Read the latest news and updates from volunteers, partners, and staff across the moana working collectively towards a world with thriving communities.
Unexpected doors open when volunteering
Dana MacDiarmid is now a VSA Council Member. How did she get there and what did her volunteer assignment do for her?
Any VSA…
Tongan diplomatic and volunteer connections celebrated
Rachel Harrison’s experience as a volunteer could have been cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, but instead it led to e-volunteer…
How volunteering 50 years ago has impacted Chris Hawley's life
50 years ago Chris Hawley took up a VSA assignment at a newly founded university in Khon Kaen, Thailand. An assignment that was…
Rising to the challenge
For VSA CEO Steve Goodman, the urgency and effect of the pandemic on the organisation’s operations has been profound but has also…
Partnership with Downer supporting future leaders
Ask Downer Talent Development Manager Ryan Jacobs about the partnership the firm has had with VSA for the past six years and…
New Zealand and Vanuatu volunteer connections resume
Staff at two of Vanuatu’s key hospitals await the arrival of two medical staff through a programme with Volunteer Service Abroad…
Sharing the VSA message through community outreach with water professionals in North America
Roanna Purcaru, a VSA returned volunteer, recently completed the prestigious Water Leadership Institute (WLI) program run by the…
Rich life-long relationships
20 November 2020
“The first weekend I was in Niue, I assembled my bike and rode around the island. It was hot in January and…
VSA’s Chief Executive elected Vice Chair of international forum
19 November 2020
Stephen Goodman, CEO of Volunteer Service Abroad Te Tūao Tāwāhi, has been elected Vice Chair of The…
Mentoring in Timor-Leste
6 November 2020
Nearly two weeks into her one-year assignment, Jolene Simoes, senior communications adviser in Timor-Leste found…
Improving outcomes for communities in PNG
27 October 2020
In 2018 Neal Hartley travelled to PNG for what seemed like a simple enough assignment - to create a website and…
New partnership supports emergency care development in the Pacific
19 October 2020
Volunteer Service Abroad Te Tūao Tāwāhi (VSA) and the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) have…
October 2020 update
Kia ora koutou katoa,
Over recent months we have shared a number of updates about COVID-19’s impact on Volunteer Service…
Fifty years supporting VSA
21.09.2020 - In the late 1960s, while he was teaching at Queen Victoria School in Fiji, Gavin Kerr helped VSA with a young…
A passion for quality education - Tonga
11.09.2020 - “There is a real passion for quality education in Tonga,” says VSA volunteer Julie Mcllwraith. “Tongan tertiary…
Tongan Language Week / Uike Kātoanga'i 'o e Lea Faka-Tonga 2020 (David Cramp)
07.09.2020 - For Tongan Language Week / Uike Kātoanga'i 'o e Lea Faka-Tonga, we are delighted to give an update about VSA tūao…
Creating special connections in Kūki 'Āirani - Cook Islands
04.09.2020 - Anita Corbett accompanied her husband Bruce on his assignment as a Water Engineer with Office of the Prime…
Bruce Corbett - Resilience in the face of climate change (Cook Islands)
31.08.2020 - As his 65th birthday loomed over the horizon, engineer Bruce Corbett decided it wasn’t time yet to become “a boring…
When assignments change - Wayne Wooff (Vanuatu)
27.08.2020 - Despite everyone’s best efforts, VSA assignments do not always go to plan. Our volunteers often need exceptional…
St Peter Chanel Catholic School of Secondary Teacher Education (Papua New Guinea)
24.08.2020 - Principal Alfred Tivinarlik doesn’t hesitate when asked to describe the VSA volunteers who’ve spent time at the St…
