Name: Construyendo Vidas 2010

Area: Social Assistance- Construction

Category: Construction

Who We Help: Poor families in our different centers of social assistance.

Objectives: Give families in extreme poverty a good place to live, improving their quality of life through construction or remodeling of their houses.

Program Description: In our programs there are many children that come from families in extreme poverty and live on the little that their parents earn. In general, these families have many children (4 on average) and live in very precarious houses where the kitchen, the bedrooms, the living room, the bathroom, etc. all share the same environment. The floors and walls are made of dirt, the roof is made of old tiles and has leaks, and many houses are without doors. They also have very little and what they have is worn out. They share beds with 3 or 4 family members, and their furniture and belongings are deteriorating as well their tables, chairs, etc.
Because of all this, Expand Peru has designed this program with the goal of helping these families better their current conditions through repair and reconstruction of their houses.

Volunteer Work:

• Visit the families and indentify the problems and needs in order to design building plans

• Develop a plan for repairs in each house, including a proposal that depends on the needs of each family (this can include some new furniture and belongings)

• Create a to-do list of what needs to be done to construct an adequate house from the needs identified: repairs and painting of walls, floors, roofs, windows, furniture as well as installation of water or light, etc.

• All of the work is done with help from each family (father, mother, son) with the objective of actively involving  the families in the improvement of their own homes

• Our organization helps plan, organize, and develop all the tasks

• At the end, each volunteer leaves with a feeling of accomplishment that they have built a reconstructed a house and the satisfaction to have worked on a team with a  Peruvian family

• Each volunteer can feel useful and see the fruits of their labor before they leave

• Search for financial help and support. This program is not considered funded under Expand Peru, which means the building projects are funded solely by donations from volunteers, their friends and family, or other organizations.

Necessary Characteristics of a Volunteer:

For this project a volunteer should:

• Be a person with a big desire to help

• Have personal initiative

• Be able to work on a team

• Be dynamic and have a good sense of humor

Important:

All volunteers receive assistance, work materials, accreditation, and certification from our organization.

Requirements:

• Passport

• Minimum age of 18 years old

• Application

• Digital Photograph

Dates: All months

Minimum Length of volunteer work: One Month

Work Schedule: At least 4 hours per day

Free time: Volunteers work Monday through Friday and have weekends free to rest, read, visit different tourist attractions in the area, go on excursions, or take one of the curses organized by Expand Peru.

If you would like to donate to this program, please see our donations page under “Helping from Home”.