The UNV-VSO partnership aims to increase the positive impact that volunteering can have on empowering marginalised communities. It will build partnerships at the country level to support research, promote volunteering and help undertake advocacy to create enabling legislation for volunteerism. By sharing knowledge, the two organisations aim to build good practice in volunteering, promote innovation and amplify the voice of volunteers and grassroots organisations in decision-making about development.

UNV and VSO are concerned that the very people that development aims to support are often far removed from decision-making about poverty reduction. By working together, the organisations hope to help put the voice of marginalised communities at the heart of development, from grassroots to international levels. VSO works in over 30 countries with local partners to support the work of over 250,000 local volunteers, in addition to international volunteers sharing their skills.

Andrew Mitchell, UK Secretary of State for Development, will give the keynote speech at an event today to celebrate the new partnership. An expert panel will then examine the vital role that volunteering can play in promoting active citizenship and people-centred development. This debate is critical at a time when the world is grappling with questions about how to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and is debating what the future international framework for effective development should look like.

Both UNV and VSO believe that the needs and aspirations of marginalised people themselves need to be the starting point for international efforts to reduce poverty, and that fostering citizen action on the issues through volunteering is a key engine for change.

Marg Mayne, VSO Chief Executive, said:

"This new partnership is very exciting. It will help promote and strengthen volunteering for development, increasing the participation and engagement of marginalised communities in decisions which affect their lives. With over 50 years of experience in this area, we know how active citizenship can help ensure that poor and marginalised people take ownership of development and make it work for them.

"The result is development that is truly people-driven, locally owned and sustainable. As we grapple with development approaches in the run-up to 2015 and beyond, it's important that the role of voluntary action is fully appreciated and harnessed.

"Volunteering is much more than a cost-effective and sustainable way to deliver services. It brings people together to drive meaningful changes in society and shape debates and decisions that have a profound impact on their lives."

Flavia Pansieri, Executive Coordinator of UNV, states:

"This partnership agreement gives formal acknowledgement of our strong, long-term working relationship with VSO and provides a framework for collaborative work on global advocacy and research on volunteerism for development and peace. It also provides a practical on the ground collaboration in developing countries."

UNV will launch in the UK the first State of the World's Volunteerism Report (SWVR), which promotes a better understanding of civic engagement by demonstrating its universality, scope and reach and by discussing new trends in volunteerism in the twenty-first century. The report examines important contributions in diverse fields such as sustainable livelihoods, social inclusion, social cohesion and disaster risk reduction. The SWVR also provides an alternative vision of a better society and considers how to take volunteerism forward.

The event, Framing the future of development: putting people first, takes place at the Royal Society's Kohn Centre, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, from 2-5pm on 18 April.

The line-up of speakers includes:

Keynote speech by the Secretary of State for Development, Andrew Mitchell; Marg Mayne – Chief Executive, VSO; Flavia Pansieri – Executive Coordinator, UNV; Roy Trivedy – Head of Civil Society Dept, DFID; Justin Davis Smith – Chief Executive, Volunteering England; Danny Burns – Team Leader Participation, Power and Social Change team, IDS.

Despite policies having been put in place to address youth issues, the current situation remains dire for young people in the country. Seventy per cent of the country’s youth population is unemployed or underemployed and 50 per cent illiterate or unskilled, according to UN figures (1). Tensions erupted in September last year in Bo, Sierra Leone’s second largest city in the south of the country, where a political rally turned into a riot and young people reportedly ransacked some parts of the town.

The UN has recognised that ‘large numbers of unemployed youths are a potential source of insecurity given their vulnerability to recruitment into criminal and violent activities’ (2).

VSO is working with local partners in Sierra Leone to help provide young people with the skills they need to secure a decent livelihood for themselves. But without a development focus on creating decent jobs and ensuring people have the skills to do them, there are concerns that the conditions for instability could be being created all over again.

William Dauda, Livelihoods Programme manager for VSO in Sierra Leone, said:

“Huge numbers of young people in Sierra Leone lack job opportunities, skills for employment or capital to start a business.

“Young people are a potential resource for growth and social development if productively employed. But they could also be a source of devastating social tension, conflict and instability if they are left jobless and without hope.

“In the north where we work, hundreds of job-seeking young people have moved to the area from other parts of the country, most lacking the skills and education to secure gainful employment. Many have stayed for months with no work. They are frustrated and with elections scheduled for November 2012, there are some concerns that this frustration could spill over into unrest.”

A UNDP District Based Youth study in May 2011 highlighted youth employment challenges in five districts in Sierra Leone. The study revealed that most young people in Sierra Leone do not have a basic livelihood or employable skills and further lack the knowledge, training and capital to start up or sustainably manage a business.

The situation is not unique to Sierra Leone. Over 75 million young people were unemployed worldwide at the end of 2010, according to figures from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Many more in developing countries are underemployed “working poor”, forced to take whatever poorly-paid work they can get and subsisting below the poverty line of $2 per day. VSO is calling on world leaders to take urgent action on jobs in developing countries, placing decent work at the heart of efforts to spur global economic recovery and eradicate poverty.

Lisa Horner, Policy Manager at VSO, added:
“We need to get the world working. Poor people want to work their way out of poverty and the global economy needs the boost that their labour could provide.

"But leaders in developing and advanced economies need to work together to ensure that trade, investment and development policies focus on generating productive employment for the world's poorest people.  This simply isn't happening at the moment."

VSO is working in Sierra Leone with local NGO partners like Binkolo Growth Centre, MADAM and Future In Our Hands, who operate in Sierra Leone’s least developed northern regions. The area has a heavy concentration of unemployed and under employed young people who are desperately seeking jobs with two mining companies, UK-based London Mining and Africa Minerals, which have been operating in the area in the last 2 years.

Abdulai, 28, now works in cassava production after receiving training at Binkolo Growth Centre. But until then he had almost lost hope. He said:

“I spent four years in Freetown where I lived on the streets. The only way I found money to survive was to do odd jobs carrying things, doing work for anyone who would pay… We would sometimes steal bags, money, or things that were worth money that we could sell, just to survive. I didn’t feel good about it, but I had nobody else there. We did not feel good about ourselves; a man without a job does not feel good. We were trying so hard to find work. 
 
“ I went back to Binkolo because my mother sent for me; I returned to find out my father had died during the war… Since 2007, I have not really been doing anything. It is very rough for young people here – so many are unemployed. Every day they come here to Binkolo searching for work… but most of my friends don’t have a job.  Many get in trouble with the police for stealing.”

Later this year VSO will launch a new public campaign focusing on jobs in the developing world, with specific attention paid to the situation for young people and women.

As the organisation marked International Volunteers Day it unveiled Mari Simonen, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, as the new Chair, together with six new board members who bring to the international development charity their experience in campaigning for women's rights, helping people access better health services and improving education opportunities in developing countries.

In a further sign of this growing internationalisation, VSO will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding today at the United Nations headquarters in New York with US volunteering organisation Peace Corps, as part of events organised by UN Volunteers to mark the tenth anniversary of International Year of Volunteers. The agreement will promote greater joint working and skill sharing between the two organisations in selected projects around the world.

VSO Chief Executive Marg Mayne said:

"VSO is changing – from a UK-based volunteering organisation to a global development charity which engages people from all over the world in the fight against poverty. I'm excited to be working with the new trustees, all of whom are from outside the UK and nearly half from the global south. Their appointment shows how we’re implementing this more global approach at the highest level.

"In the long term we want to grow the VSO federation internationally. I'd like to see more VSOs, in more countries, providing a local presence that keeps us truly relevant in the countries where we work.

"The same global approach applies to our volunteers themselves: a VSO volunteer is now just as likely to be someone from Kenya, India or the Philippines as they are someone from the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands.

"We’ll never lose that focus on people sharing their skills with people in other countries, with all the benefits that it brings to volunteer and partner alike. We now want to build a network of volunteers which stretches all over the world."

The new trustees are:

• Anjali Sen, South Asia Director, International Planned Parenthood Federation, a network of 151 associations providing sexual and reproductive health rights 

• Nthobi Angel, Chair of KasigoTiso Holdings, one of South Africa’s largest black-owned investment companies. She has extensive knowledge of the African continent and is a director of the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) 

• Rasheda Choudhury, Executive Director, Campaign for Popular Education Bangladesh, and former government advisor 

• Pamela Culpepper, Senior Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion at PepsiCo 

• Wayan Vota, Senior Director of Inveneo, a social enterprise focused on getting the tools of ITC into rural communities in the developing world

• Tom Carver, Vice President, Communications and Strategy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an award-winning journalist

They will join the existing trustees:

• Grace Aguiling-Dalisay, Professor at the University of the Philippines and a lifelong volunteer 

• Mark Astarita, Director of Fundraising, British Red Cross and Chair of the Institute of Fundraising 

• Sir Andrew Cubie, Vice Chair, consultant to law firm Fyfe Ireland WS, Chairman of the Court of Napier University and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework 

• John Bason, a former VSO volunteer who is now Finance Director of Associated British Foods

• Kibaya Laibuta, Chartered Arbitrator and Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Commissioner with the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution

The new Chair of VSO's International Board, Mari Simonen, said: "VSO's mission and vision are international, so it is only right that the Board reflects this. We have brave ambitions and big challenges ahead, so VSO needs to continue to grow to meet these – we will do that best if we are truly international.

"It feels very complementary that I bring to this position all the experience and skills gained during my 31 years at the UN. Working for the UN gives you a very global perspective and this echoes the direction VSO is taking.

"Change starts with one person, one person at a time. If you join up individual actions you create a movement, with everyone having an important role to play. It is easy to get lost in so much poverty, with problems seeming too big and too far away: we must realise that what we do every day has impact."

New trustee Anjali Sen said:
"The planet is a better place whenever somebody, somewhere, resolves to make her or his ideas and effort count -voluntarily – and make a difference. Passion and energy flows. This is the spirit of volunteerism.

"I want to be a part of an organisation that brings more and more people’s ideas, passions, energies and efforts to the fore, to make this planet a better place to inhabit for now and for the future to come. I will do my bit."

VSO has more than 50 years experience of empowering people to tackle poverty. The organisation is increasingly focused on strengthening systems, developing policies and building capacity in the 34 developing countries where it works, while continuing to deliver services directly where that is what is most needed.

The new board of trustees will take responsibility for continuing this approach of fighting poverty through people, a strategy which in the last year has seen volunteers support 26 million people in the world’s poorest countries.

"This innovative partnership will enhance the effectiveness and impact of both Peace Corps and VSO," said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams. "We will share best practices in programming and training, strengthening our united efforts to combat global poverty. We are proud to mark the tenth anniversary of International Year of Volunteers by recognising the contributions our volunteers are making around the world with local communities."

"VSO and Peace Corps both share a belief that volunteering can have a real and lasting impact on poverty," said VSO Chief Executive Marg Mayne. "We're quite different organisations in terms of our history, governance and the volunteers we work with, and this means each agency can complement the work of the other rather than overlap. This agreement builds on existing work to share skills, training and materials so we can be more effective in the benefit that we bring."

The partnership was first announced during President Barack Obama's state visit to the United Kingdom in May 2011. The agreement will draw on the shared resources of both organisations, helping to ensure VSO and Peace Corps volunteers can continue fighting poverty and creating sustainable solutions to many of the challenges faced by local communities around the world.

Peace Corps and VSO have worked together informally for more than a decade. In Tanzania, for example, VSO and Peace Corps collaborate closely to improve the English capability of Tanzanian teachers, and share materials, skills and accommodation to improve in-country training for volunteers. Building on this foundation, Peace Corps and VSO will explore how they can collaborate further on volunteer programmes, such as education, health and HIV and AIDS projects across the developing world, and on supporting local citizens to shape their future and the future of their countries. The partnership will also see knowledge sharing on training and other support functions.

In a statement announcing six key joint initiatives the leaders said that: “The US Peace Corps and VSO will jointly promote volunteering and active citizenship through people to people exchanges. They will work together alongside local communities and organisations on development priorities and they will enhance their effectiveness by sharing best practice in training, systems and innovation.”

For more than fifty years, Peace Corps and VSO have been leading organisations fighting global poverty through volunteering.  Collectively, they have 10,000 international volunteers working in 95 countries and a network of more than 250,000 returned volunteers. Each organisation works in complementary ways, so providing opportunities to work together that enhances our effectiveness in transforming lives across the world.

Peace Corps and VSO have worked together informally, on a small scale, for more than a decade. Building on this foundation, they will explore how they can collaborate further, on volunteer programmes, such as education, health and HIV/AIDS projects across the developing world, and on supporting local citizens to shape their future and the future of their countries.  The partnership will also see organisational learning on training and other support functions.

VSO Chief Executive Officer, Marg Mayne said:

“This is a landmark step forward for VSO and our transatlantic friends, Peace Corps. We both have a shared insight and commitment to engaging people in the fight against poverty. Peace Corps and VSO will support each other’s efforts to develop volunteer programmes that are more effective in engaging poor communities in shaping their own future.

“The announcement today will allow us to increase the reach of our education, health, HIV/AIDS, youth development, gender and climate change programmes. Our valued volunteers will continue to work alongside poor communities and local partners on key development priorities, as well as support them in building a lasting legacy of local volunteer networks.”

Peace Corps Director, Aaron S. Williams said:

“This innovative partnership will enhance the effectiveness and impact of both Peace Corps and VSO.  We will share best practices in programming and training, strengthening our united efforts to combat global poverty.  We are proud that President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron recognise the contributions our volunteers are making within local communities around the world.”

Ends

VSO Media contact: Krista Eleftheriou on krista.eleftheriou@vso.org.uk, +44 (0)20 8780 7265, +44 (0)7738982122.

Peace Corps Press Office: pressoffice@peacecorps.gov, +1-202-692-2230

The centre offers formal education to children from the less fortunate families and orphans, it also offer training to local farmers to improve their agricultural production and improve their livelihood. As a result of his effort life in this poor rural village is changing, there is increased milk production resulting to higher return form the farmers in addition to the center attracting volunteers from across the globe. The centre also provides information through radio programmes, magazines, journals and newspaper to the community.

Makechi has also been part of a project to mobilize wheel chairs for the physically disabled children in his community. The beneficiaries of his volunteer action best describe him as “one in a million”.

Volunteer of the Year Awards - VOYA recognises acts of volunteerism as championed by individuals both young and old; organisations; education institutions, corporate bodies as well as government ministries within Kenya. The awards seek to celebrate the contribution made by volunteers in bringing positive change to society.

At the Gala event, there were more awards for various categories - the full list is as follows:

Individual Awards

Volunteer of the Year - William Makechi 

Youth Volunteer of the Year - Abdikadir Aden Hassan

The 22 year old youth from Garissa, North East Kenya, has been a volunteer for the last 4 years. He has been volunteering with the National Environment Management Authority as an administrative assistant. During this time he was able to mobilize the Community training on environmental issue that included prevention of mosquito breeding thus resulting to reduced malaria infection in Garissa. He has also been involved in facilitating educative workshops in various environmental issues, bringing to the limelight issues affecting his community through information gathering and dissemination. Aden has also helped in designing and implementation of community development projects like the Garissa Youth project.

He is also a youth leader and a member of the Magnet Youth Group that creates awareness on HIV & AIDS through drama. Hassan also been involved in counseling youth against drug abuse, thus rescuing youths from drug addiction.

International Volunteer of the Year - Bosco Zephania Muhindo

Muhindo has been a Volunteer with United Nations Volunteers (UNV) for the last 4years. Based at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya, this medic by profession is intimately involved in the implementation of public health activities in the camp, often working more than the designated working hours on end to ensure safe and effective health services reach refugees.  He has been particularly aggressive in the advocacy for adequate resource allocation for public health activities, especially those that address the needs of women, children and persons with disabilities.

As a result of his engagement, there are increased hospital deliveries among the mothers, reduced mortality rates, reduced cases of malaria to near eradication of cholera in the camp. There is also reduced cases of malnutrition and what’s more, every family contributes to the construction of pit latrines to ensure proper sanitation. This has led to the reduced cases of cholera outbreaks in the camp for the last 3years.

Organisations and Corporates

Volunteer Involving Organisation of the Year - Ahadi Kenya Trust

Ahadi Kenya Trust is well known for it anti jigger campaign in Kenya, and most recently in Uganda and Tanzania. The organization currently works with and through 1,600 volunteers in Kenya, 60 in Uganda and 40 in Tanzania.
The organization has been able to treat more than 65,000 jigger victims, fumigated more than 9,000 homesteads and donated more than 10,000pairs of shoes. They have started clubs in schools to sensitize the students as well as reduce the stigma on the infected school children.
 

Learning Institutions: Tertiary Institution Volunteer Programme of the Year

University of the Year Volunteer Programme - United States International University (USIU) Nairobi

USIU has a developed guideline on volunteering programme for the students. The University also provides students with logistical support, supervision as well as conduct surveys on the need of volunteer services before placing the student. As a result the students have been able to work in children homes and homes for the less fortunate in society in addition to donating material things to these homes. This way they make their beneficiaries feel they are still part of the society and they too are important, this raises the self esteem of the children.

Secondary Schools Volunteer Programme of the Year - Starehe Boys Centre

The school has instilled in its students the need to give back to the community through volunteering. As a result every student takes time during the school holiday to volunteer in various sectors. At the end of the volunteering period, the organization/institution where the student was volunteering signs the report card indicating what the student was doing. The Boys have assisted various government ministries in filling as well as computerizing of old files to improve service delivery to the public. These include the Attorney generals Chamber, Kenyatta National Hospital, Ministry of Agriculture, The law courts among others. The school provides logistical support to the students during the volunteering period. 

Primary Schools Volunteer Programme of the Year - Matathia Primary School

The school is located in the semi arid are of Lari District, Kiambu County. The volunteer programme involves an environmental club which is run by the students. The programme began in the early 2000 and is made up of pupils from class 4-8. When the programme began, the school compound was bare with one large tree where both pupils and teachers used to compete for the shade during lunch break under the scorching sun.

Since the establishment of the club, the students have not only changed the looks of their compound but the surrounding community. They have planted so many trees in the school and trained their parents to also plant trees in their farms. It is now a green school and a model environmental school in the district. As a result of the effort by the students, the school has been supported by well wishers to install water tanks in the school as well as tapped water. The school is currently partnering with a local Community based organization where they are raising indigenous trees as an alternative source of income for the school.

Government Ministries

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MOYAS) - Recogniation of the efforts by a government ministry to promote volunteerism and commitment to develop a volunteer policy.

MOYAS has piloted the national Youth Volunteering Scheme at the coast where 100 youths were deployed in various institutions as volunteers. In addition to improving service delivery in the institutions where they were placed, the programme enabled them gain work experience and as a result a third of them were retained and secured jobs. The ministry is also spearheading the development of a national volunteer policy where the policy document has been presented to the cabinet.

Special Award

Peace and Reconciliation Volunteer of the Year Award - Maximilla Winfred Okello

Okello is a founder and a member of Mama Amani Group in Rumuruti, laikipia District. A teacher in a local secondary school she has been involved in trying to reunite the community after the PEV. This has involved entering into dialogue with the various ethnic groups living in this area and bringing them together for purpose of reconciliation. She has done this through organizing cultural days where the various ethnic groups display their culture through dance, food and beauty contests.

As a result harmony is slowly returning to this community, they are rebuilding each others homes through communal work. She has introduced them to alternative sources of income such as farming instead of pastoralism which also causes conflict due to demand for grazing land.

Kenya suffered severe droughts in 2005 and 2006, and again in 2009, with the greatest effects being felt in the northern part of the country, where the Turkana.

The Turkana people have adapted to living in a harsh climate by working together as a communal unit. But with increasingly erratic rainfall, caused by global warming from the emission of greenhouse gases, the adaptive strategies of the Turkana may not be enough to enable them to survive in such a parched landscape.

Hezbourne won signed copies of two Wangari Maathai books. Maathai is Africa’s first female Nobel laureate. She became a champion for protecting the environment more than four decades ago, after witnessing the effects of aggressive and unregulated logging in her homeland in Nyeri, Mt Kenya region.

A big thank you and well done to all who participated by entering the competition. In the eyes of GEC, you are all winners!

The competition was designed to raise awareness of how climate change is affecting people living in East Africa. The entries had to show and the effect of climate change or how people are adapting to it in Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania. Climate change is the GEC’s national theme for the next two years.

See the winning photo and runner-up gallery.

VSO Indonesia currently has international volunteer professionals working with partners in local government institutions and NGOs in Nusa Tenggara Timur and South Sulawesi, on livelihoods and disability projects.

In 2009, VSO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Dirjen Binapenta. According to the MOU, VSO will manage a pilot project sending Indonesian volunteers overseas. The project will be evaluated at the end of the Indonesian volunteer’s two-year term.

We believe that Indonesian professionals are able to take up this important role of making changes for a better world, through sharing their knowledge, talents, experience and skills with local organisations and communities in other developing countries.

The recruitment criteria, terms and conditions and mechanism will be the same as those used in other VSO recrutiment bases. The volunteer benefits package is designed so that the volunteer will not lose money or make a profit from volunteering. VSO Indonesia and VSO Bahaginan in the Philippines, (the closest VSO recruitment centre in Asia) will manage this pilot project.

The project started in August 2010 and the recruitment process will consist of application and selection between September and October 2010. The deadline for submitting application forms is 3 September 2010.

The five Indonesian volunteers are expected to start their overseas postings between November 2010 and March 2011, depending on them being matched with available placements in VSO partner organisations in other developing countries.

Next to the valuable contributions volunteers make during their placements, they return to their own country equipped with invaluable professional experience, a wealth of memories, and a whole new perspective on life. It will be a great contribution to the development of Indonesia and its skilled workforce, if Indonesians volunteered their time and skills as VSO volunteers.

VSO is distributing information about this pilot project through mailing lists, Internet job sites, as well as a video advertisement at the Kota train station in Jakarta. This video advertisement has been made possible through our collaboration with QSi Holding Limited and their representative in Indonesia, PT Delphi Utama.

VSO immediately contacted all its partner organisations to check their status. Only one organisation, the Participatory Welfare Organization (PWO) in the District Layyah Punjab Province, was badly affected. Their areas of work are near the bank of River Indus. The sudden water surge in the river destroyed hundreds of villages. PWO is a very active relief organisation and started the rescue efforts by arranging rescue boats.

VSO also works closely with the National Volunteer Movement (NVM), a government body. Its national volunteers moved immediately to provide support to rescue work in Peshawar city and in northern areas.

NVM mobilised their volunteers to man the various collection points for relief goods and distribution to needy people. They have been providing cooked food to people in Peshawar, and have made a plan to arrange a crash course for local people of affected areas in coordinating the relief activities and managing the relief operations. In the next phase VSO will help identify people through our resource bank to provide training in damage assessment at various locations.

Now the flash flood have receded, there is fear of the looming threat of epidemics, such as malaria or cholera caused by standing slush in the affected low-lying areas.

Sign up to the competition at www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=126535840715240

Even if you don’t have a picture to post now, please sign up to see the images and read the stories of others. We’ll ask you to vote for a winner in September, once we have shortlisted the entries.

Please join us in our efforts to raise awareness of the effects of climate change on the lives and livelihoods of people living in Kenya and Uganda.

The competition closes on Friday 27 August 2010.

This decision comes three years after a high level panel first recommended the creation of a unified women’s agency and follows committed lobbying from hundreds of NGOs and their supporters around the world.  Thousands of VSO supporters across the UK campaigned for this agency through the charity’s Help Women Help the World campaign and overseas staff and volunteers got involved by lobbying their UN Permanent Representatives.

However, while VSO welcomes this decision, it is also urging the Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to act swiftly to ensure the agency is operational during 2010 and has the budget and mandate to enable it to genuinely change the lives of disadvantaged women.

Commenting on the decision VSO Chief Executive Marg Mayne said: 

“This is an historic moment for women around the world and the efforts of the numerous campaigners and organisations calling for this resolution have been justly rewarded.  But let’s be realistic, this agency has its work cut out.  Persistent inequalities and discrimination have led to women being amongst the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the world and it will take money, clarity and commitment to really have an impact. A UN women’s agency has the potential to change lives but VSO will be watching closely to make sure its creation does not become embroiled in bureaucracy and political game playing.”

VSO believes a functioning and effective agency must be funded to at least $1bn a year, with expert staff and adequate resources to run programmes on the ground that will improve women's lives. It must have strong leadership along with a willingness to listen to the women’s organisations and charities operating on the ground.

Currently over half a million women die in childbirth or pregnancy every year because they can't access the healthcare they need. Every day hundreds of women are the victims of rape and sexual violence in conflict zones like the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Three-quarters of people infected by HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa are female and the majority of children out of school are girls.

Catherine Hine, Director of VSO Tajikistan, said:

“It is exciting to hear from everyone we speak to here, about the key role that VSO can play in Tajikistan. And there is no doubt that VSO volunteers can make a difference. This beautiful country has been hit particularly hard by the global economic crisis, climate change and the decline in post-Soviet essential services.”

In 2009, with support from United Nations Volunteers, VSO Tajikistan conducted the first ever study of volunteering in Tajikistan contributing to VSO’s programme areas. Its key focus areas will be helping communities living in poverty to effectively manage natural resources to reduce the risk and impact of natural disasters.

VSO volunteer, Shane Stevenson, is currently working as Natural Resource Management Adviser with the Central Asian Mountain Partnership in Dushanbe:

“The Tajiks I have met are hospitable, keen to learn and very cooperative. The challenge lies in the multiple issues that require an integrated approach such as disaster management, pasture management, soil erosion and health care issues. A visit to the rural, mountainous areas brings home the extent of these challenges. “

VSO Tajikistan will also be focussing on improving access to healthcare services at community level for vulnerable groups. VSO currently has a volunteer, Jo Baker, an Organisational Development and Advocacy Specialist, working with the Association of Parents of Disabled Children (APDC).

As Sabohat Hakim Zoda, Director of APDC, explained:

“We wanted to know how things are done in other places and to share experiences. We wanted to learn how to advocate for disabled children.

“Jo’s help will mean that we can build our capacity and expand our work. We want to be able to stand up for the rights of disabled children effectively,” she added.

In the future, VSO Tajikistan will work in partnership with local organisation to help people living in poverty earn a decent and consistent livelihood through improved understanding of markets and business planning.

“I feel privileged to be able to work alongside our Tajik colleagues and support them in meeting the very real challenges that Tajikistan is facing right now. Despite our short existence in Tajikistan, VSO’s specialist volunteers can already feel that they make a difference and change lives here,” said Catherine Hine.