The first thing you need for a decent education in the DRC? Clean water

Katie EdmondsonEducation, Private sector, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

In a country where too many girls still don’t get a basic education, textiles firm Romo has been working with Oxfam to provide support that goes well beyond textbooks or new classrooms. In a blog for International Youth Day, Katie Edmondson looks back on 17 years of an evolving partnership.

Cambodia’s women garment workers have been promised a decent life: now we must support them to claim their rights

Sopharith SinPrivate sector, Rights, Women's Economic Empowerment

The government is now offering maternity leave, a pension fund and other social benefits that could give women stability and security. Sopharith Sin and Roland Chauville explain how a new project will support them to get a better deal

‘What is tea without water?’ How a tea firm came to invest in clean water in Niger

Katie EdmondsonPrivate sector, Water, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

On World Water Day, Oxfam’s Private Sector Partnership Manager Katie Edmondson looks back at a decade of partnership with Ahmad Tea, which has supported Oxfam to supply clean water to thousands of people and is training community members to manage new systems in one of the world’s most water-insecure countries.

From a Rohingya refugee’s perspective, who is local – and why does it matter?

Razia SultanaGender, Power Shifts, Refugees and IDPs

Interactions between refugee women and aid workers with little connection to Rohingya culture can go terribly wrong, says Razia Sultana of Oxfam partner RW Welfare Society. To win women’s trust, INGOs need to engage with whoever is ‘as local as possible’

‘Make us feel uncomfortable…’ Three tips from Paul Polman on how charities should work with business

Claudia CodsiInfluencing, Private sector

Business leader and campaigner Paul Polman has long been a proponent of the idea that business should be a force for good. Today, he says people in organisations campaigning for change must seize the chance to connect with a new generation of ‘Greta Thunbergs in every company’ to help drive social impact. Claudia Codsi reports back on his recent talk to Oxfam staff

3 steps to linking farmer livelihoods with business benefits

Alastair StewartFood & livelihoods, Private sector

Often, livelihoods projects in smallholder-based supply chains – such as tea or cocoa – aim to create solutions that benefit all links in the chain: by addressing a challenge in the supply chain (e.g. crop productivity or quality) the projects aim to improve conditions for smallholder farmers (e.g. increased income) as well as for the buyers and commercial partners (e.g. improved quality or security of supply). But demonstrating this ‘win-win’ can be challenging as monitoring and evaluation systems need to be designed in a way that captures the benefits …