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VSO - Sharing Skills, Changing Lives

VSO at a glance

For those of you who are new to VSO we've put together the following five facts, so you can see at a glance what we're all about.

VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers

Our vision is a world without poverty in which people work together to fulfil their potential. Instead of sending food or money, we send women and men from a wide range of professions who want the chance to make a real difference in the fight against poverty. These volunteers work in partnership with colleagues and communities to share skills and learning and achieve positive change together.

Our volunteers are skilled professionals

Our approach to volunteering has changed dramatically over the years. We no longer send school-leavers - today our volunteers are skilled professionals mainly in their thirties or forties, and most placements last for two years.

We are by far the largest independent volunteer-sending agency in the world

Since 1958, we have sent out over 30,000 volunteers to work in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific and Eastern Europe in response to requests from governments and community organisations. At the moment we have around 1,500 people working in placements in these regions.

We recruit volunteers from all over the world

Although VSO was founded in the UK in 1958, we now welcome volunteers from an ever-increasing range of countries and backgrounds. Our national partner agencies in Canada, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines, India and Ireland recruit volunteers from many different countries worldwide and this international approach allows us to combine and learn from a rich variety of perspectives.

We were voted the top international development charity of 2004

Our work in promoting innovative approaches to globalising volunteering was acknowledged when we were voted top international development charity in the International Aid and Development category at the Charity Awards 2004.

There are many ways you can get involved with VSO and help carry on this work. Here are just a few: