WAVES for Development - Surf and Volunteer in Peru

Volunteer with WAVES in Lobitos, Peru

WAVES for Development

WAVES is currently offering volunteer opportunities for Surf Voluntourists beginning the first and third weekend of each month. Volunteers arrive in Lobitos for a weekend orientation before beginning their service as instructors and assistants in WAVES Educational Surf programs with local youth.

Based on your skills and experience you will contribute to the Educational Surf program as an instructor or assistant in one of the following program areas: English and Arts, Environmental Education, Life Skills, Swimming and Surfing. Additionally, you will work with the Program Manager to develop an individual service project. Projects vary based on the volunteers' skills and interests and the needs and current projects in the community. Past volunteer service projects have included: music classes, community beach clean ups, documentary film making with kids, design and construction of a surf shack, environmental curriculum development, educational movie nights, and a recycling project

You will stay in the home of a local family and share your meals with other volunteers staying there. The minimum commitment is 2 weeks. Volunteers can extend their service by increments of 1 week.

Cost: All WAVES Voluntourists raise a Project Contribution that supports the project in the community where they serve and pay a Program Fee that covers expenses related to their service.

Project Contribution: $400/person minimum. WAVES encourages volunteers to organize campaigns and activities to raise the money while also spreading the word about WAVES.

Program Fee: $250 per week. The Program Fee covers the following:

Transportation to Lobitos from the Northern Peruvian city of Talara.
Accommodation in the house of a local family with WAVES staff and volunteers.
Three meals per day.
Pre-project preparation and briefings, email and phone support.
Health and safety management (risk assessments, emergency contacts, first-aid trained staff and first aid kit)
Project management from local and international staff.
Materials and support for an individual service project.
Access to WAVES' wide selection of surfboards during your service.
One group surf lesson per week with other volunteers.
Participation in one locally guided excursion every two weeks (cave visits, open water fishing, or sea lion/whale watching).

Food: Three meals per day are included in the program fee. Emphasis is placed on making meals nutritious, balanced, and delicious. Meals range from local specialties to volunteers' favorite foods from around the world. Vegetarian options are prepared for any volunteer upon request.

WAVES provides a wide variety of foods for volunteers to prepare their own breakfast (coffee, tea, milk, juice, bread, eggs, jam, butter, yogurt, cereal, fruit, etc.) Most lunches and some evening meals are prepared by local women from the community and include a variety of local specialties. Volunteers have the option to coordinate and prepare meals in the evenings if interested. The majority of ingredients are purchased in Talara, while some foods, such as fresh seafood, are available in Lobitos.

PADI EFR First Aid Certification: Emergency First Response Primary Care (CPR) and Secondary Care (First Aid) certification courses are available upon request. The training takes one day and costs $60 ($20 for certification card, $20 for certified instructor, and $20 to support WAVES' EFR classes for locals). Please indicate on your application if you are interested in taking the course during your trip.

Recommendation: While we are confident that you will have an amazing experience if you have only 2 weeks available to serve, to have the most life-enriching experience and provide significant benefit to the community we strongly recommend serving for at least 4 weeks. This will give you time to understand WAVES' programs, adjust to life in Lobitos, integrate with the team and community, and carry out a useful and meaningful individual project. In fact, around half of our volunteers to date have extended their service once in Lobitos.

Sign up Now!

To sign up as a WAVES Adventure Voluntourist please complete our volunteer application and email it to our Voluntourism Coordinator at volunteer[at]wavesfordevelopment.org. Additionally, you may attach a copy of your current CV.

Download Volunteer Application Form

For additional information about volunteering, please review our Information Pack.

*Travel insurance that includes health coverage is required for all participating volunteers. One good option that WAVES recommends is the travel insurance from World Nomads.

Read Community Newsletters from Lobitos

Want to get a better idea of what volunteers have been doing in Lobitos? Check out monthly newsletters distributed to community members and participants. They include photos and articles from past events and schedules for upcoming classes and activities.

Lobitos Community Newsletter June 2010
Lobitos Community Newsletter May 2010
Lobitos Community Newsletter April 2010
Lobitos Community Newsletter March 2010
Lobitos Community Newsletter February 2010
Lobitos Community Newsletter January 2010
Lobitos Community Newsletter December 2009
Lobitos Community Newsletter November 2009
Lobitos Community Newsletter October 2009
Lobitos Community Newsletter August/September 2009