Overview
Volunteer Tour to Teach in South America

On this South American volunteer program volunteers will learn Spanish and Portuguese and teach children in impoverished communities in Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. When in Ecuador you will live in the market town Otavalo and work in rural communities up in the Andes. In Peru volunteers will teach in the ‘pueblos jovenes’ (young towns) just outside Arequipa; In Brazil, you will teach in villages outside of Salvador, on the Northeastern coast of Brazil During your time volunteering in South America, volunteers also have the opportunity to explore and experience the culture of Ecuador, Peru and Brazil on several side trips. Flights between Ecuador, Peru and Brazil are included in the fee.

GVI, along with leaders and teachers of the communities, have developed educational programs and ‘aulas abiertas’ (open classrooms), to help the understaffed schools in the region and assist children and adults who otherwise may not have the opportunity of a full formal education.

View Film Footage, images, blogs, stories from the field, video diaries and more at the programs media centre

It’s all been amazing, fatiguing, joyous, frustrating...beyond anything I could have hoped for. Those kids are incredible and they’ll stay with me forever!

Caitlin Bourassa, Volunteer

What Difference Does This Project Make?

As with our similar projects in Latin America, our aims are first and foremost in education and pay particular attention to improving the standards of literacy and education of the children of each community. Global Vision International, with the full support of the leaders of the communities and the schools, aims to tackle these issues. As our volunteers teach alongside local teachers and on their own, the children in the schools can be grouped by age and grade. Therefore more attention can be paid to the children and the required subjects, and we can identify those children who require further help. Coupled with paying for the school supplies, it is hoped that more children will attend and will receive the attention needed for their standard of education to improve.

Highlights

Learning Spanish and Portuguese; living with a local family; going on fantastic biking and hiking trips in Peru and Ecuador and dance and cookery lessons in Brazil; enjoying a three day hike in Colca Canyon to watch the mesmerising flight of the condor; a seven day tour to visit some awesome sights, including the famous pre-Columbian Inca site Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines (a spectacular series of geoglyphs in the Nazca Desert) and the Paracas Nature Reserve. Seeing the best that South America has to offer while giving something back.

Location

In Ecuador, Otavalo is our base town, located two hours north of the Capital Quito. Surrounded by cloud-covered volcano peaks, the market town Otavalo is famed for its textiles and on a Saturday is filled with colourful crafts and textiles. Our projects are situated an hour away up in the mountains.When in Peru, volunteers are based in Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city. Located over an hour’s flight away (or 13 hours by bus), south of the capital Lima between the desert and the Peruvian Andes, Arequipa is a pretty city filled with colonial buildings built of sillar (a white volcanic rock), which gives Arequipa the nickname ‘the white city’. You will study and live in Arequipa whilst travelling to nearby communities or ‘pueblos jovenes’ to undertake the teaching projects.

In Brazil, you will be living in a volunteer house in Salvador, whilst travelling daily out to the villages. Salvador is considered the cultural capital of Brazil, with miles of sandy beaches to relax on after indulging in many of the cultural events Salvador has to offer.

Field Conditions

Volunteers live with local families both in Arequipa and Otavalo in accommodation that is basic yet comfortable. This gives you a more enriched cultural experience and the valuable opportunity to practice your Spanish! You will have your own private room, hot water and three meals a day will be provided when you are with the family. The food is very typical of the area and is varied, including meats, plenty of vegetables and fruits. Vegetarians are also well catered for. All volunteers live fairly near to each other.

In Brazil, you will be living in a volunteer house in Salvador. All food is provided and volunteers will take turns to cook!