Location
  • Peru
    • Trujillo
Length
4 weeks

Program Details

Language
English
Age Min.
18
Timeframe
Year Round
Housing
Apartment Guesthouse Host Family Hostel

Pricing

Starting Price
220
Price Details
Please visit our website for more details
What's Included
Activities Airport Transfers Transportation Wifi
What's Not Included
Accommodation Airfare SIM cards Travel Insurance
Jan 10, 2023
May 18, 2016
15 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Otra Cosa Network is an NGO that primarily focuses on education and youth engagement. At our Recreational and Education Centre (REC), we run Huanchaco Education and Learning Programmes (HELP) that focus on English, environmental education, youth, and literacy. The REC also has skate ramp, which is a safe and fun place for the local children to play and socialise.
In addition, we have a range of partner projects, including English classes, helping out at a local dog shelter, and doing playground renovation at a nearby preschool. As a multi-project volunteer, you will have the opportunity to participate in a range of our projects, depending on your preferences and availability during the requested dates.

This is a great opportunity for Spanish-speaking individuals, or those looking to improve their Spanish.

To apply or view other roles available, please visit our website at: https://www.otracosa.org/volunteer-programmes

Consider your impact: Volunteering abroad can be a rewarding experience for both volunteers and local communities, and at Go Overseas, we believe all volunteers should have the resources to make informed decisions about the type of volunteer project they want to partake in. However, despite best intentions, some organizations offering placements in orphanages may unknowingly place children in danger. You can read about the potential dangers of orphanage volunteering here.

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • For students looking to complete a year in industry/placement abroad, this role is available as an internship. This means a higher level of mentorship and all appropriate liaison with your academic institution.
  • Living in Huanchaco, a small surf town not far from the city of Trujillo, will give you the chance to immerse yourself in another culture and meet lots of new people.
  • There is an opportunity here for those with specific skills to take on more responsibility and become a HELP Project Coordinator for either English, Environment, Youth, or Literacy.
  • Long-term volunteers are welcome, so please don't feel limited to short-term placements!
  • *If you want to improve your Spanish, we can arrange Spanish classes for you in advance (by Skype) or during your stay.

Program Reviews

4.73 Rating
based on 11 reviews
  • 5 rating 72.73%
  • 4 rating 27.27%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Impact 4.45
  • Support 4.75
  • Fun 4.65
  • Value 4.9
  • Safety 4.85
Showing 1 - 8 of 11 reviews
Default avatar
Rebecca
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Volunteering with Otra Cosa - HELP English

I chose Otra Cosa because from speaking to a former volunteer, the website, and speaking to the office, I felt as though this was an NGO which makes a real and positive impact on the community. I spent two months volunteering with Otra Cosa and I believe this is the case. There are opportunities to get involved with many different projects. I taught English in two primary schools, I helped run environmental awareness workshops for children, I visited the skate ramp and more.

Huanchaco is a fun and safe town, and a great place to immerse yourself in Peruvian life. I made friends with other volunteers (international and local) and other locals, which really helped to have a fab time in Huanchaco. Otra Cosa help you find accomodation, I loved staying with a family, as they helped me to improve my Spanish, and I got to experience their way of life.

Huanchaco is also a great base to explore the north of Peru, especially some small places that you might not otherwise visit. I went on weekend trips with other volunteers to some beautiful towns and cities in the north.

43 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Kara
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A great place to immerse yourself into Peruvian culture

I started volunteering with Otra Cosa in 2014. I had just graduated college and was looking for international experience. I worked in a school with the blind and students with autism. There is a strong need for special education in Peru. The school I worked at is the only one in the city who works with special needs.

I had an amazing experience! OCN is the best organization around. It's set in a surfer town with not much to do, but you will learn to love Huanchaco for what it is. I had supportive staff and met tons of new friends. I loved the school I worked at because I learned what I wanted to do with my life by working there. I enjoyed my experience so much that I returned a year after to work at the same exact school with OCN again! I even got to be in the same classroom with my head teacher.

The managers at OCN are amazing people. Juany, Peter, Jenny, Amy and Beata are some of the most kind hearted and dedicated individuals I have ever met! Huanchaco is lucky to have them as a team! If you decide to join OCN, you will NOT regret it.

53 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Nils
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Skate and create in Peru

Had an awesome time volunteering with Otra Cosa in Peru. I was working in their skate project which gives the children living in a poor shantytown an opportunity to play and enjoy themselves after school. Dope program, the coolest kids and there is skating as well. What could be better? ;)
I was able to greatly influence the direction in which the project was going and I feel like i was able to bring it forward a lot. In contrast to other volunteer work I had been doing in the past, I feel like my work actually had an impact and changed something. So, all in all pretty dope!

47 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Sian
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great experience!

I volunteered with Otra Cosa for two months in 2015. Otra Cosa`s work and programmes are participatory which meant I was working with the community who help decide the nature organisation`s work, not something you often find with volunteering overseas. It was great because it meant that from day one we warmly welcome and felt part of the community and it immediately felt like home. I met some of the most amazing, open minded and welcoming people. The Otra Cosa Network`s support base was invaluable to my experience in Huanchaco, made up a group of group of friendly volunteers and staff, it meant there was always someone to could talk to about anything, no matter how silly. As cheesy as it sounds I made lifelong friends and I will definitely be going back to visit them!

44 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Sacha
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Marketing Coordinator volunteer

I spent nearly three months working for Otra Cosa as a Marketing Coordinator. I helped in promoting the Otra Cosa's work among its community and in recruiting news supporters. In such a structure, you can be sure every initiative you take will bring the ship further. Everyone's dedication is the key to go forward. You really feel part of a something. And besides doing something I thought truly useful, it helped me improve my professional skills as community management or English and Spanish speaking.
I think volunteering for Otra Cosa is the best way to have a concrete and positive impact for people who need it and take a break from our european/western way of life...

52 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Haley
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My time in Huanchaco

My time volunteering for Otra Cosa has been an invaluable experience. I've been here in Huanchaco for a little over two months now. The town itself is fairly small, but has everything you need and is situated right on the coast of northern Peru. The beach is a 5 minute walk from my house. I live in the organization's volunteer house (there are also homestay and apartment options) with three other volunteers and our three staff members. I volunteer in the office part of the week, and the other part teach English at a primary school. The office has been a great experience-I get to see what it takes to run a non-profit and get to know a little bit more about all the projects the organization runs. I have to say though, teaching English has been my favorite part about my time here. I teach in a shanty town right outside the town (about a 5 minute bus ride away). The school is very simple-classrooms, a central concrete area where the kids have recess, and bathrooms. The kids have so much personality and love having English teachers there. They are so curious and hilarious. What a rewarding experience.

What would you improve about this program?
My only recommendation for volunteers coming here is to learn some Spanish first!
49 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Frida
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Volunteering with Otra Cosa

I spent five months working mostly at the Casita de Madera in Villa de los Angeles just outside Huanchaco.
It was truly a life experience to be part of the daily life in such a non-developed society. I did really enjoy my time over there, but it would be like lying to say that everything functioned smoothly. You have to be prepared that this is Peru, not an industrialised well-functioning country. Some days non of your fellow staff members will show up, some days the kids wont attend school and sometimes you just don't have much to do.

But you can be sure that even if it might not feel like you are doing very much, the kids -and their parents- love just the fact that you are there playing with them, caring for them and spending your time at their kinder-garden, I felt really welcomed and the people in the village always had s smile on their face and some nice words the say to you.

It is really good to know Spanish, the more you know the more integrated you will get into your work. But you dont have to be fluent, the youngest kids dont care wether you speak spanish or not, just play with them and both you and them will have a good time! Another tips is to be creative, the resources are quite few but the staff are willing to improve the project so don't hesitate to ask questions and come with solutions or activity ideas etc.

If you want a really nice experience of working with amazing children and doing a difference in a quite poor community in south america, i would definitely think about working with Otra Cosa, you get the most out of Peru if you see the 'non turistic' spots as well, at the same time as you live in Huanchaco which is a wonderful little city right on the beach famous for its surfers, fresh fish for almuerzo and a touch of Chimu culture. A nice combination of being a volunteer and having vacation!

What would you improve about this program?
Peru is Peru, be open-minded, things will not always work as it was supposed to, and you might not feel all that useful all the time, but you are. I believe that it means a lot to the kids that you are there with them.
43 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story
Default avatar
Mary
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

experiences working otra cosa

I really enjoyed working for otra cosa. I worked in a town where the children had no running water or electricity. I found this experience to be really enriching to my life. I would assist the teacher with Pre-k students along with helping them with crafts. The children become very attached which brought me great joy. I would reccommend working with Otra Cosa.

45 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers