GuidesVolunteer guide
How to make the most of your volunteering experience
First time volunteering abroad? Tips on packing, pace, language and making Huanchaco feel like home, from people who’ve done it.
Being a volunteer is always a unique experience. Why? Because your experience is what you create: what you make of your opportunities. You are responsible for having a great, enriching and life-changing time as a volunteer.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the options in the world of volunteering, or this is the first time you’re visiting a developing country on your own, here are some tips on how to make the most of your experience, and some insights into volunteer life at OCN.
Before you go
Pack light. Almost every volunteer says the same thing: they brought too much. A smaller bag makes weekend trips around Peru far easier, and anything you forget you can find in Huanchaco or nearby Trujillo.
Start your Spanish early. Spanish isn’t required for every role, but even a little goes a long way with the children and families we work with. We can arrange lessons with local teachers, online before you arrive or in person during your stay.
Ask us anything. From bus companies to safety, our team has answered it before. Nothing is too small to email about.
“Your experience is what you create: what you make of your opportunities.”
When you arrive
You’ll be met on arrival and given a walking tour of Huanchaco and a thorough introduction to OCN, so you’re never figuring things out alone. Take the first week to listen and observe: get to know the children, the coordinators and the rhythm of the projects before you try to change anything.
Settling into the work
Stay open-minded and patient. Living and working in a different culture can feel overwhelming at first. Patience turns that into something life-changing.
Be flexible. Plans change from day to day. Workshops move, events pop up and the best volunteers roll with it.
Bring your ideas. OCN is small, so good ideas travel fast. Many of our projects were started by volunteers who spotted a need.
Try more than one thing. If your schedule allows, help out on another programme for a morning. It’s the best way to understand how everything fits together.
Make Huanchaco home
Huanchaco is a World Surfing Reserve with waves all year round, fishermen still heading out on their caballitos de totora reed boats, and sunsets worth stopping for every evening. Learn to surf, eat ceviche, papa rellena and picarones, and say yes when someone suggests a game night or a volunteer lunch.
At weekends, explore: Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America, is on the doorstep, the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna are close by, and further afield the Cordillera Blanca around Huaraz is one of the most spectacular mountain ranges on the continent.
Last of all
Look after yourself, keep in touch with home, and remember why you came. The children you work with will remember your energy and kindness long after you’ve left, and you’ll take a little bit of Huanchaco home with you too.
