Peruvian Amazon

The cost of this trip for each volunteer is a tax deductible donation of $650.00 to Global First Responder.  We will post the final cost for this trip as soon as possible.  Volunteers are also responsible for purchasing their international airfare.  Volunteers should not purchase airfare before being notified by their team leader that the trip and dates are confirmed.

About the Trip: Join Global First Responder as we travel to Iquitos, Peru – our starting point for the Amazon –  as we travel by boat to provide medical and dental care and health education for small communities along beautiful waterways.  The hospitality you receive from your patients will amaze you as they welcome your skills and expertise to care for themselves and their children.  Our partner organization works in the communities you will care for all year.  The communities will know you are coming and will be waiting for the care you provide.  You will have the opportunity to dedicate a new community center to one of the communities where you will work and to share the joy of evening volleyball and football (soccer) games (with some friendly wagering going for a good cause!), playing with the kids, and short hikes to see the community, medicinal gardens, and make some house calls.

Sustainability: With your help, GFR provides health education to all patients.  In partnership with Amazon Promise, a local NGO who has worked in this area for more than 25 years, GFR will provide medical and dental care and health education.  But there is more to sustainability than medical care.  GFR will also send a construction team who, in partnership with the local community and Amazon Promise, will build a needed structure!  In 2024, GFR built a 9×20 community center; in prior year we built a medical clinic and a school, fully equipped for students down to the white board.

Check back for more information about other sustainability projects as we continue to plan this portion of our mission.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS TRIP BEFORE YOU APPLY:  We want you to be prepared for volunteering and caring for others!  Please read this section carefully and make sure that you are capable of participating fully in the following conditions.  Our team leaders are for your safety and to ensure that the clinical experience is excellent for our patients and providers – they are not able to change the conditions you are working or staying in!

Physical Conditions: This trip requires good physical condition including the ability to get on and off a rocking boat by gangplank or stepping down, carrying supplies over moderate distances, and withstanding high temperatures and humid conditions. You will be traveling by boat on large rivers and tributaries each day.  It will be hot and humid, it may rain, and there will be a lot of sun.  Please bring your own personal supply of sunscreen, bug spray, anti-itch and anti-fungal creams because you will need them.

Food: Food is served family style – you will not get to choose what is prepared but there are plenty of fruits and vegetables served at every meal and a variety of meat and fish served during the week.  Food, other than fruit, is not available outside of scheduled meal times.   You may bring snacks or other personal food with you but there are stores with snacks and warm drinks in the community and they love to have your business.  Please remember you will also be asked to bring supplies for GFR when you are packing!

Lodging: You will be staying in raised cabins with a single room with multiple beds – single rooms are not an option.  Each cabin has a  private bathroom with shower, sink, and toilet; there may not be water available for showers at all hours and the water runs lukewarm to cold.  All of the cabins are connected by a boardwork.  There is no air conditioning – expect hot and humid conditions at night.  The cabins have electricity run by a generator – lights out time is based on the conditions at the time but is generally between 9 – 930pm.  Bring  your headlamp or a small latern because the card games in the dining room become quite raucous after lights out!  Laundry is available at the lodge.  Please bring only biodegradable soap/shampoo for your use.

Personal Electronics: You are only able to charge personal electronics in your cabin while the electricity is on.  Please bring a solar charger or extra batteries as required for your personal items.  There are US type plugs in the room.  It is always a good idea to bring a power strip or octopus for your charging needs.

Arrivals and Departures for the Medical Team: Your team will need to arrive in Iquitos, Peru by January 11, 2025.  This night is at your expense.  You will have an early breakfast and depart from Iquitos the morning of January 12.   At the end of the trip, your team will arrive in Iquitos on the evening of January 18.  Departures from Iquitos to your home (or further travel) should be no early than January 19.  Again, this hotel night is on your own.

What’s Included: This trip includes lodging, transportation, translators, drinking water, and all meals for the official dates of the trip.  Transportation from the designated hotel in Iquitos to our lodging in the Amazon and back to ​the designated hotel in Iquitos is included.  Most clinic supplies and any special projects or construction work are covered by GFR with a small portion of your fee going to this effort (~$50 – $75).  This added cost will help us continue to supply our clinics with everything you need to provide excellent care.

What’s Not Included: Your international airfare, snacks and drinks other than water,  vaccines, and pre/post trip travel costs and expenses, trip insurance, your online e-visa (if required), and any post- trip adventures you wish to engage in while in Peru!

Cost: The cost of this trip is approximately $650.00.  We will notify all applicants as soon as the cost is finalized.  We reserve the right to increase or decrease the cost based on our actual cost.  You are responsible for purchasing airfare that meets the required arrival and departure times.  We always suggest giving yourself extra time for delayed or cancelled flights and that you purchase trip insurance from a reputable carrier.  This trip is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.  You or your donors will receive a tax receipt upon making your donation.

How is your cost calculated?: At Global First Responder we strive to keep your costs low and our quality high.   We value your participation and willingness to volunteer your time and expertise. Everyone at Global First Responder is also a volunteer, donating their time to administrative tasks and paying their own way to participate in medical and construction missions around the world and here at home.  The fee you pay covers the actual cost of your expenses during the trip, including lodging, transportation, meals, and translator fees and expenses. In 2024, we are adding a $200 general fee to each volunteer cover the increased costs of medications and supplies so that we can continue to provide excellent care for our patients.   At GFR, no one is paid a salary and everyone is a passionate volunteer, doing our part to help drive our mission of “One Global World, One Global Family”.

After the trip: What is there to do in Peru?  Well – The Amazon is an amazing place to visit!  You’ve spent time working, now spend some time playing.  Spend a few nights in an ecolodge, take a multi-day tour to see the amazing birds, snakes, and mammals, consider fishing or working with manatees at the Manatee Conservation Center.

Want to head back to city life?  Lima’s gourmet food, museums, and cultural exhibits are unparalleled anywhere in the world.  Take a tour to visit the Nazca Lines and Huacachina Oasis. Visit wineries, hike, or simply sit by the pool at a great hotel.  Lima is a magnificent cosmopolitan city that shouldn’t be missed!

 

Click here to apply for this trip:  I want to join the GFR team in Iquitos, Peru!                                                                                                          

If this is your first time applying in our application system, please create a login and password. You may use this login and password for all future trips you apply for (and we hope to see you on LOTS of GFR trips!!)

Itinerary:

Prior to January 12:     Plan to arrive in Iquitos, Peru so that you can get some rest prior to the start of the trip. If you arrive prior to the official start date for the team, please plan on having meals and lodging “on your own”. The official start time for the trip on ​D​ay 1 is 8:00​ AM. Please don’t miss the departure time as you will be responsible for the costs to meet the team in the Amazon.

January 12: This is the official start of the GFR trip. You are required to be in early in the morning to catch your transportation to the Amazon! Join the team for breakfast in the designated hotel to meet with your team leader and team. Your team will travel by car and boat to a simple but comfortable guest​ house where your team will spend the rest of our trip. The family style food is delicious and plentiful! Upon arrival at the lodge, your team will come together to organize supplies and get ready for medical clinics while the construction team visits their site and gets organized to start building.

There is lots to do in the evening too – small groups can go cayman “hunting”, some can go fishing, a night hike is super fun (GIANT frogs!), and card games and naps in the hammocks are just a few ideas.

January 13::  Today is your first day of clinic. Your team will share the load as you carry all of our supplies to the boat for transport on the river to the first community. Lunch will be provided in the village and your boat ride back, close to sunset, will be beautiful! Dinner at the lodge will make you forget how tired you are and the community will welcome you, inviting you to walk, play, and learn in the evenings.

Our construction team will depart early for their first day of building..You will see them again each evening! Get ready to have some fun with these hardworking team members!!

January 14 and 15: W​e will again travel by boat to surrounding communities where we will join our translators and health educators to provide basic medical and dental care and education for 70-100 patients each day. These communities are small and they will welcome you with open arms. 

The construction team is making progress – there is a lot to do and not much time to do it!  They will again depart early and come home hungry!

January 16 and 17::  Traveling by boat will be your new normal by now.  We’ll head to 2 more community for our last 2 full days of clinic while our construction team leaves early to get their building finished.

January 18:  Today is our last day in the Amazon.  Everyone need to be packed and ready to depart for Iquitos.  Our first confirmed stop is to dedicate and celebrate the amazing building our construction team and community friends have built.  Following the dedication, we will depart for Iquitos, arriving first in Nauta on the boat and then transferring by bus or van to Iquitos.  We will arrive in the evening.  Dinner is on your own as is your hotel.  Take the time to say goodbye to your teammates and we hope to see you again soon!

(Post-Trip) January 19: Departures are any time on the 19th but we encourage you to stay for a bit, sleep in or take a tour, and otherwise enjoy yourself after your hard work in the jungle.