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Blog posts about Food and Income

Outdoor meeting - YELG project, Uganda.

Rebuilding hope, trust and communities in Uganda

When Sue Howes returned to Uganda 40 years after first volunteering there, she found a country still nursing the wounds left by war, extremism and disease. Compelled to do something, Sue and her husband Greg founded a project that would help communities build themselves back up.

Volunteer filmmaker Justin in Tanzania

Development through the lens: A volunteer filmmaker in Tanzania

Justin Spray volunteered in Tanzania telling the stories of some of the people whose lives VSO has touched with its work there. He explains how the power of film can be harnessed to create change.

VSO-supported welding graduate Whycliffe Rutalemwa

"I thought life had ended - but life has just begun" - Whycliffe's story

Whycliffe was supported by VSO to attain an internationally-recognised vocational qualification, which has transformed his fortunes. He now employs three other young people and dreams of volunteering to help other youth in his home near Hoima, Uganda.

Volunteering in Uganda

5 ways volunteers are tackling youth unemployment in Uganda

More than three quarters of Ugandans are under-30. This huge youth population has the potential to lift the country out of poverty, if rampant levels of unemployment could be brought down. Thankfully VSO volunteers are stepping up to help, and changing lives in the process.

Woman with solar lantern at night in Malawi Africa | VSO

Meet the mamas fighting poverty through solar power

Solar energy has the power to transform lives in Malawi, where just one in ten people has access to electricity. Eight extraordinary women on a VSO pilot project are lighting new paths to prosperity.

Robert with colleagues while on placement in Tanzania.

Thank you: Two incredible words I never expected to hear from Nelson Mandela

At 21, Robert Yates was unhappy at the state of the world. Determined to take positive action, he volunteered with VSO in Tanzania, where he supported young South Africans exiled by apartheid.

aerial view of the pamunda island, Zanzibar

Struggles in paradise: Do the world’s poorest actually benefit from tourism?

Around the world, tourism is on the rise, but local people often don’t see the benefit. Our work in Zanzibar is a great example of how simple changes could make a world of difference to farmers trying to earn a living.

Building parallel bars for accessibility in PNG

Five volunteer impacts in Papua New Guinea

As VSO scales back operations in PNG after more than 50 years, we celebrate just a handful of the major impacts volunteers from around the world have had on the development of this diverse Pacific nation.

Building parallel bars for accessibility in PNG

Five ways volunteers have supported vital work in Papua New Guinea

As VSO scales back operations in PNG after more than 50 years, we celebrate just a handful of the major impacts volunteers from around the world have had on the development of this diverse Pacific nation.

Liz takes on the #PovertyBox challenge

Only €14 on food for a week - could you do it? That's exactly what VSO Ireland's Liz Gordy is attempting this week...

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