MAJOR FAQ-PERU

How long has IFRE been working in Peru ? Whom do you work with? Where are you located? What are IFRE's programs?

IFRE has offered internship programs in Peru for nearly two years. We offer projects focused on children, conservation and community improvement. IFRE works with many local NGO's orphanages and community projects to offer meaningful placements for our interns. Interns commit about thirty hours per week to their project. Most facilities are very basic, including the healthcare clinics, but the work is rewarding and the experience is unforgettable.

We work in association with a successful Language School located in Cusco , Peru where we offer optional Spanish Language courses, ranging from basic to intense programs. Our language school partners help us coordinate with local projects to arrange customized Spanish learning and internship project balance. Cusco is a beautiful city and our knowledgeable and kind staff helps our interns discover its secrets during their projects. We have an established host family network throughout Peru so that interns can gain cultural insight as well as a full immersion Spanish experience.

How can I apply? What happens when I apply? Do you guarantee placement? How long does it take to receive confirmation?

Please read IFRE's 4-step application process:

• There are two options for applying to intern in our Peru programs. You can apply online ( http://www.ifrevolunteers.org /apply-now.php  ) or you can simply download an application form, fill it out and mail it into IFRE's offices. Participants are required to submit their application with a $349 application fee plus the program fee for the number of weeks you choose. However to simply start the placement process, all that is needed upfront is a $200 deposit which will be deducted from the final invoice. This non-refundable deposit from you is required to validate and initiate the application process.
• Once IFRE receives your application, we immediately forward it to country coordinator for processing. The in-country coordinator reviews the application carefully to determine the most optimal project for you while you intern in Peru . Decisions pertaining to room and board are made at this time - depending on the location of the project. The vast majority of participants stay in fully immersed in-home stays.
• IFRE receives the details of the participants' placements from the in-country coordinator.
• The information is then passed on to the prospective participants along with a final invoice. Final payment is due six weeks prior to departure and, in expedited cases, as soon as possible. The placement details contain local contact information to be used when applying for a visa and/or to get in touch with the local staff and host family.
• Preparation for your internship vacation in Peru should include reading about travel to Peru , immunization, acquiring a travel visa and booking airfare for your internship journey to Peru . If you face any problems, IFRE's Program Manager is always available for any assistance.
• IMPORTANT: Once participants purchase airline tickets, we request flight information be forwarded to IFRE's U.S. office by fax or by email. Participants' flight information will then be forwarded to the in-country coordinator in Peru , who will then arrange an airport pick-up.

Who will meet me at the airport? What should I do if I am delayed or miss a flight? When should I arrive?

Peru interns arrive at Jorge Chavez International Airport - Lima , Peru . Interns can expect to stay a night over in Lima and fly the following day into Cusco , Peru where our in-country staff will greet arrival flights. The majority of Lima international flights arrive late in the evening or during the night. All Peruvian Airlines offer affordable flights to Cusco but the service is in the daytime hours. It is unlikely to connect the same evening as arrival. Concierge services at the airport can arrange a taxi to an inexpensive hostel for the night or make prior arrangements for a hotel stay. The cost should be within $25-30 inclusive of taxi and room.

We ask that interns fly with all important documents, including internship placement, passport, visa and vaccination booklet. Please have them accessible in case producing them is requested. Our interns join our program with a tourist visa. Interns do not need a long term or working visa.

If some sort of delay occurs, including flight delays or missed flights, contact our Peru office as soon as possible. Interns coming to Peru are advised to arrive one day before their program start date. The program fee will cover expenses beginning of the first day of the program (Usually first or third Monday) to the last day of the program. If interns arrive before the first day of the program and/or stay beyond the last day of the program, expenses will be the responsibility of the intern (usually $30 per day for room/food in hostel).

If there is a delay or missed flight, please contact our local office or coordinator (contact numbers are available in personal placement sheets and pre-departure booklet) and wait for a representative. If there is failure to connect with IFRE's local rep at the airport, please travel to the contact hotel named in the personal placement documents via a secure taxi. Please do not use taxis outside airport. Airport concierge services can assist.

We advise Peru project interns to arrive in Cusco one day prior to program start date. The weekly project fee includes expenses from the first to last day of the project (Usually first or third Monday). Expenses prior to the project's start date are the responsibility of the intern (usually $30 per day for room/food in hostel).

Where do I stay during the one-week language program? Where Do I stay during my internship program? What do I eat? What about shower and restrooms? Do you accommodate special diet?

Most interns placed in Cusco projects stay at our home base – a permanent home set aside for international interns and manned with a local staff. Our home base provides a same-gender shared room and shared bathroom with running hot water and a “western” style toilet. Interns will have the ability to do laundry at the home base. Interns receive three prepared meals per day. If interns will be out of the house during lunch hour, interns can request a lunch "to go" that interns can take with interns or eat out. Meals are cuisine, which is traditional to Peru .

Our Cusco home base is located in the center of beautiful Cusco city. Most of our interns' projects are located within 2-5 miles of the home base. Therefore, interns can simply walk to their projects or take a local taxi. Most necessary services for travelers are located within 2 km of the homebase: internet cafés, restaurants and grocery stores.

Occasionally, depending on intern traffic, available projects or distance to an intern's assigned project, we may also place our interns with carefully pre-screened host families. Our host families are socially respected and experienced hosts of international interns. They have strong interest in our interns' safety and well-being and demonstrate this with caution and care. In most host family situations, interns will share a room with another intern of the same gender. Interns receive three meals a day. Our host families do not offer laundry services, but some will happily take up the task for a small fee. This is up to interns to negotiate upon arrival. If interns choose to do their own laundry, most families are happy to let interns use their washbasins where interns wash by hand then line-dry their clothes.

Throughout the internship project, our local staff stays in contact with interns either with face-to-face visits or via email/telephone. Interns are always welcome at the local office in Cusco . If project placement is local, we request that interns 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.

IFRE requires that you obtain a tourist visa prior to departure for Peru . You can volunteer with a tourist visa. Interns can receive advice and obtain a Peru visa from the Peru Embassy or consulate in their home country.

For stays exceeding 90 days, apply for an extension within the first week of visit with the Peruvian Immigration Department or exit the country for a minimum of 72 hours before re-entering on a new visa.

Being informed is the best defense against disease and safety risks. We recommend visiting some of the following websites for health and safety information:

WHO website for international travelers ( http://www.who.int )

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
  1600 Clifton Road, NEAtlanta , GA 31333 (888) 232-3228 (888) 232-3299 - fax information services
• Health Canada Online
• Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Travel Report
• U.S. State Department & Consular Information Sheets
  Room 4811 2201 C Street NW Washington , DC 20520 (202) 647-5225
• Travel Health Online
• Travelers' Health

GENERAL HEALTH TIPS FOR INTERNS IN PERU

• When traveling to the beaches or very rural areas, drink only bottled or boiled water or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles. Tap water should not be considered safe at the beaches nor fountain drinks and ice cubes. If this is not possible, make water safer by both filtering through an "absolute 1 micron or less" filter AND adding iodine tablets to the filtered water. "Absolute 1 micron filters" are found in camping/outdoor supply stores.
• Buy bottled water from respectable outlets/vendors to guard against an upset stomach. Make sure that the seal of the bottle is intact as it is common for local street merchants to sell tap water in resealed bottles.
• The most common health complaint in any developing nation is an ailing digestive system. In many cases, the illness may be attributed merely to a change in diet, but occasional cases of food poisoning can occur, whereby the symptoms occur very quickly, severely and explosively. These are seldom serious or extended illnesses, but medical treatment should be sought if it occurs.
• Avoid eating food from roadside stalls/vendors. Do not eat unpeeled fruits or prepared fruits from unknown handlers on the street. If interns must eat food at a questionable location, make sure the food is served hot.
• If you require any prescription drugs, bring enough for the duration of your stay in Peru . They will need to be carried in their original prescription bottle and the prescription must be in your name.
• It is advisable to carry a small health kit, which should include remedy for upset stomach, some antiseptic cream, hydration powder, mosquito repellant, sun block, band-aids, etc.

We use the Center for Disease Control traveler's health recommendations (www.cdc.gov.) Consult a personal travel doctor who will be knowledgeable about current epidemics.

Recommended:

• Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG). Transmission of hepatitis A virus can occur through direct person-to-person contact; through exposure to contaminated water, ice or shellfish harvested in contaminated water; or from eating uncooked fruits, vegetables or other items that were contaminated during harvesting or subsequent handling.
• Hepatitis B , especially if you might be exposed to blood or body fluids (for example, health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population or be exposed through medical treatment. Hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants and for children ages 11-12 years who did not receive the series as infants.
• Malaria: your risk of malaria may be high in these countries, including some cities. See your health care provider for a prescription anti-malarial drug. For details concerning risk and preventive medications, see Malaria Information for Travelers to Tropical South America .
• Rabies , if you might have extensive unprotected outdoor exposure in rural areas, such as might occur during camping, hiking or bicycling or engaging in certain occupational activities.
• Typhoid vaccine. Typhoid fever can be contracted through contaminated drinking water or food or by eating food or drinking beverages that have been handled by a person who is infected. Fecal contamination of water supplies or foods sold by street vendors cause the largest outbreaks.
• As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria and measles .