Every act of volunteering begins with a choice — a decision to act out of a desire to make a difference. Across the world, VSO volunteers are proving that one spark of action can ignite something much bigger.
This International Volunteers Day, we celebrate the people at the heart of that change — volunteers who give their time, skills, and compassion to make their communities stronger. From teaching children in remote villages to creating safe livelihoods from waste, each story reminds us that when people come together with purpose, change becomes possible.
Marya's Journey to Make Education Possible in Pakistan
“When I see them learning,” says Marya, “I feel I have achieved something meaningful.”
Before 24-year-old Marya started volunteering in her village in Pakistan, there were no local schools. Children especially girls, faced many barriers to education. Many parents believed that girls should stay home and rejected the idea of female education.
As part of Marya's volunteering work, she went door to door persuading parents to enrol their children in VSO’s early learning centres returning for days until families agreed. She taught writing, maths, Urdu, and Quran studies — giving her students, including those from the neighbouring Afghan refugee camp, a safe space to learn. For the first time, children with disabilities could also study close to home.
Today, several of her learners have joined English schools — a milestone that once seemed impossible. “This centre has changed our area,” Marya says. “Now, people believe education can shape a better future.”
Turning Waste into Hope – Stephen's story
“I raised my voice and said no more killings, no more drugs.”
In Kibera, Nairobi, Stephen grew tired of watching young people lose their lives to crime and drug addiction. Determined to change things, he founded the Kibera Plastic Initiative — a group of waste pickers recycling plastic and cleaning up their community. He then joined VSO where he turned this small idea into a sustainable business.
Stephen's volunteer work supports young people aged 18–35 to earn a living through safe recycling, while building life skills, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. Stephen trains waste pickers to sort waste, save money, and run group businesses. He helps them open savings accounts, keep records of the waste collected, and plan budgets. “Before, people misused their money on drugs,” he says. “Now they save and think about their future.”
Stephen’s leadership has helped dozens of youth out of crime and into earning an income.
Waste that once filled the streets is now a source of income — and hope. “Through this work, we’ve learnt to value ourselves,” he says. “We’re protecting our environment and building our lives.”
Finding Dignity Amid the Waste – Evelyne’s mission to help
“They eat what they collect from the dumpsites — food that has not rotted too badly.”
Evelyne, aged 35, has lived through deep hardship and loss. When her husband fell ill, she stopped working to care for him, but after his death in 2019 she was left pregnant, in debt, and struggling to feed her two children. Life in the slums was desperate — people survived on less than a dollar a day, eating from dumpsites and facing constant danger, violence, and disease.
Determined to make a difference, Evelyne became a VSO volunteer alongside Stephen, supporting waste pickers with training in recycling, business, and life skills. She delivers sessions on hygiene, family wellbeing, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy — practical tools that help people move beyond daily survival.
Thanks to volunteers like Evelyne, women who once relied on dangerous work at dumpsites now run small recycling businesses, wear clean uniforms, and save money each month. “They save, they plan, they believe in themselves again,” she says. “That’s what keeps me going.”
Every Child Deserves to Learn: Alfred’s Story
After 16 years as a teacher, 42-year-old Alfred became a national volunteer teacher educator with VSO, supporting 14 primary schools, four early childhood centres, and one secondary school in Uganda’s Karamoja region. In his community, child labour among girls is widespread, and education for girls is rarely valued. Many are forced into early marriage, while children with disabilities are often seen as a curse — rejected, silenced, and excluded from learning.
Alfred is working to change this narrative. He trains teachers to create inclusive, child-centred classrooms where every learner — regardless of gender or ability — has a chance to thrive. His work extends far beyond lesson plans: he leads cluster trainings on curriculum interpretation and classroom management, offers psychosocial support to both teachers and students, and mentors staff on handling stress, early marriage cases, and discrimination.
More than 150 teachers have already benefited from Alfred’s mentorship. “When teachers feel supported, children learn,” Alfred says. “Every time I visit a school and see children smiling, I know it’s working — we’re building a future, one lesson at a time.”
Building Peace After a Lifetime of Conflict: Ibrahim’s Story
At 66, Ibrahim has spent his entire life surrounded by conflict. Thirty years ago, his village was attacked and he was shot, an injury that left him permanently disabled. Along the Kenya–Ethiopia border, his community still struggles with cross-border violence, deep poverty, and recurring droughts that destroy crops and livestock.
Refusing to give in to despair, Ibrahim chose to become a volunteer with VSO, dedicating himself to building peace. Through VSO’s training in cross-border peacebuilding, he joined a local peace committee and began educating others about resolving conflict. With VSO’s support, he has helped uncover and address the root causes of violence — from the lack of food and water to limited access to education and jobs. “When there is peace, you can cultivate your land, do business, and educate your children.”
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The two volunteers empowering girls and young women in Mozambique
Nelma and Carmirene and are two volunteers working on VSO's EAGLE project in Mozambique. For Nelma and Carmirene, education is not just about school, it is about meeting people where they are and using the right tools to challenging harmful norms. Here are their stories.
Opening Doors to Safety, Education, and a Brighter Future
For girls in Karamoja, the poorest region in Uganda, being forced into early motherhood is all too common. This Christmas, you can open the doors to Safety, Education, and a Brighter Future.