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.
When the farm is gone – but the loan remains: how can we build climate-resilient microfinance?
When floods destroyed one Pakistani farmer’s crops and income, they also destroyed her ability to get and repay the credit on which she, like millions of smallholders, depends. Rita Abiodun looks at a programme that offers much more protection from climate shocks to microfinance users.
How can INGOs shift power in partnerships to build climate resilience?
Convening, brokering and co-creating must be at the heart of how INGOs such as Oxfam work in future with urban communities to build resilience to climate shocks. Jessica Valerani introduces a new paper that draws lessons from a recent collaboration between communities, governments, the UN and Oxfam in south-eastern Africa.
How are land rights connected to climate justice?
Pubudini Wickramaratne and Rashmini de Silva introduce a new paper that spotlights the voices of rural Asians suffering loss and damage to their land and explain how secure land rights are essential to increasing climate resilience.
Four things for INGOs to think about when managing risks in turbulent times
Sophie Walsh on how leaders can build preparedness, manage uncertainty and also seize positive opportunities in a fast-changing world – such as the new generation of employees eager to see their values reflected in their work.
How can we prevent future hunger in Somalia? Start by empowering Somalis themselves
The news that over eight million Somalis are set to be in hunger crisis next year must trigger massive prevention efforts, alongside the emergency response, says Abdiaziz Adani of Oxfam in Somalia. And central to effective prevention is unlocking the huge potential of local organisations to build famine resilience.
Three hidden costs of Somalia’s drought
As the world confronts the widespread hunger caused by the worst drought in 40 years, we must not forget it is also having a devastating impact on schools, health and the animals that are the basis of so many livelihoods, says Abdiaziz Adani
Three ways to boost resilience in the face of Yemen’s colliding crises
From helping small business owners get back on their feet, to securing water supplies, to building climate resilience, Fayad Al-Derwish explains how Oxfam in Yemen is supporting conflict-affected families through difficult times, in a blog for World Humanitarian Day
Why care is a political act
Facilitators Shawna Wakefield and Heather Cole outline why self and collective care is fundamental to social justice, and how individuals and organizations can lead by example. There are many ways to understand what care means. Here, we define it as looking after the physical, emotional, spiritual and mental wellbeing, safety and dignity of ourselves and others. Too often, the focus …
A practical tool for listening to the people that matter
Jessica Fullwood-Thomas introduces a new online tool by Oxfam, which can help practitioners to better listen to the viewpoints of the communities we’re working in. TS Elliot famously said, ‘Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?’ Increasingly we have ever greater quantities and sources of data, but do we …