UK Aid Volunteering for Development

The Volunteering for Development (VfD) programme was a multi-year grant from the UK government, worth £70.5 million in total over the course of five years (2017-22). It funded programmes in health, education, livelihoods, resilience and active citizenship across 24 countries in Africa and Asia, and reached over 5 million people living across the Global South, twice the original target. 

For every year of its implementation, the VfD programme received at least an A rating from the UK government for the quality of its delivery. We are hugely proud of the achievements of the VfD programme, and look forward to building on its successes with through out new ACTIVE grant.

Our Volunteering for Development programme, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), works to improve access to quality health and education services, as well as developing livelihood opportunities for the most poor and vulnerable.

Originally designed to provide targeted support over three years, between 2017-20, the programme was extended for an additional year in 2020, and then again in 2021, before coming to a close in March 2022. The programme supported a range of programmes, from reducing child marriage in Bangladesh, to providing education in refugee camps, to supporting communities to recover from natural disasters, such as Cyclone Idai in 2019.

The VfD programme also supported the development, launch and widespread adoption of a global set of minimum standards for responsible and impactful volunteering, known as the Global Standard for Volunteering. Almost 200 volunteer-sending organisations around the world signed up to the standards which promote safe and impactful volunteering.

Through VfD funded policy and advocacy work, VSO also facilitated numerous changes to local and national policies across countries in the Global South. These included helping to shape a new Disability Act in Pakistan, supporting ordinary Ethiopians to get involved in their own country’s development plans, and supporting citizens to hold their own governments to account on progress towards the SDGs.

Areas of impact

The grant enables us to drive vital work across several development areas. This joined-up approach sees changes happening at all levels to bring real change to the world’s most poor and marginalised.

The grant supports VSO to place expert volunteers to support projects in 23 countries around the globe. Throughout the course of the grant we aim to have supported 4,000 volunteers.

After year one, we placed 606 international volunteers and 920 national volunteers across our four areas of focus.

Volunteering for Development supports our vision to enhance effectiveness across a number of vital areas - including our three 'core approaches':

• Social Inclusion and Gender
• Resilience
• Social Accountability.

The grant also supported work to improve the standards of volunteering across the sector.

Volunteering for Development around the world

The Volunteering for Development grant is supporting work in 23 countries across the globe.

Find out more about where we work

Highlights from our work on the ground:

• In the first year of Volunteering for Development, we reached 847,000 women and girls - representing 60% of our total reach. 13,601 (1%) had a disability.
• Bangladesh and Tanzania - challenging traditional gender perceptions: Working alongside Theatre for a Change we are using drama to interact with communities and challenge perceptions of standard gender norms. 
• Bangladesh - reducing child marriage: We are working alongside the Girls Not Brides campaign to monitor the implementation of the Child Marriage Act, which was passed in 2017.
• Sierra Leone - tackling gender-based violence:  Reported incidents of gender-based violence have halved in Kenema, Sierra Leone, where we're working with local volunteers to work as male advocates and peer health educators. A film covering this project was selected for the Sustainable Development Goals Film Festival at the 2018 UN High Level Political Forum.

Highlights from our work influencing policy:

• African Union Gender strategy: 600 Million women and girls now have a clear actionable roadmap on gender, including an investment plan and an advocacy tool. VSO emphasised the need for an inclusion lens in the African Union’s approach to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Kenya - Policy for learners and trainees with disabilities: (formerly Kenya special education needs policy). Launched by the President of Kenya in July 2018. VSO was central to the initiation and subsequent development of this policy and accompanying guidelines. The guidelines accompanying the policy have formed the basis for the development of the National Education Sector Strategic Plan 2018-2022.
• Malawi - developing by-laws and reporting systems on child marriages: in 14 group villages.
• Nepal - National guidelines on violence against women and girls: For the first time, clear public guidelines are provided about the services and support provided by the government to women and girls who have experienced discrimination. A VSO national expert volunteer co-drafted the policy.

Highlights from our work on the ground:

• Bangladesh - education interventions for Rohingya refugee children: we have implemented Home Based Early Childhood Education and Care for 3-5 year olds and child-friendly alternative learning classes for 6-14 year olds.
• Ethiopia - education interventions for refugee children: In partnership with UNICEF, we are developing a psychosocial support programme in Oromia and Somali regions of Ethiopia to directly support vulnerable primary school children.
• Nepal - flood recovery: We are working alongside a selection of partners to support rehabilitation and improving access to schools in addition to ongoing disaster risk reduction work.
• Sierra Leone - flood and mudslide recovery: Continued focus on the shift from emergency response to recovery and resettlement. Through the flood response programme, technical support has been provided to the Disaster Management Department of the office of National Security and training for over 50 community volunteers to be engaged in future Disaster Risk Reduction campaigns in the Provincial districts of Kono, Pujehun, Bo, Koinadugu and Kambia.

Highlights from our work influencing policy:

• Nepal - Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy: The government of Nepal has drafted a national disaster risk reduction strategy with support from the Association of International NGOs. VSO supported with technical expertise and organised public consultations with local communities to ensure accountability. We will also support the monitoring and implementation of the strategy.

Highlights from our work on the ground:

• Citizen-led monitoring introduced across six countries: This work has reached over 30,000 citizens and there is significant increase in the awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals among these communities.
• In Tanzania, 1453 young people across Lindi and Mtwara are actively involved in youth platforms, actively building youth networks with strong leadership skills to lead their own development, monitor progress and take action.
• In Uganda, 3,456 community members and 3,426 school children have been involved with communications around the SDGs and social accountability.

Highlights from our work influencing policy:

• Ethiopia - National Youth Volunteering Policy: completion of a National Youth Volunteering Policy and adoption by parliament; the National Civil Society Organisations (CSO) Policy amended to provide significant level of political space for CSOs to engage in rights, policy and advocacy issues.