Before you arrive
- Volunteer Placement: Placement in an appropriate project(s) having considered your skills, experience, motivation and wishes. Our task is to find a good fit between you and the projects to help ensure that the project gets good added value help from you and you get satisfaction and a good development experience from being here.
- Manage Communications: facilitate all the communications between the prospective volunteers, Otra Cosa Network and local projects throughout the application procedure. Swift and up to date responses to all inquiries on volunteering & traveling & living in Peru by prospective volunteers before arrival.
- Arrange Accommodation at local good value locations, including choice of Volunteer House and local family homestays.
- Offer Travel info. between Lima and Trujillo including info on reliable & safe hostel and pick-up services in Lima by Casa Ana. See our downloadable details on travel info/advice, once you have registered to volunteer with us.
- Taxi Pick-up Arrangement: arrange safe & reliable taxi pick-up from Trujillo to your accommodation upon arrival for 24/7 (payment directly to the driver). Please make sure to use our pick-up service for security reason.
After Your Arrival
- Meet & greet. Whenever possible (not always possible late at night / very early morning etc.) a member of our team will meet you on arrival in Huanchaco to check you’re fine in your accommodation, address any immediate problems, give some initial orientation and confirm time of your full Induction, normally same or next working day.
- Induction & registration: usually takes place on arrival day or on following working day
1. Manager or team member from your accommodation will take you or direct you (if easy to find and you’re confident) to our office on induction day. (FYI, our address is Las Camelias 431, Huanchaco.)
2. Socio-cultural orientation - what is it really like here in Peru and advice to help you make the best of your stay
3. Volunteer Registration on our database
4. Presentation on Otra Cosa Network and its network projects all over the Peru
5. Offer OCN T-shirt (free!), map of Huanchaco and Info Pack (now available electronically)
6. Walking tour of Huanchaco – visit our local partner projects and show around Huanchaco
7. Guide on Health & Safety Issues
8. Schedule time and place to meet to take you to your projects on their first day of work (usually following working day after the induction)
- Accompany to local projects on first day of work. Where your volunteers placement is located in Huanchaco/Trujillo and the surrounding areas: an OCN team member will take you to your project on your first working day, introduce you to key people there, and your working hours, schedule & main duties will be confirmed. Just don’t expect this to be as formal and rigorous as in the Western world and try to be flexible as duties and priorities can change almost daily!
- Arrange travel to distant projects. Where the project is in other provinces, we assist volunteers to get their bus tickets. We also offer them additional travel info to their project, and we inform our contact person at the projects to meet them upon their arrival at the town/project.
- Arrange Spanish Classes with our partner local Spanish teachers upon request
- Arrange free Intercambio (language exchange) with local people (upon request)
During your stay
- Facilitate communications between the project and the volunteers throughout their stay as necessary
- Mentoring, offering guidance to volunteers during office hours. Best to make an appointment to be sure we’re there.
- Organize volunteer Activities: volunteer lunch/ project tour in Trujillo and surrounding area (just pay actual local costs)
- Weekly newsletter: announcement on volunteer activities as well as useful info on Local Events & Travel
- Assistance in case of emergency Available 24/7 in emergency e.g. accompany to the hospital/clinic in case of medical emergency, and also get in touch with emergency contacts of volunteers in their home countries, etc)
- Offer Travel guidance in Huanchaco/Trujillo area and other places in Peru
When you leave
- Volunteer/ Accommodation Evaluations: we kindly ask all our leaving volunteers to fill in these forms, so that we can learn from their experiences and improve our services
- Keep in touch: you can join our mailing list, become a Friend of Otra Cosa and follow us on Facebook and Twitter
What we expect from our volunteers
- Flexibility & adaptability, open minded & patience!
- Pro-active & positive attitude
- Respect to local culture & local staff & fellow volunteers
- Commitment to their projects and working hours
- Be communicative – please keep us updated on your volunteer work and life during your stay with us. You can email us, call us, or visit us during the office hour (Mon – Fri from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm with appointments) to discuss these issues.
- Active participation in Volunteer Activities (i.e. volunteer lunch and project tour, etc), Evaluations and online social networks (i.e. facebook)
- Please share your special and unique volunteer experience with fellow volunteers and friends of Otra Cosa Network – send us your pictures and your stories for our Facebook photo albums and blog!
