VSO is the world’s leading independent, international development organisation that works through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries.

Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, says "VSO is a model part of what we have come to know as civil society."

Update on Cyclone Nargis from VSO Thailand/Burma

Burma is again in crisis this week after Cyclone Nargis swept through the former capital, Rangoon, and surrounding coastal areas on 2 May. The miliary junta’s latest estimates place the death toll at more than 22,000, with a further 40,000 people missing. These figures are likely to prove conservative, with some agencies estimating that the final death toll may be as high as 100,000. Millions more have been left without shelter, food and water.

Matan Hasda
Bangladeshi farmer

In Bangladesh, there are more than 45 indigenous (adibashi) communities. Adibashi are amongst the most marginalised in Bangladesh with a literacy rate of just 9% and most working as wage-labourers. One of the biggest challenges facing these communities is the issue of land grabbing, and many families – and in some cases, whole villages – are losing their land to non-indigenous people. Matan Hasda tells us his story.

Volunteer Job of the week

Volunteer Job of the week

Management Adviser - Malawi

The District AIDS Coordination Committee aims to alleviate the impact and spread of HIV and AIDS in Malawi, where one in ten of the population are HIV positive. As a volunteer with organisational development and strategic planning skills you'll help them manage their vital programmes more effectively.

VSO Volunteer eligibility checker

In 2008, VSO celebrates 50 years of sharing skills and changing lives.

VSO Federation Members

VSO is an international federation of member organisations that all contribute resources to a shared development programme.


VSO Programme Offices


VSO works in the most disadvantaged countries where we can make a significant contribution and where it is safe for us to have programmes.


News

China

Thousands die in China quake

13/05/2008 10:16:00 The Independent

Rescuers were struggling this morning to reach victims of the devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people in central China and trapped thousands more in the rubble of collapsed schools, factories, hospitals and homes...


Away game wins a career advantage

03/04/2008 11:22:00 The Times

Whether it is our colonial past or the more recent penchant for gap years, overseas work experience has long been seen as a handy way to skip a few rungs on the career ladder...

Growing apace in Africa

13/05/2008 10:24:00 The Guardian

Could a country that has produced fewer than 100 PhDs in the past 50 years turn into a research powerhouse in a decade? It may sound like fantasy but Ethiopia, where over half the population live on under £1 a day, is giving it a try...

An African adventure

27/03/2008 11:54:00 The Daily Telegraph

Born in Zambia, Helen Lay has always felt a strong pull to go back to Africa. Last month she packed for a two-year stint in Uganda with VSO...


 

National volunteering

National volunteering

VSO provides support for the promotion and development of local and national volunteering. Through this work, VSO aims to promote active citizenship and empower people to understand, affect and own the development of their own communities.

About our corporate partners

We develop long-term, strategic partnerships with companies that bring together our key competences in the areas of business and volunteering.

Department for International Development

We greatly value our strategic relationship with the UK Department for International Development.