Community Development Volunteering in Peru
Community Development Volunteering in Peru
Support the local community members of Oxapampa to achieve their individual goals and those of their community.
Program Code: PEOP0908POur Impact
Location
Volunteer in Oxapampa | Community
Program Information
Remote-Working Friendly
Reliable WIFI
Part-Time Options
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Overview
Program details, highlights and videos.
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Dates & Prices
Choose your start dates and durations.
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Life On Base
What's a GVI base really like?
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Covid-19 Response
Read up on the response measures we have in place to keep you safe.
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What's It like?
Search for and chat to alumni who've been there and done it.
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Live Updates
Follow us live on Facebook!
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Reviews
See what our alumni have to say.
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Arrivals
Information on your airport arrival and pick up.
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Flights
Search for flights via our partner, Student Universe.
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Your Impact
Our short, mid and long term objectives.
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Our Ethics
Read about GVI's Ten Ethical Commitments.
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Program Ethics
Our ethical practices and policies.
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Qualifications
The various qualifications and certificates you'll receive.
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Parent Info
Information for parents and guardians.
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Support & Safety
GVI's detailed health, safety and support protocols.
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What's Included?
What's included and excluded on this program.
Overview
Participate in locally led sustainable development initiatives in communities surrounding Oxapampa and on the grounds of our partners CDS. Work to support the goals of local youth and women as well as other community members. In the process, learn about how we can identify the most important needs of the communities including sustainable initiatives and prototypes helping to protect the cloud forest and its habitat.Depending on the needs of the community and the project at the time of your participation in the program, you might get involved in a range of activities such as supporting community associations related to rural tourism in business topics or providing English and environmental workshops, facilitating English lessons for professionals looking to work in the tourism sector, or supporting local business owners and entrepreneurs with creating more sustainable businesses. Volunteers might also get involved in environmental initiatives such as seasonal reforestation, invasive vegetation removal and environmental education workshops at local schools.
Communication with community members on this program is conducted in Spanish. If you are not fluent in Spanish, Spanish lessons will be required. These can be requested when you book onto the program. Simply speak to your Enrolment Manager to learn more.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Contribute directly to global impact goals.
- Practice skills like intercultural communication, public speaking, and training which can be added to your CV.Â
- Immerse yourself in traditional Peruvian culture.Â
- Learn the importance of environmental education.
- Live and work with other GVI participants from around the world.Â
- After your volunteer program, you can visit some of the famous sites such as Machu Picchu. Whilst on project discover many of the amazing local attractions, including waterfalls and jungle.
Program Details
Flexibility
Payment Plans
Cancellation Waiver
Life On Base
Wake up in the forest, overlooking the canopy, surrounded by mountains and nature. Enjoy a cup of locally grown Peruvian coffee while listening to the sound of morning song birds and the nearby river, as you get ready for the day. This is the opportunity to develop your skills in wildlife conservation, habitat preservation, environmental conservation, and research techniques.
You’ll share a home with like-minded people from all over the world who are passionate about sustainable development – and you’ll get to make an impact on incredibly unique projects.
Base Tour
Highlights
You will live in rustic dormitories that sleep up to eight people per room, and are equipped with electricity. The base is powered by an on-site hydroelectric plant as well as some solar and wind power. A separate bathroom block provides hot water showers and a mixture of Western-style and dry toilets. There is a natural plunge pool that you can cool off in after a rewarding day of work, and a fire pit to keep you warm in the evening. There are open and airy communal spaces surrounded by beautiful trees for project planning and social time, as well as a barbecue area that we enjoy over weekends. We have two friendly resident dogs and a cat that live on base, and you might even be lucky enough to be visited by some of the local wildlife.
We provide day transfers from the Francisco Carle Airport (JAU) in Jauja to our base in Oxapampa during the daytime, on the day before your program start date. Alternatively, you can fly into Lima and take an overnight Movil Bus from Movil Bus Terminal – Javier Prado straight to Oxapampa, which typically takes 10 to12 hours. Due to our remote location, taxis cannot take you all the way to the base as there is a river that you need to cross to get here. For travel on weekends, you could go into town, which is about 20 minutes away by car, or a walk of just over an hour. From there you can rent a bicycle to explore the province, or contact a local tour company.
Local SIM cards and pay-as-you-go credit are affordable. They can be bought in Lima If you bring a network-unlocked mobile phone with you. Your connection might not be as fast or reliable as you might be used to in your home country. Our project sites are remote and mainly rural which means that Wi-Fi and network coverage is limited.
All meals are provided on base and are mostly vegetarian with meat occasionally included. Ingredients consist of locally-sourced seasonal produce, including eggs, oatmeal, rice, pasta and quinoa. There’s always plenty of fresh home-made bread and Peruvian coffee available. You will be able to help yourself to breakfast and dinner is prepared together with the rest of the team. Lunch is usually a delicious Peruvian meal prepared by a local cook. On weekends, there are a number of restaurants that you can visit in Oxapampa’s town. Here you can sample more of the traditional style of Peruvian cuisine. There are even some Italian and Chinese restaurants to choose from.
Peru is famous for its unique and dramatic climate and Oxapampa is no exception. The weather is humid all year round and can be quite unpredictable at times. The average temperature is 15°C (59°F), with highs of around 28°C (82°F) and lows of around 8°C (46°F). The months with the most rainfall are from October to April, with February being the wettest. The drier months fall between May and September.
Oxapampa is 2,200 metres above sea level so it is important to give your body time to adjust to the high altitude and follow our staff instructions while acclimating. There are medical clinics and a hospital in Oxapampa. If there were to be a medical issue, GVI staff will ensure that affected participants are transported to the relevant facility depending on the nature and severity of the illness or injury. We also have a 24-hour emergency desk, should your loved ones need to contact you.
COVID-19 Safety
Enhanced cleaning and social-distancing measures in place. Learn more.
Covid-19 Response
Health and Hygiene
For over 20 years, GVI has prioritised the health and safety of our staff, participants, partners and local community members. In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, GVI has created the GVI health and hygiene team to put in place new standards of cleanliness, norms and behaviours that meet or exceed international recommendations to ensure the ongoing safety of GVI’s participants, staff and communities around the world. Internationally recommended practices, such as advice from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the governments Australia, UK and US, continue to be monitored and the standards are likely to change if and when international advice changes.
The work GVI is contributing to across the globe remains important and the following measures allow our participants to continue to join GVI’s programs and continue impacting positively on their world and the communities we work with. The following changes to our existing protocols have been made by the GVI health and hygiene team to strengthen our health and hygiene protocols and ensure that international standard safeguards are in place to protect our participants, staff and host communities.
Essential information you need to travel safely during the COVID-19
pandemic – including destination ratings, flight bookings, and tests.
What's It like?
If you’d like to find out what the experience of joining a GVI project is really like, simply contact us and we’ll put you in touch with one of our many Alumni.
We’ll try to match you to an Alum based on your location, nationality, age, stage of academic career, gender, and program interests. This allows you to gain insights into the experience that is most relevant to you.
Depending on your location you might be able to speak to an Alum over the phone or online, or meet up with them face-to-face at a coffee shop nearby. We also run a series of small events around the world where you can speak to GVI Alumni, Ambassadors and staff members.
Live Updates
Arrivals
When it comes to support, we ensure that each participant is provided with unparalleled, 360 degree support, from your initial contact with the GVI Family, all the way through your program, and even after, as you become part of the GVI Alumni Team.
As part of this promise, we will ensure, whenever possible, that one of our dedicated staff will be available to meet you at the airport. In most locations, we also set up a Whatsapp group to help with managing airport arrivals. We will arrange with you prior to your departure that, should you arrive in the agreed upon pick up window, a member of our staff will be there to welcome you, easily identifiable in a GVI t-shirt or holding a GVI sign and wearing a friendly smile. This means there will be someone there to greet you as you land, and from there you will be transported to your GVI base to start your adventure and meet the rest of your team.
COVID-19 Safety
Please note that the above images were taken pre COVID-19. All airport pick-ups and program operations now run with enhanced cleaning and social-distancing measures in place. Learn more.
Flights
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As GVI is providing this portal as a service we are not responsible for the accuracy of this site.
We are also not responsible for any loss, damage (including loss of profits or consequential damages), injury, illness, harm or death in relation to your flight and travel arrangements.
Essential information you need to travel safely during the COVID-19
pandemic – including destination ratings, flight bookings, and tests.
Your Impact
All of our programs have short, mid and long-term objectives that fit with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or UN SDGs. This enables us to report on our collaborative impact across the world in a streamlined manner, measuring which UN SDGs we are making a substantial contribution to. Furthermore, this will help our local partners and communities measure and visualise their contribution to the UN SDGs.
Prior to your arrival on base, you will be educated about the history of the UN SDGs. Then, once on base you’ll learn about the specific goals of your location, the long-, mid- and short-term objectives, and also clarification of how your personal, shorter-term involvement contributes to these goals on a global level.
Our aim is to educate you on local and global issues, so that you continue to act as active global citizens after your program, helping to fulfil our mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference.
Peru is known as being a popular cultural and adventure destination among international visitors. Due to this, the country has a thriving tourism industry which provides many locals with employment opportunities. However, the ability to speak English is often a vital skill needed to access these jobs.
Working with the community and in partnership with established organisations, each program has its own goals in relation to the needs of the community at any given time.
The fact that a large portion of the community lives in rural areas with low resources and limited infrastructure often impedes their access to education. Our programs in Oxapampa assist in the socio-economic development of the country by supporting English language learning and community development.
The main UN Sustainable Development Goals include #4 Quality Education, #8, Decent Work and Economic Growth and #17 Partnership for the Goals.
Project Objectives
GVI Peru Long-term Objectives:
1. Educating the local communities on sustainable development, the importance of the forest and how best to protect it.
2. Supporting the local community of Oxapampa in improving their English language skills.
3. Creating an interactive learning environment, whether through creating and developing workshops, classes or presentations.
4. Facilitating the development of rural community ecotourism in the Oxapampa region by supporting local community members to get involved.
5. Providing an authentic experience to GVI Peru volunteers, which develop both personal and professional skills within the field of education and community development through thorough training and mentorship by staff.
Our Ethics
Below is a list of core ethics and best practices we believe are essential to the operation of high quality, ethical volunteer and sustainable development programs. We believe that all responsible volunteer and sustainable development operations should focus upon these principles. If you are considering volunteering, these are some of the key considerations you should question, to ensure that your time and money contributes towards positive change.
We want to constantly develop our own understanding of ethical best practice. In so doing, we aim to provide an exemplary industry standard for other education institutions, international development organisations, and social enterprises. Our Badge of Ethics stands for the drive to always do good, better. Find out more, click on the Badge below.
Our 10 Ethical Commitments
Locally Driven, Collaborative Projects
We aim to design all our projects in collaboration with local organizations and communities and ensure that they are locally driven.
Clear Objectives & Sustainable Outcomes
We aim to clearly define short-, mid-, and long-term objectives with sustainable outcomes for all our projects.
Impact Reporting
We aim to track, record, and publish the impact of each of our projects.
Working Against Dependency
We aim to build in-country capacity by assisting local organizations in becoming self-sustaining.
Responsible Exit Strategies
For each local organization we work with, we aim to have a plan in place for withdrawing support responsibly.
Clear Roles & Specialized Training
We aim to ensure that every participant is assigned a clear role and that they are fully trained and supported to carry out their work by specialized staff.
Respect for all
In all our actions we aim to respect the skills and efforts of all and seek to protect the rights, culture and dignity of everyone who engages with GVI.
Local Ownership
We work to ensure that credit for the results of any project, along with any data collected, research conducted, or Intellectual Property developed, remains the property of local organizations.
Transitioning from the Orphanage Model
We do not condone and aim to withdraw support of orphanages and residential care centers.
Child and Vulnerable adult policies
We will live by our Child Protection and Vulnerable Adult policies.
Continual Development
As an organization, GVI is committed to striving toward best practice, and to educating both our potential participants, our partners, and the world at large about them. Both the volunteering and sustainable development sectors are increasingly, and rightly, under scrutiny. Many recent local and global articles highlight poor practices and questionable ethics. GVI is widely recognized for striving to apply global best practice in the volunteering, education and sustainable development sectors throughout our operations by reputable organizations such as ChildSafe.
However, global best practice is always evolving and we dedicate both time and resources to engage with internationally respected experts and learn from the latest research to ensure our programs both fulfil their potential to create maximum positive impact, and minimise their potential to create unintentional negative impact. Along with and as part of the sustainable development and volunteering community, we are constantly learning and applying this learning to practice. We do not always get everything right, but we seek feedback from our community members, partners, participants and our staff, and react accordingly. We know are already doing a great job, and feedback we have received confirms this, but we aim to do even better and are continuously refining our operations to improve upon our already excellent reputation.
Program Ethics
NO ORPHANAGE PROGRAMS
We don’t support or allow participants to work in institutional residential care facilities, also known as orphanages. We partner with ReThink Orphanages and Freedom United.
CHILD AND VULNERABLE ADULT PROTECTION POLICY
Our Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Policy requires all our staff and participants to complete a criminal background check and to learn why you shouldn’t reveal a child’s identifying factors in photographs. We support the ChildSafe Movement.
NO MEDICAL VOLUNTEERING
We don’t offer any programs where our participants engage in medical treatment. This is because our participants aren’t typically qualified to do this work and would therefore not be able to do this work in their home country. Our participants only assist with public health programs.
NO DISABILITY SUPPORT PROGRAMS
We don’t offer any programs where our participants work directly with people with disabilities. This is because our participants aren’t typically qualified to do this work and would therefore not be able to do this work in their home country.
Qualifications
GVI Online Community Development course (optional)
In this course, you’ll explore the most common pitfalls of community development initiatives so that you can avoid them. You’ll also learn how to carry out community development work effectively and ethically and how local context impacts program development. After successfully completing the course, which you have the option of doing prior to your in-country program, you’ll receive a certificate from the University of Richmond.
This online course, valued at $395, is included in all volunteering programs. Full course details can be found here.
Parent Info
‘If only every student could do this. It changes your life in all the right ways,’ says Chris Heritage, parent of Luke Heritage, one of our teen volunteers who has participated on two GVI programs, one in Costa Rica and another in South Africa.
We are a parent-run organisation that is incredibly serious about health and safety, and increasing the impact, as well as the long-term career benefits of our programs. Our programs help young people develop the skills to select a career path that is personally fulfilling, and live a life aligned to the well-being of our planet and the global community.
Ken and Linda Jeffrey, whose son Sam volunteered with GVI in Thailand, talk about how the experience affected Sam. He also went on to volunteer with GVI again in South Africa. ‘I know it sounds like a cliche but in a sense, he did go away as a boy and he came back as a young man. Both of us could recommend GVI without any hesitation to any other parent thinking about exploring an opportunity for their children to explore the world and to see different parts of it.’
Parent Info Pack
Download the Parent Pack and learn more about:
Our staff: All our projects are run by staff, selected, vetted, trained, and managed by our central office.
Health and safety: Our safety practices include a child and vulnerable adult protection policy and high participant ratios.
Staying in touch: See what’s happening on base, by following a hub’s dedicated Facebook page.
Free parent consultations: We would love to talk to you about exciting opportunities available for your child.
Support & Safety
We won’t sugarcoat it — traveling abroad is usually a complex process that carries an element of risk. But this is exactly why we’re passionate about providing extensive support throughout the process as well as the highest safety standards during the in-country phase. We believe that volunteering abroad should not only be impactful, but an enjoyable experience that carries as little risk as possible. This is exactly how we’ve been able to maintain our reputation as the most highly respected volunteering organisations in the sector over the past two decades.
COVID-19 Safety
Enhanced cleaning and social-distancing measures are in place throughout each GVI program. Learn more.
Support
Once a participant books, they will be assigned a personal support coordinator who will oversee their pre-departure journey. The support coordinator helps to bridge the gap between program enrolment and arrival at one of our field bases. Your personal support coordinator will ensure that you are provided with all the necessary information required to apply for visas, background checks, and any other documentation.
Safety
Upon arrival at the airport, participants will be greeted by a GVI staff member. All GVI staff are our own and all our programs around the world are run by our staff. All GVI field staff are background checked, Emergency First Response and safety trained. The minimum staff to participant ratio on GVI’s programs is one to six, although on several bases we have a ratio of one to three. When finishing the experience, participants will provide feedback on all aspects of their program.
Essential information you need to travel safely during the COVID-19
pandemic – including destination ratings, flight bookings, and tests.
Health & Safety Case Studies
HOW GVI UPHOLDS HEALTH AND SAFETY
It takes courage to book a GVI program, get on a flight, and head off to somewhere new. Volunteering offers a level of cultural immersion that typical backpacking or holidays just can’t achieve. This is why thousands of people around the world participate in paid GVI programs.
GVI’S COMMITMENT TO SAFETY AND SECURITY
As the saying goes: ‘Expect the best, plan for the worst’. Cliched or not, we take it to heart. This tenet is at the core of how GVI operates when it comes to promoting the health and safety of our participants, staff, and local community members at all of our 20+ bases around the world.
HOW GVI REMAINS PREPARED FOR NATURAL DISASTERS
The weather isn’t just a topic for polite small-talk here at GVI. We have emergency action plans in place for all scenarios. So when the weather, or other natural forces, takes a nasty turn, we are prepared to respond to stormy situations.
HOW GVI MANAGES PARTICIPANTS EXPECTATIONS
Once GVI has matched a participant to a program that suits their passions and goals, our team aims to set the right expectations for them. In the event that false expectations around a program are created, the GVI team takes immediate action to ensure that the situation rectified.
What's Included
24-hour emergency desk
24-hour in-country support
Airport pick-up (unless otherwise stated)
All project equipment
Food (except on long-term internship placements)
Safe and basic accommodation (usually shared)
Group introductory call
Welcome presentation
Endorsed GVI Specialisation Course
Endorsed Leadership Course
Sustainable project work
Leadership responsibilities
Remote Internship Supervisor
Preferential recruitment on GVI positions
Job portal access
Endorsed Careers Course
Career coaching sessions
PDF reference - upon request