Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
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.
Charitable projects - for over 10 years we have been providing volunteers to help at charitable projects around the world. A UK charity has now been launched to build on this success by providing financial assistance to overseas causes as well. The organisations we work with are often struggling to fund the work they are doing so every penny raised makes a real difference.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
