TESTIMONIAL

"I worked at a kindergarten for four weeks and I must say it was a great experience! The first day I was a bit nervous, because I didnīt know what to expect and hadnīt worked with childeren before. But already since the first day I felt comfortable there. The first and third week I worked in the class of 4-year-olds and the second week in the class of 5-year-olds. The last week I helped the teachers out a little bit, because the kids had holidays.
In general I helped out in class, for example I helped the kids with completing there tasks. And in the class of 5-year-olds I also teached the kids some english, like counting, the abc, some colors and animals, and ofcourse the head-shoulders-knees-and-toes song. That was really fun to do. I was quite surprised how well they listened for kids that age. And in the breaks I just played with the kids a little bit.
A thing I wonīt forget is when the kids performed there dances. The first time was on my first day working there, when it was teachers day. The second time it was for the day of Virgen de Carmen, at that time they also got dressed in traditional clothes, which was really fun to watch. Another thing I wonīt forget is when the kids had to march on the Plaza de Armas for the Días Patrias. It was great to walk with them and see al the proud parents watching them. So overall it was really a great experience, the teachers were also really nice and the four weeks passed by before I noticed. I really enjoyed working there and I canīt complain about anything."

I was very happy do to my volunteer work at a nutritional center for infants. The aim of this project is to provide children who have been classed as malnourished with nutricious meals and an educational environment. This volunteer placement was a really enjoyable experience where volunteers can be very involved in all aspects of the childrens daily routine from supporting/encouraging them during meal times to helping or organising lessons and to playing with them during free play time. The children at the centre ranged in ages from 1-3 years, and the 3 classes were divided into these age groups. As the children are of this age group being at an intermediate level of Spanish meant that I was able to communicate and understand them most of the time.
This center has limited resources. The main portion of their funding is used to provide the children with 3 nutritional meals a day plus snacks. The children benefit from a lot of positive encouragement to eat and meal times involve all members of staff and volunteers supporting the children. Both the teachers and the children are very appreciative of any resources/toys that volunteers bring to the centre. This volunteer placement gives a real insight into the difficulties faced by poorer families in Cusco. The staff and children make this centre a really fun and rewarding place to volunteer.

I had a wonderful experience volunteering at a clicic for mental health in Peru. The best part was the freedom of my job. I began, with beginners Spanish, making art with the lowest functioning patients. As my Spanish improved, I changed my schedule to incorporate some psychology workshops with the higher functioning patients. Observing the workshops at first, I learned about the focus of the group and before I knew it, I was leading the workshop when the nurse was not present. My vocabulary grew with the increased responsibility and my relations with the patients grew as well. After two months I had been through good days and bad but, over all I made a lot of friends (I even went to a Grupo 5 concert with my co-workers), learned a lot about the mental health system in Peru, and used my Spanish in a social services setting. What i will look back on is the strong bond I built with the patients, and the many friends I have at the project. Both are wonderful people to work with.