TESTIMONIAL

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.

I spent just over 4 weeks volunteering in an after school project ere in Cusco (Peru). I always wanted to volunteer, and found myself with a 'now or never' option whether to come to Peru, and it is one I will never regret. Coming from a fast paced life both in work and social life, Peru was a welcome change. The first day I arrived at the project I was welcomed with hugs and kisses, from all 40+ kids in the project, all starving for some attention. The thing is, these kids are so happy to receive any affection at all that they immediately take to you. Because I am such a huge soccer fan, I was able to play with them in a local playground for 2 hours a day. It was great for building teamwork, keeping them fit and most importantly having fun. On top of that all, these kids are good. To be honest, my Spanish was much to be desired when I arrived at the project, but I still was able to help and play with the kids. It was great helping the small ones with jigsaws, or the older ones with homework, but sport and fun is my forte, so volleyball, soccer or some other made up game was always on the menu. To be honest it is the first type of work that I actually looked forward to going to and I also felt as if I had made a difference afterwards. You can make a difference one kid at a time here. I enjoyed my stay so much that I decided to stay another three months in Cusco.

This Project involves working with teenage girls between the ages of 13-17. Generally there are anywhere between twelve and eighteen girls. The girls are EXTREMELY enthusiastic to have volunteers around, both women and men. Only a handful of them attend school and have the privilege to leave their home, so all visitors are happily embraced. You do need an intermediate level of Spanish for this project or else you will end up feeling fairly lost. Most of the girls are fairly patient and love helping you look up words in your dictionary if you are struggling with your Spanish. There is little structure to your volunteer actual time in the project, so you need to be comfortable with a more low key environment and building relationships. Otherwise it is great to come up with your own project to do with the girls. Half-way through this project I decided to start an art studio for the girls with money donated from friends and family. They have a large room for making paper which is now a perfect spot to create an art studio. The girls are very excited about this studio project and it was the first time I was able to actively engage ALL of them at one time for a two-hour stretch period and see them both animated and happy. It would be great to find someone to continue this project after I am gone. While these girls were prostitutes in the past, overall they are normal, hyper, and sometimes moody teenage girls. They love to hug, chat about your love life, giggle, and play volleyball. I believe it is a project that demands at least a 2 month or longer commitment as it takes awhile for the girls to trust and embrace you.