InterVol is a community

volunteering Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serv ...

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

.Charity Commission Official Website
Details of InterVol's charity framework and registration. Retrieved 15 October 2013. InterVol support

poverty reduction Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics cl ...

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

projects globally, as well as community volunteering based on university campuses in the United Kingdom. The charity is based at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

,Felix Online Archive, 30 November 2011
Article on new Project Nepal group at Imperial College and partnership with InterVol. Retrieved 16 December 2011. Lancaster University,Lancaster University Students' Union Activities
InterVol Lancaster listed as official LUSU society. Retrieved 15 October 2013

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

,University of Nottingham Student Volunteering Projects Website
Details of the InterVol project at Nottingham University. Retrieved 22 June 2017. and Oxford Brookes University. __TOC__

History

Formation

InterVol was set up as a voluntary project in late 2003 by a group of students with the support of the Student Development (formerly Involve) department at the

University of Birmingham Guild of Students The University of Birmingham Guild of Students (previously Birmingham University Guild of Students; BUGS) is the officially recognised body that represents around 37,000 students at the University of Birmingham. The Guild functions as a students' ...

. InterVol's volunteers began a system of student-led sustainable development projects, aiming to make a long term difference to communities in developing countries whilst working in close partnership with local

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

in each country, as well as volunteering projects on their own campus.

Projects and expansion

In the summer of 2004 InterVol led three volunteering projects to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

. The volunteers were involved in work including AIDS awareness training, work in children's centres, teaching English, and building the information technology capacity of local staff. In 2005 the project roster increased to eight projects as the popularity and presence of the project on the

campus increased significantly. There were two new projects in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, based around cloud-forest

and social development, as well as a

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...

project in Accra,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, a teaching project in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and a social development project in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. In 2006 previous projects were maintained while a new coastal development project in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

with

Andaman Discoveries Andaman Discoveries (AD) is a tourism social enterprise in Kuraburi, Phang Nga Province, Thailand. It is the continuation of North Andaman Tsunami Relief (NATR), a non-profit organization based in Thailand that provides assistance to tsunami-af ...

began in response to the

Boxing Day Tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sum ...

. InterVol supported volunteers to renovate facilities and coach sport at the New Future for Children centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for the first time in July 2006. InterVol received its first national awards in 2006 when two founding volunteers, John Gorski and Danielle Gerson, won Impact awards at the National Year of the Volunteer Awards. In 2007 a new project to construct school buildings and teach in rural Nepal commenced. This year also saw InterVol send volunteers to both a trafficked animal refuge and to teach Spanish to members of the

Huaorani The Huaorani, Waorani, or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are an Indigenous people from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador ( Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza Provinces) who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate ...

in Ecuador. The following year another project was set up in Kenya, a sports-based development project in Nairobi's Kibera slum. In June 2010 the

's international volunteering project affiliated with InterVol to become the first InterVol branch outside Birmingham. InterVol's Nottingham project, based at the

University of Nottingham Students' Union The University of Nottingham Students' Union (often abbreviated as UoNSU ( /ˈjɒnsuː/)) is the students' union at the University of Nottingham, England. It is a representative body that aims to represent students to both the university and th ...

, continued to support volunteers to work with the Ugandan community development NGO, Little Big Africa. The charity expanded further, forming a new international volunteering group, Project Nepal, at

in October 2011 and a new InterVol society at Lancaster University in December 2011. A group formed at

Oxford Brookes Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named ...

in 2018, supporting education organisations in rural Nepal. InterVol is a founding member of the Student Volunteering Overseas Partnership (SVOP), composed of UK student-led international volunteering charities including organisations from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

universities.

Charity status

Initially founded in 2003 as an initiative of the

, InterVol was a volunteering project within an

exempt charity An exempt charity is an institution established in England and Wales for charitable purposes which is exempt from registration with, and oversight by, the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Exempt charities are largely institutions of furth ...

.University of Birmingham Website
Details of the University of Birmingham's exempt charity status. Retrieved 22 June 2017 InterVol became an independent registered

in England and Wales in May 2010. InterVol's charitable objectives are to act as a resource for international volunteers at universities in the United Kingdom while promoting development projects that focus on education, health, conservation and the relief of poverty.

Project locations

InterVol currently support community organisations in the following countries: Ecuador, France ( Calais), India, Malawi, and Nepal. Volunteers gain relevant experience through volunteering with local charities in their university communities before travelling overseas.

References

External links

InterVol websiteUniversity of Birmingham InterVol ProjectUniversity of Nottingham InterVol ProjectImperial College London InterVol (Project Nepal)Merazonia (InterVol Partner NGO, Ecuador)Maya Universe Academy (InterVol Partner NGO, Nepal)
{{Oxford Brookes University Development charities based in the United Kingdom International volunteer organizations Student organisations in the United Kingdom