In a blog for World Mental Health Day, Julian Kosh looks at a pilot project to support survivors of abuse, trauma and cancer in Kenya and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. At its core is a ‘flexible funding’ approach that gives women’s rights organisations the freedom to test new approaches to mental health in the ways they think best
Want motivated workers who feel their rights are respected? You need a proper grievance mechanism
How can companies set up robust systems to ensure they hear and act on workers’ complaints and concerns? Monica Romis of the Oxfam Business Advisory Service introduces a new grievance mechanism toolkit developed for Reckitt that will help tackle discrimination and inequality throughout global supply chains
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
Fighting for invisible women in Kenya: a story and podcast of an extraordinary changemaker in the pandemic
“I am a reflection of how a widow can thrive. I am a reflection of how widows can remain invisible…” Roseline Orwa, advocate for Kenyan widows, is star of the first episode of a new podcast series telling four stories of changemakers in a time of Covid. Oxfam’s Filippo Artuso and the LSE’s Barbara van Paassen tell us more about the series – and the research that informs it
What do small women’s rights organisations want from INGO funders? Less red tape and a seat at the table
In the first of a series of blogs for International Women’s Day, Laura Norman and Mona Mehta set out three things women’s rights organisations want from international NGOs – and how Oxfam is responding with an innovative fund that aims to give women activists real power to do what’s best for their communities
Challenges to Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystems in the MENA Region
Social entrepreneurship (SE) has gained significant interest and recognition in the past few years. Social entrepreneurs are tackling social and environmental challenges with innovative sustainable solutions, thus combining business with social impact. Social entrepreneurship in the southern Mediterranean region has the potential to invigorate local economies as well as to promote regional stability by activating positive synergies among economic sectors and …
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 …
When failure is an option
Innovative, unfiltered, and impact-driven. Lyndsay Stecher describes what it means for Oxfam to work in partnership with trusts and foundations. Everything we do at Oxfam is possible because of funding. We are not naïve to the fact that this has an impact on programme decisions. Funding provides great opportunities, but when misapplied, it can also drive the wrong priorities. Last …
A user-centred handwashing kit for emergencies
Foyeke Tolani, Public Health Promotion Adviser and Project Coordinator, describes how a collaboration with a UK school sparked the process of developing Oxfam’s innovative new handwashing kit. For over a decade, we had been exploring handwashing kit options to replace the Tippy Tap. The Tippy Tap requires lots of promotion for sustained use, and as a device it is not …