About VSO

VSO (formerly Voluntary Service Overseas) is an international development charity, committed to tackling the causes of disadvantage in the world's poorest countries. We do this not by sending money, but by sending people.

Since 1958, over 30,000 volunteers have served with VSO. We send experienced professionals (the average age of our volunteers is 38) from the areas of management, education, health and some technical areas. VSO volunteers live within local communities for a local salary, and work with local colleagues on one or two year placements to help communities work towards a better future.

We recruit volunteers in Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, the Philippines, Kenya and India. In each of the 34 countries that we work in, we have an integrated plan to tackle poverty and exclusion drawn up with our local partners.

We have strategic programmes in six areas. Most countries that we work in focus on two or three programme areas:

• Education
  improving the quality, relevance and accessibility of education through teacher training and working with ministries of education
• HIV & AIDS
  tackling the HIV/AIDS pandemic by joining forces with AIDS organisations to overcome stigma, raise awareness and increase the availability of treatment, care and support
• Sustainable Livelihoods
  helping people in developing countries to make a viable living, through support to community organisations and small businesses
• Disability
  empowering disabled people to have a voice and take control of their future through supporting disabled people's organisations, building public awareness and working with government to increase access and awareness
• Health and Social Well-Being
  working with ministries of health to improve access and quality in the health system, especially improving community-based care
• Participation and Governance
  enabling disadvantaged people to play an active role in their communities and influence decisions that affect their lives, through support to community organisations and government, especially in post-conflict situations

Irish professionals who have volunteered with VSO do so because they believe in using their skills for a better future, and return to Ireland with an increased awareness of the problems facing the world's poor, as well as having developed both professionally and personally.