During my first year at university, I had some serious FOMO (fear of missing out) when I would see my friends on Instagram travelling the world during their gap years. Although I was enjoying my course, I felt trapped and bored in a routine at university and that I wasn’t doing anything with purpose. Therefore, I decided that I wanted to travel over the summer holidays – however, I was aware of the environmental impact that travelling has and so I wanted to make my travelling worthwhile and for the good of others. So, I looked into volunteering schemes around the world – I had no idea where I wanted to go (because I wanted to go everywhere!) but one of my deepest passions is Women’s Empowerment. By searching on the Internet, I found GVI and the Women’s Empowerment programmes that they offered. Then, with further research into each project and location, I chose to volunteer in Cusco, Peru for 4 weeks whilst undertaking the ILM Leadership qualification. It goes without saying my favourite part of this whole experience was the people – the staff, other volunteers/interns and the communities that we worked with. The memories that I look back on now are the ones where we laughed until our faces ached, the deep conversations in the early morning (due to jetlag) or the late night walks around Cusco. The volunteers and staff that you meet on these types of projects, no matter where in the world, are passionate, caring and wholesome – they are the type of people that make you want to be a better person. I left Peru with my heart warmed and a new fresh insight into the world. This experience changed me as a person – personally and professionally. I don’t take anything for granted now (from warm showers to education and political rights) and I have a wider understanding of different countries and cultures to my own. Through taking the ILM Leadership qualification and by working alongside 20+ volunteers, I have gained experiences that are extremely useful in my professional development and to use in interviews. During my time in Peru, I was involved in many different projects – teaching English at a local secondary school, advising a female-led travel agency on their social media/website and helping community tourism by cleaning a lake. Although these projects are not directly linked to Women’s Empowerment, it is important to remember that many aspects overlap and integrate together. For example, the English lessons were given to both boys and girls to ensure that all students have the same knowledge (no matter what their sex) which will help them in the longer-term. Furthermore, tourism is an enormous sector in Peru and is a large income for the country as a whole and individual communities – this means that speaking English, developing their marketing and creating safe and attractive tourist sites all contribute to Women’s Empowerment. It is so so important to keep an open mind and be flexible (definitely the biggest skills I learnt!) when joining any GVI scheme as the projects are led by the community, which means that priorities and projects are ever-changing. For anyone considering volunteering abroad with GVI, DO IT! There is so much more to volunteering than you could ever imagine – the long and difficult hours volunteering (usually 8am-3pm Monday-Friday) can be draining, but it’s the little things that you will remember, such as having breakfast with all volunteers and staff, and singing along to Spanish Ed Sheeran songs on the coach journey to a project site. Don’t worry – you do not spend ALL your time volunteering! There are plenty of opportunities (usually in the evenings and weekends) to go site-seeing and relax. Every weekend, between the volunteers, we organised trips and adventures – from going to Machu Picchu and the Inca Trails, to popping to the local crêperie (La Bo’M –make sure you go!! I still think about these crêpes) to read our books and relax. If you couldn’t tell, I absolutely loved volunteering in Peru. I was petrified at the thought of travelling 20+ hours across to the other side of the world, but I left feeling that I could do anything. That is why I will continue volunteering abroad with GVI in the future and why you should volunteer in Peru.