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Young New Zealanders will have the opportunity to volunteer in Nepal and Uganda through VSA’s partnership with Restless Development.

VSA recruits young people aged 18 to 28 to work as volunteers with Restless Development, a youth-led development agency in which young people work together to create positive change in the world’s poorest communities.

Restless Development’s approach involves empowering young people to take up leadership roles so they have the confidence and skills to shape the development of their own lives, and those of their families and communities.

For the past three years Restless Development volunteers recruited by VSA have been based in Zambia. However,  that is now changing, with New Zealand volunteers being given the choice of spending either five months in Nepal or seven months in Uganda.

Volunteers going to Nepal will leave later this year, and those going to Uganda will leave in January 2012.

VSA Chief Executive Officer Debbie Snelson finalised the details of the new arrangement at a meeting with Restless Development Chief Executive Eric Levine in Wellington in May (pictured).

Ms Snelson has welcomed the change, saying that Restless Development’s programmes in Nepal and Uganda are a good fit with the way VSA works.

“The programmes in both those countries involve working in teams, with international, national and local volunteers working together. This is a great opportunity for VSA to provide volunteering opportunities in countries where we do not run programmes of our own.”

Participants in the Restless Development programme need to fundraise $10,500 towards the cost of their assignments. In return Restless Development pays their airfares, accommodation costs, a living stipend and insurances.

Find out more about the Restless Development programme