News

Early childhood care and education is not reaching Thailand's most marginalised children, despite significant improvements and a clear policy of Education for All, according to a new report from VSO Thailand/Myanmar. Children of migrant workers are particularly disadvantaged.

An event held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, celebrated and wrapped up VSO's 15-year commitment and partnership with the Sri Lankan mental health service.

A new health policy protecting the rights of community caregivers will help tens of thousands of women caring for people with HIV, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Prime Minister Ms Thokozani Khupe will say at a conference hosted by VSO today (Tuesday 6 November) in Pretoria, South Africa.

VSO today (19 September) welcomed “EU Aid Volunteers”, a new European Commission initiative which will recruit 10,000 EU citizens to volunteer worldwide in humanitarian operations. The European Commission today set out its plans for the new initiative, which will provide a path for Europeans who want to offer practical help in countries where it is most urgently needed.

On 1 March 2012 VSO partner organisation ANSAF, along with a group of smallholder farmers and ordinary African citizens, marched to State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to deliver a petition signed by more than 16,000 African farmers and citizens.

Ten years on from the end of civil war in Sierra Leone (18 January), mass youth unemployment poses a threat to the existing peace and stability in the country, international development charity VSO is warning.

VSO Bahaginan and Peacebuilders Community will explore a joint project with local NGO EcoWEB, to utilise the logs that were washed away by flash floods from upper villages of Iligan. The logs will be made into lumber and will be used to build new homes for some of the families that were left homeless by the flooding.

VSO underlined its new global focus with the appointment of a new Chair and six new trustees to its International Board.

Today VSO and the Peace Corps signed a partnership agreement at the United Nations headquarters in New York that will allow the organisations to share best practices and work more effectively in countries where volunteers serve. The event was organised by UN Volunteers as part of the 10th Anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers and International Volunteer Day.

VSO policy director, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi reflects on the importance of volunteering.

Following on from the success of last year's expo, VSO China is once again working in partnership with several organisations (including the School of Social Development and Public Policy of Beijing Normal University and Huizeren) to celebrate volunteerism in China. This unique event will take place on 4-5 December at Beijing Normal University.

Meena Paudel, Programme Coordinator from Nepal Disabled Women's Association – one of VSO Nepal's partner organisations from the participation and governance programme – has been selected along with two other finalists for Aosta’s ‘Woman of the Year’ awards.

The G20 is failing to tackle the jobs crisis facing millions of people in the world’s poorest countries with the same urgency as for people in G20 nations, warned development charity VSO today (Friday 4 November).

Leading organisations, VSO, Christian Aid and the WI have warned today that the UK Government’s announcement of £10 million in annual funding for UN Women represents a failure of ambition that was deeply disappointing for the billion women living in poverty around the world.

In Pursuit of Justice is a wake-up call to world leaders who are not providing equal legal rights to their female citizens. In many counties there are still too many gaps in the law, which leave women without adequate protection. For others, the laws are barely worth the paper they are written on because implementation is so weak, or justice systems actively discourage women from using them.

US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron have today announced a partnership between two of the world’s leading volunteer organisations, VSO and the US Peace Corps.

VSO welcomes the positive steps the UN General Assembly has taken in expressing unanimous support for the creation a UN women’s agency to be headed by a new Under Secretary-General (USG). 

VSO attended the launch of 1GOAL at Wembley Stadium, London in August. Marcel Desailly and footballers from across the world support the new campaign that aims to make Education for All a reality, by gathering signatures and increasing the pressure on global leaders to keep their promises.

VSO officially opens its programme office in Tajikistan on 25 June 2009 following its official registration in Tajikistan last September. The British ambassador, His Excellency Mr. Trevor Moore, will host the official launch of VSO’s newest country programme.