The Singapore Volunteers Overseas (SVO) Programme offers Singaporeans a unique, invaluable opportunity to use their knowledge, skills, services and resources to help developing communities build sustainable capacity and improve their overall quality of life.
Living, Sharing, Learning – that captures the spirit of the SVO programme.
The SVO programme is not only SIF's flagship overseas volunteer platform, it is also one of the most established international volunteer sending programmes in South East Asia.
Since its inception in 1991, the SVO programme has enabled more than 1,600 skilled Singaporean volunteers, up to 30 Singapore institutions, corporations and foundations, and numerous supporters to participate directly in building capabilities in developing communities for long-term, sustainable development. The SVO programme has been privileged to offer help to 16 countries over the years.
The aim of the SVO programme is to enable host communities bring about positive, long-lasting change. The programme therefore focuses on projects that can last from a few months to a few years to ensure sustainability. Singaporean Volunteers Overseas (SVOs) serve as long and short term in-field volunteers, short term workshop trainers and specialists trainers with the aim of enhancing the knowledge and skills of their counterparts in host communities.
Depending on their skills, commitment, abilities and the needs of various hosts, SVOs typically provide skills training in health, education, Information Technology, business, finance, community development and the empowerment of disadvantaged people, working in both government and non-government sectors. In view of the constantly evolving needs of host communities, the SVO programme is increasingly engaging volunteers with more varied and diverse skills than ever before.
The SVO programme is a powerful, life-transforming experience for both volunteers and the communities they work with. Enriched by the exchange, volunteers return home with newfound perspectives and insights about themselves and of the world they live in.
The biggest IT-in-Education undertaking in Bhutan by Singapore organisations received a boost this month with a donation of 20 laptops. The used laptops were airfreighted courtesy of DHL, the logistics company and donated by Singapore’s National Institute of Education (NIE) for the Bhutan W.I.R.ED (“Weaving Infotech Resources in Education”) project.
As part of the SIF’s efforts to promote professional knowledge sharing related to development work, we invited Mr. Chris Piper, Managing Director of Torqaid in Australia, to conduct a four-day workshop on participatory project management. Mr. Piper has more than 30 years of experience in international development work in Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia.
Over a year in Central Java’s Jogjakarta, the SIF’s Singapore Volunteer Overseas (SVO) in-field volunteer Yeo Chong Nim lived and worked at Muhammadiyah’s Sinology Centre to help Chinese language instructors develop a cohesive curriculum targeted at practical language usage.
As part of the Singapore International Foundation (SIF)’s initiative to share industry best practices in volunteer-assisted overseas community development, the SIF is inviting the Australian and Overseas aid consultancy, TorqAid to conduct a four-day training workshop on Participatory Project Management (PPM).
Every child is precious, what more a child stricken with cancer or HIV. The Singapore International Foundation’s (SIF) new Singapore Volunteers Overseas (SVO) project in Jakarta will reach out to these children.
We are currently looking for volunteer English-Bengali interpreters who will be able to assist the Indian teachers during their study hours from 13–17July and 20–24 July (10 working days), 9am to 6pm. Volunteers will be rotated depending on the number of working days that t...
