Tricia Treaccar
Newport Beach, California
Currently attending La Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City

I spent four weeks this summer volunteering in Trujillo, Peru at Cuna Maternal "Josefina Larco" orphanage as part of a Volunteer Abroad program operated by Cross-Cultural Solutions. I worked with groups of 25-30 children at the institution, which is a combination of orphanage, day care center, and kindergarten for abandoned children or children of working parents with low income. The orphanage serves a population of 100 boys and girls, giving them housing, food, and education. My volunteer work included developing educational activities for the children as well as meals and medical services. In addition to approximately 30 hours of volunteering each week, I received Spanish language instruction, cultural education about Peruvian history and customs, and used my free time to explore the coastal city of Trujillo, with weekend trips to the Andes.

I volunteered through Cross-Cultural Solutions, a world leader in operating international volunteer programs. Cross Cultural makes volunteering abroad possible for people with limited time by providing the opportunity to experience another culture while making a real difference in people's lives. Programs range from one to twelve weeks.

"The minimum requirement of most oversea volunteer programs is six months," explains Cross-Cultural Solutions' Executive Director Steven Rosenthal. "Most Americans can't devote such a long period of time to volunteer abroad. Our programs make international volunteering abroad accessible to people who juggle full-time schooling, jobs, families, or other long-term obligations."

Tricia with orphans in Trujillo

Cross-Cultural Solutions programs are open to people of all ages and backgrounds. Volunteers are given customized placements based on their skills and interests, and work side-by-side with local people on community led initiatives. These placements vary from caring for infants at one of Mother Teresa's clinics in India, to teaching English to children with limited access to education, to shadowing doctors in Ghana. Volunteers work with infants and children, teenagers, adults, the elderly and people with special needs or mental and physical disabilities. The only pre-requisite to volunteer is a desire to help others and an interest in cultural exchange.

What is really exceptional is that the Cross-Cultural Solutions program includes an intensive orientation with in-country expert staff. Participants enjoy room and board at a CCS Home- Base and cultural activities which provide insight into the culture and community where they volunteer. Volunteers pay their own airfare and a U.S. tax-deductible program fee to cover all in-country expenses.


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