Voluntary Service Overseas

About Us VSO was voted top international development charity in the International Aid and Development category at the Charity Awards 2004 for its work in promoting innovative approaches to globalising volunteering. Our approach to volunteering has changed dramatically over the years. Our volunteers are no longer only school-leavers - today the average age of a volunteer is 41, the majority coming from skilled, professional backgrounds. Placements range from one month to two years in duration. We are a leading development charity with almost 1,500 skilled professionals currently working in 33 countries. We respond to requests from governments and community organisations throughout Asia and Africa. Volunteers are aged between 18 and 75 and their aim is to pass on their expertise to local people so that when they return home their skills remain. Volunteers are provided with accommodation and a local level allowance as well as air fares and insurance. We are actively recruiting volunteers all the time. The range of jobs is vast, and includes teachers, management consultants, health professionals, communications professionals, fundraisers and IT specialists. VSO’s vision is of a world without poverty in which people work together to fulfil their potential. The part VSO plays in making this vision a reality is to promote volunteering to fight global poverty and disadvantage. We work for, and often directly with, disadvantaged people in the poorest countries where we can make a significant contribution and where it is safe to do so – in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean and Pacific islands. We work to achieve change for disadvantaged people in six 'goal' areas – education, HIV & AIDS, disability, secure livelihoods, participation and governance and health and social well-being. In each country where VSO works, we build partnerships with organisations that benefit disadvantaged people, and bring people together to share skills, creativity and learning to build a fairer world. At the heart of what we do is to provide international volunteers from developed and developing countries. These are skilled professionals who join partner organisations for anything from a few weeks up to two years or more, to support their ability to benefit disadvantaged people. VSO also supports youth, diaspora and national volunteering programmes; seeks changes in policy and practice that benefit disadvantaged people; and runs workshops, exchanges, training and study visits that enable partner organisations to become more effective.

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