At a glance
- This is a volunteer opportunity with Projects Abroad. Devxchange will assist you in choosing the right fit, raising funds with your own campaign page, issuing tax receipts to donors if project meets CRA criteria as a charitable activity. Devxchange will also assist you in onboarding with Projects Abroad.
- Learn directly from healthcare professionals, who’ll teach you basic medical skills and first aid.
- Help run awareness campaigns in remote communities, and share knowledge about preventing disease.
- Learn about Peruvian culture and visit Machu Picchu
Details
- Assist local doctors in a clinic and during medical outreaches
- Help run health campaigns in local communities during outreach work
- Promote nutrition among mothers and children
- Attend workshops to learn more about healthcare in Peru
- Learn about Peruvian culture and visit Machu Picchu
Includes/Excludes
Food and accommodation
- Food (three meals a day)
- Airport pick-up and drop-off
- Full induction and orientation by an experienced staff member on arrival
- Transport to and from your work placement
- In-country support and 24-hour back-up from our team of full-time local staff
- Emergency assistance from our international emergency response team
- Project equipment and materials, including access to our database with thousands of resources
- Training and workshops from our experienced local staff
- Regular social events and community activities with other volunteers and interns
- Access to our local office with internet connection
- Certification of project completion
- Access to our alumni services and discounts
- Visa support and advice
- Fundraising support, including your own personalized fundraising website with DevXchange
- Tax Receipts for your donors if activity meets CRA criteria for charitable activity.
- Pre-departure preparation by your own specialist Volunteer Advisor
- Personalized MyProjectsAbroad website, with all the information you need about your project, accommodation and destination
- A free cultural awareness course
- Membership to our volunteer social media groups, to share information and to get in touch
- Support to help you complete registration or internship documents, if applicable
Not Included
- Flights
- Visa Costs (where applicable)
- 10% Admin fee for donations involving tax receipts.
Itinerary
Want to make the most of your Spring Break? Interested in adding practical healthcare experience to your CV? Do you want to support communities in need? If you answered yes to any of these questions, our Public Health Spring Break Trip in Peru is for you.
In Peru, you’ll travel around Cusco, and work at medical outreaches in disadvantaged communities. You don’t need previous experience to join, as we’ll teach you everything you need to know. All of your work is supervised, and our staff are there to support you constantly.
You’ll learn how to measure blood pressure and temperatures. These skills will add a lot of value to your CV, and give you interesting points to talk about in applications and interviews. You’ll also be demonstrating your commitment to helping others.
This project runs for a week over fixed dates in March. The dates we’ve set coincide with most major North American universities’ spring breaks. Throughout it all, our staff will be with you.
Assist local doctors in a clinic and during medical outreaches
After receiving basic training, you’ll help local doctors as they treat people during medical outreaches in local communities. You will help with basic tasks like checking vitals. This involves checking blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and heart rates. Doctors and nurses will use this information to diagnose and treat patients, or refer them for further treatment.
Help run health campaigns in local communities during outreach work
During your week in Peru, you’ll help run public health campaigns. You can raise awareness around important health issues. You’ll focus on dental and personal hygiene, nutrition, and how to prevent disease.
Promote nutrition among mothers and children
During outreach campaigns, you can help educate mothers with babies and young children. You’ll teach them about healthy diets and can share nutritious and affordable recipes.
Attend workshops to learn more about healthcare in Peru
Peru has a long history of using traditional medicine. You can attend workshops to learn more about these practices. This will expand your practical medical knowledge, as well as broaden your cultural understanding of life in Peru. Workshops can also focus on other aspects of healthcare in Peru, such as common local health issues and treatments, and community healthcare.
Learn about Peruvian culture and visit Machu Picchu
Peru is a fascinating country, rich in culture and heritage. We’ll make sure that you absorb a lot of of it during your trip!
In the evenings, we’ll organize events like salsa dance classes and visits to local restaurants and museums. You’ll get to explore markets and cafes. The cultural highlight of the trip occurs when you visit the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu!
One week may not seem like much time, but our staff have put together a busy schedule for you so you’ll always be learning or working on an important project.
The main aim of this project is to give you the opportunity to expand your medical knowledge, and help provide basic medical care in disadvantaged communities.
Peru currently suffers from a double burden of disease. Infectious disease remains rife in disadvantaged communities, with respiratory diseases still being one of the leading causes of death in Peru. Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases are also on the rise, and malnutrition amongst babies and children remains a serious issue.
Through our Public Health programme, we aim to provide basic healthcare in these communities. You’ll become part of these efforts by doing health checks and raising awareness about disease.
We have set specific goals we want to achieve through our Public Health work in Peru. We want to establish a greater understanding of medical and healthcare knowledge among local communities. We also want to improve the quality of healthcare provided to disadvantaged people, and improve the level of hygiene in the communities our volunteers work in.
Join us as we strive to achieve these goals, and gain valuable Public Health work experience in Peru during your spring break.
Cusco
You’ll be based in the city of Cusco. This was once the capital of the ancient Incan Empire, and you’ll see countless reminders of this as you walk through the city.
In and around Cusco, there are many rural communities that lack access to basic medical services. It’s in these communities where you will do the majority of your outreach work.
Food and accommodation
You’ll stay with a host family in Cusco. They will welcome you into their home, eager to share their customs and have you teach them about your own culture. We believe that this is the best way to immerse yourself in the culture of Peru and have a truly unique experience.
We will always try to let you live alongside at least one other Projects Abroad volunteer or intern at the same host family. Your room will be modest, but comfortable, clean, and safe.
Your programme fee includes three meals a day.
