Women farmers tend their crops in Bangladesh | VSO

Our work

We bring about lasting change not by sending aid, but by working through volunteers and partners to empower communities in some of the world’s poorest regions.

Areas of work

Purnima at a catch up class
Suraj Shakya

Inclusive and resilient education

Making sure everyone gets the skills they need to live a fulfilled, dignified life.

Over the past five years we have supported almost 3,500,000 children to access the quality education they deserve.

Young female farmers in Kenya
Paul Wambugu/ Obscuramedia

Resilient livelihoods

Ensuring people have the skills and opportunities needed to support themselves and their families.

770,000 people have benefited from our work supporting livelihoods over the past five years.

Girls at the She Club, a safe space for girls to learn about SRHR
Chosa Mweemba

Adolescent and youth health and wellbeing

Improving health services and empowering people to exercise their right to quality care.

Over the past five years we have helped over 3,600,000 people access better healthcare.

Our projects

Read about current and former projects that VSO has worked on.

Discover our projects

How we work

Volunteering for development

At VSO, we know that people in developing countries have the power, courage and desire to help themselves. That’s why we use a volunteering for development approach that puts the most marginalised people first.

Volunteering for development approach

Two adolescent girls study on a bench

Our core approaches

Across all our programmes we focus on building communities that are resilient, inclusive and accountable.

Our three 'core approaches' - social inclusion and gender, resilience, and social inclusion and accountability - are fundamental to our volunteering for development approach, ensuring that the people we work with have the capacity to bring about change in their own lives.

Our core approaches

Working in partnership

We believe progress is only possible when we work together.

Partnerships lie at the root of all the positive change we create. Together, we work on programme development and delivery, research, fundraising and influencing decision-makers.

We work with:

  • 500+ local organisations in 23 countries;
  • governments at all levels;
  • funders, academic institutions and advocacy platforms;
  • corporate partners.

Partnering with VSO

Research and evaluation

A woman sits on a low outdoor wall whilst writing in a log book
VSO/Suraj Ratna Shakya

Evaluating our work is essential. We carry out systematic assessments of all projects, programmes and policies.

Research plays a critical role in helping us understand and improve our work reducing poverty.

Research and evaluations

Influencing and advocacy

A group of Nepali women hold a banner and placards as they protest in front of their remote village, with hills in the background
VSO/Peter Caton

We influence policy at national, regional and international levels. We connect decision makers to the experiences of our volunteers, partners and marginalised people.

Our work around the world, amplifying the voices of the poorest, is making change happen.

Influencing and advocacy

Examples of our work

Bangladesh

Livelihoods

Education

  • Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in Bangladesh

Health

Cambodia

Livelihoods

Education

eSwatini

Health

  • Interactive theatre for justice
  • Improving the health and wellbeing of prison populations in Southern Africa

Ethiopia

Education

  • Unlocking Talent Through Technology

Health

  • Equipment and skills to reduce newborn deaths

Kenya

Health

  • Delivering Equitable Sustainable Increases in Family Planning (DESIP)

Malawi

Education

  • Unlocking Talent Through Technology
  • Building Educational Foundations through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT)

Livelihoods

  • Improving Market Access for the Poor
  • Solar Mama Rural Electrification project

Health

  • Improving the health and wellbeing of prison populations in Southern Africa

Mozambique

Education

Myanmar

Education

  • Returning to education after COVID-19

Nepal

Education

Health

  • Interactive theatre for justice
  • Gender Based Violence Prevention and Response (GBVPR II)

Nigeria

Livelihoods

  • Improving Market Access for the Poor

Pakistan

Health

  • Pakistan Forum for Democratic Policing

Education

Rwanda

Health

Education

Sierra Leone

Health

Education

  • Building Foundational Learning Through Technology (BFLTT)

Tanzania

Livelihoods

  • Improving Market Access for the Poor
  • Lake Zone Youth Empowerment project
  • Tanzania Local Enterprise Development (T-LED)
  • Collective Action for Rights Realisation in Extractives Industry (CLARITY)
  • Futuremakers

Health

Uganda

Health

  • Equipment and skills to reduce newborn deaths

Livelihoods

  • SCOPE (Skills and Capacity for Organisational Productivity and Employment)
  • Futuremakers

Education

Zambia

Health

  • Training and Local knowledge (TALK!)
  • Improving the health and wellbeing of prison populations in Southern Africa

Livelihoods

Zimbabwe

Health

  • Improving the health and wellbeing of prison populations in Southern Africa
  • Speak it Loud

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A farmer standing next to their harvested crops

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