Peru
Overview
Peru is a fascinating country, full of contrasts to explore. Modern cities are etched with traces of their colonial past and small, remote communities dot breath-taking mountain regions. Incan marvels, diverse climates, remote villages and modern cities all mix to create a beautiful and engaging destination to visit.
Urubamba
The town of Urubamba is situated next to the voluminous Rio Urubamba in the heart of the sacred valley. This peaceful and intriguing town is surrounded by both historic ruins and snowcapped Andean peaks. Nearly 18,000 people call Urubamba home and it serves as a central point and major market for the area. Urubamba offers several comfortable amenities such as hot water, electricity, restaurants, bars, and cafes that make it feel more city-like than the smaller neighboring communities.
Cusco
Cusco is the archaeological capital of the Americas and the oldest continuously inhabited city in South America. Its legacy as the seat of the Inca Empire is readily apparent. Many of the city streets are lined with original stone walls and crowded with Quechua-speaking descendants of the Incas.
The word Cusco is the Spanish spelling of the Quechua word Qosqo. According to Inca mythology, when Manco Capac, the first Inca emperor saw the lush Sacred Valley, he struck a staff into the ground and declared the spot Qosqo which means "navel of the universe."
Social and Development Issues
Over one third of Peru's 30 million people live in poverty, making it one of the poorest countries in South America. Peru faces many troubling social and economic challenges including high underemployment and movement to already over-crowded urban centers. These conditions lead to poverty for many Peruvians, and make it difficult for the country to provide its citizens with basic health care, education, sanitation, and other social services.
Projects
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Volunteer Abroad
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Stop the Cycle of Poverty and AbuseDescription and Impact Street orphans of Cusco and young girls from neglectful or abusive domestic environments lack basic necessities: food, lodging and education. They need a...
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Help blind, deaf, and physically challenged kidsDescription and Impact Because their needs can be both great and varied, children with disabilities are often neglected the care and education they deserve. What is the...
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Description and Impact Climate change, global warming, the greenhouse effect, waning resources- all of these problems are becoming more real every day. Our future is unsure, and...
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Description and Impact In the poorest neighborhoods of Cusco, quality education is hard to come by. Schools are overcrowded, resources are spread thin and the shortage of staff...
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Run academic and enrichment programsDescription and Impact Child labor is a hard reality in Cusco. In an impoverished family where every Sol counts, sending kids out onto the streets to sell candy, puppets, or...
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Description and Impact Encompassing a section of the famous Amazon Rainforest, the Madre de Dios region of Tambopata Peru is an internationally recognized biodiversity hotspot,...
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Read Stories and Play Games with Kids at the LibraryOverall literacy in Peru has dramatically increased in the last 20 years; but, at 82%, it is still second to last of all South American countries. Children in poor areas lag...
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Description and Impact Because their needs can be both great and varied, children and adults with special needs are often neglected the care and education they deserve. What...
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Description and Impact The Peruvian elderly often find themselves out of luck and with nowhere to go. Some have been abandoned by their families, while others have lived their...
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Experience Community-Guided HealthcareDescription and Impact Meet local health care professionals. Learn basic Spanish medical terminology. See how a holistic healthcare system works in the rural areas...
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Give the Gift of Clean WaterDescription and Impact Every year, diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water are responsible for roughly 1.8 million deaths around the world. Most of these are young...
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Build and Install Cleaner-Burning Stoves for Families in PeruDescription and Impact Indoor air pollution is now the fourth largest health risk facing the developing world today. Smoke from primitive indoor stoves kills 1.9 million people...
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Build and Install Cleaner-Burning Stoves for Families in PeruDescription and Impact Indoor air pollution is now the fourth largest health risk facing the developing world today. Smoke from primitive indoor stoves kills 1.9 million people...
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Give the Gift of Clean WaterDescription and Impact Every year, diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water are responsible for roughly 1.8 million deaths around the world. Most of these are young children...
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Description and Impact Although Peru has seen significant economic growth in the 21st century, this progress has yet to translate into a great reduction in poverty. In the Sacred...
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Cleaner homes make healthier communitiesSimple changes in hygiene habits can make significant improvements in the health of rural Peruvian families. In the villages surrounding Urubamba, most adults never finished high...
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Support animal rescue and restoration in Peru’s biodiversity hotspotPeru’s rich population of animals is fascinating, but capturing them and keeping them in confined environments is not only abusive, it’s creating endangered species....
Intern Abroad
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Use your Spanish skills and your statistics programming experience (like SPSS) to improve development work around the worldThis project creates and evaluates ideas that make development work in Peru effective. Analyzing the projects microfinance organizations have begun, in Cusco they focus on...
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Cargadores Carry upwards of 250 lbs of Goods and Merchandise Around the City. Help Make Their Load a Little LighterDescription and Impact With the vast rise in migration from rural areas of Peru to Cusco over the last three decades, the city has seen a significant increase in the number of...
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Help People in Villages Around Cusco Feel BetterDescription and Impact Although the Peruvian government provides health insurance to all citizens with formal employment, this accounts only roughly a quarter of the population....
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Description and Impact Although traditional Andean weaving has been around since pre-Columbian times, it is now at risk of disappearing completely. As the younger generation...
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Experience the past and present of the Andes as you chronicle it for the futureDescription and Impact Although their culture and rich and storied, indigenous Peruvians are some of the poorest and most disenfranchised members of society. To many, the only...
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Description and Impact The Peruvian elderly often find themselves out of luck and with nowhere to go. Some have been abandoned by their families, while others have lived their...
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Journey into the Heart of the AmazonExplore the mythic Amazon rainforest while you help catalogue and preserve the rich wildlife that calls it home. The rate of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest...
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Make a difference in the lives of those most likely to be forgotten Without family or community support, Cusco’s disabled people lack access to care and physical...
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Cleaner homes make healthier communitiesSimple changes in hygiene habits can make significant improvements in the health of rural Peruvian families. In the villages surrounding Cusco and Urubamba, most adults never...
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Public health students support project developmentMaking public health a priority is critical for communities in rural Peru. Simple changes in health and hygiene habits can make significant improvements. In the villages...
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Raise awareness about the exploitation of child workers in CuscoWhen young girls from rural families move to Cusco to find work, they are vulnerable to exploitation. Without fair wages for their labor or a chance at an education, this...
Study Abroad
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ProWorld Summer Abroad students will study at the Centro Bartolomé de Las Casas (CBC) or Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (USIL), depending on your level of Spanish...
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ProWorld Semester Abroad students will study at the Centro Bartolomé de Las Casas or Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, depending on your level of Spanish fluency. The...
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ProWorld Semester Abroad students will study at the Centro Bartolomé de Las Casas or Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, depending on level of Spanish fluency. The...
Available Programs
Country Snapshot
Spanish and Quechua
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Clarence C Peru - UrubambaArriving in Cusco was jaw dropping. While yes, the food and the local sights are absolutely breathtaking; to me the people are more important to my cultural journey.