ProWorld

My experience with ProWorld was through their base in Peru, ProPeru. ProPeru gave me excellent opportunity to find the perfect internship for me. Everything about my placement and support for my program was more than I could ask for. I worked with the organization K'anchay Wasi or "House of Light" in the native Peruvian language of Quechua, who stands against domestic violence and helps the women and children who suffer from this type of abuse. Without ProPeru I would have never gotten linked up with such a great organization. The unforgettable experience has changed my life. I would encourage anyone who is looking for a great experience abroad to use ProWorld as a resource.

I would definitely recommend ProWorld to anyone searching for an opportunity to live and work in another country. I completed an 8 week summer internship in Cusco, Peru. I found out about ProWorld through my university, Notre Dame, which highly supports them. Although I had studied abroad in Spain prior to my experience in Peru, I was still pretty nervous about going there, as it was my first time to go to South America (and a third world country). The ProPeru staff were so great at making us feel comfortable and helping us out. Their office was also a place where volunteers could hang out and relax in, and the staff was really accessible all the time. The thing I'm most thankful for, however, was my job placement. I requested to work with education and also with women. As a result, ProPeru placed me with an elementary school, where I worked 5 days a week teaching computer classes. I was also placed at a women's shelter that ran a small business, where I translated emails and helped out in their workshop a few times a week. I couldn't have been happier with the organizations I was placed with. The people were so warm and welcoming. I really enjoyed the work I was doing as well. ProPeru did a good job preparing me with materials, especially for my job teaching, which helped tremendously. I still keep in touch with some of the people I worked with because we became so close. Besides the work I did, Cusco was such an amazing place to live. There's always something to do there. The nightlife is amazing no matter what night of the week. It's also fairly safe and things are so cheap. The best part of Cusco, however, was probably all the amazing Incan ruins, which are so close. ProPeru even facilitated many of the trips to go to the ruins. If you go to Cusco, you have to go to Machu Picchu - it's amazing. I stayed in Cusco for 8 weeks, and I would recommend to anyone going to at least stay for 6 weeks. I think that staying for that period of time really allowed me to settle in and get to know the culture of Peru. I think ProWorld, and ProPeru to be exact, did such a great job -- between my job placements and helping me adjust to a new place. I would say the only downside of the program is the fee you have to pay to go through ProPeru. However, I was able to find a scholarship through my school, and I think that a lot of schools have money to give to programs like this, if you just take the time to look.

Adapting to life in a foreign country can be difficult. Speaking a different language, adjusting to a culture quite dissimilar from that to which one is accustomed, and working in an unfamiliar setting can challenge even the most flexible and open-minded individual. Fortunately, I had the helpful staff at the ProPeru Service Corps to guide me through these obstacles and provide me with an amazing summer experience that I will never forget. During my eight weeks in Cusco, Peru, I learned a great deal about medicine, the professional field I hope to enter; additionally, I further developed my competency in Spanish, became part of the Peruvian family with which I lived, and grew to think of Cusco as a second home. As a health care volunteer with ProPeru, I had the unique opportunity to participate in a multi-faceted program which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in clinical medicine or public health. I spent the majority of my time at my clinical placement, a public women's and children's care facility which provided a number of services to its clients. While I had some amazing experiences watching nearly thirty births and even delivering a baby myself, equally enjoyable was the role I was able to play in assisting the mothers-to-be with the labor and delivery processes. The many precious moments I spent in the birthing room have not only strengthened my desire to work as a physician but have even led me to seriously consider a specialty in obstetrics and gynecology. Another component of ProPeru's volunteer program was health education. Designed to enable volunteers to practice their Spanish and to help educate Peruvian children about basic health and hygiene, the education component of the program entailed both planning and giving charlas, or health talks, to children in schools and orphanages in poor communities in and around Cusco. These brief presentations covered themes such as tooth-brushing, hand-washing, and nutrition; at the end of each session, we presented each child with a small gift, such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, or bar of soap, relevant to the day's topic. This experience really touched me; the children with whom we worked had very little but still wanted and deserved to be as clean, healthy, and educated as their peers. I also participated in weekly public health campaigns with ProPeru. We traveled with two doctors from a nearby clinic to rural communities to address the health needs in these areas. The ProPeru organization is currently focusing on women's health; our campaigns involved providing free pap smears for up to fifty women in each place, then returning the following week with the diagnoses and any necessary treatments for each woman, also free of charge. The doctors with whom we worked were excellent. They answered many of my questions about the Peruvian health care system and about women's health, and they even allowed me to perform several exams at one of the campaigns. Prior to being examined, each woman had a brief interview session with me or another volunteer. The survey answers were collected and recorded by ProPeru to guide the organization in other issues it may want to address in future health campaigns. Additionally, we also gave brief health presentations to the women, providing basic, culturally-relevant education on topics such as urinary tract infections, nutrition, and sexually transmitted disease, and, along with the doctors, answering any questions the women had. This experience helped me understand the fear of modern medicine still present in many rural areas and opened my eyes to a way of life very different from my own. As I previously had studied abroad in Puebla, Mexico, for a semester, I felt fairly confident in my Spanish abilities prior to arriving in Cusco. This proved invaluable to me in my internship, as I was able to really comprehend what was being said to and around me and to have meaningful conversations with patients. Though apprehensive about being the new volunteer with no real clinical training, I found the doctors, nurses, and technicians with whom I worked to be extremely friendly and helpful. Having the courage to ask questions also greatly enhanced my experience, enabling me to better understand both the Peruvian health system and the fields of obstetrics and gynecology in general. Additionally, because of my comparatively high level of Spanish, I took the lead on most of the presentations we ProPeru volunteers gave at schools, orphanages, and health campaigns. However, a high level of Spanish is not a necessary criterion for participation; I had many friends in the program who had little to no experience speaking Spanish but who learned quickly through daily practice at work and home, as well as in language classes sponsored by ProPeru. While there is no question in my mind that I benefited more from this experience than did the doctors, patients, and students with whom I worked, I still feel that I was able to make a positive contribution to ProPeru, an organization I believe provides a beneficial service to Cusco and its people. I developed close relationships with staff members at my clinic and worked hard to assist them and the patients whenever possible. Additionally, I created curricula (posters, planned speeches, etc.) for health education and health campaign charlas that may be utilized by future volunteers in new settings. Hopefully this same curricula also benefited those students and women who attended the talks I gave while in Cusco, providing participants with a helpful reminder about hygiene or teaching them new information that may help them lead healthier lives or encourage them to seek medical attention when they otherwise may not have done so. Though I realize that what I did was far from - changing the world, I hope the work I did during my eight weeks in Cusco provided the community with at least a fraction of the myriad benefits it gave me. I truly cannot imagine having done anything else with this summer and am so grateful to have had this wonderful opportunity.

ProWorld and ProPeru changed my life and I don't say that lightly. Five years after my internship I started working for them and now split my time between the United States and Peru. My project, host family, the staff and Peru itself were so amazing that I wanted more people to have the same experience. I had traveled before, but ProPeru opened my eyes to a wider world and the development project made me feel like I was really contributing and more importantly, really learning.

Thanks for facilitating such an amazing and personalized experience. While short, I think it was a perfect fit for what I was looking for and expecting (and so much more!). It's crazy to jump from such extremes in such a short period of time. I feel like I dove in quickly and I was fortunate to work with welcoming, open, and trusting community that allowed me to do so. I definitely would love to come back! Thanks again for everything... I had a great experience in Oaxaca with ProMexico!

Say hi to Augustine, Kacki and Patti for me as well as any of the ProMexico volunteers who I know who are still there. And if I haven't already driven this message home, thank you for an incredible 6 weeks in Mexico. I had a fabulous experience and would highly recommend ProMexico to anyone without hesitating. Saludos!

Muchisimas gracias por todo lo que hicieron por mi estas tres semanas. Mi familia fue divertidisima y la clinica fue todo lo que no sabia que queria y mas. Estas tres semanitas son do las mejores de mi vida asi que en serio muchas gracias! Gracias por estar al pendiente mi siempre y por asegurarse de todo estuviera bien. Translated = Thank you so much for everything that you did for me these three weeks. My family was a lot of fun, and the clinic was everything that I wanted and more. These three weeks have been some of the best in my life and I seriously thank you for that. Thank you for always being there for me always and making sure that everything was fine.

My Spanish has helped out tremendously in my work in the hotel. I was pretty much promoted to an administration position solely because I can speak to most of the housekeepers. I have yet to meet anyone from Oaxaca, but I've met a lot of people from other states of Mexico as well as Central America and Brazil. I'm trying to get them to teach me Portuguese. And what's weird, well maybe not weird, I don't know, is that they LOVE when I speak Spanish. They're all very impressed. Thanks.

It's great to hear that things are still going well in Oaxaca, I had an amazing experience there, and hopefully I'll get to return at some point. I really want to thank you and the rest of the ProMexico staff, the three of you put in so much work and effort and it definitely didn't go unnoticed.

The lack of money has always kept me from doing things that I may have wanted to do, but since Study Abroad at my school is required for a language major I fund raised and found grants that I could get through the school. Now I am just so extremely beyond happy that ProPeru did not become another one of my lost wishes.

ProPeru was a life changing experience for me. When I came I wasn't really sure who I was or where I wanted to be in the future but after what I have seen and done with ProPeru I have a clearer picture. I had a great experience with ProPeru. After spending 6 months in Cusco, between the internship program and semester program, I grew beyond bounds personally. I feel more confident about myself and I know that the things that I have learned while in Peru will stay with me throughout my life.

My experience in the Sacred Valley was absolutely incredible. From a host family that incorporated me as one of their own, to the community of Chichubamba I worked for that provided deep insights into the contemporary problems that families face in the Andes, I had the unique opportunity to completely engulf myself into a new culture while helping to contribute to sustainable development with the support from the staff at ProPeru.

The multifaceted nature of its program (with the project, homestay, excursions, and Spanish classes) sets ProPeru apart from other volunteer organizations. After participating for only one month, my experience already felt fairly complete. I was able to immerse myself in the culture, find lifelong friends, and pick up the basics of an entirely new language -Leigh Pottinger all while appreciating how an experienced organization navigates through the complex landscape of international development.

I'm studying undergraduate business, and my project at Arariwa was an amazing way for me to share my knowledge and learn more about the international economy. My co-workers gave me so much responsibility - I got to lead consulting projects, write articles, and give a tourist's perspective on Peruvian crafts. I would definitely recommend ProPeru as an incredible (and educational) experience!