Blog

Over the last year, organisations working in aid and development have been rightly challenged over their failings in dealing with abuse and harassment. In response to the scandals, the UK government is holding an International Safeguarding Summit in London in October.

Watch what happened when we brought two British VSO volunteers together who volunteered in Ghana to find out how different their experiences were – 60 years apart.

Rwanda is truly a nation of volunteers. A commitment to working with your community towards a common purpose is engrained in its national spirit, and the role that volunteering has played post the 1994 genocide is a lesson we can all learn from writes VSO CEO Dr Philip Goodwin.

In Nepal, suicide rates among young married women are very high. Devna* shares her experience of a surviving a forced marriage, and how she and her family came to be involved in a VSO project to reduce levels of violence in families in Baglung.

Every day, approximately 386,000 babies are born. Of these, over 90 per cent will be born in countries where there still isn’t enough access to medical care, leaving them at risk of illness, disease and death. But support from UK aid is changing this, providing vital services in maternal and neontatal care. 

Around the world, tourism is on the rise, but local people often don’t see the benefit. Our work in Zanzibar is a great example of how simple changes could make a world of difference to farmers trying to earn a living.

Eileen’s year spent in Zambia was unforgettable. Not just because it was the first year of married life with her husband, but also for the extreme highs and lows of her stint volunteering in the children’s ward of a small rural hospital.

Thousands of Rohingya children are living in the refugee camps. They’re out of school and risk being left behind for good, but VSO education volunteer Fiona Kirby is working to help them

About half a million children are living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. We're working together to help them.

Rem Dieng, 26, was born with polio. It affects the way she walks – and her chances of getting work. Now a volunteer on VSO’s International Citizen Service (ICS) programme, she’s using her story to inspire youth club members to continue into higher education and better job prospects. 

A billion people in the world are volunteers. A new UN report rightly recognises their vital role combatting the growing global threat of natural and man-made disasters, writes VSO’s Chief Executive Philip Goodwin. 

In Cambodia, rice farmers are struggling with growing costs and stagnant markets. They are taking out loans to cope in the difficult months and when they cannot repay them they're forced to migrate towards cities or overseas in search of work, leaving behind children and aged parents to care for the rice fields.