A key question for Oxfam and the development sector is how to address the different challenges faced by people living in poverty in a holistic fashion. However, our partners are often already successfully addressing multiple issues at once as Caroline Ashley saw in Bangladesh. I’ve seen gender treated as a ‘tick-box’ exercise – yes women participated. The same goes for …
Turning waste into work in Za’atari refugee camp
As Za’atari refugee camp continues to hosts a large amount of Syrian refugees, new recycling initiatives are offering opportunities for work. Soman Moodley and Alixandra Buck, introduce a new case study on the ‘cash for work’ initiative. Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan is home to nearly 80,000 Syrian refugees. With no immediate prospect of returning home and limited opportunities to …
How recycling helped me regain my purpose
As a Syrian refugee living in Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan, Jasem Al-Wrewir’s opportunities to work are very limited. However, Jasem is using his skills and expertise, developed over a 15 year career in waste management, to improve camp conditions for refugees and minimize environmental impact. Here he reflects on the opportunities and limitations of cash-for-work programmes, as well as …
Vlog: Have you ever had a poo in the dark?
Oxfam’s Protection Project Manager, Kerry Akers, vlogs about research into the use of lighting around latrines in emergencies. Partnered with the Water Engineering and Development Centre at Loughborough University to undertake research, with the support of the Humanitarian Innovation Fund, the research aims to establish how best to decrease the perceived risk of GBV around WASH facilities.
In the line of fire: a humanitarian security officer’s life
Humanitarian security officers face some of the toughest job environments. For World Humanitarian Day Rod Slip shares some stories from risky and dangerous situations. In the course of my humanitarian career, with Oxfam a lot of the time, I have had the dubious honour of being shot at, shelled, been under rocket barrage and air-raids and found myself in the …
Podcast: Protecting civilians in conflict
[buzzsprout episode=’2559253′ player=’true’] As a result of conflict, the world today is faced with huge challenges in protecting civilians. In Yemen, Syria and South Sudan, infrastructures have been destroyed and thousands of people are forced to flea, or face the risks of disease, famine or harm. NGOs and relief agencies play a large role in the protection of civilians, from …
Civilians are not a target
For World Humanitarian Day Rachel Hastie, Oxfam’s Global Protection Adviser, reflects on our common humanity and what it means. Some years back I was walking my children to school before catching a flight to Darfur. I was going to meet people – ordinary civilians – who had fled attacks on their villages and were still facing dangers and a very uncertain …
Protection of women and girls: a bright idea
How can humanitarians help to protect women and girls from sexual violence in conflict situations? First we must ensure that our interventions don’t inadvertently place them in greater danger. For World Humanitarian Day, Kerry Akers explains why Oxfam is conducting research into the use of lighting around latrines in emergencies. Sometimes we harm the people we try to help. As …
Putting gender at the heart of national budgeting
Having an accountable system for public spending is central to the democratic relationship between citizens and the state. What if gender inequality was taken into account in the budget process? Poe Ei Phyu and Jasmine Burnley share key findings from Oxfam in Myanmar’s research into gender responsive budgeting. A country’s budget can be the most powerful tool a government has …
Is there room on the broom for young women?
For International Youth Day Sharon Settecasse looks at what lessons the development sector, and especially those working with young women, could take from the popular children’s book, ‘Room on the Broom’. Room on the Broom is a children’s book packed with lessons for children, and, as it turns out, for the development sector. It is story of a witch who, …