Volunteer Peter helps some pupils at a VSO-supported learning centre
VSO/Paul Wambugu

Helping young mothers return to education

Hear from our students and mentors about how our Education for Life project is helping young brides in Kenya, return to school.

Group of women smiling
VSO/Paul Wambugu

Education Summit 2021: volunteers transforming girls’ education in Kenya, Malawi and Nepal

Our flagship girls’ education projects, in Kenya, Malawi and Nepal have been helping girls to access the education that they deserve.

Girl in Nepal listening to radio lessons during COVID-19 lockdown
©VSO/P Mathema

Back to school: Closing the education gap for generation COVID

Schools around the world have begun to reopen, but the attainment gap for children will be wider than ever. VSO’s Lead Education Adviser Purna Shrestha outlines how to close it.

From school drop-out to superstar: How Elias saved 45 children's education

Elias Musabyimana was just ten years old when he survived the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis. It left him deeply traumatised - but determined to dedicate his time, skills and energy to making a better world.

Schoolgirl or bride? Millions of girls fight for basic rights

More than 130 million girls are out of school. Many dropped out out due to pressure to marry too young, robbing them of their childhoods, their rights and their future. It's not too late to rescue them from a bleak future.

Saying 'no' to forced marriage in Ghana

Imagine being locked up against your will unless you agreed to marry a man you had never met. This is exactly what happened to Jenny, a 17 year old girl living in northern Ghana. 

Labelled a prostitute for going to school

VSO volunteer researcher Pauline Faughan spent three months visiting schools interviewing teachers, pupils and community members on their attitudes to girls education.

Teacher Josephine in Rwanda
©VSO/Kayibanda Alice

I keep going because I have a passion for teaching

Josephine earns just £12 a month as a pre-primary school teacher in one of the poorest districts of Rwanda. She's finding creative ways to bring learning to life using old rice sacks and bottle tops, as part of a programme to improve early childhood education in the country.

A student draws on a blackboard in Nepal.
©VSO/Omar Havana

Here’s a big thank you to our unsung classroom heroes

We say thank you to all the wonderful teachers we work with, across VSO.

Phyness Kankhwali, a teacher on VSO’s Unlocking Talent programme, teaches in the classroom at the Mdzobwe Primary School in rural Lilongwe
©VSO/Jeff DeKock

We’re training the teachers of tomorrow, today

There are now more children in education than ever before, but millions are leaving school without basic reading or maths skills. The solution? We think it begins with better teacher training.

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