General Info
We are an organization run by me (Tino Leoncio) and my family. We live in Huancayo, one of the poorest cities in Peru, and find it our duty to help the poorest children as much as we can.
Volunteer experience with Tinkuy Peru
Our volunteers are our most valuable asset. We rely on our volunteers to give their time and skills to help with community development. Tinkuy Peru hopes to offer an experience that is rewarding and fun. Please read the testimonials from several of our past volunteers and please check out their blog sites.
I have just finished a 2 month stay with Tino´s family helping out with Tinkuy Peru. I can honestly say it has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done. The family is so warm and welcoming, I felt the second I walked in the door as if I was one of the family. The kids are so affectionate that you feel so comfortable around them. I was extremely nervous on my first day with no prior volunteer or teaching experience, and very weak Spanish, but the kids´ smiles and hugs, just melted the anxiety away.
Also within 2 months my Spanish has improved to no end, helped tremendously by the family and some lessons, but more so, by the children who at times are as eager to teach as they are to learn. On top of that Huancayo is a beautiful city with tones to see, as you will find out on your weekend excursions to jungles, glaciers and artisan towns. I can?t recommend enough a stint with Tinkuy Peru, it has given me an insight into the Peru you won't see on the `gringo trail´. Thankyou Tino, Mari, Leslie, Jesus and all the kids who made my time here unforgettable!
Matthew Norton (Australia)
Well I can't believe my three weeks are already up at Tinkuy Peru its flown by, I arrived here not knowing what to expect, I had no Spanish under my belt and had never volunteered before. It been such a great experience Tino and his family are wonderful so welcoming and caring, the stay with the has been a joy, teaching at the mountain school has been one of the best things I have ever done, the kids are so happy to see you when you arrive each morning and just really want to learn.
Even with very limited Spanish, I was still able to get a lot out of it and I'm sure so did the children, I was able to improve my Spanish a lot with at home personal lessons from Leslie and speaking in Spanish everyday with Tino family. Its also great fun taking treks and tours around Huancayo on the weekends, and staying at Tino house meeting other volunteers. If you're looking to do some charity work id highly recommend Tinkuy Peru.
Charles Oehlrich (Australia)
Come to Huancayo and Tinkuy Peru and you will experience the most awesome people and country. You will never forget it. Tino´s family and the other volunteers become your family. The Mountain School becomes your second home. The children will steal your heart and open up feelings far deeper than you ever thought was possible.
The love and affection given by these children is far greater than you would ever expect. Their ruddy cheeks and tossled hair will emblaze a spot for evermore on your heart. The rugged, macho acting little boys are just as starved for your hugs and kisses. What I have been able to give in books, supplies and myself is never going to equal what I have received. This country is so full of loving, caring people. My month here has been the most wonderful experience of my life.
-Elaine Binkley (United States)
I recently completed an awesome month of volunteer work with Tinkuy Peru. Tinkuy Peru gave me the opportunity to work with amazing children who were excited to learn and eager to shower the volunteers with affection. I also got a feel for Huancayo and the life of a Peruvian family. Living with Tino & Mary was a great experience; I felt like part of the family. Everyone was willing to help me with whatever I might need and patiently heard me out despite the shortcomings of my Spanish. Tinkuy Peru is a great grassroots program for any volunteer looking to have a memorable and rewarding experience.
- Claire Wright (The United States)
I spent just over a week with Tinkuy Peru. During this time I was treated like a member of the family and felt safe at all times during my stay. When I arrived, members of the family offered to show me where the bank was and accompany me to town to assist with shopping as my Spanish is very basic. Through having the lessons for this time and learning sentences for the children I was able to improve my Spanish immensely. Also during this time I competed in the annual cycling race and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. The single most rewarding aspect of Tinkuy Peru is the children and their overwhelming affection and enthusiasm for life. I enjoyed all aspects of my time here and would recommend it to anyone considering volunteering.
Kate Meyer (New Zealander)
My three weeks spent with Tinkuy Peru has at times been a challenge, but has ultimately been a hugely rewarding experience. The children at the mountain school are so enthusiastic and full of energy, which certainly makes things fun at times! Teaching English to a group of children who have little grasp of the language was at first difficult (especially since my Spanish is well below par!) but got much easier as time went on, and the students really help by trying so hard.
One of the nicest parts of this experience has been seeing how affectionate the children are their smiles, hugs, and kisses always brightened up my day!
On top of all this, living with Tino and his family has been both a pleasure and a privilege, they are wonderful hosts!
- Joanne Page, England
It is a pretty cool thing to be able to interact and communicate with children when you cannot speak their language. Although the children's English wasn't the strongest, their spirit and enthusiasm overpowered any language barrier that we encountered.
Teaching at Tinkuy Peru was not only an amazing learning experience, but an experience, that I believe, is enriching for every volunteer that comes here to teach. We leave with having a new-found confidence (especially if your classes were 40 excited children!) as well as knowing that these kids have touched your heart whether it be through a smile, a hug or just hearing Hola Miss! as you walk through the streets. It truly is something that I will never forget.
- Julie Sheldon, Canada
Honoré Schreurs, Holland
Looking through many volunteer possibilities I am very happy to have chosen Tinkuy Peru. It is a peruvian family organisation that took it as their quest to help the poorest of children to have a more healthy life, to allow the children to play in an educational way, and have the unworried childs life they deserve. The alternative is just playing in the sand for the smallest children, not learning how to speak for a far too long time and working on a far too young age.
We taught the children maths, spelling, colouring (for the youngest (2-5) and of course did a lot of fun activities, including sports and a lot of singing. The children were very grateful for the attention given by me and very eager to learn new things. I really had the strong feeling of making a contribution and that's of course why i wanted to do voluntary work.
Tinkuy Peru allows the volunteers to come up with new ideas to optimise the time spend with the children. But since I was relatively unexperienced with children I was very relieved (especially in the beginning) that the members of Tinkuy Peru (in my case Elisabeth, the sociologist daughter of Tino) are very professional in creating a program that is most beneficial to the children.
Being able to give warmth to the children and managing to put smiles on the faces of children who hardly ever smiled gave me a feeling i hardly ever had. Maybe the children gave me even more warmth then I have given them. Also the children helped me improve my spanish big time. I was welcomed enthusiastically and when i left, the children wrote me goodbye cards. I wished i could have stayed longer, but that is life.
In the evening i helped with the english school for adults: a program that helps financing the children care. Also this was a lot of fun and helped me to improve my spanish.
Tino and his family (including also a few former children sort of adopted away from a bad situation) were also a 100 % involved in giving the volunteers a pleasant experience while being in Huancayo. In one weekend we went for example to the largest cave of south america, which was absolutely amazing, and to the jungle nearby (great to party there as well ;). All under the perfect guidance of Jesus, a member of the family you can say. As if talking with the lovely members of the family or playing with Angelita (3 yrs old) and Pilar (8 years old) was not enough to make the spare time a wonderful time.
Finally it was great to have perfect and cheap internet facilities and calling facilities just around the corner. The time flew by, and for me it was the perfect beginning of a very long trip. Tino and family, thanks once more.
Honoré
- We were lucky to be the first volonteers in Tinkuy Peru?s mountainproject. To work with these children has been a great experience for us. The children live in very difficult circumstances and need a lot of love and care. They are all very receptive and motivated of learning new things. They also give so much energy, love and happiness in return that it is a pleasure to teach them!
The feelings we got when the children come running down from the mountain with a big smile and scream ?hola Profesora?, is something we never will forget. After a day in the mountain you have a feeling of fulfillment because you know you have made a difference. We are sad to leave these children, but we belive that with Tinkuy Peru the children are in good hands and we hope that this project will give the children better opportunities in the future.
If you want to work with children from poor backgrounds but with a lot of lifeenergy, this is a very good place to do it!
Paulina Borg, Ida Eriksson and Anna Skoog from Sweden
- Whenever I tell people about my time as a volunteer with Tinkuy Peru, its really hard to know where to start. There were so many things coming together, which made this an unforgettable experience.
Having participated in a few other volunteer programs across South America, I know for myself, that I prefer being an active member of a community instead of only getting to know places as a tourist. Being involved with local people gives so much insight into a different culture, and definitely creates long-lasting memories. With Tinkuy Peru, volunteers have the possibility to live exactly this experience whilst they are staying with Tino and his family. Everybody has the chance to be involved to a maximum.
The probably most important part of my job here, was to help building up the Mountain Project. Only a few words about this project might help to explain why this was such a fulfilling task. The aim is basically to provide additional education and stimulation for kids from difficult backgrounds. A very important component of the program is also that they come to the mountain school to have fun with their friends and the volunteers. This is therefore clearly reflected in the ways of teaching. Often things like English vocabulary get across much better, if they are presented in a playful way, incorporating music, games and in general are taught in an interactive way.
As one can already tell, this leaves a lot of room for creativity for the volunteers, which, personally I found a great learning opportunity. I felt very lucky to be part of a team of motivated and inspired volunteers, who want to make a difference. Especially the fact that the team consisted of people from different parts of the world gave the project a very dynamic feeling, with many different ideas and sources of input.
Everybody could bring in his or her special talents, which gives the program a very varied outline. Compared to other volunteer programs it felt more like having a real responsibility. Especially in the early stages of the mountain school our opinions were actively integrated into the long-term plans for the project.
The kids open up so quickly and give so much energy that I found it hard to leave and not be involved in the progress of the project. But in the way the people from Tinkuy Peru appreciated and took in our ideas I know that the program is in excellent hands and that it will make a difference in the future. For me, the greatest reward for doing this work is to see the kids running towards us with open arms and the biggest smile on their face.
CARINE RIES
E-mail: carine.ries@gmail.com
T 447968983034 (UK)
- "Volunteering with Tinkuy was a big learning experience for us! We discovered a joy of teaching, and the eleven children in the first "Andean School" class discovered a joy of learning about other languages and cultures. An unforgettable exchange!"
Sara Sandwith and Daniella Rubeling, Canada
- "Tinkuy Peru offers volunteers a fantastic opportunity to work in the heart of an authentic Andean community. The Tinoco family is incredibly loving and welcoming. I have never felt so at home away from my own family! I have been working in a girls orphanage in the mornings, receiving constant cuddles and having a great deal of fun playing games with the younger ones. In the evenings I'm teaching an intensive English course to adults, it's great to see how quick they're learning. On top of the voluntary work I've been learning to weave (not sure how I'm going to fit the rugs in my rucksack...) and have seen a lot of the local area on the weekends. I'm so glad I chose to come to Tinkuy Peru, it has truly been an unforgettable experience"
Lisa Barker, Leeds, England
- "A few days after I arrived, Tino took myself and another volunteer for a bike ride into the Andes. We visited Cochas where we bought hand engraved Peruvian items and then biked through local villages, such as San Jeronimo, where we went to a silversmith workshop and then ate lunch. The bike ride was absolutely beautiful. It was so interesting to experience the local villages and people. We watched the sun set over the Andes before returning home."
