About VSA

Who we are

• VSA is New Zealand's largest and most experienced volunteering agency working in international development. Our Kiwi volunteers share skills with people in the wider Pacific to help them build a better future for themselves and their children.
• VSA has 85-100 volunteers in the field at any one time. During the 2011-2012 financial year, volunteers undertook 150 assignments.
• Over the past 50 years we have recruited more than 3500 ordinary New Zealanders to achieve extraordinary work with our in-country partner organisations.
• Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds, from business mentors and lawyers to IT advisers and eco-tourism operators.

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 are sustainable once a volunteer returns to New Zealand.
• We have both long (12 months and over) and short-term assignments and currently work in Melanesia, Polynesia and Timor-Leste.
• We also work with our New Zealand 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 so that we can continue to send Kiwi volunteers to share their skills with communities in the wider Pacific.

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.

We are currently working in Papua New Guinea (including the Autonomous Region of Bougainville), the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu in Melanesia; in Kiribati, Samoa, Tokelau, and Tonga in Polynesia; and Timor-Leste .

Special thanks to our partner the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade who provides significant support through the New Zealand Aid Programme for VSA volunteers working in development capacity roles overseas.