Blog

Farmers working in Kenya

In photos: The power of volunteering

As the year draws to a close, we want to highlight all the amazing work and achievements of VSO volunteers this year.

Community garden
Paul Wambugu/Obscuramedia

Notes from the field: The female farmers cultivating for empowerment

Thematic Partnership Lead-Resilient Livelihoods, Vladymir Rivera, recounts his experience of visiting our agroecology project in Siaya, Kenya sharing his notes from the field.

A national volunteer, gives training about legal rights of women in Zimbabwe.
Columbus Mavhunga

“For me, social work is not just a career, it’s a calling”

Hear from Tugwell, a Social Accountability Advisor under the Speak It Loud project in Zimbabwe. He's using his 16 years’ experience as a social worker to help end violence against women.

Primary actor working the field

Climate crisis in Kenya is putting millions of lives at risk

Right now, over 3.5 million people are on the brink of starvation across drought-ravaged Kenya. With large parts of the country having suffered a fourth consecutive season of failed rains, crops have been decimated and livestock killed, destroying the livelihoods of many Kenyans.

youth health champion Yvonne
Chosa Mweemba

Meet our health champions: Yvonne Katwishi

Meet Yvonne, a health champion who's improving access to sexual and reproductive health for youth in her community, and empowering girls and boys in rural Zambia to make informed decisions about their sexual health.

Youth Health Champion Manisha gives a demonstration on sanitary pads
Smriti Basnet

Meet our health champions: Manisha Kumari Jah

Meet Manisha, a 19 year old volunteer who has been working with VSO for three months as a Youth Health Champion, teaching young people about adolescent health in Nepal.

community volunteer using a Talking Book to deliver a lesson to the students.
Chosa Mweemba

Meet our health champions: Bartholomew Sunga

Hear from one of our youth champions Bartholomew on how he's helping to raise awareness on sexual and reproductive health among adolescents in his community.

Aarati Patel

Meet our health champions: Aarati Patel

Meet Aarati, a health champion working on youth health rights in Nepal. Her work is helping youth and LGBTQ+ people to access sexual and reproductive health services.

Health care workers learning Kenya Sign language
Paul Wambugu/Obscuramedia

Meet our health champions: Truphosah Fridah Monah

Truphosah works as a disability inclusion advisor on the DESIP project in Kenya, advocating for family planning and social inclusion for disabled people within health services. She is a Kenyan woman with disability and uses a wheelchair for mobility.

golden retriever

‘Because you have a pet’ and other reasons to write your will today

An estimated 60% of eligible adults in the UK do not have a will. A growing number of people are ticking this ‘life admin task’ off their ‘to do lists’ by using a simple and easy to use Free Wills Service.

Kenyan youth group
Paul Wambugu/Obscuramedia

Our youth champions give their climate month round-up

Our youth champions took over our @VSOPeople account on Twitter, to share the ways they're tackling climate change in their communities. Watch the video to find out more.

Juliet
Columbus Mavhunga

The mental health lifeline for survivors of abuse in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, survivors of violence and abuse have little access to mental health services to manage the trauma they’ve experienced. For those who’ve been through so much, what support is out there?