OXFAMExchange magazine

OXFAMExchange Fall 2009

csoares — 2009-11-17T10:04:08Z

Facing Down Hunger: The global food crisis one year later

OXFAMExchange Spring 2009

Oxfam America — 2009-06-24T02:32:24Z

We believe climate change is more than an environmental concern. We believe curbing global warming isn't enough. We must go beyond that if we're going to help poor communities—from the US Gulf Coast to Bangladesh—build their resilience to climate change. The situation is increasingly urgent; many are already struggling to cope with the consequences of erratic weather, crop shortages, and receding coastlines. Naturally it is the world's poorest—among them women and children—who are hit hardest.

With some champions in Congress and support from the White House, we're hoping to see domestic legislation that not only fines companies who pollute, but also uses some of these funds to help affected communities build their resilience. If we are successful domestically, we can lay the groundwork for a global deal at the UN Climate Change Conference this December—an agreement that will create a more hospitable climate for us all.

Also in this issue: A force of peace in Peru; Rebuilding in Bangladesh; Oxfam America's new role in Darfur.

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OXFAMExchange Winter 2009

mborum — 2009-06-19T20:02:22Z

This month, the US will inaugurate its first African-American president—a moment that many of us thought we would not live to see. Had the election gone the other way, we would have inaugurated the nation's first woman vice president. We must learn to suspend disbelief because sometimes the unimaginable is possible. At Oxfam, we face dwindling resources just as people's needs increase. Despite the challenges before us, we believe that solutions are within our collective grasp. To mark this, we open this issue of OXFAMExchange with some very special photos. The photographer deliberately chose to elevate the human aspect of the crisis in Congo. These images are a visual expression of Oxfam's conviction that our greatest resource—our reason for hope—is people. It is the same sort of perverse hope that inspires someone living in a refugee camp amidst great violence to name their newborn child Happiness. So, in these extraordinary times, do not forget these extraordinary people. They deserve an extraordinary commitment.

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OXFAMExchange Fall 2008

mborum — 2009-06-15T18:27:53Z

Because 40 percent of the people on our planet live in poverty and Oxfam is working to change that, it's our job to highlight issues that are often overlooked in US politics. In this issue of OXFAMExchange, we've included some information at the end of each article to help you think about how the lives of people around the world are affected by our political choices here. Oxfam is nonpartisan: we ask all the candidates to take concrete steps toward finding lasting solutions to poverty and social injustice. The incoming administration will assume responsibility for a country in crisis—fighting two wars and an economic recession. These are undeniably difficult times. It is all too easy to feel that real change is nothing more than a pipe dream. When cynicism or doubt gets the better of us, we must all remember: Oxfam has always and will always invest most heavily in people's efforts to transform their own communities. The people featured in this issue leave no doubt that determination and innovation can create change—with or without strong federal leadership. And these successes are what keep us all going—these and your shared commitment to the possibility of a world without poverty and injustice.

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OXFAMExchange Spring 2008

mborum — 2009-06-15T18:28:22Z

The global food crisis is new and very real, but the seeds were planted long ago. Oxfam has long spoken out against poor policy decisions—like farm subsidies in wealthy countries and misguided trade policies—that have undermined small farmers in the developing world and have made a fertile ground for today's crisis. Yet the situation is far from hopeless. The global community must act swiftly. Unfortunately—as we've seen in other crises—that does not always happen. For example, this issue of OXFAMExchange features the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has been going on for over a decade. Increasingly Oxfam is a harbinger of such avoidable crises. We need your help in speaking out. Through effective advocacy, we can prevent unnecessary suffering. Together, we have the ability to influence our futures.

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OXFAMExchange Winter 2008

mborum — 2009-04-30T21:39:16Z

2008 marks the launch of Oxfam America's work on climate change. In this issue of OXFAMExchange, learn about the vital role Oxfam has to play in this important area. Amid critical discussions of environmental risks, it is our responsibility to ensure that decision makers recognize that the world's poor people will bear the brunt of climate change—a cruel irony given that they have done comparatively little to contribute to the problem. Whether it is a discussion of strained natural resources in Darfur, the impact of gold mining in Ghana, or flooding in Cambodia, our on-the-ground experience has taught us that economic and environmental injustice go hand in hand.

In addition to details about Oxfam's work on climate change, you will also find deeper perspective on our ongoing work in Ghana focused on mining, an update on life in Darfur as the crisis continues with no end yet in sight, and a success story about a multicultural approach to fighting poverty in the mountains of Peru.

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OXFAMExchange Fall 2007

mborum — 2009-06-08T16:53:35Z

Lasting solutions take time, and part of our challenge is to help find answers that anticipate future hardships—a broken pump, a refugee crisis—and allow people to prepare for them. Showing up with water or food addresses immediate problems but does nothing to improve things long-term. A water pump that can easily be repaired or a cereal bank that holds grain against future shortages is a different approach to meeting needs. It's an Oxfam approach—one that empowers local people by giving them control. In this issue of Exchange, we present two such success stories alongside two recent major campaign victories: the groundbreaking Starbucks case and a landmark win for indigenous Bolivians. All of these stories fulfill our desire for change and, in reality, all were or were part of long-term efforts.

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OXFAMExchange Spring 2007

mborum — 2009-06-08T16:52:32Z

How we live shapes the lives of all those with whom we share our planet. In this issue of Oxfam Exchange, we explore the work Oxfam is doing in Cambodia to help rural communities manage the impact of vanishing natural resources. Also, learn about Oxfam's Saving for Change program, an innovative, women-focused approach to micro-finance being implemented—with great success—in West Africa.

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OXFAMExchange Winter 2007

mborum — 2009-04-30T21:43:06Z

This issue of EXCHANGE takes an in-depth look at the peace building activities Oxfam America and our partners are implementing in Africa to reduce violence and thus target the root causes of much hunger and poverty.

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OXFAMExchange Fall 2006

rbaker — 2009-04-30T21:44:16Z

This issue of Exchange focuses on the people who benefit from our new program, Oxfam America Unwrapped, and how their stories inspired the gifts that symbolize our work around the world.

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OXFAMExchange Spring 2006

mborum — 2009-04-30T19:23:19Z

Challenging Injustice:

Stories include environmental campaigns in Peru, controversy over gold mining, coffee farmers demand role in international coffee organization, and citizens work for peace in Africa.

OXFAMExchange Winter 2006

mborum — 2009-06-16T21:42:49Z

It was a year of feeling vulnerable. The tsunami. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. An earthquake in Pakistan. A triple blow of hurricanes, landslides, and volcanic eruption for Central America. Conflict in Sudan. Food shortages in Ethiopia and West Africa. The fact of so many emergencies does not diminish the magnitude of any one of them.

It was also a year in which the global community could no longer ignore poverty. The planet's poorest citizens—here in the US and around the world—suffered the most. When a storm hits, impoverished communities are the last to receive aid. When an earthquake strikes, they are the least prepared to withstand it. And when conflict is waged, they have the fewest resources with which to recover. According to the Red Cross, seven times as many people die per disaster in a poor country as in a rich one.

Throughout 2005, the Oxfam community responded—knowing that, as crises mount, our responsibility to act is heightened. For this, we thank you.

OXFAMExchange Fall 2005

lmcfarlane — 2009-04-30T19:32:57Z

For some people in the developing world, the chance to overcome poverty takes the form of pipes and pumps to irrigate fields. For others, it's the savings group that allows them to put aside income for bigger goals and to borrow money when they need it. It's electricity and a freezer. It's learning to read and write. It's a chance to sell cotton or corn at a profit.

The stories that follow testify to the fact that aid can be used effectively—in Africa and beyond. By investing directly in people, by helping them gain access to education, credit, and natural resources, by challenging the policies that perpetuate poverty, Oxfam puts the systems in place that can end poverty. Without this work—and your support—people remain hungry, poor, and lacking meaningful ways to change their lives.

Together, we have the chance to make that change.

OXFAMExchange Spring 2005

mborum — 2009-06-16T21:38:59Z

This issue of the Exchange focuses on Oxfam's response to the devastating tsunami that hit Southeast Asia on December 26th, 2004. The magazine includes stories from the field, a timeline of Oxfam's response, and an update on our budget and strategy.

OXFAMExchange Winter 2005

mborum — 2009-04-30T19:43:25Z

Hunger and poverty need more than quick fixes. While people need food, clothing and shelter to survive, they will never attain self-sufficiency and prosperity in an unjust society, no matter how much short-term aid is available.

For that reason Oxfam America's duty is clear: We and our project partners must help reform government policies, laws, and social injustices that deny people the right to live a decent life. We do this by providing funding, training, and the moral support people need to make real, substantive and transformative changes. The courageous and visionary people who do this work are setting out to build a movement for social justice—and Oxfam America is one of the few organizations to which they can turn for the help they need.