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.
Throughout my involvement with VSO I have been privileged to meet and work with many fantastic volunteers and staff; people who brought real skill and passion to their work with local communities across the world; who knew they were learning as well as giving, and who walked in the shoes of their local colleagues. The power of their shared endevour contributed to real and lasting change.
I've no doubt that volunteering is as relevant to tackling poverty and disadvantage as it has ever been. It is not a solution on its own, but sharing skills and building local capacity it is an essential part of supporting locally owned development. And this is better done by living and working alongside local people than by producing grand masterplans or endless reports and recommendations.
I am proud that VSO is now a truly international organisation, not only working across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific, but recruiting volunteers from every continent and offering their skills where they are most needed for whatever time period is appropriate. I am pleased that we have responded to the steady development of the education systems in the countries in which we work, and to which we have contributed, by recruiting highly skilled volunteers who can really add something to what local people can do. But I'm just as pleased that we have found sensible ways of involving young people, on whose interest the future links between northern and southern countries depends. And I'm excited by the rapid growth of our programmes to people volunteering within their own countries, either as national volunteers, or within our diaspora volunteering programme.
I am now moving on to work on related issues of rights and opportunities on a UK domestic front with Mencap. (mark.goldring@mencap.org.uk) My successor, Margaret Mayne, starts in December. I can only hope that she has as rewarding an involvement with VSO as I have had.
With all good wishes
Mark