FAMILY VOLUNTEERING

Due to demand, Peru's Challenge is now offering a family volunteer program open to families with kids under the age of 16.

Families can choose to volunteer for two to four weeks in January, April, July and October.

If families would like to volunteer together for longer than four weeks, you can join our standard volunteer travel program.

Each program includes volunteer work and Spanish classes. We also include tours which are focused on showcasing the amazing culture and history of Peru while ensuring that they are fun and interactive for your kids.

The best part is that kids under 16 are free.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Mornings:

• Three morning a week, parents and kids will be up at our projects helping out with what ever they are interested in: teaching assistance with classes in English, sport, art, music and drama, helping with construction work, painting, gardening, preparing food and hygiene.
• In summary: helping out with what ever we are working on at the time. (See our list of volunteer projects for more choices.)
• The other two mornings are dedicated to a volunteer weekly meeting and planning time.

Afternoons:

• Two or three afternoons a week, parents and kids will be up at the projects joining in with the Peruvian kids in afternoon activities: sport, art & craft, painting and English/Spanish practice or helping with social and health work within the communities.
• Or they have free time to relax back at the volunteer house or take Spanish lessons.

Note: The program is subject to changes and depends on the age of your children as to what tasks they will be doing when.

FAMILY TESTIMONIALS

Barbara from the USA - volunteered in July 2007 for four weeks with her two sons aged 12 and 9 years.
For me, it was such a pleasure to be able to return to working with a rural community in a Spanish-speaking country. I have really missed doing that kind of work.

The boys got so much out of the experience that I can barely sum it up. I had hoped that they would enjoy traveling, relearning their Spanish, and trying to adapt to another culture. They did.

I had hoped they would get some perspective on our own culture (especially the US kids' culture of entitlement) and some sense of how the great majority of people on our planet live. They did.

I had hoped they would be able to contribute to the project and benefit from getting to know kids who live so differently than they do. They did.

What I hadn't anticipated was the experience of shared living with the other volunteers. I watched my children learn to share space respectfully, and to develop relationships with other adults on their own.

This whole experience really brought out the very best in my sons, and gave me a glimpse of the people they are becoming. So, thank you and keep up the good work!

KRISTY from Australia - volunteered in April 2007 for four weeks with her husband and three kids aged 8, 6 and 3 years.

I've got to say I think Peru was a fabulous place to take kids and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who can survive the cost of the airfares.

I reckon that if your family leave the kids behind they'll get there and wish they had brought them.

PLACEMENT START AND FINISH DATES

WHATS INCLUDED

PRICES

OPTIONAL EXTRAS AFTER PLACEMENT

These tours can be organise at an additional cost once your volunteer placement is finished.

• The four-day trip to Arequipa includes: return sleeper bus fares from Cuzco or private road transport, a two-day guided tour to the Colca Canyon to see the majestic condors fly and accommodation.

• The three-day trip to Lake Titicaca includes: private bus transport, a guided tour of the floating Islands and the Islands of the Uros people, including an overnight home-stay on one of the islands.

• Peru's Challenge can organise optional one and two day hikes through the Andes Mountains visiting villages whose communities still live as the Incas did, and other great tours including: mountain biking, white-water rafting, bungee jumping and paragliding to name a few.

• We can also organise other tours around Peru and South America including trips to the Amazon Jungle, the Nazca Lines, and Galapagos Islands.

WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED

International airfares to and from Peru:

Volunteers must organise their own travel to and from Peru.

Travel insurance:

Volunteers must organise their own travel/medical insurance. Ruth at Flight Centre can offer a discount on travel insurance to Peru's Challenge volunteers.

Travel visa:

On arrival at Lima International Airport residents from most countries will automatically be given a free tourist Visa valid for 90 days. Please check with the Peruvian Embassy to ensure residents from your country are automatically given a Visa on arrival.

Food:

Volunteers are asked to pay for their own food due to the variety of specific meal requirements for some volunteers.

• Cuzco has a great supply of top quality fresh produce and a range of restaurants.
• The volunteer house has good cooking facilities and is close to shops and markets making the preparation of good food very easy.
• Cost of buying food and preparing three meals a day (eggs and toast for breakfast, soup and a sandwich for lunch and meat, vegetables and rice for dinner): US$20 - $30 per week.

DETAILS OF WHAT IS INCLUDED

In Lima:

• Peru's Challenge will organise an airport pick-up from Lima airport to your accommodation in Miraflores, Lima, where you will stay for one night.

• The following day you will be transferred from your accommodation to Lima airport for your flight to Cuzco. Your ticket is a pre-purchased e-ticket so all you have to do is show your passport at the check-in counter and pay airport tax.

In Cuzco:

• A Peru's Challenge representative will meet you at the Cuzco airport and transfer you to the volunteer house.

• Accommodation in our private volunteer house is two people per room.

• The house is a comfortable six bedroom house with a fully equipped kitchen, hot water showers, garden area with hammocks and 24-hour security guards. It is close to food markets, an internet shop and laundry service.

Tours:

• The two-day train trip tour to Machu Picchu is included in your package for each family member. The Inca Trail can be organised for an additional fee. The trek includes tents, camping equipment and food. All tours include an English speaking guide. If you cancel the four-day trek and change to the two-day train tour within 90 days of your placement start date, you will have to pay a US$180 cancellation fee.

• The trip to the Sacred Valley of the Incas includes private transportation for our group with an English speaking guide for the duration of the trip. Visits to the main weaving village of Chincero, the Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo and the agricultural and religious Inca ruins of Pisaq, including time to shop at the famous Pisaq textile markets.

• The horse riding trek includes an English speaking guide and visits to the Temple of the Moon, Sacsayhuman and other Inca ruins above Cuzco.

Spanish:

• Children will be given up to four hours per day (Monday to Friday) of Spanish lessons.

• Adults will be given four hours per week.

• All learning materials are supplied.

• Individual lessons can be arranged at an additional cost of US$6 per hour.

Extras:

• Peru's Challenge volunteer t-shirt

• Welcome or leaving dinner at a typical Peruvian restaurant.

• In-country orientation of the Peru's Challenge projects that you will be working on

Why pay to volunteer?

Most not-for-profit organisations that run international volunteer programs rely on volunteer contributions. You may ask why we charge a fee for you to work for free.

The answer is simple: We have limited resources and cannot subsidise your costs. Approximately 55% of your contribution goes towards tours, accommodation and Spanish lessons, 40% on project development costs and the remaining 5% goes towards general and administrative costs.

Please also keep in mind our costs for: the process of recruiting and interviewing volunteers, developing marketing materials, answering phones, emails, sending information, developing and maintaining this website, maintaining offices and staff in Peru, Australia and the UK, buying materials (for buildings, schools, health clinics, water systems), legal and accounting services and bank fees.

Peru's Challenge works hard to keep costs to an absolute minimum through strong relationships with leading operators offering great discounts on services. We encourage you to 'shop around' before you commit to our placement to ensure you are completely satisfied with what you will receive.

Normally, when travelling in South America you need to budget for approximately US$100 - $140 per day to pay for tours, Spanish lessons and accommodation.

Join the Peru's Challenge volunteer travel program and you will do all of this while also directly helping local communities for approximately US$40 per day (depending on which program you join).

We believe that you will not find a better option. By joining the Peru’s Challenge volunteer team you will travel and experience the best that Peru offers, while also directly living and helping the communities in which you visit.

If you have any questions, please email jane@peruschallenge.com

On this page you will find information on:

• The program

Street in Pisaq

Kids at Juandar

Horse riding to the ruins above Cusco

Local lady and her llama

Pete on top of the Moon temple

Lake Waqupay

Volunteers at the Sun-gate Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Inca and Spanish buildings at Chincerro

Sacred Valley of the Incas

Main catherdral in Cusco

Will on top of the world

Walking to the Inca Gates

Fresh fruits of Cuzco

Playing with the kids of Larapa

Terraces of Machu Picchu