Sometimes all we can offer in an emergency response is a listening ear and a compassionate heart, says Tarek Al Ali of Oxfam in Lebanon, as he reflects on the aftermath of the devastating 2020 Beirut port explosion.
Unnoticed: a woman’s trauma after the Beirut blast
On the second anniversary of the Beirut blast, Nour Shawaf writes about the very personal consequences for her as a mother
This is our story of natural disaster – and, for once, it’s told entirely by us
None of the roles in a powerful recent film about South Pacific islanders reacting to a cyclone is played by a professional actor, says Oxfam’s Ernest Ta’asi. Instead, the actors and script writers all came from the island community – in what may be a game-changer for NGO storytelling
Betting on blockchain to deliver cash in the Pacific
Sandra Uwantege Hart, Pacific Cash & Livelihoods Lead, describes how Oxfam successfully used blockchain technology to make cash accessible to communities and small businesses in Vanuatu – one of the world’s most remote and hazard-prone locations. We are told that blockchain technology will change the world – harnessing a decentralised, distributed ledger, removing expensive middlemen and resolving core issues of …
Strengthening women’s agency after drought in Ethiopia
People in Ethiopia’s Somali region have had their lives turned upside down by three years of drought. Oxfam’s research has found that there are several ways in which aid agencies can better meet the needs of women and girls and promote gender equality. Over the past three years the rains have been sparse in the Ethiopian Somali region. This year’s …
Disaster insurance: propaganda or the future of aid?
Could disaster insurance be the future of aid? Anna Warwick summarises the debate on the role of insurance to build resilience in disaster prone areas. From one of the sessions which took place at the Oxfam hosted Resilient Solutions symposium. Theresa May recently stated that disaster insurance programmes were the ‘future of aid.’ After seeing the panel on Weather Insurance …
How entrepreneurship can support post-disaster recovery
Post-disaster situations can open up opportunities for small businesses, boosting the local economy and enabling disaster-affected communities to support themselves. Caroline Baxter Tresise reflects on the role of coffee shops in Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami. The role of entrepreneurs in post-disaster community recovery should be supported and encouraged as entrepreneurs occupy key positions when assessing and planning for rapidly …
Who needs religious literacy? In a disaster, maybe we all do
Tara Gingerich reflects on her recent work researching religious literacy; what she realised about her own point of view and why we need to engage with religion. I remember when I first started to talk with Oxfam colleagues about the new research project I would be leading, together with the Harvard Divinity School. It was on how Oxfam and other …
Lake Chad’s unseen crisis
Today Oxfam is launching Lake Chad’s Unseen Crisis, which tells the stories of people displaced by conflict in Niger and Nigeria. Oxfam’s Advocacy and Policy Lead in the Lake Chad Basin, Sultana Begum, shares with us what’s happening on the ground in the region. very year on 19th of August the world takes time out to recognize the work and …
What next for the pastoralists in Ethiopia’s drought?
ON THE GROUND REFLECTION: Pastoral nomads in Ethiopia have been heavily affected by a record-breaking drought. They have lost their flocks and their way of life and make up the majority of the 800,000 people classified as internally displaced (IDPs). What will they do next and how do we best support men, women, boys and girls in this disaster? Eliza …
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2