Volunteering Experience of Ramona from Germany in Peru Bus Project

By Ramona

My name is Ramona, I am 19 years old and I am from Germany. I decided to volunteer for 4 months in the Arco Iris school bus project in Urubamba, Peru. I now want to tell you about my first week.

My first week in the project was amazing! On my first day, I met the children in the morning at the main plaza.  They are full of energy and welcomed me as if we had known us long time before. We went into the bus and I sat right between the children. Although my Spanish was quite simple it was so easy to communicate with them by using hands or a simple smile. The bus drove through an amazing landscape between redish mountains and a river which sparkled in the sun.

During the ride we collected more children who welcomed me so lovely that I felt comfortable up to the first moment. When we arrived at the school a boy showed me the Arco Iris School. The school is surrounded by mountains and the little houses used as classrooms are decorated with colorful posters and paintings. The school has its own vegetable garden, a henhouse and of course a playground for the children. After getting known the surroundings I joined the brain gym which is like an assembly with all the members from the school taking place every morning. We sang, danced and played and the children animated me to participate which was really funny. After the brain gym I went into the class ”inicial” where the youngest children learned numbers and colors. I helped them with drawing, sticking and counting which even was a little Spanish course to me. In the pause I played with other children at the playground and talked to other volunteers about how life is in Arco Iris School. After the pause I joined the class “funcional” where the oldest children are learning. They called me ”Profe Mona” and asked me to help them with reading, writing or calculating. They were so lovely and although I didn‘t understand everything in Spanish they were patient and really happy to receive help. After the class, the children got lunch. I helped the smaller ones with eating which was sometimes a little tiring because children rather wanted to play than eating properly.

After school we drove back by bus to Ollantaytambo. Some of the youngest one were so tired that the fall asleep by sitting on my lap. When we arrived in Ollantaytambo we said good bye and I really was looking forward to “manana”.
During my first week I got to know the children and even was able to talk to them in Spanish. It is so easy to learn the language by listening to the children. And I got used to my new name as “Profe Mona”J
In my first week there was a highlight because an event took place in Urubamba. All schools came together in the big city hall and children were performing dances. We went with the children from Arco Iris School to the hall and watched the dances which was amazing.

This is just a short description of how the volunteering work looks like. The work gives you so much energy and even if it is sometimes hard work, a smiling child compensates everything!