TakingITGlobal: Inspire, Inform, Involve

VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers. We enable people aged 17-70 to share their skills and experience with local communities in the developing world. We passionately believe we can make a difference in tackling poverty by helping people to realise their...
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VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers. We enable people aged 17-70 to share their skills and experience with local communities in the developing world. We passionately believe we can make a difference in tackling poverty by helping people to realise their potential.
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Tackling disadvantage at grass roots Our approach is not to send food or money. Instead, we are actively working for a more equitable world by sending people out to share their skills at the heart of communities where skills are needed most. We send men and women from a wide range of professions...
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Tackling disadvantage at grass roots Our approach is not to send food or money. Instead, we are actively working for a more equitable world by sending people out to share their skills at the heart of communities where skills are needed most. We send men and women from a wide range of professions who want the chance to make a real difference in the fight against poverty.

Ours is a very individual 'people to people' approach to development. Our overriding goal is to help individuals learn from each other - and consequently benefit the communities and countries in which they live. But above all, we are realistic in our expectations. We purposefully harness our resources to long-term objectives and focus on sustainable development rather than the short-term relief of certain problems.

In fact, we are by far the largest volunteer-sending agency in the world. Since 1958, we have sent out more than 29,000 volunteers to work in Africa, Asia, the Pacific region and, more latterly, Eastern Europe in response to requests from our partners - overseas employers. At the moment we have around 2,000 people engaged on placements in these regions.


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