Earlier this week, I met a group of volunteers from the British NGO Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) – some newly arrived in Ethiopia, several who have been working here for some time. VSO has a long and very successful history of operations in Ethiopia. And it is easily one of the most highly regarded charities operating here today.
VSO Ethiopia operations began in 1997, with just 4 volunteers taking part in teacher-training colleges outside Addis. Since then, over 500 professional volunteers in total have spent between 1 and 4 years in Ethiopia. They’ve come not only from UK but from places such as Ireland, the Netherlands, Kenya, the Philippines, Canada and India. The diaspora are also getting more involved. VSO volunteers now work in almost every region of Ethiopia, in some very far flung places.
The volunteers mostly work in Ethiopia’s education sector, helping achieve lasting improvements in education management and teacher training. But there’s increasing VSO engagement in the health sector and soon in livelihoods work too. This is now the biggest national VSO programme in the world, just as Ethiopia is the British government’s biggest bilateral development programme.
The Ethiopian government has made clear that it is highly impressed by the calibre of VSO volunteers. Their professionalism and commitment is impressive and their work is a key component of Ethiopia’s fight against poverty. And the volunteers have made real sacrifices to be here – agreeing to work unpaid; moving away from homes, families and friends; and living in challenging and different conditions. So I am happy to pay tribute to their valuable work.