Singapore International Foundation

The Singapore Volunteers Overseas (SVO) programme was founded on the idea that shared skills and experiences can empower countries, communities and improve the lives of individuals.

Together with our volunters, the SIF assists overseas communities in the areas of healthcare, education, the environment, and livelihood and business by:

• sharing skills and knowledge to develop the skills and expertise of the overseas community;
• mobilising resources and providing services, such as bringing a direct library service to village children and clean drinking water to rural communities.

Since 1991, the SVO programme has supported more than 1,600 Singaporeans who have volunteered overseas. Today, the SVO corps continues to work with communities to create positive change that is sustained, even after they leave.

SVO assignments (In-field SVO assignments)

For six months to two years, in-field SVOs live and work in overseas communities, serving as teachers, healthcare workers, community and social workers, vocational trainers, business and IT advisers, or medical practitioners. They transfer their skills and strengthen the capabilities of their overseas counterparts.

SVO assignments (Specialist teams)

Specialist SVOs work in team-based, skills-transfer projects where they visit overseas partners regularly to build organisational and institutional capacity. They conduct training to upgrade the skills and technical know-how of the overseas communities, and also train hosts to become trainers themselves to enablel greater self-reliance.

Our work in SVO specialist teams seeks to empower local partners so they can become catalysts for long-term positive change in their own communities. The SIF's specialist team projects are anchored on the following:

• Incorporating the Training of Trainers (ToT) approach as a central element for human resource development and capacity building.
• Transferring skills and technical know-how to benefit people in the local community as widely as possible.
• Teaching appropriate skills and technology, guided by existing skills levels and resources available in the local partner and host country.
• Working with a local partner that is committed and has the resources to sustain the skills and technology transferred over the long-term.

SVO assignments (workshops)

Here, volunteer trainers carry out short-term workshops specially designed to upgrade specific knowledge and skills of host agencies. Conducted on a single or regular basis, these workshops allow volunteers to participate in short-term, high-impact training for host agencies.