Waste picker outside her house

Help ensure women’s lives in Kenya aren’t thrown away

Creating lasting change by unlocking the power of people

At VSO we harness the skills and expertise of volunteers to deliver long lasting change. We put people first and empower them to be in the driving seat of their own development. Our volunteers work in collaboration with marginalised communities in every aspect of project design, delivery and evaluation, enabling the world's poorest communities to take charge of their own change. 

Areas of work

Purnima at a catch up class
Suraj Shakya

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.

Young female farmers in Kenya
VSO/Paul Wambugu

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.

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.

We helped almost 200,000 people access better healthcare using our current strategy.

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Latest news

Hear stories from volunteers and communities and stay up-to-date with the latest VSO news.

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Woman working on farm

From Lake to Land: How Mrs Sokea turned challenges into green growth on Tonlé Sap

For more than 30 years, Mrs Sokea and her family grew vegetables to support themselves. However, she faced many challenges and her crops were often invaded by insects. With VSO's help she's adopted modern climate friendly farming techniques to improve her livelihood.

Community Volunteers on the way to the clinic
VSO/Chosa Mweemba

The impact of climate change on sexual and reproductive health and rights

As communities worldwide grapple with the challenges posed by environmental changes, health systems must adapt to ensure inclusivity, equity, and resilience in healthcare delivery.

Illustration of climate change
Rocio, 19, Bolivia

VSO leads the charge for inclusive climate action at COP29

Watch a powerful film presented by VSO at COP29, where children and youth share their fears and hopes for a sustainable future using the power of art and poetry.

Our impact

Using our current strategy (2022-28), VSO has reached 24.8 million people, including over 20.6 million indirectly and nearly 4.2 million directly.

Find out more in our impact report

3.6m

Nearly 3.6 million were reached through our education projects.

400,000

Over 400,000 people were reached through our resilient livelihoods programme.

200,000

Almost 200,000 people were reached through our health projects.

Volunteering with VSO

Make an impact by sharing your skills and experience with some of the most marginalised people in the world. Become a VSO volunteer.

Browse all current opportunities

More ways you can support VSO

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Find out more about our telephone fundraising