A great opportunity to volunteer internationally with VSO :

Volunteering - passion for life

Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) is one of the world's leading independent international development organisations that works through volunteers to fight global poverty. Since 1958, over 33,000 volunteers have worked in approximately120 countries. Today, there are over 1,600 international volunteers working in 42 countries, a media release said.

Since 2010, VSO has recruited qualified Sri Lankan citizens to volunteer in developing countries. VSO has sent Sri Lankan volunteers to countries such as Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Bangladesh, Thailand, Tajikistan, Ghana, Nigeria and South Sudan. A volunteering assignment is an avenue for personal and professional growth.

Volunteers get to improve their skills by working in challenging environments while gaining a perspective on life that is outside the comfort zone of their conventional careers. Volunteers are guaranteed a life long experience by working in a developing country - likely the most memorable part of their whole career.

Individuals who have a basic degree with at least three years’ experience in one of these fields: business management, NGO management, advocacy, fund raising, marketing and communication, health (including doctors, nurses, midwives and health managers), monitoring and evaluation, social work, community mobilization, HIV and AIDS, natural resource management, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy are welcome.

The volunteers between 24-55 must be fluent in spoken English.

Selected volunteers will be placed in Africa or Asia: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand/Burma, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Volunteers wil be provided with a living allowance, accommodation, flights to reach their placement and return once they complete their assignment, and a grant that is calculated per day that they have been overseas. Volunteers are medically covered in the country they are placed in.

VSO handles all volunteer visa and work permits - liaising with the program offices in the placement countries. HIV and AIDS programme capacity builder in Papua New Guinea, Sheela Daskara said that she had this dream of being a volunteer from school age. “Once I achieved this dream last year, I saw the huge potential of volunteer work towards the development of the world.

I saw the strong commitment of volunteers in achieving their development goals and I was proud to be a volunteer.” stated Daskara.

Organisational Management Adviserin Sierra Leone,(Returned volunteer)Wasantha Ranjan Dias stated thathe has workedin Sri Lanka for many years in the field of development, and wanted to share his experience in other developing countries as well.