"Engage at the Core: Volunteering in Sayariy-Resurgiendo's Project Hub in Peru"

Working as a Peace Corps Volunteer living in La Libertad, Peru, I met one of the staff members at Sayariy and we discussed potential areas for collaboration. I was working on community economic development programs and they were wanting to expand upon their economic empowerment initiatives in the communities. We decided to train a group on starting a community savings group. Sayariy provided a phenomenal level of support yet still allowed me the autonomy to develop and adapt the project as needed. After I finished my service and left Peru, I found out that they had continued with and expanded upon the savings groups and also implemented financial education courses with the groups. I've never met a more passionate and motivated group of people dedicated to working with the communities to determine their priorities. They use a strengths-based, appreciative approach that is unique in development work. It'd be hard to find a better group of humans to work with!

I volunteered with Sayariy for almost three months, I was working with fundraising and I was involved with the English curriculum. One thing I immediately noticed, that I appreciated with Sayariy was that they see your potential, and they are not afraid of offering you to do tasks which you haven't done before, and to teach you new things.
Through my stay with Sayariy, I learned a lot about Peru today, and it's history from Lourdes. I also learned about the organisation and how an NGO like this is developed, and its impact. The atmosphere in the office is light and playful, and the staff is open and friendly. They treat you as a part of the team immediately, and there are fun social events going on outside offie hours.