Do you love working with children and want to live in one of the most beautiful places in Peru?

Peru is a country steeped in history with Cusco being at the heart of the Incan Empire with many of the Incan ruins nearby, not forgetting the infamous Machu Picchu too! However despite the many tourists that visit, Peru is still a relatively poor country and you will be looking after underprivileged children from the age of 6 months to 12 years giving them the care and attention that they need. Local mother’s who are concerned about the plight of these children have opened their doors in order to look after them and give them the daily care that they need. Extra pairs of hands are needed though and this is where you come in! By looking after these children in Cusco you will be giving them the best start in life with that extra care and attention not to mention some valuable help with homework along with lots of smiles and laughter along the way!

Trip highlights:

Itinerary & Details

Day 1; Friday - Arrive into Jorge Chavez International Airport (Lima, airport code LIM)

Today you will be met at the airport and taken to your accommodation in Lima where you can relax after your long flight or maybe take a wander to have a look around this vibrant city!

Accommodation in homestay, evening meal included

Day 2; Saturday – Orientation in Lima

Today you will have your orientation meeting with the in country team who will take you through what it’s going to be like at your project, do’s and don’ts, how to stay safe and it’s your prime opportunity to ask any burning questions that you haven’t yet had answered.

Accommodation in homestay, breakfast and evening meal included

Day 3; Sunday - travel to Cusco

Today you will travel to Cusco by flight to settle in to your accommodation and start your project. You should have booked your flights in advance and let the team know your time of arrival, we recommend that you arrive in to Cusco (Velasco Astete airport ) in the morning. You will be met by your accommodation host off the flight and will be taken to you accommodation where you will be for the duration of your stay.

Accommodation in family apartment or family run guesthouse, breakfast and lunch or evening meal included

Day 4 to 8; Monday to Friday - work at the project

Today you will be taken to your project and will meet the children that you will be looking after! They may be a little shy at first but it won`t be long until they will be running rings around you! There are two projects that you may get involved in, one with young children from the age of 6 months to 3 years where you will be giving them some extra care and attention and a second project where you will be helping the older children from the ages of 6 and 12 years. So if you love children and enjoy making them smile and laugh with your songs then this is for you! The majority of these children are the most vulnerable in the area and it is the local mothers that have opened their doors to take these children in during the day to provide them with food and care while their parents who are unable to afford childcare go out to work. You will be working 4 to 6 hours per day.

Accommodation in family apartment or family run guesthouse, breakfast and lunch or evening meal included

Day 9 to 10; Saturday and Sunday - The weekend!

Now the weekend is here you can really explore the area and see what Cusco is really like! You will be able to feel what it was like in the Incan times when you visit the Sacred Valley with the nearby ruins of Sacsayhuaman and Ollantaytambo, not to mention Machu Picchu that you really can`t miss and will have to schedule in after your volunteering! If you prefer you can relax and take in the amazing mountain views of the area in one of the local bars around the main square!

Accommodation in family apartment or family run guesthouse, breakfast and evening meal included

Days 11 to 14; Monday to Thursday – work at the project work

You will carry on your work at the project and be making lots of new little friends! You will be looking after the children helping them to clean their teeth, learn their alphabet, help with their homework and generally giving them a fun time!

Accommodation in family apartment or family run guesthouse, breakfast and lunch or evening meal included

Day 15; Friday - Departure day

If you have planned to stay for two weeks then sadly your departure day will have come round far quicker that you would have thought possible. You will have arranged your flight back to Lima and then onwards to your next destination or back home to make all your friends very jealous of what you have done and seen.

Breakfast included.

Following weeks;

If you are one of the lucky ones and are staying longer then you will be taking in more of this beautiful area and spending more time at the project looking after the children on a daily basis. Weekends will be free to explore more of this amazing city, taking in Arequipa or Lake Titicaca if you fancy travelling further afield!

Accommodation in family apartment or family run guesthouse, breakfast and lunch or evening meal included

Project

What does the project do?

The Mother`s Association was founded in 2001 as there were many underprivileged parents who were not able to find child care while they went to work. This Association was urgently set up to provide the support that these families needed so that the parents could work safe in the knowledge that their children were being looked after. Presently the association is composed of 70 families who have opened their doors to provide the love and attention that these children need.

What’s the project like?

We work with two projects in Cusco, Cuna Urpicha (‘little doves’ in Quechan) which looks after approximately 20 children aged from 6 months to 3 years and also Yachay Wasi (‘House of Knowledge’ in Quechan) that has approximately 30 children aged between 6 and 12 years. Paola is a mum of a small boy who looks after the children at Cuna Urpicha along with 2 other women but is desperate for more help but does not have the funding for this. Yachay Wasay is run by Quintina a mum of 5 children, besides her own children there are 35 children who come to Quintina`s house. Quintina also has the help of a tutor for the children. As you can imagine the homes are full of little children that love life and the attention that you can give and will enjoy the games, songs, dancing that you can do!

Why does the project need volunteers?

The project lacks the funds for hiring staff to look after these children so your help is very much needed. You will need to be patient, compassionate, affectionate but above all have a love of children and really enjoy working with babies and/or children.

Activities and schedule

You will be washing and feeding the babies, teaching the older ones how to wash their hands, brush their teeth, helping them to eat and also making their days fun with songs, dancing, painting and any other activities that you can think of! With the older children you will be helping the centre at lunch time and also helping the children with their homework when they come home from school and teaching them English.

You will be working 4 to 6 hours a day Monday to Friday. The Cuna Urpicha is open from 8am to 4pm and Yachay Wasi is open from 1pm to 6pm, if you like you would be able to work at both centres.

Project resources and advice

Resources are very limited at these centres so any help that you can bring would be greatly appreciated. Any educational material, pencils, note books stickers, flash cards are all good ideas and are mostly welcomed. You may also wish to bring funds with you so that you may buy locally which will help the local economy, waiting until you arrive will give you an idea of what the project could really benefit from too.

In Cusco, during the months of winter (May to September), the temperatures may go down to -12º C at night, so you will need to wear warm clothes, however during the day the sun can be very warm so you may also need some t shirts. It is advisable to bring layers of clothes that can keep you both warm and cool.
The rainy season is from November to March so you will also need to bring a rain coat.

As Cusco is at a height of 3,400m it is also advisable to rest during the first few hours after arrival and it may be a good idea to carry some coramine, glucose or other similar medicine to prevent altitude sickness, however everybody reacts differently to altitude and you may find that you will be fine!

Please note that tattoos and piercings are not allowed at the projects and you should wear casual clothes without any low necklines.
As local people do not speak a lot of English it is advisable that you at least have a basic knowledge of Spanish, the more you know the more beneficial it will be!

You will need to fill out a standardised CV/resume form before starting at your volunteer project which will be sent to you by email from our in-country team. Please make sure you complete and return it promptly to avoid any delays.

What exactly do i-to-i provide?

It may seem like a strange concept to pay for your volunteer experience. You'd be right if you think you shouldn't and the truth is you actually don't! Your placement is free; it's the benefits around it that you pay for. It's important to note that i-to-i is a travel company and not a charity. We provide a professional travel service. We are responsible for finding and assessing worthwhile projects across the world, preparing you fora the volunteering experience and supporting you whilst you're there.

Here’s some more information about what your placement fee covers….

Project sourcing and assessment

We work with hundreds of locally run partner projects around the world and are constantly sourcing new opportunities. We visit all projects to check that they are worthwhile and legitimate and we also conduct a thorough safety assessment before we'll send volunteers there. More

Expert help-desk

Almost everyone who works for i-to-i has traveled extensively or worked overseas. This means we're a goldmine of information; we're always available to offer support and guidance before, during and after your trip.

Thorough project briefing materials

Once you book on to a project you'll receive a Welcome Pack that contains loads of general information about volunteering, about your chosen country and how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.

Airport pickup

It can be pretty daunting arriving in a different country for the first time - especially after a long flight! If you arrive on your project start date, there'll be a welcoming face at the airport to pick you up and take you to your accommodation.

Arrival orientation

Soon after you arrive you will attend a thorough orientation with our in-country team. This is to cover important safety and security information. You'll also get some tips about sight-seeing options for your time off and maybe even learn some of the local lingo!

Accommodation and meals

Accommodation is included with all projects and meals are even included with some. We only use locally-owned and operated accommodation so that part of your placement fee is filtering back into the local economy. Most projects offer homestay, guesthouse or shared volunteer houses as standard accommodation, but some offer the chance to upgrade to a more comfortable living standard. More

Local in-country coordinators

Your in-country team will arrange a pick-up for you at the airport and will conduct your orientation upon arrival. All coordination teams are English speaking and are locals of your destination country. They won't be at your project every day, but will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need them. More

24/7 emergency support

Aside from the local support from your in-country team you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by our response team in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals to be on hand in case of a situation that requires additional expert support. More

Ongoing training

The safety and security of our volunteers is paramount. For this reason we provide ongoing crisis management and emergency response training to our local teams around the world. We also fly in our in-country coordinators to the UK regularly for thorough training to help them offer the best safety to the thousands of volunteers they support each year. More

Supporting our projects

We don't fund our projects directly from the project fee that you pay us. Instead we choose to support a number of projects every year through a grant scheme for tangible long-term initiatives. In the last 3 years we have distributed over US$250,000 to our most needy projects to help them in the great work they do. 

Recruiting people like you

We make no secrets of the fact that part of your placement fee is reinvested in to recruiting volunteers just like you! The volunteers recruited in one week will typically deliver over 2000 man-days of service. The difference this makes to projects overseas is immeasurable. Many of our overseas projects rely on assistance from international volunteers, so it's necessary for us to put together brochures and websites to find the people who can support them. This recruitment process is vital to ensure programs have a constant stream of reliable volunteers.

The intangible benefits

Volunteering through a company like i-to-i has a lot of intangible benefits to developing overseas communities and the individual projects that we work with. To find out more about our placements. click here

Next Steps

What we will do after you've booked:

Orientation Information

We aim to provide you with a safe and soft landing into your destination by picking you up from the airport, giving you an orientation that helps to settle you into the country as quickly as possible. It's also the best time to ask any questions you have about your time in Peru.

You will arrive on the Arrival Date : Friday and will be met at the airport on that day (whether it is 12 in the morning or 11:59 at night. You will be taken to your accommodation for orientation, a local homestay in Lima, where you will have the first day/night to recover from your flight.

Note: If you're arriving early we can arrange a meet and greet for you. If you require this please contact us to arrange this service. If you wish to make your own way please contact Fiorella directly for your allocated accommodation in Lima.

Your orientation will take place the next morning and will introduce you to life in Peru as well as important information about staying healthy and safe and information on getting to your project. Over lunch you will have the chance to ask any questions of the team before starting work.

You should book your flights to Cusco for Sunday morning and will be met In Cusco by your host.

Accommodation

What type of accommodation will I be in?

You’ll be staying in a homestay in Lima for the first two nights after your arrival and will be in twin shared rooms. After you arrive in Cusco you will be staying in a family apartment or a family run guesthouse. The families are used to looking after our volunteers and will make sure that you have a very enjoyable stay.

The main square of Cusco is up to a 45 minute walk away but there are shops and facilities nearby.

Accommodation facilities

Breakfast and lunch or evening meal are provided for you.

Bedrooms are based on 1 or 2 volunteers sharing a room and will have bathroom facilities with hot water, shower and western style toilet. Laundry facilities, internet cafes, restaurants and bars are all located in Cusco, although there are some small shops are located near to the accommodation.

Things to bring from home