Program Reviews

It was the first time in my life that I volunteered away from home! It was a wonderful and very enriching experience. My goal was to teach children in need but they are the ones who taught me a lot. I enjoyed visiting other parts of India during weekends. The program organized them and I had no problems! Everything was perfectly organized according to my requests! I strongly recommend this program to anyone who wants to have an impact on humanity.
Debora Costa Serigado - 27 years old
From Switzerland

Fiquei 1 mês e 3 semanas viajando. Desse tempo, 6 semanas foram no Peru, e 4 pelo programa. Então posso dizer que pude conhecer a fundo a cultura e a cidade. Também posso dizer que do tempo que estive viajando por conta e de quando iniciou o programa, mudou muito minha experiência. Com o programa tive a oportunidade de conhecer muitas pessoas, amigos e a querida host family. Conhecer culturas e pessoas diferentes de todo mundo foi mágico. Temos tempo de sobra para turistar. Com relação ao programa médico, posso dizer que depende muito da si mesmo, sua força de vontade, interesse, conhecer o idioma e o serviço/médico com quem trabalha. No início me senti um pouco perdida, mas aos poucos fui conversando e procurando pessoas do serviço que estivessem disponíveis e interessados para eu acompanhá-los.
No geral, posso dizer que foi memorável conhecer outra cultura tão próxima e ao mesmo tempo tão diferente da minha.

Foram 4 semanas muito proveitosas, conhecer uma nova cultura e praticar o espanhol foram os pontos fortes da viagem.
As pessoas aqui são muito amáveis e gentis. A host family foi incrível, sempre muito atenciosos e dispostos a ajudar, também sempre nos receberam com comidas deliciosas, sentirei falta.
Outro ponto positivo foi fazer amizade com outros voluntários de todo o mundo, os quais manterei o contato.
O programa médico em si foi um pouco bagunçado no início, pois não havia uma escala de trabalho a qual deveríamos seguir, então ficávamos perdidos. Depois de um tempo, quando descobrimos os médicos que gostariam de serem acompanhados, a experiência foi melhor...
Temos muito tempo livre para explorar a cidade e os arredores nos finais de semana.
Recomendo a experiência! Com certeza levarei para a vida (:

Overall, I had a great time in Cusco. There certainly were highs and lows during the trip (which I expected) but I made some great memories and met some fantastic people from all over the world. The staff for Volunteering Solutions are very communicative and trustworthy. My host family was amazing and made some fantastic food. The excursions we did were so fun and had some breathtaking views! The health center I worked at had some really friendly nurses and doctors who really wanted to help me learn and gain medical experience. However, there was some slight disorganization and some doctors preferred to not work with the volunteers

I really liked this experience. Towards the end of my stay I started to become more comfortable with our work and I felt like I was trusted by the nurses more. For the first two weeks though, I didn’t feel very helpful and mostly watched the nurses work. There could have been a little more organization when it came to where/with who we should be working with, because occasionally I would invite myself into a certain room and they wouldn’t have work for me to do. I think this is very valuable and a great experience despite all this.

Excellent program in an amazing city. Everything was so much fun, definitely must know Spanish to come or you will not get to do much. Everything was well organized and the managers were always available if you had questions. I will be very sad leaving. The tours were wonderful, Cusco is such a pretty place. The city also feels relatively safe compared to other places and the locals are all very kind. We made so many friends that we met. You are also given a lot of freedom to explore and encouraged to go out and about.

I had a great experience volunteering in Cusco. I have met incredible people and the local staff in Peru (Jeny, Frida & Keli) have been amazing. The host family has been also perfect.

The project itself was also great. I chose a teaching project in a high school. My days at the school were busy and very well appreciated. Most of the students are eager to learn English and I'm proud to have been a part of the impact these experiences will have on the students. Everyone was very helpful and eager to share experiences, which made every moment worthwhile.

I spent the long holiday by visiting Machu Pichu, Titicaca Lake, and Arequipa. During the holiday I also trekked montaña de siete colores with other volunteers.

I highly recommend Volunteering Solutions to anyone who is looking to volunteer in Peru.

I have never been so happy with kids who were so thankful and appreciated me being there. The project was wonderful and is making a difference in the lives of the children. The coordinator and the host family was both nice and it really helped to be in touch with Jenny on WhatsApp group along with other participants. The host family made sure there was enough good food and we all had a comfortable stay. I have a lovely time going to Machu Picchu with other volunteers. Thanks Volunteering Solutions for such a great experience!

The experience was incredible! The host family is Cusco was eager to share their culture and they became a second family to me! And what to say about my host mum in Iquitos Jenny? She was the kindest person I have ever met!
Working with the kids was a great experience in order to learn about peruvian culture and working for the community!
In addition the contact with thd orgsnozation was fluent in every moment, they were in constant supervision of the whole experience to make sure I was having a great time!

I enjoyed the experience and found there were challenges I hadn't expected.

I think the course could be better organised in some ways, such as communicating excursion itineraries in advance and giving more thought to how volunteers are put together and who they are placed with (in terms of the host family). My homestay experience was very uncomfortable from the perspective that I was paired with someone significantly younger and better able to speak Spanish. I was also treated differently by the host family and it is not quite clear to me why. They were a nice family but notably treated me as less favourably than the other volunteer.

More time could be allocated to volunteering, and the local support could be more easily accessible and responsive.

Peru is a beautiful place. The excursions on the whole were very good but I often only found out about arrangements very shortly before - in some cases, the late night before when the leave time for the excursion was 4am the next morning.

I was also not provided the link to review the experience whilst the other two volunteers in my group were and the coordinator followed up with them more than once to ensure it was completed. I requested this link several times, the coordinator ignored me after I left Peru and I was sent this eventually by the head of local coordinators.