This week, right after the UN voted to adopt the first ever International Arms Trade Treaty, Oxfam America president Ray Offenheiser did an interview for Public Radio International’s The World about the meaning and impact of the treaty. He addresses questions like: How big of a deal is this? Does this have any impact on current armed conflicts, like the one in Syria? Will this have an impact on US gun control? You can listen to the interview below:

The US, along with 153 other countries, voted YES to make sure the world will be a safer place, while facing tough opposition from powerful lobbies like the NRA, which spread misinformation and lies about the treaty.

Take a moment to thank President Obama’s administration for their work on making the Arms Trade Treaty strong and effective, and urge him to sign onto it as soon as possible.

Here’s a real treat for chocolate lovers: proof that no company is too big to listen to customers like you.

Exactly one month ago, Oxfam launched the Behind the Brands scorecard with a call for consumers to “change the way the food companies that make your favorite brands do business.” We kicked off the effort by asking you to take action in support of women cocoa farmers around the world, many of whom face poverty, low wages, and discrimination.

In an incredible response, more than 65,000 people sent messages asking companies to improve their policies and help women cocoa growers get a fair deal. Tens of thousands of you also tweeted, shared our messages on Facebook, and attended events around the country. (See some examples in the video below.)

Today, thanks to your efforts, two of the world’s biggest chocolate companies have shown they’re listening. Mars and Nestlé have agreed to do more to “know and show” how women are being treated in their cocoa supply chains, to commit to a plan of action, to work to sign on to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, and to work with industry organizations to address gender issues. (Learn more about their commitments here.) We’re encouraged by their commitments and the effects these  will ultimately have on the women who grow and pick the key ingredient in our favorite chocolate treats.

“Women cocoa farmers and consumers around the globe have made their voices heard,” said Alison Woodhead, manager for Oxfam’s Behind the Brands campaign. “Mars and Nestlé have taken important steps to show the farmers they rely on, their customers, and the rest of the food industry that they care about the conditions women face in their supply chains.”

Oxfam is looking forward to working with Mars and Nestlé to ensure that they keep their promises to women cocoa farmers. For now, help maintain the momentum by calling on another of the world’s biggest chocolate companies, Mondelez International (maker of products like Oreos), to follow suit. Add your voice today.

Asewi Kuoaou is a member of a cocoa grower co-op in Yao, Ivory Coast. Photo by Peter DiCampo/Oxfam.

Are you on Instagram? If not, now might be a good time to sign up. This week, renowned photojournalists and curators of the Everyday Africa project, Peter DiCampo and Austin Merrill, are taking over Oxfam America’s Instagram account!

You might remember hearing about the Everyday Africa project from us back in September. Originally, Peter and Austin teamed up to counteract the extreme media images of Africa by sharing photos from across the continent of the mundane and familiar, which are equally, if not more enthralling. Now their work has expanded to be featured in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The New York Times, and this week, The New Yorker.

They are posting photos (like the one above) from their recent trip to the Ivory Coast to learn about women cocoa farmers. In the Ivory Coast, like in many countries, women are responsible for the majority of food production, despite having limited access to markets, land, and credit. If women had equal access to resources, their efforts could reduce world hunger, lower child malnutrition, and raise the incomes of rural people around the world. As a part of Oxfam’s GROW campaign, we are working hard to ensure that rural farmers, especially women, have the ability to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

Follow us on Instagram at @OxfamAmerica to see all of their photos from the field.

This post was co-authored by Victoria Marzilli and Anna Kramer.

By now we’ve probably all heard 2012 being called a new “year of the woman.” From a record number of females elected into the US Congress, to the young Pakistani education activist who was TIME’s runner-up for Person of the Year (with Hillary Clinton and Marissa Mayer making the shortlist), the girls are seriously representing this year. But, even with all the focus on these extraordinary women, we feel like there’s still something missing.

You see, working at Oxfam, we have the incredible opportunity to hear stories of people who beat the odds every day. But what we’ve learned is that those odds are, more often than not, stacked against women. So in the spirit of reflection, we’ve chosen five more women–who you probably have never heard of–who are inspiring us to keep up the fight for social justice and keep changing the world for the better.

1. The spokeswoman

Photo: Jacob Silberberg/Oxfam America

Nigeria’s Susan Godwin is a farmer, public speaker, feminist, entrepreneur, and human rights activist all rolled into one. As a voice for greater investment in rural women farmers, she’s shared her story with audiences all over the world this year, whether at events organized by US volunteers, the World Food Prize Conference in Iowa, or Oxfam’s ongoing global discussion about the Future of Agriculture. To hear Susan tell her story in her own words, watch the video of Oxfam America’s recent “Talks at Google” event focused on ending hunger.

2. The first responder

Photo: Rene Figueroa/Oxfam America

In El Salvador, Doris Escobar coordinates a core group of dedicated volunteers–more than half of them women–who are experts at emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion. Thanks to training supported by Oxfam, Escobar’s volunteers made a difference when an extraordinary storm struck El Salvador late last year. More recently, the group has been training new members from 150 communities. “It has been a lot of work,” said Escobar, “but we are teaching that women are capable of doing everything that men can. I tell many women, ‘We don’t have to follow behind a man. We can walk in front of one.’” Read the full story here.

3. The smart gardener

Photo: Percy Ramirez/Oxfam America

Luz Sinarahua, 26, leads a group of women and mothers in rural Chirikyacu, Peru, who work together to maintain a community garden that’s far from ordinary. Sinarahua and her fellow women are participants in an Oxfam pilot project that helps indigenous women reclaim their ancestors’ traditional crops while increasing their incomes and combating the effects of climate change. “We are 18 really active women,” saind Sinarahua of her fellow growers. “We are unified, and we coordinate our work.” Read the full story here.

 4. The rural innovator

Photo: Sokunthea Chor/Oxfam America

Chheng Cheeung, a rice farmer from Cambodia’s Pursat province, was one of the first farmers in her village to try the System of Rice Intensification, an innovative method that can grow more rice using less water and fewer resources. Though her neighbors laughed at her at first, Chheng proved them wrong when her stronger crops not only survived a flood: they flourished. She was able to double her income from her rice crop–money that she invested in her daughter’s education–and now serves as a model for innovation throughout her community. Read the rest of her story here.

5. The female food hero

Photo: Oxfam

Oxfam’s Female Food Hero contest is raising the profile of women in places like Tanzania and Ethiopia—where women grow, cook, and produce most of their countries’ food, but are rarely publicly recognized for their accomplishments. Sister Martha Waziri, this year’s winner of the contest in Tanzania, reclaimed a barren, unwanted patch of land and turned it into a source of food and income, and then motivated others in her community to do the same. “Sister Martha is not an agro-science expert,” wrote Oxfam’s Mwanahamisi Salimu earlier this year. “But this extraordinary woman from an ordinary rural community has made a substantial contribution to conserve her environment and made a remarkable difference in the lives of her fellow villagers.” Read the rest of her story here.

 We want to hear from you: What other unsung women heroes changed the world in 2012? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Photo: Jacob Silberberg/Oxfam America

At an Oxfam America Hunger Banquet, the place where you sit, and the meal that you eat, are determined by the luck of the draw—just as in real life some of us are born into relative prosperity and others into poverty.

Unless you’ve been to one of these interactive events, it’s hard to explain how memorable, emotional, and inspirational it can be, to name just a few words we’ve heard from Oxfam supporters over the years. People often get in touch to tell us how a Hunger Banquet gave them a deeper understanding of hunger and poverty, or even a whole new perspective.

While this event has been a Thanksgiving seasonal tradition for nearly 40 years, we’ve seen social media bring a fresh energy to the scene that pushes the message far beyond the walls of the room and still captures that feeling of inspiration and connection.

So far, I’m impressed by the tweets I’ve read about people’s reactions to Oxfam America Hunger Banquets this fall. Believe me, I’m in the business of writing tweets–and I know how difficult it can be to convey such a BIG feeling in 140 characters. A few that caught my eye:

Just attended OXFAM’s #HungerBanquet !Great program! Loved the information and discussion! Raise awareness of world hunger! #OXFAM #CSU

— Perdeep Badhesha(@DeepNotShallow) October 16, 2012

Oxfam Hunger Banquet #dinner #rice instagr.am/p/QlKp19nmJg/

— Fiona Ian (@localskies) October 10, 2012

@hb_planning it was an enlightening experience! I was impoverished; but that was the tastiest rice I’ve had in my life

— SLiCE CSU (@slice_csu) October 23, 2012

OxFam Hunger banquet… #eyeopening

— Jess Ratliff (@jessygirl93) September 17, 2012

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Last week I met Razia Jan, one of the finalists for CNN’s Hero of the Year award. Razia is the founder of a small nonprofit organization called Razia’s Ray of Hope that is doing some of the bravest work I know of today.

I first heard about Razia during a conversation with my aunt about the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, which focuses on Mortenson’s mission to build schools in rural regions of Pakistan. (Though Mortenson’s book has generated some controversy, I still found the ideas behind the story inspiring.)

My aunt told me about her friend Patti Quigley, who lost her husband in the 9/11 attacks. Rather than shunning the region of the world from which the attackers came, Patti focused her energy on understanding it. That led Patti to meet Razia and become involved with, and eventually Executive Director of, Razia’s Ray of Hope.

On Friday, I heard Razia tell her story at an event here in Boston. A native Afghan, she lived in the US for over 38 years. After the 9/11 attacks she was compelled to return to Afghanistan to fight terrorism from the ground up. She knew, through a deep understanding of the culture, that educating girls was a key part of the solution.

Read the rest of this entry »

From food trucks bringing local fresh healthy foods to underprivileged communities in Vermont, to providing education for girls in Afghanistan, the 52 nominations for Oxfam’s first-ever International Women’s Day Challenge on GOOD Maker highlighted the power that women have to make the world a better place.

But once the public had spoken, and the voting period was closed, the African Women Power Network (AWP), based in Nigeria, was announced as the winner. With her $1,000 winnings from Oxfam, AWP’s administrator, Mary Olushoga has started offering online business trainings geared towards women and youth.

GOOD Maker winner Mary Olushoga.

With her trainings officially underway, we thought we’d talk with Olushoga,  hear more about how the AWP Network got started, and what her vision is for the future.

Here’s an excerpt from our interview with her: Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, I asked a simple question on Facebook and Twitter: Fill in the blank: food security means _______.  I asked, not just out of curiosity, but because I hear the words “food security” floating around a lot in the Oxfam America headquarters. I knew that outside of the office it’s a term that could be interpreted in many different ways. And even though the term is academic, the concept is important. Hunger is an issue that Oxfam has been addressing for decades, but with climate change and soaring food prices, food security is back in the spotlight.

So that’s why we asked people to give us their take.  Read a few of their answers below, then tell us what food security means to you:

Read the rest of this entry »

Local shoe sellers at a market in Darfur, Sudan. Photo: Elizabeth Stevens / Oxfam America

Last week, my colleague Anna wrote a great article on TOMS founder, Blake Mycoskie, and noted the dynamic between socially-aware businesses and nonprofit organizations. There has been a lot of discussion recently about TOMS and their “One Day Without Shoes” campaign—which happens today—especially on social media sites like Twitter.

But have you heard about its counter-campaign: “A Day Without Dignity”? The latter argues that instead of talking about raising awareness and charity, we should highlight the inherent dignity of people and sustainable development.

So needless to say, I’ve been thinking a lot about shoes: TOMS shoes that is. I own a pair myself. When I bought them, I liked knowing that my purchase would help a child in need. But I’ve also been thinking about charity, awareness, and sustainable development. As hundreds of thousands go without shoes today to raise awareness about the lack of shoes, a basic necessity in developing countries, some of us are raising the question: is that enough?

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An Oxfam activist in Belgium holds a plant pot bearing a photo of Flemish Environment Minister, Joke Schauvliege. Photo credit: Tineke D'haese / Oxfam

We’re counting the days… and the actions leading up to the international climate change conference, COP 16, in Cancun. At this important summit, members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), international government officials, media and civil society leaders will come together to find solutions to climate change – and it’s urgent that we remind them about the ripple effect that our increasingly unpredictable climate has on poor and vulnerable communities – especially those dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods.

We’re adding up all of the online actions, Facebook ‘likes’, tweets, and pledges and tracking them right here and on the Sow the Seed website so that you can see the progress we’re making towards our goal!

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