International Partner Profile – CUSO-VSO

CUSO-VSO is a civil society development agency that works through volunteers. They send Canadians and Americans abroad to work on collaborative development projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. CUSO-VSO places people of all ages who have the experience and willingness needed to work with organizations committed to assisting communities to overcome poverty.

CUSO-VSO and the IMFN Secretariat have been working together since 2001 by sending CUSO-VSO volunteers to work in Model Forests and partner organizations. A total of 26 volunteers have assisted nine Model Forests throughout South and Central America. While most of these volunteers have come from Canada, some have been recruited from within the country in question, or from other countries within Latin America and the Caribbean. The volunteers have also played a critical role in the strengthening of the Ibero-American Model Forest Network.

Over the last year, CUSO-VSO has partnered with the IMFN to send eight volunteers to work in Cameroonian Model Forests, Campo Ma’an and Dja et Mpomo.

CUSO-VSO volunteers are Canadian professionals assisting Model Forest stakeholders to collectively develop a way of managing forest resources that takes into consideration community economic and socio-cultural needs and the long-term sustainability of the landscape as whole. To this end, the ability for the stakeholder groups to organize themselves and form effective working partnerships is a crucial first step. CUSO-VSO volunteers are assisting Model Forest stakeholders in forming effective working relationships.

For more information on these programs, please see: www.cuso-vso.org (link below).