Will you help keep life-changing work going? Get your VSO pin badge.
Women working in Kenya's dumpsites face dangerous conditions and impossible choices - like deciding between food or clean water for their children.
With support from VSO experts, women waste pickers can earn a fair price for their work, access protective gear, and nearly double their income, so they no longer have to choose.
But now, global funding cuts are putting everything at risk. Without urgent support, this life-changing work could be lost, and mothers may be left to face these dangers alone.
Your gift could help keep this vital work going. As a thank you, you’ll receive a limited-edition pin badge to show you stand with women. Please donate today.
Unlocking the true value of waste
Every day, women in Nairobi risk their lives just to feed their children. Beth is one of them. She’s a mother of three young children, living beside East Africa’s largest rubbish dump in Dandora. Without gloves or boots, she sifts through hazardous waste for recyclable materials she can sell - just to earn enough for a single meal a day.
This is life on the edge of survival. And for women like Beth, there’s little protection, little pay, and no safety net.
But it CAN change - and it already has, thanks to people like you. Beth has received training from VSO expert volunteers to unlock the value of the waste she collects. She’s doubled her income, received gloves, boots and protective clothing to work safely, and is now building a future - not just surviving, but planning to start her own small business.
Beth’s story shows what expert-led change can achieve – safer work, better pay, and the chance to build lasting change.
But right now, the future of this work, and the futures of women like Beth, are under threat.
Our funding has been reducing for a number of years - and now we’re facing unprecedented pressure. Global development funding is falling fast, and the stakes are rising for women like Beth.
Your support means we can continue our commitment to long-term, volunteer-powered change. But without you, we may not be able to keep the promises made to communities like Dandora.
Will you help us keep this vital work going?
Will you stand in solidarity? With hope?
In Dandora, 2,000 tonnes of waste pile up every day.1 The dump is growing. Homes are being swallowed by rubbish. There’s no running water. No toilets. Children are falling sick from pollution. Women are forced to choose between food and clean water.
This isn’t right. And it doesn’t have to stay this way. In solidarity. With hope. That’s how change begins.
With your help today, women like Beth can keep building safer, fairer futures. Your support provides training, protective gear, and the chance for women to lift themselves out of poverty.
Give a gift today and you’ll receive a limited-edition VSO pin badge - a small symbol of something much bigger: that you stand with women when it matters most.
In solidarity. With hope. Please give today.
Footnotes
We hope you wear this badge with pride and show the world that you are a changemaker.
Please allow 2-4 weeks for your badge to arrive.
For any further questions about the pin badges, please click here.
Our promise to you
It's important to us that you feel completely confident and comfortable in supporting VSO. As part of our promise to you:
- We will always treat your personal information with the strictest confidence.
- We will be transparent with how your donations are spent.
- We will always be in control of your support.