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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. Click on the question below to see the answer
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| Q.How much does it cost to volunteer with Traveller Not Tourist? |
A. We charge a one-off Administration Fee of $60 for a volunteer period of 2 weeks or more. This is used to pay fair wages to the Administration staff. Alternatively, we offer a "Volunteer for a Day" programme which costs $15 for the first day and $10 for each subsequent day (and includes transport, food, water and a t-shirt when you leave). Please see our Volunteer Programs page for more information on both options |
| 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... (Optional) Accommodation in the Traveller Not Tourist volunteer flats costs $200 per person per month (we also require a returnable deposit of $60 per person which will be refunded to you when you leave provided there are no problems with your room/flat). Please note that, if you book in advance, the booking fee is NON returnable. The rent includes gas, electricity and water but not food. (Optional) Spanish lessons, which we provide, cost $7 per hour and are normally one-to-one. These are arranged on arrival. Food is not provided but fear not - Arequipa has a range of restaurants to suit all budgets and tastes (including vegetarians and vegans). The volunteer flats all 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 5 soles, a falafel wrap will cost you 6.80 soles and a meal from the menu from 7 soles upwards. Internet costs from 1 sol 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 30 and 70 centavos per page for black and white. Fun is obviously important when you are working hard. A beer costs 7 soles for a small one, a rum and coke is 9 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 15 soles and they generally show at least some films in English (with Spanish subtitles) Transport is very cheap. You can get a bus anywhere within the city for 70 centavos and a taxi within the centre for 3.00 soles. To get to either of the project sites and back you will spend 1.40 soles per day (we normally use buses) Cigarettes cost 1.20 soles for a pack of 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 convert the prices above into your own currency, go to www.xe.com. All prices above are in the local currency Nuevos Soles or US dollars (as stated). |
| Q.Can I use US dollars in Peru? |
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 to avoid losing urgently needed money. |
| 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 0.33 = Euro 0.25 = GBP 0.22 = Australian 0.45 = Canadian 0.39 (Rates from April 2009. Check www.xe.com for up to date exchange rates) Bread rolls = 6 for 1 sol |
| Q.What will I be doing if I volunteer? |
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. Teaching at Flora Tristan (School) involves preparing English lessons and different types of games and then teaching the lessons and playing the games with the children. You can also teach arts and crafts, music, dance, drama, other languages etc. Work at the Casa Hogar (Orphanage) involves helping with the day-to-day running of the orphanage, this includes tasks such as cleaning, cooking, ironing, washing clothes, helping the children with their homework and general care. You can also teach the children English, arts, crafts, music, dance, drama etc and play all sorts of games with them. Construction at Flora Tristan (School) involves building and decorating. For more information on projects please see the "Our Projects" page |
| Q.What are "Mini Projects"? |
A.Most of our volunteers work at one of our projects - Casa Hogar Luz Alba Orphanage or Flora Tristan School (teaching or construction), 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 with me? |
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, sunstroke and dehydration. |
| 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 (90 days) 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.We offer 2 types of volunteer program: If you take part in the "Volunteer for a Day" program (working in construction at Flora Tristan School), the minimum volunteer period is one day (9am to 6:30pm). There is no maximum volunteer period but you may prefer to register as a long term volunteer if you are staying for 2 weeks or more. This program costs $15 for the first day and $10 per day for subsequent days. Food, transport to and from the project site, water and a t-shirt when you leave are all included in this price. The minimum volunteer period for long term volunteers is 2 weeks (for teaching or construction at Flora Tristan School) and 1 month (for working at the Orphanage) and there is no maximum volunteer period. No matter how long you stay, we charge just $60 Administration fee for the entire period. If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity, please see the "Volunteer programs" page which also 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 I do not want to put email addresses on this website as I think this compromises the privacy of volunteers and may lead to more junk mail for them as well as genuine emails from potential volunteers. There are, however, a few volunteers who have offered to act as referees for us. If you would rather not go through the Facebook group, you can find their profiles on Facebook by doing a simple search using their names and send them a private message to ask them what they REALLY think :-) These volunteers are; Phil Gomizel, Samantha Tonkin and William Kwan. We hope to add more volunteers to this list and keep the list updated so that you can always message someone who has been in Arequipa recently and get the latest gossip!
You can also see what our current volunteers are up to on our volunteer Twitter and Flickr sites. |
| Q.Will I be safe? |
A.Arequipa is a big city and, just like other big cities, has some areas which are less safe than others. The safety and security of our volunteers is of the utmost importance to us and is a consideration in any activity we undertake or offer to our volunteers. The volunteer house (Chasqui Wasi) is very secure. Of course volunteers are partly responsible for security in that they must close doors and windows which they open and must not bring strangers back to the house. We are very careful who we employ and invite into the house - the cleaner is the brother of a friend as has been working with us for several years.. The projects have been developed with the safety and security of volunteers in mind at all times. We have written an information sheet which includes safety and security information. Click here to download it. We encourage our volunteers to spend their social time together (by organising regular events) so that they are never alone. Obviously we cannot guarantee anyone's safety but we are sure that, as long as our volunteers exercise appropriate caution and follow our advice, they will have a safe and enjoyable stay in Arequipa. |
| Q.Can I send things through the post? |
A.Unfortunately we cannot accept any kind of donation through the post. We have tried in the past but the customs fees we were charged to collect the package actually cost more than buying the entire contents of the package ourselves! If you have items you would like to donate you can bring them with you if you are coming to volunteer with us or, if you are not, you could always have a sale and send us the proceeds. Of course, it is never a good idea to send money through the post but since we do now accept credit and debit card payments via our paypal account, you don't need to!. Click here to go to our Donations Page. |
| Q.Can I fundraise using JustGiving? |
A.JustGiving is a website which allows you to publish your fundraising event and collect funds. We are not registered on JustGiving, and do not plan to be, as they charge £15 (UK) per month plus a 5% fee. We try to minimise costs wherever possible to keep the Admin fee we charge our volunteers as low as possible and to avoid taking any money from donations for Administrative purposes. If you are doing a sponsored event, you can ask the people sponsoring you to give the money to you so that you can bring it with you (if you are coming to volunteer with us), this way you can use the money for a specific project or to buy a specific item when you come (see"mini projects") Alternatively, you could ask sponsors or donators to send the money directly to us using the paypal facility on this website - Click here to go to our Donations Page.
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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.
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. |
