Young Nepalese girl with her brother

A fair world for everyone

Creating lasting change by unlocking the power of people

We know that simply sending money can’t make the kind of lasting changes we all want to see. So, we unlock the power of people, bringing together local, national and international volunteers to work alongside the world’s most marginalised and vulnerable communities to build generational change. 

Areas of work

Purnima at a catch up class
Suraj Shakya

Inclusive education

Making sure everyone gets the skills they need to live a fulfilled, dignified life.

Over the past five years we have supported almost 3,500,000 children to access the quality education they deserve.

Young female farmers in Kenya
Paul Wambugu/ Obscuramedia

Resilient livelihoods

Ensuring people have the skills and opportunities needed to support themselves and their families.

770,000 people have benefited from our work supporting livelihoods over the past five years.

Girls at the She Club, a safe space for girls to learn about SRHR
Chosa Mweemba

Adolescent and youth health and wellbeing

Improving health services and empowering people to exercise their right to quality care.

Over the past five years we have helped over 3,600,000 people access better healthcare.

Aerial shot of flooding in Pakistan

VSO needs your help to keep children in Pakistan in education

Latest news

Hear stories from volunteers and communities and stay up-to-date with the latest VSO news.

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Girls in a biology lesson

My experience improving science teaching in Cambodia

After retiring from a successful career in the UK as a science teacher, Sean McMorrow shared his skills and experience to help Cambodian children pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and maths. Read more.

Children in classroom

Help VSO keep children in Pakistan safe

Right now, Pakistan is reeling from devastating floods which left a third of the country underwater. As the country grapples with the effects of a changing climate, it’s children who are being left behind.

Janefer Boke outside Nyamekongoroto catch-up centre, Migori, southwest Kenya
Paul Wambugu

5 facts about women's rights around the world

While much progress has been made towards creating equality for women, the fight continues. In this blog, we celebrate some key achievements of women around the world and understand how much further we have to go...

Our impact

In 2021-22, VSO reached 8.2 million people, over 4.2 million indirectly and nearly 4 million directly.

Find out more in our annual impact report

5.5m

Over 5.5 million were reached through our education projects.

500,000

Almost 500,000 people were reached through our resilient livelihoods programme.

1.2m

Over 1.2 million people were reached through our health projects.

900,000

Over 900,000 through our wider work on resilience, inclusion and social accountability.

Volunteering with VSO

Make an impact by sharing your skills and experience with some of the most marginalised people in the world. Become a VSO volunteer.

Browse all current opportunities

More ways you can support VSO