To see the video clips of these songs, click on the links below:
Stop a la violencia de género (Stop Violence against Women)
Tú y yo (You and Me)
Gender based violence is far too common in El Salvador, Central America’s smallest country with a population of a little over six million. Domestic violence, sexual harassment, psychological abuse, and rape are widespread, while femicide—the murder of women—has reached epidemic levels. With 347 and 348 femicides in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the rates are among the highest in Central America.
Oxfam America, together with eight other development and women’s rights organizations, is working to reduce the levels of gender based violence, and create changes in behavior, practices and beliefs in El Salvador, a country with deeply rooted ‘machista’ culture.
For the last five years, the campaign has worked on training women in rural areas, professionals and female legislators. However, the most innovative strategy of the campaign is the work with youth; every country’s future.
A new, innovative approach is the EDUCO-BUS, which travels to public schools, and uses music and theater to engage students. The bus’ activities, such as interactive theatre, cooperative games and choreography, provoke critical thinking on gender roles and violence, demonstrate that every individual has the power to change the course of gender violence and talk about what can be done to stop it. Over 40,000 students have participated in the EDUCO-BUS program.
]]>“Since I started with the group, my mind is more open,” she says proudly in front of her small home of mud bricks on a warm, windy March day. “I can manage lots of different things now.”
And she does. Inside her house she has little packages of spices she sells, along with smoked fish, on the dusty streets of Domba, her town in southern Mali. Once a week she goes to the market and sells there, but she has plenty of clients in her neighborhood, and she just goes door to door.
Mariko, who is 64 and has eight children, raises and sells chickens and shea nuts (which are processed into shea butter). Since she joined her Saving for Change group, she says she manages her shea nut business completely differently. “I don’t just sell my shea nuts for whatever I can get,” she says proudly, with the air of an experienced trader. “Now I know to wait until prices are higher, and I can get more money.” She says she appreciates having money for emergencies, to help sick relatives, or to pay for weddings or funerals.
Mariko is just one of 25 women in the Saving for Change group in Domba. They named the group Ikidia, the word for harmony in the local language, Bambara. The group was established in 2007, two years after Oxfam America launched its Saving for Change program in Mali. This group, like the 7,019 other groups in 2,625 villages in Mali, is organized to help women save their own money in a safe place and make loans to each other from a common fund at 10 percent a month. Each member makes a deposit each week (it is roughly 50 cents), and the group saves, loans, and makes interest on the group funds. Since women in rural Mali rarely finish school, they don’t keep elaborate written records. Each woman keeps track of her own and one other member’s loans and payment schedule, a sort of financial buddy system. And they all remember the total in the cash box at the end of each meeting.
Once a year the amount saved plus interest earned is divided up equally among the group members. The funds are usually disbursed right before the harvest, when families in this agricultural area are most financially stressed. The Ikidia group fund disbursed about $46 to each member at the end of the first year. Soumba Doumbia, the group’s president, says she used this money to pay all the school fees and buy clothes and books for her seven children, who were just heading back to classes.
There are now 250,000 people involved in Saving for Change groups in 6,000 villages in Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, and Cambodia. Collectively, these groups have saved over $4 million, and the average participants earn 20 percent annually on their deposits.
This rapid growth, achieved in just four years, is remarkable, says John Ambler, Oxfam America’s senior vice president for programs. “A traditional microcredit institution might take eight or 10 years just to reach 10,000 borrowers,” he says. One reason why Saving for Change is taking off so quickly is because women can form groups with fellow villagers in which they save and invest their own money. The groups need not have any relationship with a microfinance institution like a bank. This is helping the program reach the poorest women who would not otherwise be able to borrow money. Most banks consider them to be too big a risk.
Once Oxfam and our partners start one group in a village, others can form on their own, with little or no outside support. On average, it only costs Oxfam about $20 per Saving for Change member to start and train a group to manage its own operations. Women who learn how to form a group can then help others in nearby villages do the same thing, at no additional cost to the program.
If Saving for Change continues to grow at the current rate, the number of participants should double in the next two years. Doumbia says the Ikidia group members are benefiting not just from increased income, easier access to credit, and all the material improvements. They are also building self-confidence and dignity. “Before this group, if we had money problems, we would ask our friends for help, but they could not always say yes,” Doumbia says. “We would have to go into nearby towns and borrow money. We had no hope.
“But now we can find money to solve our problems through the group.”
]]>The survey of 569 civilians living in 20 conflict-ridden communities across North and South Kivu shows that the Congolese government's military operations against the rebel Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) are resulting in escalating insecurity for civilians, who are being attacked by all sides. Many in the Congolese army are committing abuses, with the FDLR increasing its retaliation against civilians for the offensive, the agency said.
Some 800,000 people have been displaced in North and South Kivu since the offensive was launched at the beginning of the year, according to the UN.
"The war is far from over for ordinary civilians. Over 80 percent of the people we interviewed said that security is worse now compared to a year ago," said Marcel Stoessel, head of Oxfam in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "The offensive against the FDLR was supposed to bring peace to eastern Congo, but our survey shows people are living in constant fear of violent attack. This suffering is not inevitable. It is happening because world leaders have decided that collateral damage is an acceptable price to pay for removing the FDLR. But as the people we met can testify, that price is far too high."
Half the communities surveyed said sexual violence had increased dramatically since the offensive began in January, and it was found to be widespread in all communities. Women were at most risk of sexual violence, but cases of children, some as young as four, being brutally raped were reported in more than half of the communities. Three of the 20 communities reported rape against men, including eight recent cases of male rape in one community in South Kivu.
A quarter of the communities spoke of torture. People were reportedly being buried up to their necks in holes in the ground by the FDLR until they agreed to pay a 'fine' in exchange for their release, with a few communities speaking of underground rooms where people are beaten and plunged in barrels of salt water. In addition, other militias were reportedly carrying out torture, as well as looting and child recruitment.
Abuses by large sections of the Congolese army were reported in every community. Half of communities spoke of forced labor, with mostly men and adolescent boys made to carry goods for the army. Communities in North Kivu reported particular aggression by newly integrated units made up of ex-rebel soldiers from the disbanded Mai Mai and the National Congress for People's Defense (CNDP), who have not yet been paid and justify extortion as "contributions" to their up-keep. In North Kivu, the Congolese army was identified as the main perpetrator of sexual violence.
All communities with an FDLR presence reported an upsurge in attacks on civilians by the militia in response to the recent government military operations, with one group describing the operations as "like waking a sleeping devil." In Mwenga region, South Kivu, communities taking part in an earlier survey in March 2009 had reported that violence by the FDLR had diminished, but just two months later they were reporting high levels of death threats, sexual violence and violent looting. People had reportedly been killed for saying the rebel group should return to Rwanda. Many of these villages have now been abandoned.
All communities feared reprisal attacks, and looting and extortion were widespread. Both the FDLR and large parts of the Congolese army were reported to force civilians to hand-over money and possessions. When opposing forces arrived, the civilians were then branded as collaborators for this and subjected to attack.
All communities surveyed asked to be protected better by the Congolese army and peacekeepers. More foot patrols by MONUC peacekeepers were requested, especially in the fields and small roads where violence was a great threat. The majority of those surveyed supported dialogue and peaceful repatriation of foreign armed groups, and in four communities, respondents went so far as to call for the military action against the FDLR to be abandoned. Only two communities supported forced disarmament.
"The results of this survey should be a wake-up call to those in the UN Security Council supporting the current military offensive, said Stoessel. "In only five communities, people said the Congolese army was keeping them safe. Many interviewees said they feared the army and the FDLR equally. The Congolese people need an army that protects on them, not preys on them. Oxfam welcomes the Congolese government's recent announcement that there will be zero tolerance of abuses in the army, and urges them to keep to this bold commitment. The peacekeeping force should withhold support from the operation if abuses continue or go unpunished, and must insist that known human rights abusers are removed from participating in the operations."
]]>Many women in Darfur no longer have homes. They are living in crowded camps for displaced people where the simple stoves on which they cook define their days—days filled with treks for firewood that expose them to attacks and sexual assault, with dangerous hunts for work to earn money for stove fuel, with painful decisions about selling some of the food donors give their families so they can use the cash to buy fuel to cook the rest.
All of these choices are grim. But in Darfur, where more than six years of conflict have set 2.8 million people adrift, this is the reality. And that's why Oxfam America is launching an initiative, together with the Darfur Stoves Project and an in-country organization called Sustainable Action Group, to bring a new kind of wood-burning stove into the camps, a stove designed to reduce dramatically the amount of firewood families need each day.
The initiative is the latest step in Oxfam's ongoing program to help women in Darfur find cheaper and more efficient ways to cook. The goal is not only to keep them safer by cutting the amount of time they spend searching for wood beyond the safety of the camps, but to reduce the demand for the resource which is leading to severe deforestation in some areas.
"A huge issue for Darfur is its fragile environment," says Emily Farr, Oxfam's humanitarian livelihoods specialist who is overseeing the stove project. "Firewood is becoming more and more scarce, and large tracts of land—especially around some of the camps—have lost all their trees."
Called the Berkeley-Darfur stove, this new device could go a long way toward addressing that problem.
Made from sheets of metal, the new stove incorporates ideas provided by women themselves in the camps. Its design looks deceptively simple. A small opening for the firebox prevents too much fuel from being stuffed inside. The stove has tabs that can hold a plate for baking bread. And vents have been designed to limit the amount of air rushing in on gusty days.
Many women still cook on traditional stoves: three stones lodged into the ground with a chunk of firewood or charcoal burning in the center and a pot resting on top. The Berkeley-Darfur stove is 75 percent more efficient than the traditional stove and 50 percent more efficient than the clay models some families use. The metal stoves, which cost $20 each to make, last about five years—a good deal longer than the clay versions which can collapse after just four months.
Oxfam's plan calls for the distribution of 9,120 of the new stoves. Kits with all the parts are being manufactured in India, but the stoves themselves will be assembled in Darfur—with the help of local hands. That's one of the key objectives of the program: to offer displaced people training and a chance to earn a little income. Expectations are that each worker will be able to build about six stoves a day.
In a place that gets so much sun so much of the year why not provide people with solar cookers?
"In each of the camps where we work we have to consider what suits the situation best," says Farr. "Solar stoves can't be the only kind people have because there are many foods that can't be easily cooked using the existing affordable solar technology. If people can't cook their normal foods, they won't use the stove."
Likewise, in regions where there is a reliable supply of gas, it makes sense to equip people with gas stoves because they can be a lot cheaper for a family to operate than a traditional wood stove. In camps near urban areas, families can spend between $55 and $95 a month on wood for their traditional stoves. It's their second biggest expense after food. Refilling a gas cylinder costs $18, and the gas can last between one to two months. Gas stoves are also cleaner than wood—and women appreciate not having their clothes and bodies shrouded in smoke.
Oxfam and the Sudan Action Group also provided gas stoves to some of the families in Al Salaam and Abu Shouk camps outside El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
"People loved the gas stoves because the fuel is cheap, it burns clean, and food cooks very quickly," says Farr. "However, there are challenges with the supply chain: gas stoves are only an option where gas is readily available, such as in more urban areas." She notes that one local entrepreneur started a business ferrying empty canisters from a camp into El Fasher where he would have them filled and then return them to the camp –for a fee of 45 cents per canister.
While the majority of people who tried the stoves could afford them, some families found the monthly cost of the gas at $18 a canister too steep.
The cost of fuel—whether it's gas or wood—and its availability are things all stove projects have to take into account. If gas is available, will people have the money to purchase it? If not, then a smart stove project will include a way for people to earn an income, says Farr.
"In a place where we're using a model that burns wood and people are collecting it, we need to integrate peace-building and protection. Even if a stove uses less wood, women still have to go out and collect it—and they need protection," says Farr.
And so does the environment, she adds. Good stove projects, like Oxfam's, include public education about the environment and steps to protect it such as asking community members to plant and nurture tree seedlings.
]]>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.
]]>"Before I was dependent on my husband, but now I have my own money," Alam says with a smile.
Alam is a member of a self help group in the small village of Shar-i-Buzurg in the northern Afghanistan province of Badakhshan. As part of a larger rural livelihoods program funded by the Oxfam Canada and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Oxfam has started self help groups for women in 10 villages.
Each group, with an average of 20 women, receives $300 in revolving funds to help the women start small enterprises. Oxfam also provides training and ongoing support to help the women manage their new businesses.
Alam is one of the first three women selected by the group members to start her own business. She recently completed repaying her loan and the group is now selecting a new batch of women for loans.
"We support each other's businesses," said another group member. "Whenever I need to buy something, I go to one of the other women's shops."
Alam says her husband was originally unsure about the idea of his wife starting a business. But now that he has seen the shop's success, he has become one of its biggest supporters.
"But if my husband wants something from the shop, he has to pay for it like any other customer," Alam laughs.
Badakhshan, a largely rural province with little infrastructure, has one of the highest poverty rates in Afghanistan. Persistent drought means that many families go hungry in lean years and malnutrition levels in women and children are high due to limited dietary options and lack of access to vitamin-rich foods.
Women in Badakhshan face even greater challenges. It is considered one of the worst places in the world to give birth—for every 100,000 live births, 6,500 mothers die—and just one in five women are literate. Highly conservative gender norms have meant that women's access to health facilities has been limited to those few clinics with a female doctor. Marriage for girls as young as 12 has been common and few adult women have completed primary school.
However, Nasima Sahar, the Oxfam gender officer in Badakhshan, is seeing some positive changes.
"When I started working here in 2002, the women were reluctant to even tell me their names because they thought it would bring shame upon themselves and their family," says Nasima. "Now they seem like completely different women, they have more confidence and you can tell how excited and motivated they are."
Training and support for the self-help group includes educating women about domestic violence and child marriage. Along with this, gender training is also being provided to more than 1,400 "change makers" across Badakhshan—men and women who have the power to change opinions and attitudes, such as religious leaders, doctors and government officials.
Oxfam is also supporting a local partner organization to provide literacy classes for 450 women in Badakhshan and runs an incentive program to attract qualified female teachers from the provincial capital to move to remote, rural areas of Badakhshan.
"Without a female teacher, many families are hesitant to send their girls to school," Nasima says. "Only 70 girls attended the school before the incentive program began, but now there are over 1,100."
Based on this success, Oxfam is now expanding this initiative to provide incentives for additional female teachers.
Though she never had the chance to complete primary school, Alam has higher hopes for her daughter.
"I got married when I was 12 or 13," Alam says. "But now my daughter is in secondary school, and I won't let her get married until she has completed university and is at least 22!"
]]>According to Oxfam, while a solution is needed to halt appalling levels of human rights abuses committed by armed rebels, the answer cannot be action that knowingly increases levels of human suffering.
Marcel Stoessel, head of Oxfam in DRC, said:
"Four months ago an offensive against the FDLR set in train a spiral of violence against civilians which has forced 250,000 to flee their homes and caused untold death and suffering that continues to this day. By any yardstick it has been a humanitarian disaster, and one the world has ignored. The UN force's top priority in Congo must be to protect the lives of innocent civilians. The UN needs to be aware of the full implications of continuing to support military action in the present circumstances."
Oxfam said any military action should ensure that risks to civilians are kept to an absolute minimum and, in accordance with international humanitarian law. The agency also called for appropriate sanctions for any violations of international humanitarian law noting that for too long human rights abuses, including by government soldiers, have gone largely unpunished.
The aid agency urged the UN to set out and stand by clear preconditions, based on rigorous observance of international humanitarian law, for MONUC support to any military action by the FARDC. It also called for greater emphasis on non-military efforts to disarm rebel groups, which present less risk to civilians but so far have not been given sufficient priority.
The previous joint offensive against the FDLR in North Kivu, launched in January 2009, has already created immense suffering for thousands of civilians. An estimated 250,000 people are still unable to return to their homes. Villagers have reported that thousands of homes have been burned to the ground in reprisal attacks mainly by the FDLR. Rape and looting by all sides, including government forces, has also been reported. According to recent reports, 100,000 people have already fled their homes in South Kivu, even before the new offensive has started. Aid agencies are planning for the possible displacement of a further 400,000 people in South Kivu.
Oxfam had to expand its programs in North Kivu after the first offensive, bringing life-saving assistance to at least a further 85,000 people, in addition to those that it was helping already. Oxfam has also opened a new rapid response office in Bukavu, South Kivu, to be prepared for possible humanitarian fallout there. The international agency urged all major donor countries to give sufficient attention to the humanitarian crisis, which has been raging since January.
Oxfam is helping to support more than 500,000 people affected by the conflict.
]]>Introduced last week by Congresswomen Barbara Lee (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), House Concurrent Resolution 98 affirms the commitment of Congress to support women globally to prepare for, build resilience for, and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
"The efforts of Congresswomen Lee, McCollum, and Eshoo will help raise awareness about the impacts of global warming on women. The resolution is timely, especially as Congress undertakes legislative action on global warming," said Vicky Rateau, manager of Oxfam America's climate change campaign.
When natural disasters strike, they hit poor communities first and worst, according to Oxfam. Since women make up an estimated 70 percent of those living below the poverty line, they are most likely to bear the heaviest burdens. At the same time, women are often left out of the conversation about adapting to climate change, even though they are sometimes in the best position to provide solutions.
The resolution affirms the commitment of Congress to empower women to have a voice in the planning and implementation of strategies to address climate change so that their roles and resources are taken into account. The resolution also encourages President Obama to consider the impacts of climate change on women while developing policies and programs to address climate change.
Co-sponsors of the resolution include Rep. Baldwin, Rep. Butterfield, Rep. Capps, Rep. Christensen, Rep. Clarke, Rep. Edwards, Rep. Hastings, Rep. Kucinich, Rep Lewis, Rep. Payne, and Rep. Speier.
"As we work to address the devastating impacts of climate change on a global and national level, we must ensure that our policies help women prepare for, build their resilience, and adapt to the adverse impact that climate change has across the globe," said Rateau.
]]>According to UN figures, some 250,000 people in the provinces of North and South Kivu have been displaced since mid-January following a military operation targeting the FDLR rebel group. This is the equivalent to the numbers displaced last autumn when intense fighting broke out, with the newly displaced hidden in far and remote areas, the international aid agency said.
Marcel Stoessel, Head of Oxfam in the Democratic Republic of Congo said:
"The war is far from over for ordinary Congolese. These terrible human tragedies are happening in remote areas far away from television cameras, but this does not make the suffering less real for those concerned.
"Homes and shops are being looted and ransacked, women and girls are being raped, and civilians are being forced to flee, many for the third or fourth time. We are helping them pick up the pieces by increasing our emergency work. It is tragic to see Congo's civilians caught up in this awful violence yet again."
There also have been reports of armed men committing reprisal killings of civilians, blocking off roadways, in some cases burning down houses and chasing people away. In parts of Lubero, where most people are subsistence farmers, civilians can barely access their fields to harvest due to widespread insecurity and looting.
With the operations against the FDLR set to expand to South Kivu, there are mounting concerns for civilians there, several tens of thousands of whom have already been forced from their homes. Although, according to the UN, some 300,000 other people have returned to their homes in parts of the North Kivu, the calm in some areas, such as Rutshuru, has been accompanied by renewed insecurity in others, such as Lubero and Walikale.
Oxfam is developing a flexible response to the new crisis that can provide water, sanitation and life-saving hygiene promotion to dispersed groups of people on the move, as well as larger groups of people sheltering in specific areas. Fighting and insecurity has hampered humanitarian access this year, and a quicker and lighter response is required to reach people during windows of opportunity. Throughout eastern DRC, Oxfam is already assisting half a million people, and as a result of the scale up the agency will reach 650,000 people, despite ongoing security challenges. Teams have been sent to Lubero in North Kivu and Bukavu in South Kivu to plan the scale-up. In Lubero, Oxfam is already providing clean water and basic sanitation to 40,000 people newly displaced by the fresh fighting, especially to combat epidemics.
Stoessel continued:
"All parties to the conflict—including the government armed forces as well as militia groups—have to live up to their responsibility under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and to provide humanitarian agencies safe access to the civilians in need."
Oxfam said a lack of peacekeeping resources on the ground was also hampering efforts to protect civilians.
The Head of Oxfam International's New York office, Nicole Widdersheim, said, "More than four months after the UN Security Council approved 3,000 additional peacekeepers, not one extra soldier has arrived. Until the reinforcements come, MONUC needs to ensure that the troops on the ground are doing all in their power to protect people. Civilians need more foot patrols in towns and along the main roads in order to be kept as safe as possible."
With the UN Security Council set to discuss the MONUC peacekeeping force on Thursday this week, Oxfam is urging world leaders to mark the occasion by rapidly providing the extra troops needed. It also called on them to ensure that existing resources are deployed to the most insecure locations, so as to more effectively protect civilians.
]]>Joy Bryant (now starring in the hit TV series Parenthood) first became involved with Oxfam in February 2009, when she co-hosted a reception alongside Cosmopolitan magazine editor Kate White to raise awareness of Oxfam’s work. Bryant also represented Oxfam America at the 2009 Earth Day event on Washington, DC’s National Mall, where she spoke to over 75,000 people about the consequences of climate change for poor women worldwide. In 2010, Bryant traveled with Oxfam's Sisters on the Planet initiative to Cambodia, where she met women rice farmers who are fighting climate change and hunger in their communities.
Rev. Girton-Mitchell is the Associate General Secretary for Justice and Advocacy for the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCC). She helps provide an active voice for social justice on behalf of the NCC's 36 Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, historic African American, and Living Peace member faith groups, which include over 45 million Americans. Rev. Girton-Mitchell is a life member of the National Council of Negro Women, the NAACP, and the Washington Urban League. She also holds membership in the National Bar Association, Washington Bar Association, and the Women's Bar Association.
Hassan is the founder of Maji Umbrellas, which raises funds and awareness about the food and water crisis in the Horn of Africa. Maji donates a portion of each umbrella purchase to Oxfam’s relief work in East Africa, enough to provide a day’s supply of clean water to 20 people. Hassan's work with Oxfam via Maji Umbrellas was documented in Canadian fashion magazine Flare and awarded a “Genius Award” by Elle magazine. In June 2012, Hassan, who was born in Somalia and spent time in refugee camps in Kenya as a child, traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, to learn more about Oxfam's work and meet with local partners and Somali refugees. Her visit is chronicled in the September 2012 120th anniversary issue of Vogue magazine.
Lappé, a democracy advocate and world food and hunger expert, has authored or co-authored 17 books and was the 1987 recipient of the Right Livelihood Award. She is the co-founder of Food First: The Institute for Food and Development Policy and the Small Planet Institute, which she leads with her daughter, Anna Lappé. Her bestselling Diet for a Small Planet is considered “the blueprint for eating with a small carbon footprint since long before the term was coined” [JM Hirsch, Associated Press]. Frances was named the 2008 James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year. Her most recent book is Getting A Grip 2: Clarity, Creativity and Courage for the World We Really Want.
Leonard is the Senior Vice President of Levi’s® Brand Product Management for the Americas region, responsible for managing product sourcing for the US, Canada, Mexico and Latin America. She ensures that Levi’s® brand products not only meet the company’s rigorous quality standards, but are also produced in an environment that protects worker health and safety and meets strict environmental standards. She also serves on the Levi Strauss Foundation Board of Directors, is an Advisory Board Member of the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, and works with the San Francisco Friends School.
]]>The ambassadors' message: Worldwide, it's women who often bear the brunt of the effects of climate change, including more frequent and severe floods, droughts, and hurricanes. The US must invest now in adaptation projects, like elevated flood-proof houses and drought-resistant seeds, to help women and families build their resilience to these new and heightened risks.
"It's important to talk about the cost-effective nature of investing in the world's most vulnerable populations, both for their stability and for global security," said Sisters on the Planet Ambassador the Hon. Barbara Lawton, lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. "Whether it's women and families in the US, in Sudan, or in the Arctic Circle... our destinies are linked."
Joining Lawton on the Congressional visits were Linda Adams, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency; Elizabeth Becker, journalist and author; Rev. Dr. Miriam Burnett, president of the Resource and Promotion of Health Alliance, Inc.; Dr. Kristie Ebi, human health author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Rachel Larson, executive director of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; Sharon Hanshaw, executive director of Coastal Women for Change; and Mary Wilson, president of the League of Women Voters.
Oxfam's Judith Brackley, a member of the event planning team, said the participants reflect a diverse group of more than 25 Sisters on the Planet Ambassadors, including business leaders, artists, university presidents, and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (Read a full list of Sisters on the Planet ambassadors.)
"Though they come from different backgrounds, these are all women of influence, who can speak on behalf of women around the world—many of whom have no voice or access to seats of power," said Brackley.
As a result of the ambassadors' visits, 10 members of Congress agreed to sponsor an upcoming bipartisan Congressional resolution on women and climate change. Others pledged to support international adaptation funding in future US climate legislation.
The ambassadors particularly targeted their efforts to women leaders. Representative Anna Eshoo, Democrat of California, joined them for a question and answer session over dinner, while Representative Doris O. Matsui, Democrat of California, signed on as the newest Sisters on the Planet Ambassador.
Brackley said the ambassadors will play an ongoing role as spokeswomen for Oxfam's climate change campaign. Many came away from the event with new connections to one another and new ideas for spreading the word among constituents.
Burnett, a physician and minister, talked about Sisters on the Planet the following Sunday morning—International Women's Day—on her satellite radio talk show targeting the African-American community.
"When I look at climate change and poverty—all the things Sisters on the Planet talks about—I've seen that in the work I've been doing here in the US. When I see the droughts that are occurring where they use trickle irrigation, and I turn around and look at drought in farmland in middle Georgia, I see common ground," Burnett said.
Join the effort: Take the Sisters on the Planet pledge.
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