Volunteer Service Abroad
Encyclopedia
VSA is an international volunteering organisation based in Wellington
, New Zealand
. It is an independent charity
and is non-governmental, non-religious and non-political. VSA works with people in the Pacific, Asia
and Africa
, and has about 100 volunteers in the field in 12 countries at any one time.
VSA sets up volunteers to work with partner organisations in four priority areas: economic development
, social development, education
and health
. VSA is currently working in Papua New Guinea
(including the Autonomous Region of Bougainville
), the Solomon Islands
, Samoa
, Tokelau
, Tonga
and Vanuatu
in the Pacific; in Cambodia
and Timor-Leste in Asia; in South Africa
, Tanzania
and Zambia
in Africa.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade provides significant support for VSA through the New Zealand Aid Programme.
and Samoa
in 1962. In February 1963, Sir Edmund Hillary became VSA’s founding President
, a role he continued for 13 years. In the 1960s, most VSA volunteers taught in schools. Today the range of assignments is broader. VSA's project partners, once mostly host governments, now include a range of government agencies, NGOs non-governmental organisations and community organisations.
VSA's programmes in the Pacific, Asia and Africa are managed from VSA's Wellington office but in-country VSA programme managers in each region provide on-the-ground support to volunteers and partner organisations.
held every October. VSA is guided by a Kaumātua and a governing body of nine people. The Council meets five times each year to decide ongoing policy and activities. VSA's council works closely with VSA’s CEO, Deborah Snelson, to oversee policy and strategic implementation.
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is an independent charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
and is non-governmental, non-religious and non-political. VSA works with people in the Pacific, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and has about 100 volunteers in the field in 12 countries at any one time.
VSA sets up volunteers to work with partner organisations in four priority areas: economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
, social development, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
. VSA is currently working in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
(including the Autonomous Region of Bougainville
Bougainville
-People:*Louis Antoine de Bougainville , French navigator, explorer and military commander*Hyacinthe de Bougainville , French naval officer and son of Louis Antoine de Bougainville-Places:...
), the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, Tokelau
Tokelau
Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400...
, Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
and Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
in the Pacific; in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and Timor-Leste in Asia; in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
in Africa.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade provides significant support for VSA through the New Zealand Aid Programme.
VSA History
VSA began by sending New Zealand volunteers to ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
in 1962. In February 1963, Sir Edmund Hillary became VSA’s founding President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, a role he continued for 13 years. In the 1960s, most VSA volunteers taught in schools. Today the range of assignments is broader. VSA's project partners, once mostly host governments, now include a range of government agencies, NGOs non-governmental organisations and community organisations.
VSA's programmes in the Pacific, Asia and Africa are managed from VSA's Wellington office but in-country VSA programme managers in each region provide on-the-ground support to volunteers and partner organisations.
How VSA is run
VSA is an incorporated society and its members vote on resolutions at an AGM annual general meetingAnnual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
held every October. VSA is guided by a Kaumātua and a governing body of nine people. The Council meets five times each year to decide ongoing policy and activities. VSA's council works closely with VSA’s CEO, Deborah Snelson, to oversee policy and strategic implementation.