Projects Abroad Volunteer Programs in Peru

This past summer, I was in Peru for two weeks working with the Inca Project. The project was based in a small town called Huyro. I absolutely loved my time on the Inca Project. Living in a simple concrete house near the mountain where excavations and most of the work takes place, the community of volunteers and local archaeologists welcomed me into the fascinating project. Though only in Peru for two weeks, a lot of new experiences and friendships were made. The support of the staff was perfect. From the very first moment I was picked up at the airport to the last sad goodbyes at both the project and the airport, the right amount of independence and guidance was given to me. Excavations on the mountain were the most interesting part of the trip. Clearing around the structures and discovering bits and pieces of ceramics and pottery, the archaeologists lead the group in uncovering hidden parts of the past. Some days on the mountain had to be delayed because of raining or too much moisture on the excavation site. Even with a couple set-backs on the mountain, we always had other work to pursue. Exploring and maintaining the structures on the mountain as well as clearing the grounds with machetes also filled our day-time activities throughout those two weeks. Little bits of house work around 'El Establo' were spread throughout the days. On my weekend, we traveled to Aguas Calientes to hike around the majestic Machu Picchu which was beautiful and a nice break from some of the manual work back at El Establo. Our meals were prepared with typical Peruvian foods such as rice, soups, beans, and potatoes with the occasional western foods tossed in once in awhile. My experience was wonderful - I learned a surprisingly large amount of Spanish and had a memorable adventure learning more about archaeology and even myself. I would encourage anyone to go!

This past april i went to Peru for 2 week to work on my Spanish skills abroad. This was a last minute decision and while signing up i was really nervous of how the trip would go but the staff was so helpful over the phone for the month prior to the trip. I spoke to destination staff who helped me by providing me with all the important information including emergency numbers, contacts and host family information. My travels went smoothly and i was picked up at the Cuzco airport by a Projects-Abroad staff who spoke English so i wouldnt have any problems communicating. Carlos was very helpful and showed me all the interesting places in Cuzco to visit on the weekends. The drive to the town i was staying in (Pisac) was beautiful and informational I found out lots of interesting information on the history and the future of the country. When i got to my host family's house, Carlos introduced me to everyone and left me with more information including when my classes start how to contact him , my teacher and the head of staff in Peru and gave me some ideas for activities to do on my first day. I felt very welcome and although I was alone in a new place i felt i had a lot of support from the Projects- Abroad staff which helped my trip run smoothly. Every day i would meet my spanish teacher at the chosen place and we would have our classes in the market or at a cafe so that i could use my spanish skills to interact better and have full on conversations. My teacher; professor Herman catered to my learning needs to the fullest and I greatly appreciated his teaching style. Overall, I would definetly recommend for others to travel abroad with Projects-Abroad they are my number one choice and i will travel with them again for sure!

I spent 4 months in Peru from September to December, 2012. I loved every minute of my stay in Peru. I was living with a host family in a village called Pisac. Pisac is about an hour away from Cusco and is a beautiful little town with a daily crafts market. From Pisac it was easy to travel other places and it was fun to just explore Pisac, which is beautiful. My host family was amazing! Although I did not speak any Spanish when I arrived and they did not speak any English, they made me feel welcomed and part of their family from the very first day. For the first two weeks of my stay, I took thirty hours of Spanish. These were intensive private Spanish classes with a teacher from Projects Abroad. She helped me gain a basic knowledge of Spanish so that I could speak with my family and, after the first two weeks, start working in a kindergarten in a town called San Salvador, which is ten minutes from Pisac. During my time teaching, I also took another 60 hours of private Spanish classes at the same time.
My time in the kindergarten was great! I worked with a classroom that had 18 five-year-olds in it. Although I didn't speak Spanish at the beginning, by the end I was able to lead the class in Spanish - teaching them how to add, write letters, and work on coloring. It was an incredibly rewarding experience to work with these children.
A typical day for me consisted of breakfast at 7:30 am, working at the kindergarten from about 8 am to 1 pm, family lunch at 1:30, Spanish class from 3 to 6, and dinner at 7, then I would watch TV with the family and go to bed. Sometimes, I would not have Spanish because I would go to workshops provided by Projects Abroad to share ideas and suggestions about how to best work in the kindergartens. These were great because the Projects Abroad staff is extremely supportive in every way. And other days there would be social events in different towns where I would be able to join with other Projects Abroad volunteers and staff members and hike, cook, or hangout.
I loved my experience with Projects Abroad because the program is set up really well - you are always supported by the wonderful staff and there are so many opportunities to really experience the culture. And Peru is an awesome place to be!

I had a lot of fun during my voluntary work in Peru, I worked at a small school near Cusco in a small town called Calca. It was a quit town but in the neighbor cities there where many things to do and see. Such as Machu Picchu, Cusco city and all the beautiful ruines which where build by the inca's. During the week I worked at the school, I helped the teacher with all daily activities, I also teached english to the children and with lunch I was taking care of all the kids, not always easy since they do not have the same manors as we know most children have in western countries. Then during these weeks I set up a program with another american girl to improve the children behavior by rewarding them for doing things good and behaving like expected. This showed us that we can change a thing and we really helped the teacher with it, now her work is less stressful. During my time in Peru all the teachers in the Cusco region went on strike. So I also did one month of community work. This was fun we painted and cleaned an orphan house for abandoned children together with all the volunteers. We also had play days with the kids from the boys school and showed them a lot of fun things! It was a wonderful experience, I learned spanish, I learned about myself and about what an amazing culture Peru includes, I would advice anyone to go there!

Projects Abroad is an extremely well organized and supportive program. They offer a myriad of different hands-on volunteer opportunities in everything from teaching to dentistry. I signed up for the midwifery program in Cuzco, Peru, one of the very few midwifery abroad programs available to students like myself. Projects Abroad contacted me shortly after I signed up with my host family's information and work placement. When I arrived in Cuzco, I was picked up by a staff member, who gave me a quick tour of the city and introduced me to my host family. I spent the next three months working in a public health clinic in a small town about 30 minutes from Cuzco. I was paired up with an obstetrician, and assisted in everything from prenatal exams to live birth. Staff from Projects Abroad were always available to call and often stopped by my house or workplace to check in with me, which I found comforting. They also organized weekly events for volunteers to get together and participate in outings, such as tango lessons or hiking. It was a great way to meet fellow volunteers, and created community. Some of my closest friends in Peru I met through Projects Abroad too! Overall, if you want to travel abroad, be insured a place to stay, and guaranteed hands-on work in your field, I would strongly recommend contacting Projects Abroad.

My trip to Peru was one of the most amazing experiences ever. I fell in love with the country and it's people, language, traditions,... My volunteer job, as an english teacher was wonderful and so rewarding. The kids were absolutely adorable, and deserve so much more. But I didn't approve of the Projects Abroad organisation, and was very disappointed in them. They cost a fortune, which is not necessary, so I really wonder where my money went. And they were trying to impose occidental views and ways of learning/living without taking much consideration of the locals point of view and problems. The other volunteers were too ethnocentric, and practically never tried to integrate the local communities or take part in local activities (eat a menu, ceviche, lomo saltado, drink chicha,...), they mainly just stayed together. On my own, I met the most incredible and caring cusqueños, and dream to go back and see them again, and do some volunteer work of my own, because I know there is plenty to do there, and way more to discover.

My trip to peru to volunteer with projects abroad was amazing. The staff was very helpful from the time they picked me up in cusco untill I left. They showed me everything I needed to get to and from my placement and to get around town. If I needed anything I could call someone at all times. Living with a local host family was a huge highlight of my trip. I would definitely recommend this program.

The Rainforest Conservation project in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest on the banks of the Madre De Dios River was a wonderful experience which I will never forget. Day to day activities included bird-watching from different platforms of varying heights in the Rainforest (the highest being atop the Caopy Bridge which was 42 metres above the ground!), going out on a caiman hunt at night in a boat with other volunteers, collecting butterfly eggs in the Butterfly House, cutting grass with machetes to feed exotic Tapiers and preparing food to feed the different species of monkeys, exotic birds and jaguars in the Animal Kitchen of the Taricaya Ecological Centre's Lodge.