Lucy Taylor

Volunteer Stephanie with women Shea nut processors in Ghana

Shea joy as volunteer Stephanie returns to progress in Ghana

British volunteer Stephanie Green spent two years in Ghana working to help Shea nut processors become financially independent businesswomen. She returned earlier this year- and was delighted to see that the women are thriving, independent of VSO support.

Members of PECAW Group, a trades company in Tanzania supported by VSO

Delivering job-ready graduates in Tanzania

Before VSO's project, fewer than one in three graduates were in work within two years of leaving vocational training. Now more than half are employed within six months.

Jan Rensink, VSO volunteer school leadership adviser, Tanzania

Transforming primary education in Lindi

Jan supports Equip Tanzania, a project working to improve primary education, especially for girls, in the most disadvantaged regions of Tanzania. As an education management specialist he is working to improve leadership across a region responsible for 379 schools.

Children complete surveys in Kano, Nigeria

Children demand legal protection for rights threatened by tradition in Kano, Nigeria

More than three quarters of children surveyed by VSO in Kano, Northern Nigeria, say that traditional values and practices prevent them from realising their basic rights. We are using the findings to support local organisations in their fight for full legal protection.

Julia Lalla-Maharajh with children in Ethiopia

Could volunteering help you discover your life's calling?

VSO volunteers often tell us their lives have been transformed by their experiences. Here, three returned volunteers explain how volunteering encouraged them to find a more meaningful and rewarding path in life.

What to expect when you're volunteering: Advice from VSO volunteers

If you’ve been thinking about volunteering overseas but are still undecided, take it from those who have been there. Read their advice here or meet volunteers in person at a Meet VSO event.

Volunteer Mira Howard visiting a primary school in Namibia

9 lessons in living life to the full: From 81-years-young volunteer Mira

“You can only do your bit. But that’s enough” says serial volunteer Mira. She has been supporting VSO for 18 years, having set off on her first placement at the age of 63.

Are prisons the missing link to ending the spread of HIV?

Across Southern Africa rates of HIV and tuberculosis are on average twice as high - and in some cases up to 50 times as high - in prisons, as in the general population.