Last Chance! Apply by May 31st to Study Abroad this Year!

The Volunteer Abroad program in Peru will allow you to experience Peruvian culture first-hand while working on projects that have an immediate, positive effect on the community. Those projects include*:

Cleaning Up the Air Inside Out

Building and Installing Clean Burning Stoves for families: Smoke from primitive indoor stoves kill 1.9 million people each year, mostly women and children, from lung and heart disease. On this service project you can make a big impact on the health of local communities, one kitchen at a time.

Giving the Gift of Clean Water

Constructing and InstallingWater Filters for local families:  Ceramic water filters are an easy solution to the worldwide water crisis as they eliminate 99.88% of water born diseases. On this volunteer project you will construct and install new water filters for a Peruvian town and then train the community how to use them. Your efforts will direclty impact children under 5, the largest at risk population for water born illnesses.

* Community-driven projects are at the core of Ayusa's mission, so the project you will be working on will depend on the needs of the local community at that time.

Explore 

Prepare for the most exciting service learning adventure of your life! During your stay in Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, you will traverse rugged mountain roads, pass spectacular scenery, and arrive at villages that have been virtually untouched by the modern world. You will gain a greater understanding of your global responsibility through engaging in meaningful community service while simultaneously immersing yourself in Peru’s rich culture. You will be working and learning in a team with other volunteers and develop meaningful relationships with families and local community members, gaining real world experiences in a cross-cultural environment and learning essential skills that cannot be gained in the classroom. 

Learn

On Ayusa’s Service Learning Program in Peru you will collaborate with our community hosts on a development project. You will be able to participate in a community service project that fits your skills and interests while at the same time serving the needs of the host community. Before going out in the field to serve your local community, each morning you will receive language instruction from a certified language teacher. In addition to language instruction, all participants are supported by the Global Citizen Initiative curriculum which allows participants to connect the learning from their project contributions, cultural immersion, and personal reflections to new knowledge, awareness, and responsibility of the local and global issues impacting their communities. 

Experience

Your Service Learning Experience will entail a two-week Home stay in Cuzco, twelve hours of language instruction and one cultural excursion per week. At the end of your stay, you’ll have the opportunity to take a two-day excursion to Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. 
Students will develop meaningful relationships with families and local community members. They will live with a host family, spend their mornings with other volunteers in a Spanish language class, and spend their afternoons working as a group on a community development project, engaging with the local community and with each other. Students will have the opportunity to share their experiences in daily debriefings and participate in lively roundtable discussions lead by a local representative. Once a week, Ayusa will offer cultural excursions and other group activities. Through experiential and academic learning, hands-on development work, and cultural immersion, students will grow as individuals and as members of the global community.
 
It is important that students arrive with an open mind and an open heart, ready to help and take initiative. The community project choices are plentiful: for example, students could decide to develop extracurricular activities such as theater, dance, art, or ceramics for girls at one of the local orphanages; if they find health care of greater interest, they might instead opt to volunteer at one of the clinical health projects to observe procedures, assist medical personnel, and interact with both Spanish and Quechua speaking patients. Regardless of how they choose to help, Ayusa and ProWorld will be there to support and enrich their service experience.

Travel & Activities

During their stay abroad, students will be embarking on cultural outings. Possible weekly excursions may include:
  • Ollantaytambo, very traditional Inca village yet untouched by the modern world. Walk among one of the best examples of ancient Inca terraces and enjoy the breathtaking view of the surrounding Sacred Valley.
  • Pisac, a lively market town along the main Sacred Valley road. Explore the town or go shopping in one of the best markets in the area for artisan goods.
  • Ollanta Weaving in the Quechua community of Patacancha. Spend a morning or afternoon here and receive an introduction to the ancient Andean art of backstrap weaving and try spinning yarn yourself. 
  • Program Finale Machu Pichu, for many the highlight of their trip to Peru! You will hike through the cloud forest to the historic and mystical ruins which have been listed as one of the “modern wonders of the world.”

Housing

Students will stay with carefully selected host families. A home stay provides immersion into Peruvian culture and invaluable personal contact with locals. Experienced onsite coordinators will be available to assist with adjusting to host family life and Peruvian culture. While traveling with the group, students will stay in hotels or hostels. 

Requirements

  • 15–18 years old
  • 2.5 GPA or higher (4.0 scale)
  • Sound and stable mental and physical health appropriate for international travel and rural accommodations
  • Flexible and mature personality, desire to be challenged, ability to remain open-minded and tolerant of cultural differences

Program fees help support ongoing development projects and include:

  • Full time dedicated onsite coordinator
  • Full room and board
  • All domestic transportation upon arrival
  • Global Citizen Initiative curriculum delivery
  • Round table discussion with community members 
  • Community project planning, set-up, execution and follow-up
  • Project donation and purchase of project materials 
  • Cultural and adventure activities throughout the program
  • Pre-trip organizational discussions, orientations, and program materials
  • Extensive staff support throughout all phases of the program

Next Step: Start Your Application