Teach Children Music in Peru

I loved my experience with VivePeru. When I was initially terrified, alone, and uncertain, the program staff went out of the way to make all of the volunteers feel welcome. We quickly bonded, becoming fast friends excited to explore Peru. The program maintained a good balance between volunteer commitments during the week and free weekends to travel, explore, and more. The staff go out of their way to help you engage in activities that interest you, and are willing to help you with anything. The volunteer work, though not what I expected, was more meaningful than I could have ever imagined. My only regret is wishing I could stay longer!

I didn't really know what to expect when coming to Peru for this program, but I was completely blown away by how amazing of an experience this was. From making life-long friends to traveling around the country on the weekends to going out into the communities, I truly had the experience of a lifetime.

I thought this experience was wonderful. I was shown a different perspective on life. The culture, communities, and healthcare system are so different from my own so I found great pleasure in experiencing Peru's.

I volunteered with Vive Peru as a social work and music volunteer during the summer of 2013. This month in Trujillo was a life changing experience for me that has altered my perspective ever since. My Spanish skills improved drastically, as the program is incredibly immersive. My host family was wonderful! They made me feel like family: introducing me to Peruvian culture, helping me work on my Spanish, and making me feel completely at home. My work experience was also incredible. I had the opportunity to work with young women at an orphanage and with a university age symphony group. Each experience was unique, but in both I felt that I grew as an individual while making a beneficial impact on the community. The Vive Peru staff are wonderful, always willing to help you one-on-one and obviously passionate about their work. The organization has a constant presence in the community, whether volunteers are there or not. This sets them apart from many other organizations, and the impact is obvious when you work with the community. I highly recommend this program for anyone interested looking to volunteer in an immersive cultural environment!

VivePeru gave me the chance to teach music to Peruvians as well as perform with their local professional symphony. To have the opportunity to be immersed in a culture and be heavily involved in its classical music scene was a very significant positive experience in my life. I had the freedom to design my schedule around my private lessons and had the support of my fellow volunteers and the staff- they even attended my performances! My experiences in Peru with Vive made me more open-minded and satisfied my desire for adventure, and it also helped me discover that I really want to be a music teacher, which is the degree I am currently working toward!

I volunteered as an engineer in the winter 2012-2013 session for Vive Peru. I was a freshman in college and this was my first time traveling outside the country. The engineering project that winter session was building an internet tower for a school on the outskirts of Trujillo. This was a lot of hard work, but in the end was one of the most meaningful experiences I've had. We had successfully installed the tower and had it working by the end of the session, and the kids at the school and the administration really loved it. Outside of the project, I stayed with host parents in Trujillo along with the other engineer in the program and a student in the health program. The host parents were very nice and consistently went out of their way to make sure that we were having a good time and that all of our needs were met. On some of my free days, I helped out the social workers at a boys' home and I also went with one of my roommates to the health clinic he volunteered at. These were both very fulfilling experiences. Overall, the program is very well rounded with amazing staff that makes sure the volunteer work you are doing will impact the community. You are also free to travel to other areas in Peru on the weekend. I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to travel abroad and gain experience helping people. The sessions vary in length, so if you are like me and haven't traveled a lot the winter session is great, as it takes place over winter break. I hope you consider volunteering with Vive Peru!

During my multiple experiences throughout my college career volunteering or studying abroad, Vive Peru was by far the best. As a teacher, my experience in Peru gave me a sense of flexibility, confidence, and preparedness that could not be taught in my college classes. Coupled with incredible volunteer experiences that could easily be applied to our lives back at home, we were given opportunities to travel that were very well supported by our outstanding staff. The staff not only helped us prepare day in and day out for our volunteer sites but also took time to help us plan our weekend travels so that we could be safe while having an incredible time. Vive Peru gave me a valuable experience that I could not have gotten anywhere else. I not only recommend this volunteer experience highly to any education major, but also to anyone else looking for a volunteer experience in Peru.