Oxfam CloseUp, Fall 2023
This issue is packed with stories from powerful women, including Hawo Are, a community health volunteer in a camp for internally displaced people in Qulogi, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, who is featured in our cover story.
In times of tumult, it is even more important for us to hold on to our sense of shared humanity and compassion. Let’s take a note from the songbook of Raye Zaragoza, an artist we interviewed in this issue. “Don’t close your eyes when it’s frightening,” she implores us in the title song of her latest album, Hold That Spirit. You'll also read about climate activist Marinel Ubaldo, a young woman from the Philippines Oxfam marched alongside at the March to End Fossil Fuels in September. Ubaldo was instrumental in the passage of a landmark case in the Philippines that set a precedent for holding climate polluters accountable for human rights violations. We’ll also introduce you to the Caquetá Women’s Platform, a collective of women’s organizations devoted to protecting women’s rights and the future of the Amazon.
Your steadfast support helps women like Are, Ubaldo, and so many others lead real change in their communities—and in the world—as we work together for peace, justice, and equality.