Teach English in Rural School in Peru

Project At A Glance

Location: Cusco or Manu Peru Start Point: Cusco or Manu End Point: Cusco Duration: 1-12 Weeks Hours: 20-40 Hours per week Food: 3 local food daily Date: Any Monday, year around Room: Local Host family or hostel

Project Summary

Volunteer in Peru teaching English and improve school environments, provide children with greater opportunities and engage in Peruvian culture. Schools in Peru are drastically under funded and although English, art and physical education are required, they are typically not available due to the lack of funding and staff. In some schools, these courses may be taught but at a very low skill level as local teachers are not qualified to teach the courses. Peru needs volunteers to teach these important but often overlooked subjects of art, computer skills, physical education and more than anything, English. With the tourism in Cusco, English is one of the easiest ways to open doors for children, as the job market in tourism and hospitality is dominant. Volunteer to teach English to children in Peru and interject a passion and love for learning into their lives!

Skills/Qualifications Needed

No specific skills or qualifications are required to volunteer in the Teaching English Project in Peru.  Beginner to intermediate knowledge of Spanish is preferred (not mandatory). If you cannot speak Spanish, we suggest you enroll in our Spanish language course to make your stay more rewarding – both for you and for the children you are helping. There are no specific qualifications needed to join IFRE's volunteer teaching projects in Peru. Dress code is required in the schools (no shorts or sleeveless shirts) and volunteers must be physically presentable (no excessive tattoos or piercings). Volunteers are expected to be reliable, flexible and patient and strive to be good role models for the children.

Volunteer Responsibilities

Working as a volunteer in the Teaching English Project in Peru, you will work 4-5 hours per day, Monday through Friday.  Depending on individual skills and interests and the needs of the local staff, daily activities involve:

• Teaching basic English 3-4 hours a day
• Teaching other subjects such as math and science
• Teaching health and personal hygiene
• Planning and leading extracurricular activities such as dance, games, sports, arts, music, etc
• Helping children with their homework
• Providing assistance to school administrations with administration, curriculum development and fundraising

PLEASE NOTE: schools in Peru use a trimester system and are closed for winter and summer breaks.  If you would like to volunteer during this time we can gladly find you a similar project.

Room/Food/Supervision

IFRE manages your living accommodations in Peru.  In Cusco, most volunteers live with a host family, but some may live in a hostel. Our host families are socially respected and experienced hosts of international volunteers. They have strong interest in our volunteers’ safety and well-being and demonstrate this with caution and care.  Host families will prepare three meals a day for volunteers consisting of local ingredients and foods traditional to Peru.  In most host family situations, volunteers will share a room with another volunteer of the same gender. Our host families do not offer laundry services, but some will happily take up the task for a small fee.

Throughout the volunteer project, our local staff stays in contact with volunteers either with face-to-face visits or via email/telephone. Volunteers are always welcome at our local offices in Peru. If project placement is local, we request that volunteers stop by the office once a week to keep us posted on how they are doing with their home stay and project. If project placement is very far, then our local staff members maintain communication by either email and/or phone and try to visit every 2-4 weeks if possible.