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The volunteer helping Rohingya refugee children regain their childhood
From destruction to dressmaking - the story of two inspiring women
Life at VSO: Praveen Kumar, Global Lead Advisor for Social Inclusion. My name is Praveen Kumar Gurunath, and I’ve been working with VSO for the past 18 years in various roles, and for the past five years as the Global Lead Advisor for Social Inclusion. Early on, I was part of the VSO India programme, where I worked as the Head of Programmes and an interim Country Director before taking up this role.
“Bringing about change is always a two-way process" - Nicoline's journey in Cambodia. Nicoline from the Netherlands volunteered on VSO's Rural Employment for COVID-19 Economic Recovery (RECOVER) project in Cambodia, helping rural communities to build sustainable livelihoods. Her experience not only helped communities to take charge of their own income, but also supported her own growth and personal development. This is her story.
In Iran, the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly violating Iran's mandatory hijab law, sparked protest across the globe. In Afghanistan, the Taliban regime severely restricted women’s education, preventing girls from attending formal secondary school and university. While in many other countries, governments have stripped back women’s right to have an abortion. While much progress has been made, the fight continues. The persistence of protests and women's movements shows that we’re not backing down! In this blog, we celebrate some key achievements of women around the world and understand how much further we have to go...
8th March marks International Women’s Day, a global day to commemorate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. On this special day, we want to recognise our female volunteers at VSO and celebrate the power of female volunteerism. From advancing girls’ education, to helping communities better protect themselves against climate change, meet 5 inspiring women who are transforming the lives of some of the most left behind communities.
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Julia Lalla-Maharajh OBE as the new Chair of the VSO International Board of Trustees. Julia will take up her appointment in February 2023, having been deeply involved in the charity's work for the past three years as a Board Trustee.
As part of our Life at VSO blog series, we aim to give you an insight into what life is like working at the world’s leading international development through volunteering organisation. Meet Rahim Hassanali, VSO's Volunteering Leadership Project Manager who's current role is to lead the development and global rollout of the world’s first Global Volunteering Standard on behalf of the International Forum for Volunteering for Development.
As we move into 2023, let’s have a look back on the past year. And what a year it was! Despite, the soaring cost of living, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and a series of climate disasters that defined 2022, our supporters and volunteers continued to support our work in the face of adversity.
On Thursday 8 December 2022, VSO hosted the Volunteer Impact Awards, which celebrated the exceptional contribution of VSO volunteers from around the world in creating lasting change in some of the world’s poorest communities. In 2022 we celebrated the theme of active citizenship and recognising the work of volunteers in empowering the most marginalised to lead their own development and claim their rights to better services. Volunteers were nominated under the categories of health, education, livelihoods, and impact beyond volunteering. Watch the Awards here: https://www.vsointernational.org/get-involved/events/volunteer-impact-awards-2022
