Voluntary Services Overseas

Bring people together to fight poverty

VSO is the world’s leading independent international development organisation that works through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries. Since it was founded in 1958, more than 44,000 VSO volunteers of 94 nationalities have brought about lasting change by sharing their skills in over 90 countries. VSO international volunteers transfer knowledge and experience not locally available, while the national volunteers who we support use their skills and cultural understanding to make an impact in their own countries. We also create specific opportunities for young people and those with origins in developing nations but who now live elsewhere in the world (‘diaspora’ communities), linking them to their country of heritage.

VSO has operated in China since 1981, with a development programme working through long term, expert international volunteers in Education, Health, Livelihoods and volunteering development. Over the last 30 years, VSO has brought more than 750 volunteers to China and has provided more than 1,500 years of professional volunteering service.

Recognizing that the context of development in China has changed tremendously over the last three decades, VSO is now refocusing its programme to:

I Promote and support Chinese people to engage in their own development, through volunteering in China and overseas from China;

II Share knowledge and best practices of volunteering, brokering partnerships and providing a range of consultancy services and international volunteer accompaniment to government, non-government and corporate sectors through setting up a social enterprise;

III Contribute to the development of government policy and experiential learning of best practices that encourage volunteering, corporate social responsibility and international cooperation.

Enabling that, VSO will register a consulting company in China early 2012 to provide a platform for training and consultancy in corporate volunteer programming and community development. It will retain its Representative Office to continue its NGO capacity building programme in China and the opportunities it can offer Chinese people to volunteer overseas from China.