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| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
On this page you can find the answers to many frequently asked questions. Please check here before emailing us with your queries as we are trying to cut down on administration time. If you want to volunteer with us please see the "Volunteer Programs" page for details of the application process and if you want to donate, please see the "Donations" page |
| Q.How much does it cost to volunteer with Traveller Not Tourist? |
A. If you stay in the volunteer flats there is no charge for volunteering. Accommodation in one of our 2 centrally located, modern flats costs $170 per month. We also require a returnable deposit of $170 which will be refunded to you when you leave (as long as nothing has been broken or lost) If you do not stay in one of the volunteer flats, there is an administration charge of $50 per month. We can arrange accommodation in a nice, centrally located hostal for you. |
| Q.How much do volunteers normally spend? |
A. Obviously this depends on the person and what you do but here are some prices to give you an idea... Accommodation in the Traveller Not Tourist volunteer flats costs $170 per person per month (we also require a returnable deposit of $170 per person which will be refunded to you when you leave provided there are no problems with your room/flat). The rent includes gas, electricity and water but not food. Accommodation in the hostal we work with costs $185 per month per person and includes internet use. Food is not provided but fear not - Arequipa has a range of restaurants to suit all budgets and tastes (including vegetarians). The volunteer flats both have fully equipped kitchens so you can also cook for yourself. At lunchtimes you can get a set menu (bread, soup, drink, main and dessert) from 2 or 3 soles, a falafel wrap will cost you 5.50 and a meal from the menu from 5 upwards. Internet costs from 80 cents per hour. Many machines have Skype (a cheap way of calling home using the internet - see www.skype.com). Photocopying and printing are normally between 10 and 50 cents per page for black and white. Fun is obviously important when you are working hard. A beer costs 5 soles for a small one, a rum and coke is 7 soles (although lots of places have Happy Hour). Go Karting costs 10 soles for 20 laps (roughly 3 minutes per ticket). The cinema costs about 10 soles and they have films in English (with Spanish subtitles) Transport is very cheap. You can get a bus anywhere within the city for 60 cents and a taxi within the centre for 2.50. To get to either of the project sites and back you will spend 1.20 soles per day (we normally use buses) Cigarettes cost 1 sol for 5 if you get Hamilton, a bit more for other brands. Tours vary in price depending on the length and costs included. See our "Book Tours" page for more information. To see the prices above in your own currency, go to www.xe.com. All prices above are in the local currency Nuevos Soles. |
| Q.Can I use US dollars? |
A.You can spend dollars in some places, but not many. There are a lot of places where you can exchange dollars for soles, the best money exchange places are in Calle Jerusalen. Please pay for Traveller Not Tourist accommodation and tours with soles. Please note that the value of the US dollar is fluctuating a lot at the moment, therefore we have fixed our exchange rate at 3.15 soles to the dollar. |
| Q.How much should I donate? |
A.Donations are completely voluntary and we don't expect anything but if you do decide to do some fundraising, the main idea is to get as much as you can! Unfortunately it is difficult to plan what to do before you get here as it depends on what people who come before do, the volunteers, skills and resources we have at the time etc We prefer volunteers to come and see what the current situation is like before deciding on a mini project or items to buy for the project they are working with. We also have lots of great ideas of things we would love to do but just don't have the money for. Below are some prices to give you an idea of what you can do with your money over here. Peru 1 nuevo sol = US 0.34 = Euro 0.24 = GBP 0.17 = Australian 0.38 = Canadian 0.34 (Rates from Feb 2008. Check www.xe.com for up to date exchange rates) Bread rolls = 6 for 1 sol |
| Q.What will I be doing? |
A.The work depends a lot on the individual volunteer, their skills and resources as well as the project they are placed in. We will take your preferences into account but we have to place volunteers where they are most needed and their skills are most appropriate as our main priority is the children. You will be placed on arrival. Work at Chachani mainly involves teaching the children English and playing games with them although you can also teach them arts and crafts, music, dance, drama, other languages etc. Work at the orphanage involves the same plus some domestic tasks to relieve the local volunteers who are there 24 hours a day. For more information on projects please see the "Our Projects" page |
| Q.What are Mini Pojects? |
A.Most of our volunteers work at one of our projects (eg Casa Hogar Luz Alba Orphanage or Chachani Community Project), a few may work in the office. Whichever project you are working with, we encourage our volunteers to devise and execute their own mini projects. These are projects which are run by volunteers (either one individual or a group who have pooled their skills and resources) and can involve a wide variety of things. We encourage our volunteers to do their own mini projects as we feel it is a way in which they can use their own skills, support networks, resources, creativity etc to best benefit the people we work with. It also means that the volunteers leave with a special sense of achievement. This is by no means compulsory but we are here to support you if you do choose to do one. To help illustrate the idea better, here are some things our volunteers have done in the past: Melissa, Post Cards Isael, Books Pat, Dental Campaign Louisa, Murals Angela, English Curriculum Nienke and Joris, Speech Therapy So, as you can see, the projects don't have to be wildly expensive or time consuming. Just what you feel you can give in the time you have. Obviously it is great to have ideas before you get here but as things change so much we prefer that you wait until you get here and have seen the projects before you decide what you would like to do and then discuss it with us to ensure that there are no cultural or logistical problems. |
| Q.Can you provide me with accommodation and food for free? |
A.We are unable to provide free food or accommodation for anybody. All our resources go into the projects. |
| Q.What should I bring? |
A.Essential items are:
If you want to, you can bring games, books, toys etc for the children but it is often more cost effective to buy items here. Some of the bilingual (English and Spanish) books from other countries are really good though so if you find them and don't mind carrying them, do bring them along. Some people like to bring something typical (or photos) from their country to share with the children. |
| Q.What will the weather be like? |
A.It is rainy season from December to March and Dry season from March to December. During the rainy season it normally only rains a bit in the afternoons. It can get cold enough for a thick jumper at night all year round. The sun in the day is very strong during both seasons and you have to be careful of sunburn and sunstroke. |
| Q.Is there a required level of Spanish? |
A.No, I have seen volunteers do a great job with very little Spanish (lots of pointing and body language though!) We believe that volunteers will get more out of the experience the more Spanish they can speak so we recommend learning as much as possible beforehand and offer Spanish lessons for volunteers so they can improve while they are here but these are completely optional. |
| Q.Do I need a visa? |
A.If you are coming from a country which is not in the Andean Community (Bolivia, Chile etc) you will need a visa. Normally you will be given a form to fill out on the aeroplane or on the border if you enter by land. This usually gives you the option to stay for up to 3 months although you do need to specify this and check it when you get your visa. If you are planning to stay for more than 3 months, please contact us. We regret that we cannot provide sponsorship or assurances for those who need it, the majority of people will not. |
| Q.Is there a minimum and maximum volunteer period? |
A.No. Ideally we prefer our volunteers to stay one month but it is also possible to volunteer for just a few hours or for much longer (depending on the situation at the time). If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity, please see the "Volunteer programs" page which has details of how to apply. |
| Q.Can I get references from past volunteers? |
A.Yes, the best way of doing this is to join our facebook group. It is easy and free and when you have been accepted as a member you can send messages to other members, see and share photos, take part in discussions and see all the latest news. Please follow the instructions below to join: 1) Click on this link to go to the facebook website 2) If you are already a member, sign in using the boxes to the left hand side of the page. If you are not a member, create a free account by clicking on the button marked "sign up" on the right hand side of the page, then sign in. 3) When you are signed in, write "Traveller Not Tourist" in the box that says "Search" on the left hand side of the page. 4) Our group should be at the top of the list, you should recognise the logo from the website. Click "Join group" on the right hand side and as soon as you are confirmed, you can start sending messages, looking at photos, reading our news etc |
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Two of our volunteers, Jen and Chris White, giving lessons at our community project site. They say "We had such a great experience! Working with the children was wonderful. We will recommend this program to everyone we know". To find out how you can volunteer with us go to the "Volunteer Programs" page
With the help of Pa'Enrique Horse Tours and AST Transportes Turisticos we took about 45 children horse riding in June. See the "Events" page to find out more. You can also book your horseriding tours through us and a percentage of the price will go to finance our project work, go to "Book Tours " to find out more and book your tour.
Holidays and special occasions are always a good time to be volunteering with us, not only do you get to do lots of fun stuff with the children, us volunteers also tend to celebrate, well, anything there is to celebrate! The pumpkin above served not only as a great halloween decoration but also to help the children learn the English words for facial features. If you would like to help these children to continue learning please go to our "Donations" page. |
