Learn Spanish and teach children, and explore the best of Peru and South America

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Program Overview
Life on the Program
Program Details
Volunteer Testimonials

Program Overview

Travel to the beautiful colonial city of Arequipa in Peru and work with young children to provide vital first time education and educational reinforcement.

As a volunteer on this program, you will teach in Spanish to children from the age of 4, focusing on basic education. Class sizes are large so your contribution will allow further assistance and attention to those children who need it. We also run open classrooms to other members of the community, both children and adults, to help them gain the necessary level of education required to gain future employment.

This project is run in conjunction with our in-country partner, Phoenix, who has been working in Latin America since 2003 and in Peru since 2006, providing structured educational programs in impoverished communities.

Life on the Program

During the week, the majority of your time is spent in our partner communities, where you will teach your class in the morning and to other members of community in open classes in the afternoon.

Although the work that you will do is both vital and extremely rewarding, days can be long and you are expected to lesson plan in order to be prepared to guide a fun, interactive and effective class.

When not in the community, you will spend your time in Arequipa, getting to know your fellow volunteers, exploring the city and lesson planning.

Accommodation is with a local host family, with the opportunity to practice your Spanish and experience full immersion in the Peruvian culture.

Program Details

Education is not always forthcoming in our partner communities due to the problems that are faced in terms of integration to life in Arequipa, as community members are not primarily Spanish-speaking.

It is the aim of this project to provide an education to these Quechua-speaking (the local indigenous language) communities, in order for them to have the language and educational skills required to gain employment in the city.

Overall, Phoenix projects are based on a 25-year cycle, where the youngest child will eventually have their own family and with the education we provide and the better job opportunities that come with this, it is hoped they will be able to afford the education for their own children.

Volunteer Testimonials

My time in Arequipa teaching was amazing! The kids were beautiful and I really loved coming to understand the work that GVI was doing there, as I didn’t know exactly too much about the projects...

Melanie Hunt, Australia

My time in Arequipa teaching was amazing! The kids were beautiful and I really loved coming to understand the work that GVI was doing there, as I didn’t know exactly too much about the projects before arriving. The work GVI are doing in the two schools (as well as in the tanking projects) in Arequipa is fantastic! Feeding the kids, providing for some of their practical needs, supporting their education, providing employment, helping maintain the school etc is wonderful and it’s great to think these kids have an opportunity to improve their futures. The team of volunteers and project coordinators were lovely to work with and I especially loved working one on one with a girl who had learning difficulties. For so long she’s been ignored and left to her own devices with nothing expected of her. Yet she had ability and just needed the correct attention and help for her to realise her potential. It was hard work working with her, but she was such a beautiful person and her smile and the joy she had in her being was a pleasure to encourage and experience. Overall, the work everyone was doing was inspiring and a great thing to be a part of. It’s great to think of the difference being made in the local community and that there can be a glimmer of hope for these children, struggling in an unfair world devastated by poverty. If only I could’ve stayed longer!

My 8 weeks in Peru, was one of the most amazing 8 weeks of my life, and I would not have missed it for the world I enjoyed it so much I wanted to stay for an extra 2 weeks. The staff there are...

Matthew Brown, United Kingdom

My 8 weeks in Peru, was one of the most amazing 8 weeks of my life, and I would not have missed it for the world I enjoyed it so much I wanted to stay for an extra 2 weeks. The staff there are amazing and help you throughout your stay in Peru. The community you work in really brings it home as to how lucky we are and how much we take for granted. One thing that shall stick in my mind for the rest of my life will be the kids, who would often sprint down the stairs to greet us (even if I was called Profe Mal for a little while) although this soon stopped as they realised they had to walk or be carried back up the 98 steps leading to the school. In hindsight my first impression of the project and the school was that I would never cope, teaching in a new language would be classed impossible by many of my old school teachers but with the help of the staff and the amazing Spanish teachers it was made possible. My overall impression of the project is that the work they undergo is really beneficial for the community and the children and really shows how hard the project managers, the volunteers and the interns work in bringing an education to the children within the community.

Many past volunteers have had amazing experiences traveling with GVI. Read what they have to say here.