Heart-Links’ Solidarity Trip to Peru is back!

Apply now to travel with us in June 2024! 

Click here for trip application.


Every year Heart-Links takes a small group of Canadians to northern Peru for an unforgettable experience in solidarity. Join us for an inspiring life experience and explore your potential to engage in international development. Meet our partners and friends in Zaña, Chiclayo and Cajamarca and spend quality time in each location with one of the development projects Heart-Links supports. Exchange views and experiences with our partners and the people those projects serve for mutual enrichment and growth.

You would benefit from a solidarity experience if you would like to

  • Explore your own interest in creating change
  • Learn about Peru’s social and environmental issues
  • Experience a new culture and community
  • Share your talents and reflect with like-minded people
  • Join a growing movement of changemakers
  • Volunteer with Heart-Links or your community

There will be dancing.

Trip Details

Dates: 15 days in June.

Cost: Our trip fee is $1,500. This covers a trip leader, group translator, accommodations, meals and ground transportation during the trip. A small needs-based bursary may be available. Participants pay for their own Toronto-Lima flights, health insurance and domestic flights within Peru (total estimated cost between $1,500 and $2,000). Flight arrangements will be booked with Ellison Travel & Tours, TICO registration 2392471.

Preparation Requirements: You must attend three preparation and planning gatherings (Saturdays in March, April and May). While not mandatory, basic Spanish is highly recommended.

Eligibility: Participants should be

  • Interested in and sensitive to social justice issues in developing countries
  • Willing to volunteer with Heart-Links
  • In good overall health and fitness
  • 18 years of age or older

*Exceptions to these requirements may be made, on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the trip committee.

How to Apply

  • Contact info@heart-links.org if you would like to meet or ask questions before applying
  • Complete our application form by February 15, 2024

Itinerary

5 nights in Cajamarca: We will fly from Lima to Cajamarca, in Peru’s Andes mountains. Our partner-hosts will share with us about Indigenous culture and social and environmental issues the region faces. Participants will devote three days to accompanying a program run by one of our partner agencies.

4 nights in Chiclayo: Following a breathtaking bus ride out of the mountains, we will arrive in the bustling city of Chiclayo. We will be exposed to the political, social and economic realities of life in the city, while spending time with one of the projects by our inspiring and progressive partner agencies.

4 nights in Zaña: The Zaña Valley is a slower-paced small-town experience that will include visiting Heart-Links’ friends who have been our partners for more than 20 years. We will stay with at one partner agency’s solidarity hostel and share meals with our other Zaña partner as well as spending time with one of their projects.

*Itinerary subject to minor changes. Participants will be invited to contribute ideas about how to spend flex time in each location. Some options are exploring local archaeology and beautiful hiking. Participants are welcome to extend the trip to see more of the country on their own.