Students Learning Kenya sign language from VSO volunteers
VSO/ Paul Wambugu

Meet the young activists fighting for Deaf rights

Youth volunteers Raabia, a young filmmaker from the UK, and her Kenyan counterpart, Enock, explain how badly marginalised Deaf people continue to be in both countries – and what they’re doing to help.

Fifteen-year-old Pendo watches herself in the short film Tabu

Watch the VSO film receiving international acclaim

Tabu, a film created by a community in Tanzania with the support of a VSO volunteer, has been screened at seven film festivals around the world. Now we want to share it with you.

Shehla Qureshi speaks at a conference in Karachi, Pakistan
©VSO/Talha Ghouri

Why we need more outspoken women

From climate activist Greta Thunberg, to Karachi’s first female police superintendent Shehla Qureshi, more and more strong women are speaking up against the injustice they see around them, and changing their world.

VSO speakers at the VSO offices in London

Inspiring the next generation of volunteers

VSO’s brand new speaker service is made up of a network of returned volunteers across the UK. We caught up with two VSO speakers, Shonesé and Mark, who were among the first to sign up – sharing their experience volunteering with local communities.

group of people in zambia smiling and laughing at the camera
Jason J Mulikita

The ripple effect: What happens after a VSO placement?

From fostering cross-cultural understanding between countries, to furnishing hundreds of classrooms, many volunteers carry on making a difference after their official VSO placement has ended. This 'ripple effect' is still changing lives around the world.

Abdul Latif, pictured here standing outdoors, is a farmer working with VSO on the Growing Together project.
©VSO/Allison Joyce

How we're prepping the world's poorest for climate change

People in developing countries are bearing the brunt of global climate change, but VSO is supporting communities to become more resilient to changes in their natural environment.

Elaine Bhate on placement
©VSO/Allison Joyce

It's a family affair

In 1990, healthcare worker Elaine Bhate left the UK to volunteer as a VSO midwife. Almost three decades later – her daughter Ria, 19, followed in her footsteps. We caught up with them to understand how volunteering overseas changed their lives.

Man walking through a green field on a Bangladeshi farm

Developing software for a better world

VSO has been working with software consultants, Equal Experts, using software to help rural farmers access new services in Bangladesh.

Giving up the ‘gap yah’: how to make sure you volunteer responsibly

We caught up with VSO’s Responsible Volunteering Specialist to find out how she's raising awareness about orphange ‘voluntourism’ and responsible volunteering.  

A woman farmer who has benefited from VSO's work in Nigeria

The future of farming is female

Fatima Al Hassan is part of a new generation of female farmers. In the past two years, Fatima has gone from cash-strapped housewife to successful entrepreneur, and is helping fight gender inequality along the way.

Ethiopian children sat in a class, smiling and clapping their hands
VSO/Jasper Kasbergen

5 ways we're helping children with disabilities in Ethiopia

With your help, VSO is assisting the Ethiopian government with improving education in the underdeveloped region of Benishangul-Gumuz. Focusing on marginalised and indigenous communities, children with disabilities now have the opportunity to receive an education. From buying hearing aids to building ramps, see how your donations are making a difference.  

Fulani boy grazing cows in Ferlo desert, Senegal, 2017
©Shutterstock/Anton Ivanov

Inside the climate-driven conflict in Nigeria

In Nigeria last year, six times more people were killed in clashes between herdsmen and farmers than in attacks by terrorist group Boko Haram. So why aren’t we hearing more on this issue?