Blog

Children playing. Nyamasheke, Rwanda.
VSO/Mussa

5 top tips for creating more ‘me time’

In celebration of Free Wills Month, we give you five time-saving hacks to try. Pick and choose what works for you and get some more ‘me time’ into your every day.

Ann

VSO Volunteers Honoured by HM Queen Elizabeth II

Over the years, many of our volunteers have been recognised in the Queen’s Honours lists. These titles of honour are awarded to deserving people from all walks of life, in public recognition of their merit, service or bravery. In this blog post, we revisit some previous honourees.

Community emergency response team pull a boat from the water

Pakistan Floods - from planning to action

Flooding in Pakistan is a stark reminder that the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, disproportionately affects the poorest societies. Community Emergency Response Teams are in the field providing emergency action.

Youths chat under a tree
Paul Wambugu/ Obscuramedia

5 ways our youth champions are fighting climate change

In this blog we share five ways that our youth champions have realised tremendous achievements in creating climate awareness, climate resilience and triggering climate justice in their communities.

Paro smiling at the camera
Suraj Shakya

The right climate to learn

Across the countries where VSO works, we see children and young people increasingly experience the effects of climate change. With climate change set to worsen, we know they are likely to experience more devastating consequences in their lifetimes.

BBC Africa film. Family planning for deaf women in Kenya.
BBC Africa

Family planning for the deaf

BBC Africa recently visited the UK Aid funded “Delivering Equitable Sustainable Increases in Family Planning” (DESIP) project in Kenya where they captured our work helping young women with hearing impairment with information on family planning. Watch the short film here.

Woman miner crushing stones
Nicholaus Jackson

Helping women benefit in Tanzania’s male dominated mining industry

Women stand to gain much from Tanzania's male dominated mining industry. Find out how a VSO project is supporting women - and youth and people with disabilities - to access equitable opportunities in the sector in Geita and Mara.

Michael explains Unlocking Talent to the Deputy Minister of Education Madam Elivina Grogera.
Michael Conteh

How technology is improving early grade children’s learning in Sierra Leone

Michael Conteh, a Sierra Leonean national aged 31 years, is volunteering on the Unlocking Talent through Technology project in his home country. Read about his experience helping to improve and accelerate learning outcomes for early school years children. 

Inza, age 12, in the classroom
Suraj Ratna Shakya

The right to education for girls with disabilities

Izna was born with a hearing impairment and her school in Nepal didn’t have the resources to support her, forcing her to drop out. With the help of the ENGAGE project, Inza is now back in education and thriving.

Woman harvesting crops in field.

Investing in small farmers, agroecology critical to get us out of current food crisis

Already battered by the climate crisis and COVID-19, Africa is now facing rising food prices in light of the war in Ukraine.

Women and youth making briquettes for fuel. Uganda.

Meet VSO’s youth innovators and climate champions

Meet Hosea Tumwine – an extraordinary young person and enthusiastic champion of women and girls’ rights in Uganda. Hosea is a member of VSO’s global youth network.

Children playing. Nyamasheke, Rwanda.
VSO/Mussa

Levelling the playing field in early learning - Let's Learn Through Play

Here volunteer Anisa Hay from the USA talks about her role on our ‘Let’s Learn Through Play’ programme in Rwanda. The programme is funded by the Lego Foundation and promotes play-based learning as the foundation of early childhood education.