Here are some comments from customers who have already been to Peru with i-to-i:
Peru - Community Development:"I just wanted to drop you a quick email to say i have been having an incredible time with the niños in the centre they are the most gorgeous children that i have ever had the pleasure of being with! The other Volunteers are wonderful and i already love them like family! Mancora the place is magnificent and the people here are very friendly! Fiorella was here today (she is our in country coordinator) and she is such a lovely person, she does so much off her own back to make sure that everything that the kids need is provided and that everyone is comfortable."
Holly Greig, Community work with special needs children in Peru
"Been working hard in San Andres on the conservation project and Jorge and Fanny are really looking after us. It's really nice to have Liz here with me too. Liz and I went to Haucachina on Sat, Isla Ballestas and Paracas Reserve on Sun and had a lovely time. Today Jorge, Ricardo (a biologist), Liz and I went on a massive walk in the Paracas Reserve. We must have been walking for about 6 hours and saw some beautiful things."
Carrie Ann Mcdonnell, Coastal conservation near Pisco, Peru
"Things are great. Thanks for checking. I am getting quite acquainted with the food and culture. The project is challenging being the first time I ever taught English and being the only English teacher in the school! Though the challenge makes the end of my day worth it! I feel like I accomplish a lot in a half day and just to see the sparkling eyes and the smiles on the children's face makes me feel like I have a purpose and they really appreciate me no matter what I teach them. I love all the children! Even when they are naughty, I want to take them all of them home with me!! So not only am I teaching the children English, they are helping me out with my Spanish! It's great, though I will not deny that everyday is a new day with a new challenge and you have to be very flexible because there are not really any page to use. Other than that, I'm doing quite well."
Jackqueline Raastad, Teach English at schools or an orphanage in Lima, Peru
"Let me start by saying a HUGE THANKYOU, for all the pre departure advice you gave me before leaving for peru, I have settled in so well so cheers. So I arrived in lima last Friday to be welcomed by a member of the i-to-i team it was great because we were so delayed and they still picked us up at 12pm. I was taken to my new home where I will be living for 6 weeks to be welcomed by a big smile from my family.
Cecelia is my Peruvian mother and she treats us just like her own son she is a lovely lady and takes good care of us I feel so at home here. I must mention Junita the maid, she provides us with the best food ever fresh fruit juices for breakfast and bread rolls and great dinners and great puddings. So i think I am coming back to England an extra 3 stone.
My home is in Miraflores about 25 minutes form Lima and it such a beautiful place it has beautiful parks, restaurants, bars and only 8 blocks from the ocean it is fantastic. I am living with another girl Lucy who is doing the teaching project in the orphanage with me, she is so lovely and we get on so well. We chat all the time you would think we have known each other for years. Fiorella our coordinator took us out for Lunch on Saturday afternoon after orientation. We had Ceviche which was wicked a real Peruvian dish.
Fiorella has been great and has organised our timetable here really well, she is so lovely and obviously works really hard to make sure our placement is well organised out here.
So lets get onto the reason why I have come to Peru, I choose the project in Peru because I wanted to be able to use the skills I gained through life and university to help others. I also wanted to choose a country which I knew needed help but I could also gain knowledge from others and learn more about the country.
I arrived at the Puericultorio Orphanage on Monday morning to be welcomed by big beautiful smiles by lots of children, I honestly could not stop smiling it was such a great first experience. We had a great introduction to the orphanage and we were ready to start lessons, we have a great timetable we teach English in the mornings and in the afternoons we teach English and art. We also have been given the opportunity to work with the babies on Monday afternoons they are so small and so cute.
I have to say my first week at the orphanage has been amazing, my Spanish which was rubbish is getting so much better thanks to all the children teaching me. The children are such great fun and all have lovely individual personalities. I have to say it is hard to accept that the children do not have parents or have been abandoned but the Orphanage is a fantastic place for the children to learn and grow.
I feel very lucky that I have had the opportunity to come to Peru and help in the orphanage. Lastly we have met some great girls doing the project with us and we are all off to a cocktail bar tomorrow 2 for 1 on cocktails bring it on. Thanks for making it possible for me"
Jennifer Ellis, Community work with orphans and underpriviledged children in Lima, Peru
"The work is great, rewarding and well worth it here in Chota. So far everything is going well, I have enjoyed the two weeks in Cadmalca, near Chota immensely. It was wonderful to be able to help and see the difference building stoves makes to the peoples lives. I am now at the in Cajamarc and have started painting the houses that the children live in. Already they look brighter and more child friendly. Fiorella, my in-country rep has been and continues to be a great help."
Susanne Powderely, Meaningful tour: The Peruvian Andes Experience
"I can't believe I am actually sitting here writing my last email about my voluntary work, 12 weeks has flown by and I have loved every minute of it.
My voluntary work here in Mancora has been one of my greatest life experiences; the Centre I have been working in is an amazing place and offers so much love, fun and development for the children with Special needs. I have spent the most amazing 6 weeks here enjoying watching the children learn and develop and I have also learnt so much from the children. I have had some incredible times with the kids and I thought I would tell you about a couple of them.
Peter is 15 years old and was involved in a motor taxi accident when he was 8. Due to the accident he has neurodevelopmental difficulties and has a short-term memory. Peter is raising money to buy his family a television so he collects empty plastic bottles everyday from hostels, hotels and houses and stacks them behind the centre, twice a week the volunteers help Peter take the bottles to the yard where they weigh them and in exchange give Peter money. Usually Peter gets s.3.50 a bag which is about 80p but its a lot out here. Peter has already saved s80. Peter is a great kid with a lot of determination in life.
Darin is another young boy who has a lot of determination in life, Darin has moderate learning difficulties and has such a beautiful smile and a great personality.
I first met Darin when he was playing outside in the dirt track that is our playground and he was learning to skip. Darin could not skip when I met him but over the last 6 weeks he has practiced everyday and now can do 18 skips he is so proud of himself.
Here is just an idea of what my day to day work has been like. In the mornings we have been working outdoors repairing and repainting the children's climbing frame and swings. We have had so much fun doing this and it looks great and is multicoloured. About 11am it gets far to hot so we go inside and carry out an activity with the little ones. They are aged between 2 and 5 and are so gorgeous, we always have messy activities out for them involving glue, glitter and painting… they love it.
We then have a well deserved 3 hour break to chill as it is far to hot to work, so we hit the beach to have lunch. Back to work at 3pm to prepare for the older children's lessons. The children are aged between 11-18… they are such a laugh. We take the children out to play in their dirt track and we usually end up playing on their favourite piece of equipment which is a brightly painted old rusty bus with dust inside everywhere kids love it: lucky for me I have had my hepatitis jab.
After play we carry out an activity with the children that usually involves mess. The children at the centre also get the chance to learn life skills which is so important out here. I have been very impressed at the skills the staff teach them including making popcorn, the children have been taught how to make popcorn and bag and seal it so they can sell it and earn money I thought this was fantastic. The tourists love snacks like this. The children have also been making soup, ice cream and pancakes, which I loved.
I have also had the opportunity to work in a small town called El Alto and help children with basic therapy including massage. The town is very basic which consists of small houses made of brick and a whole in the wall for a window. Some houses didn't even have a proper roof but most of them had sheets of tin on top. When I first arrived to the town I was pretty shocked I knew we were going to be working in the houses with the children and I did know what to expect. When I entered Lucy's house one of the mums she showed us round it was beautiful - very basic but it felt really homely - and we were always given the best pineapple juice.
Helping in the community gave me such a buzz and it felt very rewarding I felt we were really helping not just the children but also the parents having us there meant they could carry out jobs which needed to be done or just have a rest.
My biggest wish was that we had more page for these kids but with our blue peter skills we were able to make small sensory page to use with the children.
The staff at the centre are incredible people and work very hard. Without the staff I can honestly say the centre would not exist and the children of Mancora would not receive the amazing care and education they get.
Not only have I loved the voluntary work out here in Mancora I have loved the life out here. I have experienced living in one of the smallest towns I have ever seen and on one of the busiest roads ever called the Pan American Highway. We are situated right on it and massive trucks pass through transporting goods. In the evenings we sit on our balcony and trucks pass us with tons of bananas and men sitting on top waving.
The town is incredible, beautiful beaches with palm trees and white sand and of course Papa Mo's which is the best hang out beach bar here and sells the best brownie sundaes ever, the saddest thing is I have had 2 a day nearly for 6 weeks I now have a huge belly but well worth it.
I have made some great friends out here and we have had so much fun enjoying eating desserts, drinking a few gato blancos on the beach and chilling watching T.V.… they love their American sitcoms.
There are just a few things that i will not miss out here:
- Having to wear mosquito repellant everyday and night instead of perfume.
- Having a dodge tummy nearly every other day and being sick randomly in a restaurant because of the ice they use in the water.
- Carrying a massive bottle of water around every where we go because the water is so dodgy.
Apart from that this country is incredible, and if you have not already been I definitely recommend it.
So its back to Lima for me on Friday I am so excited to see my Peruvian mum Cecelia, I am going to spend the weekend with her before I head off for my 2 weeks of travel around Peru which I am very excited about.
Thanks i-to-i for giving me the guidance and opportunity to come to this amazing country to Volunteer. I am so pleased I chose i-to-i. It truly has been amazing.
I also want to praise Fiorella. She visited us a few weeks ago to make sure all was good here and she has also rang each week to make sure we are okay.
She's a star."
Jennifer Ellis, Community work with special needs children in Peru
