impoverished children in Cusco begin learning English, a skill they can use to improve their futures and break the cycle of poverty. Your primary duties will be to teach toddlers the basic concepts of English through songs, games, and activities. A truly rewarding and fun program, your help at schools and daycare centers will be instrumental in opening a world of new possibilities for local toddlers and young children.
No prior teaching experience is necessary, but some understanding of Spanish is highly preferred (classes will be made available to volunteers). The program fee is $728 for two weeks, with stays up to 12 weeks available. Read more and apply here!
A Broader View Volunteers CORP (ABV)
A nonprofit organization based in the US, A Broader View invites you to join any of their more than 245 volunteer placements in 25 countries around the world. And they have a wide variety of projects for you to choose from: in Peru, A Broader View has a language immersion program, English teaching placement, special needs center support, English teaching placement, animal rescue center volunteering, and so much more. Your Peru placement with A Broader View is affordable, though you are invited to fundraise for your trip through their website. You can choose to stay longer on your trip to Peru to truly immerse yourself in the community and make a positive impact through your work.
Pre Medical/Pre Nurse Volunteers
Undergraduate students (medial, global health, nursing, dental) are welcome to join A Broader View’s health-related projects in Cusco Peru. These projects not only provide a hands-on learning opportunity in universal health care practices, but you will also make a lasting impact on the community of Cusco.
Soup Kitchen Volunteering Program
Right now, A Broader View is offering many different volunteer opportunities in Peru in multiple locations, including Cusco, Arequipa, and Ayacucho. One such project is looking for your support at a soup kitchen in Arequipa, where you’ll help to connect families, seniors, and low-income individuals providing healthy, balanced meals. The community dining room you’ll work in provides food to nearly 600 children from a local school and is staffed by the students’ mothers. As a volunteer, you will help in the kitchen, serve meals, clean off tables, wash dishes, and help with general upkeep. This program lasts from one to 12 weeks and is offered year-round. To apply, you’ll need to know basic Spanish and will need certain vaccinations. Throughout your stay in Peru, you’ll live with a local host family who will provide you with three meals a day. Click here to learn more and to apply.
Elderly Home Care Volunteer Program
Another volunteer option you can sign up with through A Broader View invites you to work with an elderly care home in Ayacucho. The elderly can be among the most vulnerable members of their community, with many being abused or neglected by their families. By volunteering at the care center, you’ll be able to improve people’s health and restore their sense of dignity by providing companionship and support. The home you will be working in is run by a religious organization and accommodates 120 residents – and while the staff provides care for their residents around the clock, they’re in need of extra support from caring volunteers like you to assist with preparing meals, helping with daily tasks, and more. To sign up, you should be able to speak Spanish, though language lessons are available if you’d like to improve your language skills while in Peru. This program ranges from one to 12 weeks and is offered year-round – to learn more and sign up, visit this page.
What Volunteers Say: Review from Micaela
I LOVED my experience in Peru! It was really the people in Peru, including my host family and fellow volunteers, that made my experience. We all get along so well it’s magical! I have had an amazing time exploring Cusco with them and learning about the public services in the city. If I could I would do it all over again and I would do it with ABV. ABVs design allowed me to personalize my experience so that I could go where and when I wanted to go and I could volunteer in a place that was perfect for me. ABV and Peru were truly magical!
GoEco
A top-rated volunteer organization, GoEco was created in 2006 by experienced volunteers who work hard to provide impactful service opportunities across the globe. In their first 12 years, they sent more than 15,000 volunteers abroad. Among their 150-plus initiatives, GoEco has numerous volunteer programs in Peru, like this health and medical care project in Cusco. Recommended by known publications like The Guardian and USA Today, GoEco is a great choice if you’re looking to volunteer in Peru. Read through some of your options here and start planning your adventure.
Amazon Conservation and Machu Picchu Expedition in Peru
This project takes you to an ecological reserve in the Amazon rainforest, where you’ll conduct biodiversity research, help at an animal rescue center, assist with turtle repopulation efforts, and maintain trails. Your volunteer time includes a visit to historic Machu Picchu. You’ll also get to see many areas of Peru, from the Amazon jungle to the Andes Mountains to the coast. Already packing your bags to experience the beauty of Peru? Know the 15-day volunteer trip costs $2,200. Find out all the details here!
English Teaching Experience in Cajamarca, Peru
Make the trip to idyllic Cajamarca with GoEco, and help local Peruvian children learn the English language. Through games, activities, and conversation, you’ll engage the students and give them the confidence to speak English. This is a fun program where you’ll see the impact of your volunteer work immediately. It’s also a wonderful program if you want to pursue a career in ESL teaching or education and learn some Spanish. And, during free time, you can have fun in Cajamarca, a beautiful city in the Andes Highlands. Ready to depart for Peru? Get more details here (from $620 for one week).
Peru – Teaching Assistance in Cusco and 4-Day Machu Picchu Trek
Explore Peru in two weeks and lend a helping hand at the same time! Embark on a four-day trek to reach Machu Picchu following a week of volunteering in Cusco. Participants will assist children with homework and daily tasks at a local school in Cusco. Highlights include trekking through the Andes Mountains, ziplining, a motorbike tour of a National Park and more!
Peru – Cusco Health and Medical Care
Volunteer in the southeastern Andes Mountains in health care or for a more hands-on medical care volunteer experience. This program has opportunities available for everyone, from those just starting out at university, and those who already hold medical qualifications. Volunteers will be placed based on their level of experience, but all placements allow volunteers to experience the Peruvian health care system first-hand.
Projects Abroad
Projects Abroad sends more than 10,000 volunteers each year to take part in impactful programs around the world. One of the world’s largest and most trusted volunteer travel organizations, it offers volunteer programs, internships overseas, under-18s trips, and lots of other programs fitted to your travel style.
Explore the history of ancient Mayan civilizations or live in the heart of the Amazon rainforest when you choose Projects Abroad opportunities in Peru, from thrilling archaeology work to childcare, conservation, or medicine.
Explore Ancient Civilizations
Be part of preserving ancient Inca heritage on Projects Abroad’s archaeology project in Peru. You’ll work with experienced archaeologists on dig sites, gaining practical experience in excavating and preserving artifacts. Projects Abroad has partnered with a local museum where you’ll work with staff to clean and reconstruct your finds. Your work plays an important role in unearthing clues from the past that teach us more about human behavior. Read more here.
Trek through the Amazon Jungle
Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime? Projects Abroad’s conservation project in the Amazon is the perfect opportunity to gain experience in zoological and botanical conservation. Protect endangered species as you live and work in the heart of the Amazon at an animal rescue and rehabilitation center. As part of this project, you will:
- Collect data on wildlife during surveys in the jungle
- Care for the animals at the rehabilitation center
- Learn from experienced conservationists
- Help with reforestation and community farming initiatives
- Set up trail cameras and monitor footage
Ready to learn more about this exciting conservation opportunity? Click here to learn more and apply today!
Practice Your Spanish
Learning Spanish in Peru is the ideal immersive language experience. Beginners to advanced speakers are welcome! You’ll have a dedicated, experienced tutor who will run one-on-one Spanish lessons with you, and lessons will be tailored according to your level of experience. When your lessons are finished for the day, you can practice your skills at local markets or while sightseeing. Speaking to locals in their own language is a great way to connect and learn more about their culture and ensure that you come home with enhanced Spanish-language skills and a richer insight into this vibrant South American country. Read more and apply here.
Global Nomadic
Global Nomadic may be the perfect opportunity for travelers who want to do good while furthering their education and career prospects. With internships and volunteer placements throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Oceania, Global Nomadic is an excellent way to learn more about your studies and career path. Placements include journalism, paid teaching opportunities, wildlife rehabilitation, human rights and law, and more. Global Nomadic’s internships in Peru start from $1,408 and are in partnership with carefully vetted and trusted NGOs within your host community. To sign up for an internship in Peru, you must be able commit to at least two weeks onsite, be at least 18 years old, be fluent in Spanish (depending on the program), have a genuine interest in sustainable development, have a relevant academic background, and be motivated and able to work in a team environment.
Amazon Reforestation Internship
One of Global Nomadic’s internships in Peru focuses on reforestation, where you and a local team will lead Peruvian communities to develop a more sustainable way of living and improve their quality of life. Through this program, you’ll work with a local NGO as they develop educational, infrastructure, environmental, social, and economic productivity projects along with the community and other volunteers and interns from around the world. This work is being performed at a household level to impact each family more directly, as the project aims to raise environmental awareness through in-house waste and water reuse methods. As an intern, you will help teach the families how to reuse plastic bottles and milk cartons as pots and planters for new seeds, and help the family to designate an area for the creation of organic compost, which is made using wild horse dung and the organic remains of household consumption. This program takes place in northern Peru, and you’re encouraged to stay up to six months to make the greatest impact in your host community. If you’re studying environmental sciences or conservation, or have an interest in ecological and sustainable development, click here to learn more and to apply.
NGO Management Internship
If you’re more interested in NGO management or would like to work with an NGO later, Global Nomadic has the perfect internship in north Peru, where you’ll help a local NGO with managing several different projects and initiatives. Projects you may be involved with include:
- Tide and Swell Charts Project
- Workshops
- Research
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Permaculture Project Maintenance
- Community Labor
- Logistics
- Marketing, both traditional and digital
Each of these projects has their own focus and need – for example, the Tide and Swell Charts Projects provides local fishermen with scientific information about their labor on a weekly basis, which helps them plan ahead and optimize their productivity. If you’re managing Workshops, you will discuss current and new projects on a biweekly basis. As part of the Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation program, you’ll survey and interview, and perform data analysis and write reports. On the Permaculture project, you will help teach sustainable techniques within the community such as water reuse and gardening to reduce the negative impact on the environment. And if you’re placed with Logistics or Marketing, you will assist at the NGO headquarters to help run and promote the organization. To learn more about this internship and how to get involved, please click here.
Global Volunteers
For more than 30 years, Global Volunteers has invited travelers to embark on internships, volunteer vacations, gap years, TEFL, and teach abroad placements in 34 countries worldwide.
This organization strives to make a lasting and positive impact through community service in more than 200 different locations: in 1999, Global Volunteers was granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations, and in 2008 formalized a relationship with UNICEF.
As a volunteer, you can be sure safety is Global Volunteers’ priority as well, with CPR and first aid certification provided to team leaders, emergency medical evacuation insurance provided for volunteers serving outside of the US, and emergency contact available 24 hours per day.
Volunteer in Peru
Through Global Volunteers, you’re invited to teach, mentor, volunteer, and learn in Peru. In this program, you’ll be able to choose from several different projects focuses, all of which support children by teaching, supporting, and helping them build bright futures for themselves. For one to two weeks, you can take on the following:
- English teaching: Practice conversational English with schoolchildren as well as with university students
- Early childhood education: Support children aged 1 to 5 years old through arts and crafts, storybooks, playtime, and more
- Healthcare and hygiene education: Teach how to prevent the spread of infectious disease, assist with medical and dental screenings, provide direct care through lice treatments and eye exams, and much more
- Numeracy tutoring: Depending on your Spanish language ability, work one-on-one or in small groups to develop math comprehension for students of all ages
To learn more about volunteering in Peru with Global Volunteers, please click here.
Ready to Go?
Not only is Peru a gorgeous country with a colorful history, but there are also so many ways you can do good for its people and environment while you explore and immerse yourself in Peruvian culture. From rural communities to bustling cities, and from jungles to mountains to beaches, Peru is an incredible place that’s wonderful for travel – and that’s in need of volunteers like you.
For more information about the different opportunities available to you in South America, check out Volunteer Forever’s volunteer abroad, teach abroad, and intern abroad sections. And be sure to take a look at these articles as well for even more inspiration to plan your travels in Latin America:
Volunteer Programs and Projects in Brazil and Ecuador
Volunteer in South America & Latin America – Brazil, Costa Rica & More
Cheap Affordable Volunteer Abroad Programs & Low-Cost Overseas Projects
Jordyn Hotchkiss ยท Guest Writer
Jordyn Hotchkiss is a Guest Volunteer Travel Writer for Volunteer Forever.