Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA)

Activities: Community Volunteer Projects
Location: Multiple Destinations

VSA is New Zealand’s largest and most experienced volunteer agency working in international development. We bring together New Zealanders and our Asia-Pacific neighbours to share their skills and experience, working to transform lives and create a fair future for all.

Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds, from business mentors and lawyers to doctors and eco-tourism operators. VSA believes all people and communities deserve to be treated equally with respect and dignity.

How we work

We work with our in-country partners overseas to make sure that all our assignments are locally identified, locally relevant, and locally delivered. Our goal is to transfer skills and knowledge so that the changes achieved during an assignment remain sustainable after a volunteer returns to New Zealand.

VSA offers New Zealanders the opportunity to expand their horizons through volunteering – living and working with partners in the Asia-Pacific for the experience of a lifetime – transforming their lives as well as those they work with. VSA enriches New Zealand society through the cross-cultural exchanges it creates and the new knowledge that return with its volunteers.

We offer both long (12 months and over) and short-term assignments and currently work in Melanesia, Polynesia and Timor-Leste. We also work with New Zealand and regional partners to provide innovative volunteering opportunities, making it possible for more New Zealanders to volunteer and contribute to lasting change.

VSA is a registered charity and is non-religious, non-political and non-governmental. VSA needs ongoing financial support to continue to send Kiwi volunteers to share their skills with communities in the Asia-Pacific. VSA is supported by the New Zealand Aid Programme, together with private and corporate donations.

All our volunteers work with partner organisations in our six key priority areas:

Building local business
Supporting strong communities
Safeguarding the environment
Fostering good governance
Education Health

We believe we can make a positive difference in the world when volunteers, partner organisations and communities work together, sharing skills and knowledge. This approach, based on appropriate sustainable development, leads to improved quality of life, and helps build self-determining communities and stable nations.

All VSA's volunteering assignments are based on our principle of skills-sharing - committed volunteers from Aotearoa New Zealand working alongside committed local people. Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds, from accountants and lawyers, to sports trainers and eco-tourism operators.

What VSA provides

As a VSA volunteer we provide you with a living allowance that is sufficient to support yourself during assignment. We'll also supply you with accommodation, return flights, comprehensive insurance cover, and visas and permits. - See more at: http://www.vsa.org.nz/what-you-can-do/volunteer-overseas-hub/#sthash.nbdO9tIc.dpuf

Volunteering

Our short-term assignments vary from one to 12 months in length. Volunteers will generally have a recognised professional, trade, or commercial qualification, and at least two to three years working experience.
VSA offers placements for young people interested in volunteering through partnerships with Auckland, Victoria and Otago Universities.
Our long-term volunteering assignments last for one to two years. Volunteers will generally have a recognised professional, trade, or commercial qualification, and at least two to three years working experience.