Volunteer
Why should I volunteer?
Volunteering enables you to use your skills to have a lasting impact on the development of some of the poorest communities in the world. Volunteers live and work within the heart of local communities, so you will also experience a culture in way that is just not possible as a traveller or tourist. In addition you will return home with new or enhanced professional skills, including a greater awareness of diversity issues, problem solving and resoursefulness and negotiating and influencing skills.
Whichever type of volunteering you are interested in you will be working alongside local colleagues to share skills and contribute to long-term sustainable development, which will continue long after you leave. VSO volunteers work with a range of grassroots organisations, community initiatives, hospitals, educational institutions and local governments in countries throughout Africa, Asia, the Pacific region and the Caribbean.
The volunteer package
VSO volunteers receive full personal and financial support including training, a living allowance, flights, accommodation, medical and health insurance, work permits and visas.
Career benefits
Voluntering is a two-way learning process and volunteers return to their home country with a greater awareness and understanding of cultural differences, which are often deployed through support for VSO's global education and advocacy initiatives or by sharing that learning in classrooms, work places or the local community.
The unique position of working as a volunteer in a new and diverse environment also leads to the development of key personal and professional skills. Improved communication, leadership and resourcefulness are just some of the skills that volunteers have identified as being key in enhancing their careers on returning home.
Find out more about volunteering in:
Quotes
If you’re thinking about doing VSO, go for it! It’s an incredible experience. It’s made me a much stronger person, both in my job and personally.
Beck Mitchell, Teacher Training Adviser, Cambodia
I've learnt more than I've been able to give and it's an experience that will stay with me for my lifetime. Volunteering certainly affected my outlook and the way I live here. So I’d say that the contribution is not just limited to the two years overseas.
Anne Sanderson, Occupational Therapist, Malawi
I wouldn't be doing this job now if I hadn't volunteered with a young people's organisation in Zambia. If I got the chance to re-volunteer, I’d do it all again at the drop of a hat. I’d recommend anyone else to do the same – in fact I have many times!
David Whittaker, Fundraiser in Zambia