Meet The Winners: VSO Volunteer Impact Awards 2023

On the 7th of December last year, we hosted our annual Volunteer Impact Awards which celebrated the inspirational work of VSO volunteers across the globe. The passion, commitment, and drive shown by volunteers across all of our projects continues to prove that volunteering for development can truly change the world.

As we motivate ourselves for 2024, let's look back at the incredible achievements made in 2023 by VSO volunteers. In this LinkedIn article, we're delighted to share with you our fantastic winners across our four categories of Health, Education, Livelihoods, and Active Citizenship.

Health Award Winner: Jamal Hossain

Jamal is a member of VSO Bangladesh’s National Youth Engagement Network (NYEN) and President of VSO’s Youth Forum, with a membership of almost 2,000 community volunteers. ?

Jamal lives in Lalmonirhat district which is a flood-prone area of Bangladesh. In his district, child marriage is common, and the parents consider girls to be a burden on the family. Jamal has been campaigning to stop child marriage by conducting awareness raising sessions among Dalit Harijan people (lower cast Hindu community) about the negative impact of early child marriage.

Through the youth network, Jamal has helped?prevent 137 child marriages since 2015. The youth group has successfully organised 230 street drama sessions, conducted 245 courtyard meetings, organised rallies for mothers, and conducted 34 cultural programs on the negative impact of child marriage. Child marriage was once a common practice in the district, but now it’s changing.?

On winning the award, Jamal commented:

"Thanks to my fellow volunteers, my teachers, my mentors and all the people I work with. This is a great honour for me, and I will dedicate myself to enlightening others as an active citizen.”?

Education Award Winner: Salma Rehmat?

As a volunteer on the Multi-Year Resilience Programme (MYRP) project in Pakistan, Salma works to provide safe learning environments to some of the most vulnerable children, including those living with disabilities and Afghan refugees.?

Salma has managed to identify 106 out-of-school children by visiting the houses of recently migrated Afghan refugees and helping these children return to school via catch-up classes. Using low-cost materials, she has helped the children regain a passion for learning. Salma is now a well-known figure in the community, and she is seen as a true advocate for cohesion between host and refugee communities.?

Surrounded by her VSO colleagues, Salma accepted the award saying: ?

"I’m very grateful to VSO and all our stakeholders for getting us to where we are now. Winning is not just a success of mine, but it’s a success of us all who are working for the local cause. We need to bring each and every child back to school and we will continue our mission in the future. I have no words to express my gratitude to you all for gracing me with this honour.”?

Livelihoods Award Winner: Alfonse Odipo?

Alfonse volunteers as a Climate Change Advisor and Adaptation Specialist as part of the ACTIVE programme in Kenya. Alfonse supports farmers collectives to develop and sustain alternative livelihoods and to adapt to the impact of climate change.?

Alfonse provided technical support to the County Government of Kilifi in reviewing the county’s Climate Change Act and ensuring the needs of marginalised groups including youth, women, and persons with disabilities were met through the bill. Under the Act, which passed in 2023, the Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) project can continue its work.?

Alfonse accepted the award by saying: ?

"I am incredibly honoured to receive this award. I want to congratulate the other finalists in the category for the good work that they do. This shows as a livelihood team globally, we are making a difference and being noticed by the community, governments and VSO as a whole."

Active Citizenship Award Winner: Abdulahi Adebayo?

Abdulahi is a VSO Climate Youth Champion, and member of the National Youth Engagement Network (NYEN) in Nigeria.?

In collaboration with other Youth Champions, VSO returned volunteers, youth networks, and community-based organisations, Abdulahi has trained 248 young people and those living with disabilities on climate change mitigation and adaption strategies, circular economy, waste management, and other livelihood opportunities across five states in Nigeria.?

Abdulahi was presented with the award by Omar Daair OBE, British High Commissioner to Rwanda. Smiling, laughing, and dancing in celebration of his win with the team in Nigeria, Abdulahi commented:

"This is a win for the entire youth network in Nigeria, not for me alone, but especially the National Youth Engagement Network (NYEN) for all of their support. We’d have never known that our work would get us this far or get us this award. The passion for us is to ensure we affect more change in our community and create the country, and the continent of our dreams. This [award] is a testament to what we can do.”?

Did you miss the awards ceremony in December?

Make sure to catch up on the recording and join us in celebrating active citizens across the globe.