VSO runs a vast number of projects spanning our three global programmes; health and wellbeing, inclusive education and resilient livelihoods. Here are examples of our current and past work.
Examples of our projects in
Inclusive education
Making sure everyone gets the skills they need to live a fulfilled, dignified life.
Education for crisis affected children in Myanmar and Pakistan
The Multi Year Resilience Programme (MRRP) has been supporting marginalised children in Myanmar and Pakistan to improve access to quality, equitable and inclusive education, enabling them to unlock their full potential in life.
Supporting early childhood education in the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement
VSO has supported 4,500 learners with early childhood care and education in the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in Uganda.
Getting children back to school in Pakistan
In 2022 Pakistan experienced some of its deadliest floods in years. VSO are helping to ensure education is still possible for children displaced by flooding.
Creating inclusive education spaces in Nepal
Supporting the most vulnerable children to access and participate equally in education in Nepal.
Strengthening civil society organisations for resilient and inclusive education governance
Ensuring every child in Nepal has the right to a quality education, free from discrimination.
Building Foundational Learning Through Technology
Working in partnership with the Government of Sierra Leone, the Building Foundational Learning through Technology (BFLTT) project in Sierra Leone is using ed-tech to enhance learning in remote regions.
Empowering Adolescent Girls to Learn and Earn (EAGLE)
Improving literacy, numeracy, business, and life skills for adolescent girls in Mozambique.
Building Educational Foundations through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT)
Improving foundational literacy and numeracy skills for 3.5 million children in Malawi.
Let’s Learn Through Play (Twigire Mumikino Rwanda)
Championing play as a tool for creative, engaged and resilient learners in Rwanda.
VSOSCHOOL app: Using technology to empower educators
The VSOSCHOOL app is an invaluable resource that supports children and educator’s learning – both inside and outside the classroom.
Supporting Rohingya child refugees
Providing Rohingya child refugees with vital care, home-based education, and safe places to learn and play.
Using technology to deliver high quality education
Addressing global education challenges with award-winning technology.
Previous education projects worked on include
- Professional Development in Upper Secondary Schools (PDUSS) in Cambodia
- Empowering a new generation of adolescent girls with education (ENGAGE) in Nepal
- Numeracy for All - Developing low-cost, high-quality maths teaching aids
- Building Learning Foundations - Developing long-term, sustainable solutions to improve basic teaching for every child in Rwanda
- Sisters for Sisters' Education - Supporting vulnerable girls in Nepal to succeed in school and beyond
- Capacity Development Partnership - Supporting equal access to quality education through government capacity development in Cambodia
- Education in Emergencies - Building resilient education systems in fragile spaces
- A-PLUS (All Pupils Learning for Ultimate Success)
Resilient livelihoods
Ensuring people have the skills and opportunities needed to support themselves and their families.
Integrating Peacebuilding, Development and Humanitarian Efforts on the Kenya/Ethiopia border
Climate-induced disasters are fuelling instability at the Kenya/Ethiopia border, where many families rely on farming for their livelihood. VSO are bringing communities together to foster peace and social cohesion.
From Waste to Work
Strengthen green youth-led start-ups in Kenya to create decent jobs through waste recovery.
Challenge Fund for Youth Employment
The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) is a five-year programme supporting youth employment initiatives within West Africa/Sahel, Horn of Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, creating a more prosperous future for 200,000 young people.
Previous livelihoods projects worked on include
- Generating Resilient Environments and Promoting Socio-Economic Development of the East Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia (GREEN)
- RECOVER - Supporting vulnerable rural communities in Cambodia with economic recovery after COVID-19
- Collective Action for Rights Realisation in Extractives Industry (CLARITY) in Tanzania
- Futuremakers - Equipping youth with employment skills in Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
- Youth Empowerment for Social Cohesion (YESC) in Bangladesh
- T-LED - Encouraging grassroots growth in Tanzania
- Solar Mamas - Empowering women and powering communities
- Lake Zone Youth Empowerment project - Empowering Tanzanian girls and young mothers
- Cocoa Life - Increasing profits for cocoa farmers in Ghana
- Improving Market Access for the Poor (IMA4P) - Supporting poor farming households to make a sustainable living in Cambodia, Nigeria and Malawi
- Growing Together - Overcoming rural poverty through farming innovations in Bangladesh
- SCOPE (Skills and Capacity for Organisational Productivity and Employment) - Training Uganda's young population
Adolescent health and wellbeing
Improving health services for all and empowering the most marginalised to exercise their right to quality care.
Make Way
Embracing intersectionality for inclusion in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.
Improving the health and wellbeing of prison populations in Southern Africa
Improving prison health through an innovative combination of volunteer peer support, skills training, and advocating for change.
Previous health projects worked on include:
- GVBPR - Preventing gender-based violence in Nepal through transforming gender norms
- Speak it Loud - Amplifying the voices of women's movements to address violence against women in Zimbabwe
- Imbere Heza - Ensuring Deaf young people aren't excluded from sexual and reproductive health services
- Breaking with tradition - Engaging men to tackle gender based violence in Sierra Leone
- Interactive theatre for justice - Using drama to empower marginalised groups in Bangladesh, eSwatini, Nepal, Tanzania and Rwanda
- Adolescent TALK! (Training and Local Knowledge) - Tackling sexual health taboos in Zambia
- Reducing newborn deaths in Ethiopia and Uganda
- Pakistan Forum for Democratic Policing - Combatting gender-based violence through democratic policing
- Doctors for Development - Reaching isolated communities in Sierra Leone with pioneering maternal health technology
The ACTIVE programme
ACTIVE is a five year programme funded by UK Aid, running across 19 countries. ACTIVE mobilises marginalised groups, such as women, young people and those with disabilities, to act on the issues that are most important to them and their communities. So far, the programme has reached over 5 million people and mobilised over 20,000 volunteers.
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Inclusive education
Making sure everyone gets the skills they need to live a fulfilled, dignified life.
We helped almost 3.6 million people to access the quality education they deserve using our current strategy.
Adolescent and youth health and wellbeing
Improving health services and empowering people to exercise their right to quality care.
We helped almost 200,000 people access better healthcare using our current strategy.
Resilient livelihoods
Ensuring people have the skills needed to support themselves and their families.
Over 400,000 people benefited from our work supporting livelihoods using our current strategy.