Child Care and Teaching Assistant

location
4 - 50 weeks  ·  Age 18 - 50+

rating  Outstanding 4.9  · 
  Verified by Volunteer World
  Excellent response rate

Highlights

  • Get a thousand times more love back then you give
  • Experience the authentic Cusco
  • Explore the capital of the Inka

Highlights

  • Get a thousand times more love back then you give
  • Experience the authentic Cusco
  • Explore the capital of the Inka
  • Improve your spanish skills or start to learn quechua
  • Learn how to dance Salsa, Bachata and more


  • Especially good for

    Age 18+
    Singles
    Couples
    Groups
    50+

    About the program

    Work with kids in the afternoon: Support with homework, teach english, play games and have fun.

    Our program offers you the possibility to contribute to our Andean society and experience the diversity of our culture, working and learning in our beautiful city Cusco and at the same time improving your local language skills: Spanish.

    Corazón de los Apus is a non-profit organization that works ...

    About the program

    Our program offers you the possibility to contribute to our Andean society and experience the diversity of our culture, working and learning in our beautiful city Cusco and at the same time improving your local language skills: Spanish.

    Corazón de los Apus is a non-profit organization that works with families living in extreme poverty in Cusco, Peru. We believe that in order to change the mentality of any group of people, you have to start at the base – with the children. Thefore, we mainly work with the children and try to give them a better future.  The goal is to bring awareness to the children, that they can break through social boundaries and live a better life. Most importantly, we hope to help them gain personal values like love and respect for themselves and others, to be able to lead happy and healthy lives with more opportunities for a brighter future. This includes our focus on the importance of school, knowledge and education.by providing education, food, and a safe and loving environment for personal growth annd fun.

    How do we do that? Four times a week we open the doors for our to..

    • ... help with the homework from school
    • ... teach English
    • ... practice soft skills (e.g. conflict management, creativity, equal rights)
    • ... give love 
    • ... have fun

    The task of the volunteers is usually to prepare and conduct the lessons. But we are flexible and always open for adjustments. Volunteers are always welcome to contribute their ideas for lessons or activities. The tasks can also be flexible adjusted, depending on their skills and preferences. We love to design the program together and try to make volunteering as enjoyable as possible.


    The main project is located in San Jeronimo, a suburb of Cusco. It is a 15-minute bus ride from the flat to the project. It is a safe place and all the people who live near the project are friendly and helpful.

    There is always one of the local project managers there to work with the volunteers. We normally all travel to and from the project together. This means that the volunteers always have a contact person on site.


    The most important is that the volunteers are motivated to help disadvantaged people and enjoy working with children. Volunteers should have a lot of energy to be able to deal with the energetic children.  But a lot of patience is also required. 

    For all their hard work, the children are rewarded with lots of love and happy faces. 

    The project leaders are always approachable and very open to suggestions for adapting the daily routine. The top priority is that the children and volunteers feel comfortable and happy.


    Important Information: 

    • You will receive all our support and/or guidance throughout your stay. In case you get sick or have any type of emergency, we are at your disposal for all the necessary help. 
    • We also have an all-inclusive package from: accommodation, Spanish classes, tours, cultural activities... that if you wish we can send you without any obligation. We offer it because of the experience that many volunteers had, who recommended us and preferred to have everything already organized so as not to have worries or stress, so they will have a more pleasant and comfortable stay. However, it is not a requirement, so if you do not wish to, you can only take the accommodation service in our departments. 
    • Pick up from the Airport / Land Terminal (It is included in the price): Of course we will be happy to pick you up at the airport or bus terminal upon arrival to take you to your accommodation.
    Cultural Activities “Discovering Cusco” 
    They are a courtesy from our Association to make your stay in Cusco more enjoyable, discovering new places, flavors, smells, enjoying nature, among more. 1 or 2 activities will be carried out per week in a cyclical manner, among these activities we have: 
    • Cooking classes – our moms will teach and everyone will participate. According to the dish to be prepared, we will all set a quota for the ingredients. 
    • Latin dance classes (salsa & bachata) – they are very fun and free, but if you like it a lot and want to learn you can take private or group classes, which have a price depending on the number of classes. 
    • Visit to typical food restaurants – we will taste delicious dishes and each person pays for their plate of food. 
    • Visit to typical medicinal baths – they are approximately 3 hours outside the city, for which transportation is rented and we all pay the total, generally per month we make this trip taking a group of children. 
    • Visits to museums (chocolate, coca, Inka...) – museums have an entrance fee and others are included in the tourist ticket, if you wish you can participate in the chocolate museum, which has a price. 
    • Andean music concerts – part of our culture is music, we will enjoy good Andean, mystical music, also appreciating typical instruments of the area, sometimes admission is paid and sometimes not. 
    • Types and Importance of plants/herbs and medicinal infusions – we will show some typical plants, their importance and their benefit to our health, there is no price here. 
    • Adventure and sports, we organize nature walks, bicycle outings, ATVs, among other activities... It is important to know that some of our activities are free while others have a price, for example, when we go to eat typical food, each person will pay for their plate, as well as these activities are optional and not mandatory


    Typical day

    The morning is for you. Enjoy your breakfast, learn some Spanish, explore the city or just relax ;)  Sometimes is necessary to prepare your teaching material. But in general the morning is for you and can be spend freely.

    After lunch, we all take the bus together to our project location.
    At the ...

    Typical day

    The morning is for you. Enjoy your breakfast, learn some Spanish, explore the city or just relax ;)  Sometimes is necessary to prepare your teaching material. But in general the morning is for you and can be spend freely.

    After lunch, we all take the bus together to our project location.
    At the project we first help the children with their homeworks from school. Then it's time to teach something new. You can follow our plan or teach something you are an expert in. Two times a week we make english lessons with the older children.
    After all the hard work, it's time to have fun. Just play, colour or whatever you and the children like to do. Somtines we organise excursions to the playgroud or a picknick outside.

    In the evening it's free time again. We often organise something like a dinner together or a free salsa class. The evennings will never be boring for you. 
     
    Most volunteers do all kinds of jobs and like to vary their tasks. We like to give them the freedom to take the initiative. These are some of the areas for your collaboration: 
    • Help with homework 
    • Language teaching (English, French, German, etc…) 
    • Caring for babies/toddlers 
    • Food preparation (cooking) 
    • Maintenance 
    • Psychology 
    • Marketing and public relations 
    • Personal talents 
    • Crafts with our mothers 
    • Recreational and sports activities 
    • Among many others…

    Free-time activities

    In and around Cusco you have many options for organising your free time:

    • Visit all the Inca monuments
    • Trekking tours to Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain and more
    • Weekend excursion to Lake Titicaca, 
    • Learn how to dance salsa, bachata and other typical Latin dances
    • Taste all the good food and drinks of Peru ...

    Free-time activities

    In and around Cusco you have many options for organising your free time:

    • Visit all the Inca monuments
    • Trekking tours to Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain and more
    • Weekend excursion to Lake Titicaca, 
    • Learn how to dance salsa, bachata and other typical Latin dances
    • Taste all the good food and drinks of Peru and learn how to prepare them
    It will be our pleasure to help you organise all your wishes.

    We know that our city is very touristy, for this reason our team organizes trips/tourist outings to be able to finance ourselves and provide you with a comfortable service, so you will not have any worry about looking for them. 
    Here we present the most popular, traditional and beautiful tours. Likewise, we also offer them all the information they need and want about everything related to tourism in our city. 
    • City Tour: Includes the following archaeological centers, tourist transportation, professional bilingual guide. It lasts half a day. Qoricancha – Sacsayhuaman – Kenko – Pukapukara – Tambomachay 
    • Sacred Valley: includes the following archaeological centers, tourist transportation, professional bilingual guide, buffet lunch. It lasts 1 day. Pisac – Ollantaytambo – Chincheros 
    • Montaña de Colores / Vinicunca: includes transportation, entrance ticket, breakfast, lunch, professional bilingual guide, oxygen cylinder. It lasts 1 day. 
    • Maras Moray: Includes transportation, professional bilingual guide, does not include entrance ticket to Maras (S/.10 soles) Moray Archaeological / Salineras de Maras – Mirador • Among many more, such as Humantay lagoon, Valle Sur... etc
    Important: It is necessary to buy the tourist ticket, which is used to enter almost all the tourist centers in Cusco. It is advisable to buy the tourist ticket before taking the tours and it lasts 10 days. The price is S/.130 soles. 
    We also recommend that, if you are a student, and you have an international card, bring it with you, so admission to many places will be cheaper.

    Requirements

    Requirements

    Minimum Age: 18 years

    In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.

    Language Skills

    You need to speak English (basic level) or Spanish (basic level)

    Education Requirements

    at High School level

    Criminal Background Check

    required

    Required Documents

    Motivation letter

    Nationality Restrictions

    No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

    Other Skills

    Lot of energy for all the kids Independence Enjoy working with children

    Time Commitment

    Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 13:30 - 17:30

    What's Included

    What's Included

    Services by Corazon de los Apus

    Important: Volunteer work in our Association is free, but at the same time we offer different optional services to make your stay in our City more pleasant. Most of these services do have costs and are not mandatory, since it is a way to finance ourselves.

    One way to finance the project is to provide accommodation for our volunteers. The income is used for the project for the children (e.g. teaching materials, rent for the location, improvement of equipment/facilities).

    The fees include the stay in our own sahred appartment and the pick-up from a place in Cusco (airport, bus station, center...).

    Not included:
    • Food & Drinks (of course we help to organise ;))
    • Flight
    • Insurances
    • Medicals
    • Free time activities
    Knowing how to speak Spanish is not a requirement, although it is an advantage to communicate with children. We regularly receive volunteers/interns who speak little or no Spanish, so the children are used to this. But as long as you are motivated and enthusiastic, the language is not an obstacle. Although with our Spanish class program for 1, 2 or more weeks according to your availability and your decision, you will have the confidence and will be able to carry out a more comfortable, responsible volunteer work that will help you in daily life and during your trip.

    Classes are taught from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in groups of a maximum of 4 people, from Monday to Friday, this is the most popular course chosen by our volunteers and interns. (We also have private classes and special courses, if you want more information we will gladly present it to you.)

    Airport Pickup at Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport

    The pick up fees of 15$ are included in the total price.
    We can pick you up at everytime, from everywhere in Cusco (airport, bus station, center...). Just let us know when and where you arrive and we organise the pick up flexible depending to your wishes.

    Accommodation

    "Since 2021, our accommodation has also become a requirement to carry out your volunteer work or professional internships”, since it is our main source of income for our Association. We would be very grateful if you would take our main service so that you can directly contribute to our costs and services that our Association needs to survive and continue supporting our children and their families. Our accommodation is shared apartments, located between the city center and the Association, some closer to the Association and very easy to get to by bus (1 Sol per trip = EUR / $ 0.25 cents approx.). The distance from our apartments to the Association is approximately 15 minutes and to the city center is approximately 30 minutes, everything will depend on traffic according to the time. It is possible to share the rooms between 2 friends or couples, or have a private room according to availability. We have bathrooms with hot water, an equipped kitchen, Wi-Fi and clean sheets.

    In this apartment you will live together with Kat and Coco (project managers) and also with two cute cats and a lovely dog. Kat and Coco will help you with all your questions and, if you want, take you to nice activities the evening or on weekends. It's always fun with them ;)


    Internet Access

    Good access at the project site

    What's NOT included?

    What's NOT included?

    Food & Beverages

    Food, snacks or beverages are at extra costs.

    Flight Tickets

    The nearest airport is Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) in Cuzco. We assist you to find cheap flights to Peru. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

    Travel Insurance

    Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Peru provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

    Vaccines

    If you are intending to volunteer in Peru you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Peru. VACCINE CHECKER

    Details on arrival

    When you arrive in Cusco, we can of course pick you up from the airport or bus station. You can start your work in the project from Monday to Thursday. We recommend that you arrive in Cusco 3 days before the start of your volunteering so that you have enough time to acclimatise to the altitude.

    Just let us know your arrival dates and we can organise your start together. Important for us ist that your start is comfortable and you feel happy.

    Availability
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

    Program fees

    4 weeks (min. stay) 419€
    5 weeks 524€
    6 weeks 628€
    7 weeks 733€
    11 weeks 1,152€
    19 weeks 1,990€
    50 weeks (max. stay) 5,237€
    Average fees 105€/week

    Program fees

    105€ per week 4 - 50 weeks Age 18 - 50+

    Payment methods

    Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

    NO CREDIT CARD FEES


    Duration

    4 - 50 weeks

    Deposit

    The deposit is simply to reserve your volunteer placement. Payments are handled by PayPal, our trusted global payment provider. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can also pay using a credit card.


    Final Payment

    Your final payment will be agreed with Corazon de los Apus during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.


    Meet your organization

    Corazon de los Apus

    Outstanding 4.9 rating (23 reviews)

    Non-profit - founded in 2011

    Verified by Volunteer World

      Excellent response rate

    Coordinated by

    Katharina

    About the project

    Corazon de los Apus is a non profit organization that works with underprivileged children and their families in an very poor outlying district of Cusco.

    Meet your organization

    Corazon de los Apuswas founded mor than 10 years ago by two friends who had nothing more than motivation, energy and willpower to give underprivileged families in San Jerónimo (urban district of Cusco)  more opportunities than they had previously been given. 

    We believe that in order to change the mentality of any group of people, you have to start at the base – with the children. Therefore, we especially want to bring awareness to the children, that they can break through social boundaries and live a better life. Most importantly, we hope to help them gain personal values like love and respect for themselves and others, to be able to lead happy and healthy lives with more opportunities for a brighter future. This includes our focus on the importance of school, knowledge and education.

    If we can alter the life of just one single child for the better by providing them with more opportunities, our time and energy has been well spent. That being said, we work tirelessly to make a change, beginning with the district of San Jeronimo. 

    The association is mainly managed by Coco (Jorge) and his partner Kat. They are the contact persons for the volunteers as well as for the families and the kids of the project. Moreover, there are also several representatives in European countries (e.g France or Switzerland).
    The project works on 2 locations San Jeronimo. It's an out district of Cusco, where the poorest of the poor people live. The adults often don't have any school education, what makes it hard for them to help their kids at school. A lot of kids don't see any chances to improve their live.

    We appreciate any help from volunteers. Most important thing is that the volunteers are willing and motivated to help. For the work, they will be paid with a lot of love from the kids and their happy faces.


    23 reviews · rating4.9

    Volunteering at this project has been a wonderful experience. As a volunteer you can help the children from Cusco with education (teaching English, homework assistance etc.), play games with them (indoor/outdoor), go on excursions and much more. I was glad that I could support the children and give ...
    Jeannine Mueller rating5

    2023 at Child Care and Teaching Assistant

    I worked in this association for 5 weeks. It was awesome, the kids were really nice and I could practice my Spanish a lot. The person responsible for the association is giving his best to make everything perfect and help you meet new people and organize the things you want to do. Cusco is a ...
    Arthur Aubertin rating5

    2023 at Child Care and Teaching Assistant

    I’ve volunteered in Cusco for three months and this was an incredible experience for 3 reasons: - first, Cusco is the perfect place to build consciousness about disparities as the touristic center of the city is extremely rich compared to the other side of the city (where the kids are) - second, ...
    Quirine Schatteman rating4.8

    2023 at Child Care and Teaching Assistant

    The project was founded by a Peruvian guy, Coco, that grew up in San Jeronimo and who got more chances than the average kid of his neighbourhood. His mom raised him well by showing him the gift of giving and how to care for others that have less. After his mom died, he started a project to help the ...
    Sofie Tonsenst rating4.4

    2023 at Child Care and Teaching Assistant

    Very good support from Coco. When I arrived he picked me up from the airport and he gave me a place to stay. He introduced me to the children made helped me to get in Spanish ...
    Ludivine Lo cascio rating5

    2022 at Child Care and Teaching Assistant

    I was happy to support such a wonderful project. education and food for very disadvantaged children who return an overflowing amount in return. a very committed team. I was there for the Christmas period and the children were delighted to receive gifts and participate in activities. I will never ...

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