About VSO has worked in the Philippines since 1964. For over 55 years, they’ve partnered with local organisations and government agencies to support communities across the country. VSO particularly focus on the island of Mindanao, which experiences higher-than-country average infant mortality rates and contains eight out of the country’s ten poorest provinces – some with poverty levels as high as 70%. This inequality feeds conflict both within communities and between armed groups and the government. VSO works with local partners, and with both international and Filipino volunteers, to rebuild social cohesion by addressing poverty and other drivers of conflict. VSO supports youth volunteering initiatives, especially in fragile areas of Mindanao, in order to empower young people to improve their leadership skills