Help as a volunteer or do an internship
What can you do for us? Internships in Peru (as a final year medical student or nurse, physiotherapist or operating room assistant, your internship abroad or as a volunteer working as a painter (we have a lot of woodwork), handyman (woman), warehouse manager, kitchen, administrative etc.).
Volunteer or intern in Peru
Our hospital and its social projects such as surgical projects (plastic surgery (cleft palate and burns), pediatric urology, but also integrated, multidisciplinary (after)care (such as speech therapy, psychology and physiotherapy) offer you a unique opportunity to gain experience, broaden your horizons and become acquainted with working in a country like Peru.
You can come to us not only as a graduated doctor, nurse, anesthesia or surgical assistant.
Are you studying medicine, physiotherapy, obstetrics, nursing or dentistry and are you looking for an internship abroad? As a student, you can gain unique experience in our project.
What does it mean?
Terms & conditions
● You are at least 22 years old
● You have level B2 of the Spanish language
● You are flexible and proactive
● You are an enterprising person and have an independent attitude
● You request a Certificate of Good Conduct
●You start a campaign for PAZHolandesa (we will help you of course)
What do we offer?
Minimum number of weeks is 3, maximum 3 months.
We offer (intern or volunteer):
● Accommodation with Wifi
● 3 meals per day
● Transfer from and to Arequipa airport
● Supervision and Training of our experienced local staff ● Support of Dutch local volunteers
Also included pre-departure support:
● Assistance during the preparations
● Fundraising assistance, including a personal fundraising page
Upon termination you will receive:
● A certificate of participation
● A parting gift
Not included:
● Flight tickets
● Spending in your free time
Departure options
You can start with us in Peru every week, almost all year round. Please remember to register with us at least 2 months before your desired departure.
Spanish language course
Don't speak Spanish level B2 yet? Before you start your volunteer work, take a Spanish language course in the Netherlands via Ramos . In Arequipa there are also language courses to further develop your Spanish speaking skills. Both are at your own expense.
ACCOMMODATION & MEALS
In principle, you will stay in our volunteer residence, which consists of four large rooms with a maximum of three beds, private shower with hot water and toilet. You will use your meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner are included) in the cafeteria. If you prefer to stay with a host family, you must indicate this and there are additional costs involved. Staying with a host family has many advantages. You are included in the local family life and experience hospitality like no other.
Trips & excursions
We have contact with the best tour operators in Arequipa. There is a wide range of trips & excursions, from outdoor activities such as climbing the volcano Misti to a weekend Colca Canyon (deeper than the Grand Canyon, from city to disco tour.
Travel insurance
Sometimes things unfortunately don't go as planned. You can't go on a trip without good insurance. Tasman Insurance specializes in insurance packages that are tailored to a specific travel destination. For example, Tasman Insurance including insurance specifically for doing volunteer work abroad. Regular travel insurances are often not valid or inadequate in terms of coverage for such trips.
Cancellation insurance
When you travel abroad, you often book it some time in advance. After all, you need some time to prepare yourself properly, book your ticket, etc. Unfortunately, it can happen that something goes wrong in the meantime, meaning you can no longer travel. With cancellation insurance, you ensure that many of these unforeseen circumstances are insured and that you are reimbursed for the costs that cancellation entails.
Yes, I am interested
Experience of volunteers and interns
Arequipa November 30, 2023
"My name is Bobbi and I have been volunteering at Paz Holandesa for the past ten weeks. I look back on an educational and wonderful time. The clinic is a special place where care is provided to the people who need it most. The colleagues who work there are committed to providing the best care every day. During the time I was there, there were two campaigns. This means that a medical team is flown in from the Netherlands. In a short time, they try to help as many children as possible. It is great to experience this up close. All people who do not put themselves but others first. This creates a pleasant working environment with people who do the same. If we all give a little, we will move forward step by step!!"
Arequipa November 13, 2023 ,
"I chose Peru because it is a small clinic with short lines, where they treat many different diseases and the focus is on children and poor people. I expect to learn a lot here, both about care and about Peruvian culture and the Spanish language."
Arequipa June 2022
« Since today is my last day, here are some pictures that make me very happy and summarize what I have been able to do at Clinica Paz Holandesa in the past. I have been able to help with campañas and measure children, take blood to test HB and do urine tests. I have been able to comfort children,
hugging, giving high-gives and making them laugh. I was allowed to watch 9 different operations in the hospital, and during 2 of them I was also sterile and allowed to do things!! That was really cool 🙂 There were photos taken of that event, but I honestly don't know where they are. They are floating somewhere on the phone of a nurse I don't know. I can guarantee you one thing: I am completely stiff and tense with adrenaline in those photos. My god, that was fun. And interesting with a capital I. I was also allowed to help in the post-operative department where people sleep off their anesthesia. In addition, I tried to create some order in the Peruvian administrative chaos in the oficina, especially for upcoming volunteers. I did this under the supervision of Greta, who always obediently came and lay on my keyboard when I was busy, or on that one pile of papers that I needed the most. I'm going to miss that 🙂
All in all I really enjoyed myself; did things I never would have dreamed of and met people I will never forget :')»
« While we were in the middle of our five-month-journey, we wanted to take a break from traveling, learn more about the culture and do something good for the country. We found all this in volunteering for PazHolandesa. Via the website we got in contact with Marjan and she made us feel very welcome. From the moment we walked into the clinic, we felt the friendly and clean environment. In the “outpatient clinic” many different disciplines take good care of the patients, among whom are a lot of cleft palate patients that had or will have a surgery during the projects that PazHolandesa organizes. The “hospitalizacion” operates 24 hours a day and takes care of the patients that need a longer treatment. Last but not least, there are the “salas de operacion”, that are very professionally organized. We were very happy to be able to do some work for this altruistic organization. We started volunteering with the idea of staying a few days, but we ended up staying more than two weeks. This can be contributed to the friendliness of the people, the enthusiasm and hospitality of Marjan, and the professionalism of the clinic. With the donations from our family and friends in Holland, we were able to buy a trampoline for the children that visited the clinic. We hope it will help in giving them happiness and health. »
He spent six weeks with us, volunteering in maintenance and helping the direction as administration consultant. From his handiness with sanding paper to his skills in economics, his presence was truly helpful in numerous ways. Being a polyvalent volunteer enabled him to have a very precise idea of what the clinic is all about, and how it works. He flew back to France with a rare experience on his list: our clinic's flexibility in terms of access to all levels of operations provided him with a unique opportunity to see and interact with patients, cooks, nurses, lab. analysts, the medical director and the director. « many of my gay students volunteer in various organizations all over the world, but I doubt that they have the freedom that I had during my work here » he says. Moreover, as the director held her traditional gratitude speech on his last evening, he said : « I am truly grateful for what all of you have done for me, and I am amazed by what the hospital has become within just a couple of years. Thank you as well for making me a part of this big family. I will be back. »
Arequipa Peru, March 14, 2022.
"From my busy existence in the Netherlands as a financial director I always felt that I was only concerned with money money money. Good for the company, but a bit one-sided for myself.
In addition, the work in finance also caused a lot of stress, so at one point I decided to work less.
And what do you do with your free time?
First of all, relax and sleep in of course, have a cup of coffee, go for a bike ride, work out, meet up with friends, and so on.
When that phase was a bit over I thought it would be nice to do something for someone else with my free time. And that's how I signed up for volunteer work.
At first it was one morning a week, and later it became more and more.
The great thing about volunteering is that you can do it when it suits you, in your own time and on your own terms. I also discovered that what is very simple for me can solve a world of problems for someone else. With that fact, I could help someone very quickly and easily. I started sharing my knowledge, and I felt a lot of appreciation from the people I helped.
Because I also speak Spanish and English, I always found it very nice to combine my language skills with my financial knowledge, and in this way I could focus on a special target group in the Netherlands. I have worked through all kinds of organizations, but of course also with my knowledge of entrepreneurship. I was especially able to help starters and Spanish-speaking starters.
Through my relationship I visited Peru almost every year and there too I put out feelers to do something with my personal knowledge for NGOs, for example.
The first volunteer “workplace” abroad was in Ollantaytambo through Awamaki.org.
An organization set up by an American, with the aim of supporting the women in the high mountains around the sacred valley of the Incas with extra income from their talent, weaving beautiful fabrics. I worked there in the finance and stock department. Very nice to do, and a beautiful environment to stay in.
My current workplace is the organization Paz Holandesa in Arequipa. A clinic that was set up to help poor children get good health care. Here I work as a consultant for the Dutch director, Marjan van Mourik. I know her through the Paz Holandesa Foundation in the Netherlands where I am secretary. It is very nice to do and gives a lot of satisfaction. Sometimes you can make a world of difference with small simple "Dutch" tools
for the people here.
What strikes me again is the trust and high level of acceptance in working as a volunteer. You get all kinds of information automatically, people are prepared to help you with everything if you can't follow it, you get insight into the processes on site and most people listen attentively when you tell something from your own experiences.
All in all, the quality of your own life becomes so good that you really walk around as a satisfied person, in a completely different world than you were used to. With something that is inside you, you can make others very happy and that gives enormous satisfaction.
But my language skills are also improving and the knowledge of society, customs and knowledge of another culture are wonderful benefits that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
If you are interested in doing something for someone else, let us know via the website and indicate what you have to offer. You will see that it will be an experience you will never forget again.
forget!
Greetings from a sunny Arequipa Peru"
Annabel spent about four weeks in our hospital, doing ward rounds and assisting our Dutch plastic surgery team in the ER. The enthusiasm and spontaneity she revealed from day one was truly motivating. « Paz Holandesa is more than a hospital, it is a community – one can't walk for more than a minute without greeting someone, whether acquainted or not. This was no more clear than when I went on an informal evening round with Dr. Leon. Having seen a variety of medical establishments, very few places would have the director in such direct and genuine contact with all the patients. And this is reflected in the care provided. »