January 2011
7 posts
Haiti: People and their proverbs →
Coco McCabe asks Haitians what proverb sums up their attitudes to the earthquake that hit Haiti one year ago.
Charitable Pierre in her shop in greater Port-au-Prince. Photo: Toby…
Looking beyond Sudan’s big day →
Alun McDonald introduces some of the long-term challenges facing Sudan after this week’s vote to decide whether southern Sudan should become the world’s newest country.
A vast cattle…
Southern Sudan: Strangers back home →
As the referendum on independence for southern Sudan approaches, Alun McDonald meets Martha, who is finally returning to her homeland after decades of fighting.
Tens of thousands of…
Revealed: the true value of what you donate to... →
This week, our friends at the Guardian lifted the lid on the complex operation behind Oxfam shops, and how we make the best possible use of everything you give to us. Stuart Fowkes explains.
Southern Sudan has come a long way – but there’s... →
Southern Sudan is preparing for a historic referendum on 9 January, in which southerners will vote on whether to become the world’s newest independent country. Augustino Buya, one of Oxfam’s…
Haiti: changing to give a chance to health and... →
Danielle Domersant explains how promoting health and hygiene is helping combat some of the 90,000 cases of cholera reported in Haiti.
Oxfam teaches residents of a slum in Cap Haitien…
Marching for a Zero Carbon Britain →
Simon Lott, Oxfam Outreach Coordinator for Kent, recalls marching for a zero carbon Britain during the UN Climate Conference in Mexico.
Appropriately set to a backdrop of extreme weather…
December 2010
3 posts
On my way: video and photos from Haiti →
Chris Hufstader finds out how Oxfam is helping people affected by the Haiti earthquake almost one year after the disaster.
Getting some water in Carrefour Feuilles. Photo: Chris…
Ethiopia climate hearing: ‘Today is our chance to... →
Alun McDonald meets Lekea, who is feelings the effects of changing weather patterns, and attends a climate hearing in her area.
Lekea and her family. Photo: Aubrey Wade/Oxfam
“You’re…
“Protection Officer”: Protecting people in Haiti →
Born in Haiti, Johny Estor began work as a Protection Officer at Oxfam after the earthquake in January 2010. His main goal for the last ten months has been to ensure the rights of the people Oxfam…
September 2009
16 posts
G20: Cake for the rich but crumbs for the poor →
Money to help poor countries adapt to climate change, once again, postponed. But Oxfam’s Jon Slater reports some progress in last week’s G20 summit in Pittsburg.
If a week is a long time in…
How do you teach your children to cope with... →
Over 20 million people across East Africa are facing critical shortages of food and water. Jane Beesley talks to mothers in Kenya who are struggling to feed their children. Oxfam is there, but we…
Your money or your life? →
World leaders meet at the UN General Assembly today for a high-level event on health. They have a golden opportunity to make free healthcare a reality for millions of people. Elvis Sukali reports. …
Bangladesh: “Now there are no rules to nature” →
In a small island village in Bangladesh, Oxfam’s Shumon Alam gets a lesson on flood preparation.
“How many of you know the story of Prophet Noah?” Howa (35) asks the women gathered around her in…
Climate change campaign in NY tells world leaders... →
More than 1,200 people turned out for today’s creative action in Central Park to tell world leaders to ‘Wake Up’ to climate change. Alison Woodhead was there following the action.
…
Somalia: Conflict and drought leaves Mogadishu... →
Somalia is experiencing its worst drought in over a decade. With little food to break her fast, a hardworking mother tells Alun McDonald her story of Ramadan in the Mogadishu slums.
The city of…
Dear PM: Provide maternal health care in the... →
Following our recent health care action targeting Gordon Brown, Gilly Longton talks about being heavily pregnant and taking people’s messages to Downing Street.
Pregnant women…
Give the Prime Minister a “Wake up Call” on... →
We need to give the PM a Wake up Call and tell him to work towards the climate change deal now, says Ian Sullivan.
Global Wake Up Call
Ever since Alexander Graham-Bell picked up the…
Brazil: How to get a roof over your head →
Athayde Motta, Programme Manager at Oxfam in Recife (Brazil) reports on an exciting movement in Brazilian cities turning abandoned buildings into homes.
Can you remember the joy of finally…
Oxfam news digest →
Why Europe’s climate offer won’t work. Your money or your life? She Changes Lives. And Kenya’s urban timebomb. Time for your round-up of Oxfam news from the past week.
Europe’s climate offer…
Fantastic festivals 2009 →
Hundreds of volunteers steward and campaign for Oxfam at all the UK’s biggest, brightest festivals each year. As festival season draws to a close this weekend with Bestival, Matt Kurton rounds up…
Game on (finally) in climate change talks →
As climate change talks between our world’s leaders gear up toward the world-changing Copenhagen Climate Change Conference this December, Duncan Green rounds up the latest media commentary.
…
Our ship is sinking: We must act now →
The cause of our weather shifts does not matter. The millions who will be affected are the priority, reports Alex Renton.
What is climate change doing to humans now? Apart that is, from causing…
BBC visits Cyclone Aila-affected communities →
It’s been three months since Cyclone Aila hit Bangladesh and eastern India. As we continue our emergency response, the BBC visits affected communities, reports Ben Beaumont.
A very quick blog…
How G20 could deliver $280bn bailout for poor... →
As the G20 finance ministers get set to meet in London this weekend, Duncan Green shows how the $280bn bailout for poor need not cost ordinary taxpayers a penny.
This weekend the finance ministers…
Lebanon: The forgotten Palestinians →
Displaced by the 1948 Arab–Israeli conflict, thousands of Palestinians sought refugee in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Today Lebanon is home to around 400,000 of them. David Synder finds fresh shoots…
August 2009
23 posts
Out of prison: Gaza to Oxford →
Oxfam’s Mohammed Ali reflects on his first weeks living in the UK after working under fire in his homeland for the past 2 years.
The moment I left Gaza I felt like I’d been let out of prison….
Fish, chips and climate change →
With 100 days to go until the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, Ian Sullivan is at the Sea Life Aquarium in London reporting on an unusual event organised by Oxfam.
Oxfam climate…
Albania: Hope grows with the olives →
Despite a shocking lack of government investment, the hardworking farmers of Albania are beginning to make a living, reports Marie Cacace.
The road or rather track to the village of Blinisht, in…
Bangladesh: Up to our knees in climate change →
Every centimetre of sea level rise has huge human consequences, Oxfam’s Head of Research Duncan Green discovers.
Wading through tidal salt water pouring across a rapidly eroding road (in…
1 goal: Education For All →
On Thursday the Global Campaign for Education went to Wembley Stadium. Ian Sullivan was there with a host of footballers for the launch of the 1 goal: Education For All campaign.
It’s…
Leaving Gaza →
After a five hour wait at the Erez crossing, Mohammed Ali, a young Palestinian volunteer for Oxfam, successfully left Gaza earlier this month and arrived in the UK on 14 August. He is now spending…
Sri Lanka: Small-scale tea producers look to a... →
Fairtrade tea farmers in Sri Lanka are benefiting from networking and training, reports Thurangani Dahanayake.
“When I first started my nursery I had 1,000 plants. Over the last five months I have…
Afghan elections: A new chapter? →
Eight years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghans go to the polls again. Violence continues and poverty is acute. Muqeem Abrahimzi looks at what this election means to ordinary people.
Last week…
Geetu’s story: A fisherman’s tale of climate... →
The floods have taken his home, his land, his livelihood. Ben Beaumont finds that climate change is a reality for this fisherman in Bangladesh.
“When there is a lot of water there’s no work, and…
Haiti: What would happen if a hurricane struck the... →
As the Guardian reports today on how climate change has brought Haiti to a tipping point, David Vinuales contemplates the future.
Port-au-Prince
As with the Italian city of Rome,…
Kenya: Drought worsens in the neglected north... →
When rain fell in the village of Konton, on the Kenya-Somalia border, the local community thought they were saved from the impending drought. Instead, the water crisis is getting even worse. Alun…
Haiti: What hurricanes leave behind →
Why did Hurricane Gustav affect Haiti so badly? Oxfam’s David Vinuales reports.
Since 2008’s devastating hurricane season, communication between the Haitian town of Miragoane and the capital,…
Haiti: Small measures help prepare for hurricanes →
David Vinuales shows how Oxfam is helping Haiti adapt to increasingly severe and more frequent hurricanes.
Haiti is in one of the most vulnerable places on the hurricane “map”. Every year,…
Are the Geneva Conventions working for poor... →
Much has changed since the Geneva Conventions were signed in1949. Ian Sullivan takes a look at how they are and aren’t working for poor people.
Taken as part of the Rankin trip to…
Kenya: Drought beckons in the neglected north... →
A drought in northern Kenya is getting increasingly severe, leaving communities facing critical water shortages. Alun McDonald reports from Wajir district.
We arrived at the water station as the…
Congo: Will Clinton speak out over mass rape? →
As Congo’s rape crisis spirals out of control, Hillary Clinton’s visit must help urge the international community to rethink its support for an offensive that has forced more than 800,000 people…
Zimbabwe: Superwoman found →
For women in rural Zimbabwe, unceasing toil is no guarantee that their children will eat tomorrow. Nicole Johnston interviews these incredibly hard-working and resourceful women.
Bolivia: Indigenous people find a voice →
To mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous People this Sunday, Oxfam’s Matt Kurton asks whether forcing people to speak the same language in Bolivia is enough to make them listen to each…
Climate change in Bangladesh: Messages for the... →
89 questions and messages have been posted so far for the people of flood-prone Char Atra, Bangladesh. Ben Beaumont explains why these small gestures are important.
I just wanted to say…
Georgia: Post-conflict, people in limbo →
It’s been one year since fighting between Russia and Georgia forced around 130,000 people to flee their homes. But internally displaced Georgians are still stuck in a state of limbo, reports…
Buying Lightning - Arctic Monkeys on sale in Oxfam... →
When all the music industry chatter is about In Rainbows, Spotify, BitTorrent or swish new file formats, you might think the innocent age of wandering down to your local indie record…
Congo: An invisible crisis →
Despite the conflict, violence, rape, extortion and displacement people in the DRC are facing, the world’s media is strangely quiet. Kirsty Hughes discovers why as she visits Oxfam’s emergency…
Happy endings for Oxfam books →
£1.6 million worth of books are donated and sold through Oxfam shops every month. Tom Baldwin shows us a unique sorting facility which allows us to do this.
Oxfam is the biggest second hand book…
July 2009
22 posts
Climate change in China: ‘I want more rain’ →
Farmers are struggling to survive the drought, as crops fail and rivers dry up in Gansu. Fiona Shek reports.
“I want more rain,” says farmer Li Zhuang. He, like the 20 million other people in this…