VSO

VSO stands for Voluntary Service Overseas. It is a UK based organisation that sends volunteers to work is professional placements in a number of developing countries. To learn more visit www.vso.org.uk

Volunteers may come from many countries - though mainly the UK, Canada and the Netherlands. Currently in Guyana there are also volunteers from the USA, Belguim, and as part of the VSO South to South initiative, from the Philipines and Kenya. VSO's do many jobs ranging from physiotherapy, working for water companies or the more stereotypical teaching maths, english and science in remote schools.

rishistar VSO Guyana Home

Guyana

Guyana is a country in the South American continent, and not to be confused with Ghana in Africa. Historically and culturally it is part of the Caribbean, due to its being part of the British Empire, when it was known as British Guiana. You might have heard of it due to the following reasons:

• Jonestown Suicide
In 1979, over nine hundred people, at the order of Christian cult leader Jim Jones, drank poisoned Kool Aid in a huge mass suicide. Jonestown was Jim Jones own town set up in the seventies in the North East of the county - where ran his community untouched by local authorities.

To add to the intrigue/conspiracy theories, Jones ordered the suicide after assasinating a US Senator, visiting Jonestown to check out the treatment of US citizens living there. This senator was touring South America checking the CIA and its drug smuggling activities for the Senate. The CIA was busy setting up the drug routes from South to North America to fund its illegal overthrow-South-American-government activities.

• Andrew "Sixheads" Lewis - world boxing champion
• The 2nd rarest, and one time most expensive, Stamp in the world

• West Indies Cricketers including Clive Lloyd, Carl Hooper
• Kaiteur Falls - the highest single drop waterfall in the world
• Desmond - the Channel4 comedy barber was from Guyana
• The country where Quinine was discovered

It is a poor country with a population of 750,000 (the same as Leicester) but is the size of England. Most of the population lives along a strip of reclaimed land along the coast. This is actually below sea-level, and uses a sea-wall to keep the Atlantic Ocean out.

At the time of writing it is the only country in South America and the Caribbean with VSO projects. A great site to find loads about Guyana is the Guyana scrapbook. For more info try this Guyana portal or a local newspaper.