Volunteer abroad with Voluntary Service Overseas VSO

Celebrating 60 years

Former volunteers' newsletter

Hear updates from other volunteers, find out the latest on VSO projects, and discover new opportunities, like upcoming events and VSO vacancies, by signing up to our e-newsletter for former volunteers.

VSO at 60

Over the past 60 years we have supported over 76,000 volunteers in 120 countries.

VSO volunteer David Brown's class in Borneo

Timeline

Find out from this timeline how VSO has evolved as an organisation over the last six decades.

Rohingya refugee crisis appeal

Targeted violence against Rohingya communities in Rakhine State, Myanmar, has forced over 671,000 people, mostly women and children, to flee their homes. This exodus has become one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world.

Rohingya refugees urgently need support.

Our response

Ready to help the most vulnerable young children.

Donate

Support Rohingya child refugees.

Volunteering in Cox's Bazar

Working together to help Rohingya children get their childhoods back.

Our work

We bring people from different backgrounds, expertise and experiences together to fight poverty. Last year 7,237 volunteers worked alongside partners, communities and institutions to support 2.4 million people:

We supported over 1,336,000 people to access better healthcare.

Improving healthcare

Our work improving access and quality of education reached 900,000 people.

Improving education

We helped improve access to food and income for 165,000 people

Improving livelihoods

Where we work

Volunteer videos

Sharing skills saves lives, in a country still living with the impact of Ebola

Dr Padma is a GP from London, who is volunteering at Makeni Regional Referral Hospital in Sierra Leone. In a country still reeling from Ebola, she tells us it's often skills, not supplies, that save lives.

Mary volunteered as an education specialist in Ghana, supporting children with disabilities gain access to school

Finding Ghana’s hidden children

Mary Loureth Carnable is a disability specialist volunteering with in Ghana. She's working to get vulnerable children such as girls and children with disabilities access to education.

Volunteer Giovanni Villafuerte inspecting the crops and earth in the paddy fields of Banan in Cambodia

Supporting rice farmers in Cambodia

Volunteer Giovanni is working to support farmers turn their enterprises into robust businesses. Here he talks about the experience as a whole, and the impact he sees.

Volunteer blogs

Volunteers set up a street library to get kids reading

While volunteering in Lindi, Tanzania, Steve and Sue noticed that the children they worked with had no access to books. Together with the whole neighbourhood they came up with a new idea to get local children reading.

VSO health volunteer John Williams in Cambodia

Volunteering after retirement: John gives something back in Cambodia

John's lifelong ambition to volunteer abroad was realised at 60, when he was offered a three-month stint in Cambodia with VSO.

A day in the life of Rebecca Clark, education leadership advisor, Rwanda

Rebecca Clark, a Deputy Head Teacher from inner-city London, has swapped the concrete jungle for greener pastures. Now she trains Head Teachers in the leafy district of Rusizi, Rwanda, on a two year VSO placement.

Volunteer Mira Howard visiting a primary school in Namibia

9 Lessons in living life to the full: From 81-years-young volunteer Mira

“You can only do your bit. But that’s enough” says serial volunteer Mira. She has been supporting VSO for 18 years, having set off on her first placement at the age of 63.

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