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Financial Aid
The UVa Program in
Perú of Volunteering and Internship Opportunities offers
volunteering and internship opportunities for
students who are
interested in getting involved in social and humanitarian work, or have
other
extra-curricular interests in Perú. We aim to provide
opportunities for our
students to engage in volunteer work which will also afford them a
learning
experience away from the classroom and in direct contact with different
sectors
of the Peruvian population.
Although the possibilities for volunteer work vary according to the length of time the student will be in Perú, i.e. Term Session or Summer Session, we can provide, and have provided in the past, opportunities in four general areas: education, health and medical aid, social work, and environmental protection and education. In previous years, our students have been involved in various interesting and personally fulfilling projects, including cleaning, fixing, painting and pl  anting
trees
in
a
low-income
school
in
Lima, collaborating with a music school in rural
areas
outside Lima, providing assistance to the elderly, teaching children
rescued
from domestic violence, and helping English language teachers at local
schools.
Other students have worked in NGOs dedicated to the protection of the
environment, helping raise environmental consciousness in poorer areas
of Lima.
Former UVa Program students have also worked as volunteers or have done
internships in NGOs devoted to the protection of human rights, and some
have
done research in the areas of special education and the distribution of
microcredits to low income women.The program has a special relation with the Asháninka native community of Puerto Ocopa in the Peruvian central high Amazonic fores  t, and with the
Instituto
Asháninka de Educación Superior in that town. In the
past, students have been
guests of the community and of the institute; and program students and
its
director are featured in the feature-length documentary film Asháninka (2010) by renowned journalist José
María Salcedo. A
small number of qualified students can benefit from challenging and
demanding
volunteering opportunities at Puerto Ocopa, engaging in
program-supervised
teaching and social-service activities, while at the same time
enriching their
personal and social development through interaction with the rich
culture and
history of the Asháninka nation.  These opportunities are
available starting in
the months of July and August, and can be arranged for varying
durations, with
a minimum commitment of one month. They are open to qualified students
of any
session as they start immediately after our Summer and Spring Terms and
immediately before our Fall Term.   Students who would like to volunteer for work with the Asháninkas must contact the Program Director, Mr. Jorge Secada at jes2f@virginia.edu (his office is in Cocke Hall 120). All other students interested in volunteering or interships should contact UVa Program’s Associate Resident Director, Ms. Patricia Mendoza at pm3p@virginia.edu. |
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