The Location
Cusco is a colorful, picturesque city that was once the center of the Inca Empire. The surrounding region boasts a diverse landscape of jungles, mountains, plateaus, deep valleys, and canyons. As a volunteer with our Teach English to Street Kids Program, you will enjoy the country’s stunning natural and cultural heritage while providing care and hope to its struggling citizens.
The Situation
Children continue to be the most vulnerable and unprotected citizens in Peru. Every year, some 20,000 die before they reach their first birthday, while another 25 percent suffer chronic malnutrition. Many have no access to healthcare, especially in rural areas. Needless to say, education is often a low priority. When the choice is between working and starving, learning is of secondary importance.
What’s Being Done
For several years now, the Teach English to Street Kids Program has helped Peru’s street children and orphans. In addition to building orphanages and schools, the program has placed “English Learning Rooms” at small community centers, orphanages, and shelters. Volunteers with this program will help teach English classes as well as tutor the children and help them with their homework. The primary mission of the English Learning Rooms is to provide the children with a fixed, consistent program they can rely on each and every day.
Airport Pickup and Orientation:
When you arrive in Cusco, you will be greeted at the airport by a volunteer coordinator. The coordinator will get you settled and provide a brief tour of the facilities and resources available to you. Your official orientation will begin the day following your arrival. It will include all of the training you will need to have a successful volunteer experience.
Transportation:
Volunteer Adventures will arrange transportation for the
following:
 Airport
pick-up and drop-off
All
transfers required by the program
All
local transportation at program locations |
Accommodations:
Basic and Standard: You will stay at the project’s volunteer lodge in Cusco. Volunteers sleep two to each bedroom and share bathrooms. This lodge provides three meals per day as well as room cleaning. Volunteers will have hot water, although there may be times when hot water is turned off entirely for three to four hours.
Complete: Those who choose the Complete package will stay with a host family. Volunteers will have their own rooms and will usually share a bathroom with family members. Families will provide three meals per day. All of our host families are carefully screened and must meet Volunteer Adventures' requirements before being accepted as a host family.
Language Classes:
Volunteers enrolled in the Standard or Complete packages will be taking Spanish classes at our partner language school in Cusco. For more efficient placement upon your arrival, we ask that you take our to determine your language proficiency. If this is not possible, we will test you upon arrival at the school. You will be placed according to your language level in a group of 12 or fewer students, learning conversational Spanish for two hours a day. If you enroll in the Complete package, you will take an additional hour per day of private instruction.
Teacher Training:
All volunteers in our Teach English Programs receive teacher training before going abroad. By completing our online teacher preparation program, you will earn your certification in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), which will give you the skills and confidence needed to teach English overseas.
In-Country Support:
During your time in Peru, you will receive support from volunteer coordinators as well as field guides and fellow volunteers. We also provide a 24-hour cell phone number for emergencies.
 Additional
Activities and Excursions:
Cusco is a major destination for adventure and cultural travel. If you have free time during or after your volunteer stay, you will have the opportunity to take part in excursions at your own cost. The following are some examples of activities you can enjoy:
Paragliding
Archeological
tour
Whitewater
rafting
Bungee-jumping
Machu
Picchu (overnight)
3-day
trekking adventure
3-day
jungle tour |
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