Service Corps: Peru

The third largest country in South America, Peru is divided into 3 small regions that differ dramatically in climate from dry coastal plains in the West, snow capped Andes Mountains in the center, and tropical lowlands in the East.  Peru is most famous for its mesmerizing ancient cities, which attract tourists year-round. The YMCA of Peru is located in the capital city of Lima. Founded in 1920, the YMCA of Peru combines educative, social and physical activities for its youth. The association introduced several new sports and activities to the country, from water polo and gymnastics to general Physical Education. Later on, the YMCA of Peru began to develop social projects directed towards Peru’s poverty-stricken population, such as Carvana Médica and Niños Trabajadores en la Calle. These programs have been extremely successful and the YMCA continues to expand and develop its operations in all facets of the community.

Geographical Area of Work:

The main area of work will be at the Lima YMCA, and some of the surrounding areas such as Rimac and La Victoria. Volunteers will fly into the Lima airport where a staff member will await them.
The southern village of Arequipa is a second base for Go Global volunteers in Peru.

Program Description:

Volunteers at the YMCA in Peru do a number of various jobs according to their abilities and skills.  The main aspect of the January-June work will be within a summer camp where volunteers will spend a good part of their days helping to run various sports programs, and help implement new ideas for the camp’s structure.   

Other aspects of the volunteer work include participating in different areas of the YMCA as support staff. During the entire year the YMCA has indoors and outdoor programs for people of different ages, but specifically for teenagers and young adults. The activities of these programs include sports, art, and dance workshops, among many other things. Given volunteers’ abilities and skills, they will serve as support staff in these types of activities.  

Other forms of work that volunteers can participate in are a variety of social work programs such as Niños Nuestros (Our Children) and Niños Trabajadores de la Calle (The Child Street Worker). These programs deal with a variety of work, from health care to counseling/mentoring and education.  Volunteers will meet with these children at least twice a week for four hours. During this time volunteers will help these children to do their school homework, participate in games, and simply spending time participating in cultural activities. All others social work programs follow the same guidelines and volunteers play a similar role.

Accommodation and Board:

Volunteers will live in residencies at the various YMCAs where they will be with other Go Global volunteers, and different international groups.  With advanced notice, volunteers can possibly stay with host families in the area.  Three meals a day will be served in the YMCA cafeteria.  Volunteers will also get a stipend of $125 per month to be used for their own personal use.

Working Hours and Free Time:

The hours of the day are usually never fixed due to the various programs that are simultaneously running.  Volunteers will normally work anywhere from 35-40 hours a week from Monday-Friday with ample time for extra curricular activities such as Spanish lessons.