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 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.