Incredibly Rewarding: Teaching English in Iquitos, Peru

17/11/2017

Over the last September, I volunteered for 2 weeks as a teaching assistant in Padre Cocha, a small community located at 20 min by boat from Iquitos, in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon.

The project consisted in a 2-week English course for local people of all ages and aimed at improving their everyday communication with foreigners, in order to promote tourism in the community.

During this period I’ve been hosted by Jorge and Jenny, the organisers of this project, at their b&b, who made me feel welcome since the very beginning and gave me all the support I could need for visiting the area.

Teaching has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me, as put me in direct contact with the local people, who really appreciated the time and effort I put into it and who truly believed in the benefits of the program.

Teaching English in Padre Cocha
Marco Fiorito with his students
Boats at the Pier - Peruvian Amazon

Dive into a new reality in the Peruvian Amazon

In my experience, two weeks have been a sufficient time to forget about my own life and to dive into this new reality, getting to know new people and appreciate their differences and similarities from my cultural background, build friendships, enjoy the jungle and, hopefully, make a difference for this community. This first course, in fact, has set the basis for a longer-term project that will continue with new volunteers and with the same enthusiasm to help the development of this marvellous place.

Overall, I couldn’t be more satisfied of this affordable and rewarding adventure, especially given that I’d never really considered volunteering before, and surely recommend this kind of experience to anybody.

How can this program be improved?

Marco and his English students in Padre Cocha, Amazon

In terms of organization, everything has been absolutely perfect. Things ended up being different from what initially planned, but the organizers have successfully worked around these unexpected circumstances and everything run smoothly.
The only thing I feel like saying, is that it should be specified that this project takes place in Padre Cocha rather than Iquitos, which in my opinion makes it even more appealing. – Marco Fiorito, UK – King’s College, London