orphanage, Peru
| country: | Peru |
| departures: | Departures can be arranged at anytime to suit you |
| price: | From £380 (2 weeks) - £1180 (12 weeks) excluding flights. Ethical holiday package from £730 (3 weeks) excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to orphanage, Peru
The opportunity to volunteer with disadvantaged children in an incredible and lively city high in the Andes, in the ancient capital of the Inca Empire.
We work with a number of locations in Cusco and the surrounding villages. When you arrive in Cusco we take you to visit the places that have a need for volunteers at the time and then you decide which placement (or placements) suit you best.
Our Cusco-based staff provide support throughout your time and ensure that all of our volunteers are placed in locations that have a real need.
Your first choice is whether you want to live in Cusco and be part of the lively social scene, or whether you want to live in a village and have much more of a local Peruvian experience.
As a regional capital, Cusco has a large number of orphanages and care homes, most of which are run by nuns from the Catholic church.
Each specialises in a different area of care work. Most care for children who have lost their parents or been abandoned, some look after the very young whilst others care for older children. There are also homes for children with special needs.
Placements include a detailed information pack, travel advice and assistance, being met on arrival and introductions, accommodation, ongoing support from our local staff.
We also offer a 3 week Ethical Holiday Package - designed for people who do not have the time for a long term volunteer placement or have had enough of the usual package tours. It gives you the chance to give something back to the communities you are visiting whilst still having a great holiday. You'll spend 2 weeks volunteering in one of our orphanages or care homes in Cusco and will also visit some of the most spectacular sites in South America. You'll do an awe inspiring two day tour to Machu Picchu, a tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas and visit to the giant Inca Sun Temple above Cusco. We also include a ticket to the Inca museums and sites in Cusco for you to explore in your own time. Then, towards the end of your time (once you are a little more acclimatised) we arrange a (quite literally) breath taking 2 day trek in the Lares Valley and a white water rafting day on the Urubamba River (one of the head waters of the Amazon).
Volunteers generally either do two different placements in a day, or work half days and use their free time to go to the language school, get to know Cusco better, relax or study the history of Peru. You may also want to work Monday to Thursday to give yourself time to travel around the Cusco area on extended weekend trips. The priority however with all our projects is the benefit to the local organisation and their requirements.
There is no typical day in an orphanage as there is so much variety. You may spend the day just playing with the children, you could take the children on a visit or you could arrange a sports day for them. Many volunteers arrange English, art or music lessons for the children. Equally you may end up shopping in town to buy food for the orphanage, you could find yourself taking one of the children to hospital, or you could be working on a strategy to raise money for the orphanage.
Cusco, the city where volunteers spend most of their time, was the ancient capital of the Inca Empire until the Conquistadors defeated them in the 1500s. Spanish colonial grandeur replaced the majesty of Inca engineering, and today both vie for dominance in this city alive with history. Cusco is surrounded by some of the greatest archaeological sites in the world including Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
We work with a number of locations in Cusco and the surrounding villages. When you arrive in Cusco we take you to visit the places that have a need for volunteers at the time and then you decide which placement (or placements) suit you best.
Our Cusco-based staff provide support throughout your time and ensure that all of our volunteers are placed in locations that have a real need.
Your first choice is whether you want to live in Cusco and be part of the lively social scene, or whether you want to live in a village and have much more of a local Peruvian experience.
As a regional capital, Cusco has a large number of orphanages and care homes, most of which are run by nuns from the Catholic church.
Each specialises in a different area of care work. Most care for children who have lost their parents or been abandoned, some look after the very young whilst others care for older children. There are also homes for children with special needs.
Placements include a detailed information pack, travel advice and assistance, being met on arrival and introductions, accommodation, ongoing support from our local staff.
We also offer a 3 week Ethical Holiday Package - designed for people who do not have the time for a long term volunteer placement or have had enough of the usual package tours. It gives you the chance to give something back to the communities you are visiting whilst still having a great holiday. You'll spend 2 weeks volunteering in one of our orphanages or care homes in Cusco and will also visit some of the most spectacular sites in South America. You'll do an awe inspiring two day tour to Machu Picchu, a tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas and visit to the giant Inca Sun Temple above Cusco. We also include a ticket to the Inca museums and sites in Cusco for you to explore in your own time. Then, towards the end of your time (once you are a little more acclimatised) we arrange a (quite literally) breath taking 2 day trek in the Lares Valley and a white water rafting day on the Urubamba River (one of the head waters of the Amazon).
a day in the life of a volunteer
Most orphanage placements are either in the morning or in the afternoon and are normally 3 or 4 hours long because children usually go out to school at certain times of day so there is no work while they are at school. You can therefore often decide the hours you would like to work by choosing placements that fit.Volunteers generally either do two different placements in a day, or work half days and use their free time to go to the language school, get to know Cusco better, relax or study the history of Peru. You may also want to work Monday to Thursday to give yourself time to travel around the Cusco area on extended weekend trips. The priority however with all our projects is the benefit to the local organisation and their requirements.
There is no typical day in an orphanage as there is so much variety. You may spend the day just playing with the children, you could take the children on a visit or you could arrange a sports day for them. Many volunteers arrange English, art or music lessons for the children. Equally you may end up shopping in town to buy food for the orphanage, you could find yourself taking one of the children to hospital, or you could be working on a strategy to raise money for the orphanage.
Cusco, the city where volunteers spend most of their time, was the ancient capital of the Inca Empire until the Conquistadors defeated them in the 1500s. Spanish colonial grandeur replaced the majesty of Inca engineering, and today both vie for dominance in this city alive with history. Cusco is surrounded by some of the greatest archaeological sites in the world including Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Poverty is never very far away in Peru, and the wealth divide between tourists and locals is nowhere more visible than in Cusco. You just need to go a few roads away from the main square to find people living in tin shacks with open sewers. You will also find a large population of street children who make a living selling postcards, polishing shoes or even scavenging rubbish.
Working in these homes presents a real challenge and gives a great sense of satisfaction. It is a very humbling experience to work with the nuns and other care workers who have dedicated their lives to serving the children of Cusco. You can become part of the children’s lives, show them love, fun and care as well as help provide them with education and skills to give them the promise of a better life. In addition to this direct benefit, we try to ensure: Social responsibility - before volunteers depart we provide them with a detailed information pack on the area they will be visiting. We try to educate and encourage our volunteers to understand and respect the local cultures and customs and get involved with local communities. For Peru, this includes the need to learn some Spanish. Economic responsibility – a significant proportion of the fee that volunteers pay is spent in Peru. We always work with locally owned Peru businesses where possible and while volunteers are in-country, we encourage them to buy locally and support local businesses. Environmental responsibility – one of the main negative impacts of our volunteers travelling, is the carbon dioxide created from flights. We work with a 'carbon neutral' charity to help ensure that an amount of carbon is sequestered through tree planting or the promotion of low energy technologies. While our volunteers and customers are overseas, we identify and encourage simple steps to minimise their impact on the local environment. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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