Jun 13, 2013

Jun Final countdown to the G8 Summit

13
2013
Posted by: Adam Musgrave -...

Today, I’m packing my bags and heading off to Enniskillen in Northern Ireland for the G8 Summit. 

The annual gathering of the ‘Group of 8’ - the club of some of the world’s most powerful nations – always attracts protesters and the global media, and concludes with a grand statement and the obligatory family photo.

This year will be no different, but it’s been eight years since I have witnessed the spectacle. Oxfam will be in Enniskillen to deliver one message to the G8 - that it’s time to put an end to the scandal of world hunger. 

Above: G8 leaders (well, the Oxfam 'Big Head' versions) arrive in Northern Ireland ahead of the G8 Summit on June 17th and 18th 2013. Check out this Flickr gallery for more photos from their trip.

Whilst the G20 may have overtaken the G8 as the biggest show in town, this year’s G8 Summit has been given a higher billing than the last few years. It has also sparked interest from a coalition of over 200 charities across the island of Ireland and in Britain, who have formed a major campaign on hunger called IF.

For the 2013 Summit, the UK is sitting in the Chair’s seat, and British Prime Minister David Cameron has touted this as the ‘most ambitious G8 yet’. 

He has promised to get the G8’s own house in order on three of the big issues affecting the world today – trade, tax and transparency – and has also pledged action on global hunger. These are welcome words – but the real test is whether the eight leaders can deliver next week.

The decisions they make on two key issues could make a huge difference to the fight against global hunger.  

Tax dodging

Tax dodging is an issue that’s grabbing the headlines in many G8 countries, but its impact on developing countries has received less attention.

Every year, developing countries lose more than €120bn/£100bn to just one type of corporate tax dodging – enough to eradicate hunger more than three times over.

But it is also the tip of the iceberg, as hundreds of billions are also hidden away by the world’s wealthiest and corporate giants in tax havens. In fact, our research shows that wealthy individuals could be avoiding tax on as much as €700bn/£600bn through Irish financial institutions. We’ll be telling the G8 that they must get tough on tax dodging, by changing the rules that protect the companies and individuals using tax havens so no one can hide their money away and avoid tax without consequences. 

Land grabbing

Land grabbing is an issue that has been under the radar for too long. The race for land in developing countries is exposing vulnerable communities to the risk of losing their homes, ways of life and the land they rely on for food to eat.

Meanwhile the race to put adequate regulations in place to prevent land grabs has hardly started. Already, G8 companies and investors have bought land in developing countries more than the size of the whole of Ireland since the year 2000.

This land could grow enough food for 96 million people. The G8 has a huge opportunity to protect people from land grabs by increasing the transparency of land investments, and forcing its own companies to disclose information on any land deals they are involved in. Will they take this opportunity?

So, what can we expect?

The G8’s track record in delivering on their promises is not one to shout about, as their own ‘Accountability Report’ shows. But in the last few weeks, there have been some signs that the G8 is moving in the right direction. 

Last week, governments committed $4.15 billion to tackling malnutrition at a special event on nutrition, and this week we’re seeing some movement on both tax and extractive industry transparency by some G8 countries. But a G8 deal on land and tax which really helps poor countries is badly off track.  

With more than a billion people living in extreme poverty and one in eight going to bed hungry tonight, the G8 need to raise their game over the coming days. We will be following the G8 Summit every step of the way – sharing the latest news, demanding greater action from leaders, and having just a little fun with our famous G8 Big Heads!

Get involved

Please share this blog post on social media using the share icons at the top of the page.  You can also use #G8 to tweet us your wishes for the G8 Summit - we'll retweet and blog the best ones we receive!

Join the IF campaign now

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May 28, 2013

May First impressions mask difficult reality of life in a Syrian refugee camp

28
2013
Posted by: Colm Byrne

Before I arrived in Jordan, Zaatari Refugee Camp in my mind had taken on almost mythical proportions. I had heard that it was initially constructed to accommodate a population of 35,000 but was now rumoured to have a registered population of more than 130,000. And frighteningly, not the largest refugee camp in the world.

As I approached by car, it seems strange to say but I was disappointed by first impressions. Zaatari refugee camp sits atop a relatively flat landscape not far from the Syrian border and without an aerial view the sense of scale I had imagined was impossible to view. 

Please donate to our Syria crisis appeal

 

Above: The Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan is a sprawling city with rows of tents as far as the eye can see. Anastasia Taylor-Lind/Oxfam

Surrounded by a high wire fence for security, it appears orderly with its seemingly evenly spaced rows of regulation refugee tents. It is solid underfoot too with crushed stone to prevent muddying caused by vehicles and human traffic in winter rain. And either side of the road that leads from the main entrance is a remarkable array of market stalls selling everything from fruit, vegetables and cooked food to clothes and toys and household basics sourced from local traders outside the camp. The refugees from Syria have proven themselves to be remarkably self-reliant and resourceful.

“It doesn’t seem that bad,” a companion commented. Indeed there is much about Zaatari that on first appearances “doesn’t seem that bad”…if the alternative is to be trapped in a bitter conflict that has left an estimated 70,000 dead and forced another 6 million (yes, million) people to flee their homes.

First impressions too of course can be deceptive and as the morning and hours passed, the realities of life in the refugee camp became more apparent…more than anything else the sense of confinement, the restricted space, the lack of opportunity to escape even for just a short time from the heaving bustling hive of activity. 

Clockwise from top:  Clothes drying on a high-wire fence in the camp. Caroline Gluck/Oxfam. Oxfam public health staff put the finishing touches to 95,000 litre water tanks that will considerably increase the water storage capacity in the refugee camp. Karl Schembri/Oxfam. A woman and child gather water in the camp where Oxfam has installed tap stands and towers, latrines, bathing areas, laundry areas, water collection points and wash blocks. Caroline Gluck/Oxfam. Syrian children in the camp share a smile. Karl Schembri/Oxfam. Syrian refugees arrive at the camp, originally built for 35,000 but now accommodating more than 130,000. Caroline Gluck/Oxfam.

And as we moved beyond the road that once formed the main axis of the camp, it is with regret that I say my expectations of scale were finally met. Row upon row upon row of tents dominated the horizon as far as the eye could see. This was no camp. This was a sprawling city, ironically the significance of which is only best understood when you see the enormity of the blank canvas of land that has been cleared to accommodate still more tents and, more recently, prefabs.

Later, faces pressed against the fence outside a health clinic where lines of mothers and young children queued served only again to re-enforce the sense of claustrophobia and suggesting that, despite best efforts, supply of services had outstripped demand. It could hardly be otherwise. 

Organisations like Oxfam are working closely with the refugee population to provide access to the most basic of human needs such as clean water and washing facilities but the scale of need is frankly overwhelming…1,500 people arrive on average each day. I wondered how we in Ireland would cope with such an influx. More importantly still, how do the Syrian refugees cope?

Refugee camps are rarely constructed as homes but places of temporary refuge until it is safe to go home or some alternative option is found. Almost as though lives can be put on hold while diplomats, like economists, trade options...and futures...of those whose recent past, and perhaps even lives, have been comprised of choices few of us could ever even conceive.

As I write now amidst a flurry of international activity to bring about a resolution to the conflict, I hear that the influx of refugees across the border into Jordan has almost ceased. And then the question, why? And quickly the realisation that those in Zaatari are the lucky ones...they were able to flee. And it is then you understand the true meaning of “it doesn’t seem that bad”.

Please donate to our Syria crisis appeal

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May 21, 2013

May The G8 must take action on tax dodging and tax havens!

21
2013
Posted by: Jody Clarke

Shocking new statistics released by Oxfam this week have shown that governments are letting people hide at least $18.5 trillion in offshore tax havens. Yes, you read that right: not $18.5 million, or even $18.5 billion, but $18.5 trillion!

And our research shows that as much as €707 billion owned by wealthy individuals from overseas may be shielded from tax authorities around the world in Irish financial institutions, leaving Ireland open to suggestions that it’s being used as a tax haven.

“It’s time to take the side of ordinary people, rather than the privileged few. These figures put Ireland at the centre of a global tax system that is a colossal betrayal of people here and abroad” says Jim Clarken, Chief Executive of Oxfam Ireland. “Now is the time to take action.”

By holding their money in offshore tax havens like San Marino and Monaco, the owners of these $18.5 trillion worth of riches pay little or no tax - while hard working people in the world's poorest countries strive to make a living and 1 in 8 go to bed hungry.

 

If companies and individuals paid their dues, it would total more than $150 billion - money which could be spent on schools, hospitals and libraries. As austerity bites and budgets are slashed, ordinary people across the world are losing out on billions of unpaid tax.

And these figures are just the tip of the iceberg: tax evasion by big corporations prevents hundreds of billions of dollars being paid every year. The vast majority of ordinary people pay their taxes every year, so why should the world’s richest individuals and corporations get away with dodging tax?

Now is the time to take a stand. This year's G8 takes place in June in Northern Ireland, and David Cameron has committed his G8 Presidency towards ‘getting our own house in order and helping developing countries to prosper”, while yesterday European leaders met to discuss tax.

But unless European and G8 countries follow their fine words with action, this could be a lot of hot air – or result in a deal that shuts out developing countries.

Oxfam is calling for G8 leaders to;

  1. Get their own tax havens to join a global deal to share tax information, so that all countries – especially the poorest – can tax companies and individuals fairly.
  2. Commit to making ownership of companies and other assets public, so that nobody can avoid paying tax by hiding their money or setting up phantom firms.
  3. Agree to get tough with tax havens when they won’t play ball.

Please share this blog post on social media to spread the word and ensure that political leaders play their part at this year's G8 Summit in Co. Fermanagh on June 17th and 18th.

Tell them that you won’t stand for the unjust tax dodging practices of the global elite.

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May 15, 2013

May Let’s make some noise on hunger at Big IF Belfast event when G8 comes to town!

15
2013
Posted by: Christine McCartney

Oxfam has always been about campaigning for change, because we tackle the root causes of poverty to really change things for the world’s poorest people.

Often, we have to live with the fact that change can take a long time! But then, once in a generation, once in a lifetime, circumstances come together to create a moment where all our campaigning can have a really big impact. That moment is now.

Add your voice to the IF campaign!

World leaders have been preparing and planning for the G8 summit which will be held in Fermanagh in just five weeks’ time and we know that they are already talking about what they can do to tackle the causes of hunger. 

Top: Oxfam Ireland Campaigns and Advocacy Officer Christine McCartney (left), Jim Wells MLA (centre) and (right) Oxfam Ireland Chief Executive Jim Clarken at the recent Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign’s ‘Road to the G8’ event in Parliament Buildings in Stormont. Northern Irish politicians were briefed on the IF campaign which is pressing for world leaders to act on hunger at next month’s G8 summit in Fermanagh. Photo: Neil Harrison / Oxfam. Middle: Rita Ora, One Direction, Orlando Boom and Erin O'Connor are showing their support by wearing the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign wristband. You pick one up in any Oxfam shop across the island of Ireland. Bottom: Pictured at the launch of the 'Big IF Belfast' event at Botanic Gardens today (14 May) are members of the Ulster Orchestra members Steve Irvine (tuba), Neil Gallie (trombone) and Richard Guthrie (viola) join the chorus calling for action on hunger at the launch of the Big IF Belfast event which will take place on Saturday June 15th. Photo: Neil Harrison / Oxfam.

We need to make sure they hear loud and clear that we, their citizens, want and expect them to do more than talk – we need them to act. 

Plans are being unveiled today for a very special event to get that message across. The BIG IF Belfast on Saturday 15 June will include a fantastic two-hour stage show, with top music and famous names calling for action on hunger, plus the BIG IF art installation, interactive activities and the chance to send your message to G8 leaders. It’s organised by Oxfam Ireland and our partners in the Enough Food For Everyone IF campaign. 

This is the moment. We can get the attention of world leaders and get them to act on hunger – IF we come together on the eve of the G8 and make some noise.  

So let’s grasp this chance to make sure hunger is on the table when leaders meet in Fermanagh next month.

Get tickets for the Big IF Belfast event

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May 10, 2013

May A powerful impact when you buy a Born Again refurbished computer

10
2013
Posted by: Sorcha Nic Mhathúna

We don’t just use digital technology to talk about what we’re doing – it’s part of how we’re doing things in our projects around the world.

From providing cash transfers in emergencies like the Haiti earthquake to the innovative Pink Phones Project in Cambodia which gives women farmers the latest farming information using mobile phones, technology enhances our work and empowers people living in poverty to build a brighter future.

Now we’re using technology to raise vital funds for initiatives like these with the introduction of our new Born Again range of refurbished computers.

Check out our computers!

Available online and in selected Oxfam shops, prices start at just €120/£99 for a desktop and €180/£150 for a laptop.

Clockwise from top: Yoshi Nolan (17) bought her Born Again laptop in our Tullamore shop. She uses it to surf the internet, type up notes and save her photos. James Flynn/APX. Mobile phone technology has allowed women like Vansy, who lives in a rural community in Cambodia, to access the latest farming information such as weather patterns and crop prices. Oxfam’s Pink Phones Project has transformed women’s lives by enabling them to buy bigger plots of land, sell more vegetables and build a sustainable livelihood. Simon Rawles/Oxfam Cathy Hackett (5), Ella Sharkey (5) and Chloe Sharkey (8) demonstrate how we give computers a new lease of life. Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland. 

Excellent quality, great value, environmentally friendly and helping to end poverty – these are pretty amazing computers!

Sourced from companies who are changing over to new hardware, each one has been lovingly restored, tested and supplied with a fresh operating system and applications, plus comes with a 6-month warranty. 

To make it easier to pick your perfect computer, the range is divided into three specs/usage categories, including student-friendly Surfer, family-orientated Plus and the powerful Pro which is ideal for small businesses. 

Yoshi Nolan, a student from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, recently bought a computer from her local Oxfam shop. “I am absolutely delighted with my new computer,” she says. “It’s great to get a good laptop at a reasonable price and it’s also nice to know that the money is going somewhere good.” 

Choose your computer!

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May 2, 2013

May Before and after: Oxfam Home furniture gets the Ultimate Upcycle!

2
2013
Posted by: Sorcha Nic Mhathúna
Our Oxfam Home stores are a treasure trove of vintage furniture. Most pieces fly out the door, but others stay a little longer as they wait for a customer who can see past first appearances. 
 
With a little imagination and a bit of elbow grease, you can transform furniture that has seen better days into a one-of-a-kind piece by upcycling.
 
Not only will you have helped the planet by recycling, you’ll also be helping to fund Oxfam Ireland’s vital work with communities around the world.
 
 
Above: The Little Museum of Dublin on St. Stephen’s Green was packed full of would-be upcyclers to hear tips from Neville Knott (top-centre) and other experts. Photos: Paul Sherwood.
 
We recently teamed up with Crown Paints and House and Home magazine to showcase just what can be done! 
 
The creative geniuses at Galerie Lisette, Quirkistuff and Upside Design worked their magic on furniture from Oxfam Home shops and unveiled the results at the recent Ultimate Upcycle event in Dublin hosted by TV presenter and interior guru Neville Knott. 
 
For more about the event plus tips from the designers, click here. A big thanks to everyone involved!
 

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 
Left to right: Once a computer desk, mum and daughter team Aida and Lucina Lennon at Galerie Lisette have turned this into a pretty dressing table. Husband and wife Les and Sue Corbett of Quirkistuff have given this tired cabinet a vibrant yellow and purple makeover complete with tassle. Upside Design’s Al Birbeck and Nawel Kouadri found the name of a previous owner inside this wardrobe, a young girl. This inspired the feminine look, complete with collage-style wallpaper.Photos: Paul Sherwood.
 
These stunning pieces are now on sale – Galerie Lisette’s floral-inspired  computer desk turned  dressing table (€195 - pictured left) and Upside Design’s gorgeous girlie wardrobe (€695 - pictured right) are at Oxfam Home, Francis Street, Dublin 2 (01-478 0777), while QuirkiStuff’s vibrant cabinet (€245 - pictured centre) can be yours by dropping into Oxfam Home on King’s Inn Street, Dublin 1 (01-874 8175).
 
The proceeds will help to change lives around the world, such as our emergency response for refugees fleeing Syria.
 
And if you’re feeling inspired, we’d love to help you pick out a piece of furniture for your upcycling project at our Oxfam Home shops (we’re also on the Dublin Road in Belfast). Drop in and get creative!

Find your nearest Oxfam Home

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Apr 26, 2013

Apr Have peace of mind at our donation locations

26
2013
Posted by: Sorcha Nic Mhathúna

Q: What’s big, green and likes eating clothes and books?

A: Our 243 donation banks!

You’ll spot their funny slogans like “Put a sock in it. (And other clothes too)” or “I need romance. (And other books too)?".

But they do serious work, providing crucial stock for your local Oxfam shop and turning your unwanted items into life-changing funds for our work around the world. 

This week's excellent RTÉ Prime Time programme highlighted how some clothing donation banks are being targeted by criminal gangs. 

We want to let you know that we have no evidence whatsoever to suggest that our banks are being broken into. 

In fact, we identified this risk a few years and began replacing our existing banks with an extremely secure design.

Top: Your donations are in safe hands with Oxfam. Bottom: Two little girls peeking from their tent which they share with three other families in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon.  Their mother, Zaniah Ishmail fled from the violence in Syria and brought her children here to keep them safe. "We have been here 4 months. There were two very heavy clashes between the Free Syrian Army and the Regime and we were worried that we wouldn’t have another chance to get out of our village again so we escaped.” Photo: Simon Rawles / Oxfam.

Because we know the effort you go to in order to gather clothes and books and bring them to our banks, we conduct regular and rigorous checks to ensure you can have peace of mind that your donations will go where they’re intended – the local Oxfam shop.

Your generous donations are collected by our team of uniformed drivers and branded vehicles who bring them directly to our nearest shop.

This supports our vital work, from helping refugees fleeing Syria to long-term development projects and campaigning that gives a voice to people affected by poverty and injustice.

We really need the things you don’t. Please support our Make Space for Oxfam campaign and bring unwanted clothes and books to our donation banks and shops.

Find your nearest donation bank

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Apr 16, 2013

Apr 'I get dizzy and have stomach pains when I‘m hungry'

16
2013
Posted by: Jody Clarke

While negotiations to reduce carbon emissions are taking place at a snail’s pace, millions of people in the developing world are already suffering from the effects of climate change.  

In Malawi, dramatic fluctuations and weather patterns are already causing serious problems.

Zuze has lived in Balaka, southern Malawi, his whole life. He has seen many changes during his time there. But recent droughts have had a severe impact on his maize crop and the amount of food the family has. Zuze planted 3 times last year and only harvested four bags of maize, which lasted six months.

"The climate keeps on changing and if it doesn’t improve life will be hard on us and we will just be waiting for the time when are going to die. There won’t be any solution. We are just living on faith, hoping that things will change.”

 
Clocwise from top: Zuze stands in his field of failed crops. Zuze and whis wife at home. Zuze holds up his failed maize plants. Photos: Amy Christian/ Oxfam.
 
To survive, he is forced to work on other people's land to earn money and food for his family. The work is tough and often, because he is weak from a lack of food, he passes out while working.
 
“We planted for the first time when the rains came but it didn’t grow, we planted the second time and nothing happened and the third time a little bit survived. When the maize was growing there was a lot of sun and that’s why it died.”
 
According to Chiyamba Mataya, Humanitarian Coordinator with Oxfam in Malawi, longer than expected drought and increasingly erratic rainfall is affecting the ability of people to cope from one season to the next. 
 
“People are failing to produce because of the prolonged dry spells. The last production season, most of these people harvested maybe only one bag which they produced in one month.”
 
The impact of climate change is particularly hard on women, who do the majority of work on farms but are also responsible for the welfare of children and upkeep of their homes. 
 
Elizabeth supports her 4 children alone as she kicked her husband out after he became a drunk and regularly beat her.
 
“I give the children one meal a day because I want the food to last us longer. It’s not enough food for my children. It’s a big problem as they get very mal nourished, most of the time they are weak. When they go to school in the mornings they can’t concentrate in class as they are so weak.”
 
Clocwise from top: Elizabeth holds the remains of her failed maize. Elizabeth and her 12 year old son David outside their home. Elizabeth holds failed maize in her hands. Photos: Amy Christian/ Oxfam.
 
Her crops failed three times last year, forcing her to take on extra work for food to feed her family. 
 
‘When I haven’t eaten for two or three days I am very weak and I have constant stomach pains. When you have to sleep on an empty stomach and then in the morning you have to go and do manual work it’s really hard. I go and get a gallon of water and that’s what I rely on. When the sun is very high I sit on a tree and wait for it to cool down and then I can continue. It is very hard on me.'
 
Madelena has similar problems. She has four children who she supports alone. To survive she has resorted to catching field mice to supplement the little Nsima (flour and water) she gives the children.
 
“There have always been droughts but these last three years are the worst. When everything is ok I harvest around six to seven bags of maize. When we have seven bags it can last us up to 10 months.”
 
Last year, she harvested two bags. 
 
 
Clocwise from top: Madelena stands where her house once did. Madelena has 4 children whom she supports alone. In the last three years succesive drought have affected her ability to provide for them. Madelena holds the remains of her failed crop. Photos: Amy Christian/ Oxfam.
 
“I get dizzy and have stomach pains when I‘m hungry. But the main problem is the children, when they are hungry they just cry and so I worry that they are having the same problems, that they are dizzy and in pain. Sometimes when I feel dizzy I have to lie down for a while and wait for it to go. When I drink water it doesn’t help as there is nothing in the stomach, there is no food. Sometimes I go a day without food, sometimes two days.”
 
Oxfam Ireland is supporting projects in Balaka and Blantyre rural districts, where it is helping the most vulnerable communities adapt and build resilience to changing weather patterns, enabling them to meet their needs all year round. 
 
The project will help improve farmers’ agricultural production by supporting them to grow more drought resistant crops, developing irrigation systems and providing training in water management and soil conservation techniques. 
 
However, more support must be given to funding climate mitigation schemes so that countries have the resources to respond to climate change. 
 
Speaking to RTE’s Tony Connolly from Malawi, Chief Executive of Oxfam Ireland Jim Clarken said that it is critical that we scale up funding in line with UN commitments.
 
“As a matter of urgency, we need to see funding into a proper adaptation fund so that countries like Malawi can do something about it and strengthen their own ability to cope every day.” 
 

Please support our work in Malawi

You can make a difference too, by signing up for our IF campaign. The world produces enough food for everyone, but not everyone has enough to eat.

If we make some simple changes that protect small farmers and make sure children have enough to eat, we can make a huge difference.

Join the IF campaign now

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Mar 13, 2013

Mar ‘Why I left private sector to help Syrian refugees with Oxfam’

13
2013
Posted by: Caroline Gluck
Amid a sea of male construction and site workers in Jordan’s sprawling Zaatari desert camp, female engineer Farah Al-Basha stands out from the crowd. 
 
The energetic 27 year-old Jordanian joined our team earlier this year, quitting her job at a private engineering company to work for Oxfam. 
 
Instead of working on military and defence contracts and designing underground bunkers, she now helps to oversee work building toilet and shower blocks and installing water tanks at Zataari’s refugee camp. She’s been involved in drawing up quality, safety and inspection plans; liaising with and advising contractors; and carrying out on-site inspections to ensure standards are met at every stage along the construction project.   

Support our Syria crisis appeal

 
Clockwise from top: Farah describes her role as an Oxfam engineer as “a life-changing experience”. Farah oversees and inspects the work of the all-male labourers and ensures everything goes to plan. Farah has written the word ‘rejected’ on this cement floor, which means the contractors will have to rebuild it to a higher standard. She carries out on-site inspections to ensure standards are met at every stage along the construction project. Photos: Caroline Gluck/Oxfam.
 
“I wanted to work with an NGO to help people here, to try to do something more for the community. For me, work shouldn’t just be about the money,” she says. 
 
But Farah admits her first visit to the camp was a bit of a shock. “It was the first time I have ever been to a refugee camp and, honestly, it was overwhelming”, she said. “I had only seen this on television, not first-hand. I realised this job was going to be totally different in terms of what it required of me than my previous work.   
“It’s been a life-changing experience for me. Helping to change people’s lives is not an easy thing to do. It’s also a difficult thing to realise that, as much as you want, you can’t help everyone everywhere.” 
 
In Zaatari camp, Farah is a woman on a mission: determined to show that women engineers are just as capable as their male counterparts and making sure she is up to date on all the latest reading and research to make sure that no-one can fault her. Her day-to-day work involves overseeing and inspecting the work of the (all-male) labourers and making sure everything goes to plan – or if it doesn’t, finding solutions to daily problems.   
 
“Every day is crazy and every day is really busy,” says Farah. 
 
When I visit, she points out wide cracks in the cement floor of a new block which will house toilets and showers. “Look, the cracks are so wide,” she says, pointing to the floor where she has marked in red ink the words “rejected”.   
 
“This will cause problems… the contractors will have to fix it,” she says, shaking her head.     
 
She’s firm but polite as she speaks to the contractors, pointing out the problem. But they accept what she says. “I’m very demanding and quite strict, but they respect me. They realise I am not here for a fashion show, but I’m an expert and know what I’m talking about.   
 
“Every day, big groups of women and children follow me as I work in the camp,” she says. “The girls say they see me as a kind of role model and say they’d like to do work like me when they are older. 
 
“The children in the camp love to see us work: they make sure they are awake and up and about when we arrive in the camp for our day’s work.” 
 
Farah had hoped to recruit an all-female team to work with her: but the first female junior engineer she hired quit after a few days into the job. “There are many women engineers in Jordan, but most chose not work on-site but stay working in offices. I’ve been working as an engineer for the last six years and I’m always the only female engineer on site.” 
 
Undaunted by some of the setbacks, Farah is full of plans and ideas. She’s hoping to pass on some basic engineering and plumbing skills to some people in the camp; and to get women there more involved with the work Oxfam is doing. 
 
Spending most of her days in the camp, she says, is a tiring but rewarding experience. 
 
“We’re surrounded by children for most of the day. We walk together, we eat together, we share stories and dreams. When the time comes to leave the camp, we get into our car, tired and exhausted with messy hair and dirty jeans, with our faces a bit more darkened by the sun than the day before.   
 
“We’re thinking about how lovely a bubbly shower will be, but before closing the doors, the kids come and say: ‘See you tomorrow’ and we close the doors with a big smile, forget about how dirty we are, or how lovely this bubbly shower will be and we start thinking about what can we do next for those kids.”
 

Support our Syria crisis appeal

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Mar 6, 2013

Mar Voice of female farmers loud and clear this International Women’s Day

6
2013
Posted by: Jody Clarke

TV talent show The Voice is attracting a huge audience here at home but none quite so big as our Female Food Heroes competition, as Voice judge and Oxfam ambassador Sharon Corr discovered on her recent trip to Tanzania. 

Using reality TV, radio, newspapers and text voting, the initiative has reached 25 million people – more than half of Tanzania’s population – and plays a vital role in strengthening the status of female farmers.

The 2012 competition – which Sharon Corr helped to launch – partnered with popular show Maisha Plus and saw 14 finalists selected from thousands of entries.

Clockwise from top:  Previous winner Ester Jerome Mtegule and Oxfam Ireland’s Mwanahamis Salimu present our ambassador Sharon Corr with a traditional African headscarf at the launch of last year’s Female Food Heroes competition in Tanzania. Barry McCall/Oxfam. The Female Food Hero 2012 competition tours a village in the Lushoto Mountains region in northeastern Tanzania. Thousands of female farmers entered. Oxfam/MaishaPlus. 2012 winner Sister Martha Waziri transformed unwanted wasteland into a successful farm that feeds her local community, including 12 orphaned children. Oxfam/MaishaPlus.

Selected by public vote for the ways they’ve helped their communities, the finalists moved into a reality TV village and shared  their skills with young people from urban areas on the show, which also helps to highlight the struggle women can face surrounding the ownership of land.

With International Women’s Day taking place this week and lots of our amazing supporters getting ready to host Get Together events to celebrate, we’d like to introduce  the eventual winner, Sister Martha Waziri (45) from Dodoma.

As a 17-year-old she found some barren unused land that none of the local men wanted. But when she asked the local authorities if she could use it, they laughed at her. “I became an object of ridicule,” she recalls. 

Eventually, she fought and got her way. She has since turned 18 acres of unwanted wasteland into a thriving farm, growing sugarcane, sweet potatoes, bananas and more. 

In doing so she has become a beacon of change for other local women, many of whom have now followed her example. The profits from her farm have allowed Sister Martha to support 12 local orphaned children, providing them with food and shelter. 

Thanks to your support, we can help incredible women like Sister Waziri to overcome the challenges they face and continue to feed their families and their communities.

Clockwise from top left: As 2011 finalist Mwandiwe Makame won a solar panel which she shares with other women in her community; 2011 winner Ester Jerome Mtegule shows others how to replicate her innovative farming techniques and (top left) 2011 finalist Anna Oloshiro is a fellow trailblazer for women’s rights: “I believe that providing women with access to information will empower them more, make them aware of their rights and, in the process, they will change or improve their lives.” All photos by Barry McCall/Oxfam

Last year’s winner was Esther Jerome Mtegule from Iyenge in central Tanzania. She was one of the inspirational women who our Ending Poverty Starts with Women campaign ambassador Sharon Corr met in Tanzania.

Ester had managed to increase the yield of one of her crops from five to 75 bags a year by growing a drought-resistant variety instead of using the traditional one favoured by most farmers. This helped feed her whole village.

Her achievement received mass-media coverage and led to her travelling internationally to talk about the vital role of small-scale women farmers.

"I will do everything to support women food producers. They bring peace and harmony in their families and a nation at large," Ester explains. "And they bring freedom. I assure you that a food insecure family is not a free family."

Your support is helping women to empower themselves and become decision-makers in their communities. Thank you.

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