VSO in the news
Read media reports of VSO's work.
Managing teachers report
'This valuable VSO and CfBT report offers a rich menu of examples of good practice in this critical area of teacher management and support.
CUSO Merger Approved
The Boards of VSO International, CUSO and VSO Canada have agreed to a merger between CUSO and VSO Canada and approved the membership of the new organisation in the VSO Federation. A Board for the new Canadian entity, to be called CUSO-VSO, has been created.
A farewell note from Mark Goldring
On 15th November I will leave VSO, having spent twenty of the last thirty years in a range of roles, starting as a volunteer, and ending, for now at least, as Chief Executive. The real end will come in a decade or so when I finish my career just as I started it, as a VSO volunteer.
Away game wins a career advantage
03/04/2008 11:22:00 The TimesWhether 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...
A world apart
27/03/2008 11:46:00 The Northern EchoFifty years ago, a letter to The Sunday Times helped found Voluntary Service Overseas. Since then, 32,000 volunteers have travelled abroad...
An African adventure
27/03/2008 11:54:00 The Daily TelegraphBorn 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...
Out of office until 2009... Gone to help Africa's poor
14/03/2008 11:06:00 MetroDoing voluntary work abroad used to be the preserve of school-leavers who wanted to spread their wings and search for worldly meaning while building a few mud huts...
Volunteering in Cambodia: surviving the first two months
07/03/2008 17:23:00 Health Service JournalIn the second of a series on volunteering abroad in the health service, VSO volunteer Patricia Sloan talks about her new life in Cambodia and shares photos from her adventure. It is exactly two months since I left from Manchester Airport, outward bound for Phnom Penh and into the unknown. After spending the weeks before my departure saying goodbye to family and friends, I embarked on my life as a volunteer with VSO for the next two years. Two years might seem like a long time for such a placement, but it takes time to build relationships, understand work culture and find effective ways to support colleagues and encourage development.
A Wealth of Service
07/03/2008 17:19:00 Scotland on SundayVoluntary Service Overseas celebrates its golden anniversary in Edinburgh next week - 50 years during which thousands of volunteers have shared their skills in dozens of countries. We meet some of the Scots for whom it has been a priceless experience...
Postgraduate Queries
18/01/2008 16:54:00 The IndependentVSO gives advice to a graduate looking into careers in international NGOs 'What will impress an NGO; a masters, or experience?' ...building up further ...
Travellers fear delays and frustration
18/01/2008 16:49:00 BBC News OnlineHolidaymakers travelling out of Heathrow's Terminal 4 were bracing themselves for a night of delays and frustration on Thursday. Libby Lawrence and a ...
New Years Honours
02/01/2008 17:02:00 Financial Times, Guardian, Independent and The TimesVSO's chief executive Mark Goldring has received a CBE for services to disadvantaged people in the new year's honours list. Mentioned in the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent and The Times
Passport, Ticket, Conscience
02/01/2008 17:08:00 Financial TimesThe travel industry, is shaping up to extend the season of giving and compassion. Volunteering, or “volunteerism” as it is sometimes known to those with a shorter commitment, is on the rise. More tour companies are producing dedicated brochures. Earlier this year Lonely Planet published a 200-plus page guidebook to the subject embracing all its shapes and hues, from multi-year Voluntary Service Overseas postings to more modest exotic holidays with in-built volunteering days.
An equal right to life
01/12/2007 11:29:00 The GuardianThe fundamental inequality between women and men is driving the HIV and AIDS pandemic in India.
Respecting sensitivities abroad
29/11/2007 11:36:00 BBC News OnlineBritish teacher Gillian Gibbons - jailed for insulting Islam after allowing pupils in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad - has been described as making an "innocent mistake". Her plight raises the question of what kind of training and preparation is available to anyone wanting to teach abroad.
Leaders out to Africa
16/11/2007 11:40:00 Times Educational SupplementThe government is to fund primary leaders to volunteer abroad. The move is an acknowledgement the visits can help schools here as much as those in developing nations.