About VSA
VSA is New Zealand’s largest and most experienced volunteer agency working in international development. We bring people together from Aotearoa New Zealand and the wider Pacific to share skills and experience, working to transform lives and create a fair future for all.
Since 1962, we have recruited nearly 4,000 New Zealanders. Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds, from business mentors and lawyers to doctors and eco-tourism operators, to horticulturalists, bricklayers and plumbers.
Our work and partnership approach
VSA knows that we make the most difference by working with people, partners, and communities to create lasting relationships.
We work with our partners to make sure that all our assignments are locally identified, locally relevant, and locally delivered. Our partner organisations include regional and central government agencies, local and national NGOs, education and health organisations, schools, colleges and health clinics.
Our goal is to transfer skills and knowledge so that the impact achieved during an assignment remains long after a volunteer returns to New Zealand.
We also work with New Zealand and regional partners such as UNICEF, UN Women and the Pacific Community (SPC), providing volunteering opportunities across various countries and sectors, contributing to lasting change.
We offer both long (12 months and over) and short-term volunteering assignments, as well as e-volunteering, which has been central to VSA operations since the arrival of Covid-19. A VSA e-volunteer works online from Aotearoa to help create positive change and build capacity in Pacific communities
VSA currently works in Melanesia, Polynesia, Kiribati, and Timor-Leste.