Volunteering in Schools in Peru & Guatemala

Workaway! The main site I used for finding projects, another great website is WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms). Please leave any others you know of in the comments…

I had an opportunity to spend 3 weeks in the Amazon of Peru in the main city of Iquitos and connected with a beautiful NGO that I could support by volunteering in my free time. An after-school program called Casa Ainbo, thought-child of a group of women determined to support local communities in a state of poor education. They recognised that poverty was being driven by a lack of education & opportunity, so they created a project to change this. Working with children from 5-18, classes range from maths, science, art, english lessons & language exchanges, as well as weekend activities like a morning breakfast group which is entirely funded by volunteers & donations to ensure the children have a nutritious start to their weekend!

Bertha, founder of the project, & Karin (workaway contact) connected me with the school. You can read more about Bertha’s incredible projects here, which she puts a lot of love and dedication into: Annual Report 2024

Or take a look at their website: https://www.imfundokahle.org/

My time was spent supporting Erika (the main on-the-ground organiser, alongside her family, friends & other ex-students that volunteer there). All the team were so kind, welcoming and friendly and the children were too and so happy working and playing with the many changing volunteers. Having only started Spanish lessons whilst travelling, I could no way call myself fluent - intermediate at a push! So my Spanish was really tested! But by taking the time to learn before going, it supported my ability to connect with more ease with the children and organisers. They were very open to me sharing my own skills and ideas for activities which meant I was granted the responsibility to manage my own classes, an invaluable opportunity I’m very grateful for. I held a yoga & breathwork class for the children, art classes & a presentation about anaemia to share preventative information for the parents & children.

Anaemia is a major public health challenge in the Peruvian Amazon, especially for young children, with rates often exceeding 50%, driven by poverty, poor nutrition (iron deficiency), infections (malaria, parasites like hookworm), contaminated water, and potential lead exposure from mining, as well as obesity.

If you would like to donate to support the incredible school project, you can do so here.

Or by getting involved and volunteering yourself!

Maveli, Renzo, Erika & the rest of the team with a smile and joy the hard work they put into the school doesn’t go unnoticed, it’s invaluable! Erika’s family are very special too and even though I didn’t stay with them they always welcomed me for dinners and celebrations together, they are all so dedicated to this amazing project and it just wouldn’t be the same without their beautiful caring hearts, mucho amor y muchas gracias por todo xxx

I also had the opportunity to share an Anaemia Prevention presentation at a local Spanish school in San Pedro, Guatemala.

Corazon Maya are a school that offer Spanish lessons to students from all over the world. They are family-run & offer homestays as well as numerous cultural activities to experience during your time studying!

We learnt to make Tamal’s

As well as visit a local Cacao farm which you can read more about in my other article or visit my videos on social media

Corazon Maya have an ongoing project in their local community to support low-income mothers and their daughters with funding education & other costs of living. This is all entirely organised by the family directly as they felt moved to create change from their own passion & motivation, you can read more about the school and project here.

Guatemala is another country where anaemia is a major public health problem, particularly among young children and women, driven primarily by micronutrient deficiencies (iron and zinc), poverty, and food insecurity. The prevalence is notably higher in rural and indigenous populations compared to urban areas. 

So I offered to share my presentation with some of the mothers and children through the school. I gave information about anaemia, it’s characteristics & signs to look for in children, preventative ideas with recipes, foods, herbs & spices that could be incorporated into their diets to support zinc & iron levels.

An invaluable sharing came from one of the organisers at the end. She appreciated the ideas, like foraging for local plants high in iron, which would be easy and accessible for most of them. However, a big reflection pointed out was that there were foods that I’d recommended that were just simply out of these women’s budgets, they couldn’t afford for their daughters to go to school let alone buy fish!

As a recent graduate and first time visitor to Central & South America, the poverty I am witnessing for some families in the rural places I visit is prevalent (although quality of life can be upheld in other cultural & community aspects, such as deep connection with heritage - but indigenous rights continue to be under threat due to poor policy management & discrimination).

My heart is called to share and support wherever I can, by giving back to the lands and its inhabitants for all they are sharing with me! But my idea of accessibility, my life & world background is so very different to those I want to support. These stories are serving as a reminder to continually check our state of privilege, and use what we can to learn to create a more harmonious world.

This starts with listening to the locals & the indigenous.

Breaking down our assumptions & preconditioning, to connect deeply (through language & cultural exchange) & use the harder lessons of life to inspire.

I am currently learning about permaculture, seed saving & sharing, effective water & waste management systems etc. The answers I feel are a response to the Earth and the people’s needs. Geoff Lawton’s course is inspiring so much…

I will be volunteering at some organic farms in Central America to further develop this knowledge, and I look forward to sharing more about it from my next journey updates (sign up to my newsletter for this!).

I am excited by what life has to share when we listen with respect and awareness, I am continually seeing through new eyes and know that this journey will be leading me to some valuable work to bring to the world in the future. For now, I will keep listening and learning, forever as a student to life.

Thank you for taking the time to read and coming on this journey with me.

Wishing you the best in heart & health,

Oceana x