news

Cambodia, where I am presently volunteering, is a truly complex place. The countryside is breathtaking, vivid green against deep red earth. And the people who tirelessly work it must be among the kindest and most gentle you could hope to meet. But it’s hard not associate this place with bad things – the terrible genocide, […]

Is it possible to volunteer with VSO as a family with dependent children? We do have a small number of families who volunteer, but there is a lot to think about. Whether it’s possible will depend on the usual professional and practical factors for other volunteers – you’ll need the skills our partners request, for […]

As UK Volunteers’ Week celebrates its 30th anniversary from 1 to 7, June, VSO Volunteer Community Health Nurse, Cath Nixon, writes about her 30th birthday in March, which she spent flying back to Nepal after speaking at the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. Speaking at the UN’s Commission on […]

Vix is a Team Leader in Bangladesh with our International Citizen Service (ICS) youth volunteering programme. Here she takes a sensitive look at the complex issues of child marriage and family loyalty in Bangladesh. This Friday, one of our host-sisters is getting married.  She is the eldest daughter of one of the host-families, a family that I […]

VSO’s Sarah Witts explains her motivations for being a serial fundraiser and challenge event addict. She is currently preparing to compete in the London Triathlon on 8 August. Why take part? The tough training, the early mornings and long evenings. The sacrificed weekends and of course, the fundraising. And for what? A medal and some […]

4 reasons the financing for development conference matters By Mwangi Waituru, VSO & Action 2015 Advisor, Africa 2015 is a pivotal year in the fight to end global poverty. In September, our elected leaders will agree on a new set of goals that will guide the development agenda for the next 15 years. These goals – currently […]

Sierra Leone is one of the most frightening places in which to be a pregnant woman – with one of the world’s highest proportion of mothers dying in childbirth and 44 in every 1000 newborns failing to make it to 28 days old.  Over a year has passed since the first confirmed case of Ebola […]

Negotiations are in the final stages at the UN in New York, to agree the wording of an agenda that will steer development for the next fifteen years.  Eight days down, two to go. These negotiations on the final make up of the Sustainable Development Goals framework in New York are nearly over so it’s […]

Young people are often best positioned to create and contribute to large scale and sustainable change, as such we believe they are critical to and for development.  We are proud to support youth volunteering through leading International Citizen Service (ICS). A UK Government-funded programme that sees British volunteers working side-by-side with local volunteers in developing countries, to make […]

If you think that being young is a barrier to making a difference – then think again. Take a look at these 9 incredible individuals who have turned their passions into actions – on a large scale. And the exciting thing? This is just scratching the surface. A true eco-warrior Boyan Slat, age 19, environmental […]

As a young person, I believe that we must all learn to recognise the role youth can play within our communities and the impact we can make. It’s important that other people, particularly people in positions of power, recognise our contribution too. In my opinion, the past approach to dealing with young people has often […]

I visited Nepal last month to see how VSO colleagues have been supporting communities struck by the terrible earthquakes three months ago. I was blown away – both by the incredible efforts of volunteers, and the results we are already seeing thanks to the generosity of caring VSO supporters who allowed us to double the […]

Between 1982 and 1984 a group of about 30 people were selected by VSO to join a similar sized group of VSO volunteers, already in Nigeria. Many of us had recently completed degrees, some had additional teaching qualifications and others had skills based qualifications. We attended VSO pre-departure training and set off on what was […]

Our VSO family: How volunteering in Nigeria created a 30 year bond Three months after the quake: Progress in Nepal Vocal, passionate and switched on: why young people have a lot to say 9 young people who are changing the world Who says young people don’t care? Eight days down, two to go – is […]

Lesson plans delivered to teachers in India via SMS, tablets introduced to classrooms in Malawi to improve numeracy and specialist units created to bring down newborn mortality rates by 40% in five hospitals in Ethiopia, are among VSO’s most successful recent initiatives according to its Annual Report 2014/15 published today.