Established seven years ago by Mrs Ugaz and her Peruvian husband Selvy Ugaz, Peru’s Challenge enlists international volunteers “to help create opportunities for children living in the Andes of Peru”.

According to Mrs Ugaz learning that the charity had won a highly commended award in the best volunteer organisation category of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards this year served as “a true testament to our work”.

With its headquarters in Peru, the organisation works in partnership with rural communities to develop sustainable schools and communities with a focus on education, health and general wellbeing.

Unlike many international charity organisations, volunteers spend their time in Peru not only working with local communities but also sightseeing the many tourist attractions the country has to offer.

According to Mrs Ugaz while the 700 volunteers to date have primarily been Australians, the organisation is now drawing people from all over the world.

“Australians are great because they’re so full of energy and they’re there for all of the right reasons,” she said.

“We’ve also had people from the US, Canada and the UK ... we’ve also had people of all ages from three year olds to 75 year olds,”

“You don’t have to speak Spanish to come.”

The cost of running the organisation is high with some $30,000 US a month funded through the money volunteers pay to participate in the project and money contributed via corporate sponsorship.

Back in Molong to visit family and have her first baby at Orange Base Hospital, Mrs Ugaz said she’s lucky to be able to visit Australia for several weeks every year.

“We’ll stay here for a few months after the baby is born and then return to Peru,” she said.

“It’s important to us that out baby knows the values of both cultures.”

Mrs Ugaz said the couple plans to help the people of Peru for as long as they can.

“When I met Selvy he was so driven and his passion was infectious.”