Photo: Caroline Gluck/Oxfam

Above, girls collect water from a tap stand in Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Below, a boy plays on a street where families hang their laundry.

Zaatari is now home to more than 100,000 refugees from the conflict in Syria. According to UNICEF, half of those refugees are children.

With 2,500 to 3,000 Syrians crossing into Jordan each day, Zaatari is now equivalent in size to the fifth-largest city in Jordan. Fifty thousand people arrived in February alone. Oxfam is helping more than 20,000 refugees in the camp by installing water taps and storage towers, latrines, showers, and laundry areas.

Photo: Caroline Gluck/Oxfam

“We’re surrounded by children for most of the day. We walk together, we eat together, we share stories and dreams,” said Farah al-Basha, an Oxfam engineer working in Zaatari. “When the time comes to leave the camp … We’re thinking about how lovely a shower will be, but [then] the kids come and say ‘see you tomorrow’ and we close the doors with a big smile. … We start thinking about what can we do next for those kids.”

Learn more about how Oxfam is helping Syrian refugees and donate now to support these efforts.

Cocoa farmer Adelaju Olaleye leans against the wall of her house in Oke-Agbede Isale, a village in Nigeria’s southwestern cocoa-growing region. Photo: George Osodi/Panos for Oxfam America

Sweet news today for chocolate lovers: the biggest chocolate maker in the world, Mondelez International, has agreed to take steps to address inequality facing women in their cocoa supply chains—thanks to pressure from customers like you.

More than 100,000 people around the world joined Oxfam’s campaign, signing petitions and taking action to urge Mondelez and its competitors to tackle the hunger, poverty, and unequal pay facing many women cocoa farmers and workers. You also made your voices heard by sending messages to the companies on Facebook and Twitter.

One of the images posted to Mondelez’s Facebook page by Oxfam supporters. Pictured: Amir Gorjifard of the Oxfam Club at Grinnell College. Photo: Mary Zheng

Today’s announcement by Mondelez follows commitments last month by Mars and Nestlé to address these issues. Together, Mars, Mondelez, and Nestlé buy more than 30 percent of the world’s cocoa—so changes in their policies could have huge effects for cocoa farmers and their families.

“Empowering women cocoa farmers has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people, some of whom are earning less than $2 a day,” said Judy Beals, manager of Oxfam’s Behind the Brands campaign. “We hope that the steps taken by Mars, Mondelez, and Nestlé offer an example to the rest of the food and beverage industry that consumers are paying attention to how companies impact the communities they work in.”

Mars, Mondelez, and Nestlé are now taking the first steps to commit to the empowerment of women and to find out how women are being treated in their supply chains. All have agreed to publish the data from first stage impact assessments in one year’s time and to publish concrete action plans to address the issues. Mondelez will also sign on to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles later this month, becoming the first of the three major chocolate companies to do so. Learn more about companies’ commitments.

Oxfam will make sure that these companies stick to their promises, but we can’t do it without you. We’ll put out progress reports so consumers and supporters can keep track and hold Mars, Mondelez, and Nestle to their word. You can also stay informed and take further actions through Oxfam’s Behind the Brands scorecard; we’ll be updating this online tool in real time so you can see how the giant companies that make your favorite brands (chocolate and otherwise) measure up.

Sarah Livingston is Oxfam America’s internal communications officer. Like many other Oxfam America staffers, she works out of our headquarters in downtown Boston.

Monday was a horrific day for the city of Boston, and the world. As two bombs ripped through crowds gathered near the marathon finish line, our hearts broke. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this tragedy, their families, and everyone whose healing journey is just beginning.

I was at the marathon Monday afternoon, arriving just minutes before the explosions, to meet my fiancé for lunch. The sidewalks were full of people from around the world: families on spring break, parents with little ones in tow, boosted up on their shoulders for a better view of the finish line. I saw groups from Kenya, Mexico, and Canada, decked out in their national gear, with flags waving. These expressions of national pride and celebration are a sobering reminder of what yesterday was all about: The world coming together to celebrate athleticism, strength and endurance, and the charitable causes of the runners.

We didn’t stay long on the sidewalk near the finish line. In fact, we missed the moment when expressions of joy and accomplishment turned to panic. Minutes before the bombs went off, we opted to go into a restaurant for lunch. That was when we heard the explosions. The scene that followed was chaos: people frantically running, screaming, and trying to get out of harm’s way—unsure if such a location even existed.

I’m reminded that for a moment, I felt a taste of what many of our sisters and brothers around the world experience in conflict situations. I thought of places like Syria, where the threat of violence is a daily reality, forcing more than a million people to flee their homes.

This week we were also reminded of the terrifying power of hate. Fortunately, the story doesn’t end here. We can resolve to live in the even greater power of love: Continuing the fight for justice, working to right the wrongs that exist in our world, and building pathways toward peace.

A couple of months ago, we invited you to submit your photos and videos to produce a crowd-sourced video set to an acoustic version of Coldplay’s “In My Place.” Now, we can share the resulting film, which is drawn from footage submitted by thousands of fans in 55 countries:

The concept and film was created by award-winning director Mat Whitecross to echo the dislocation and displacement thousands of families experience as a result of land grabs. (For one example, see this compelling series of photos of families affected by land grabs in Cambodia).

The film shows people from Argentina to Indonesia moving something favorite, personal, or familiar from their home to somewhere it doesn’t belong. Others show people doing something personal and familiar totally out of place, such as actor Dominic Cooper taking a nap outside in the freezing city of Budapest and the band Wolf Gang jamming in the street. Singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran also makes an appearance holding a sign in support.

Coldplay, who have been working with Oxfam since 2003, said they were happy to break new ground with a crowd-sourced video. “Not only are Coldplay fans very good-looking but they’re also incredibly creative,” said the band. “We’re proud that they’ve dedicated their collective talent to this important cause.”

A community of 1,367 families were uprooted from central Phnom Penh in June 2006 and forcibly relocated to open swamp land in Andong, 13 miles from the city and their livelihoods.

Why? To make way for a shopping mall that is yet to be built.

Acclaimed photographer Emma Hardy traveled to Cambodia to capture the story of this community and others, fighting to reclaim their rights to own, inhabit, and work the land they once owned. She describes what she saw in Andong slum:

“Seven years on, these families are still waiting for public services. Their latrine is an open field. Water for washing and cooking is piped in rickety plastic hoses at uncertain times of day and stored in large open earthenware jars standing in shockingly-polluted water. In the rainy seasons most makeshift homes are practically submerged in sewage water. In drier months, the stench is overwhelming. Dysentery is rife. Dengue fever and cholera are chronic. These relocated communities have not, to date, received ‘even one grain of rice in compensation.’”

Below are five photos from Hardy, some of which will be featured in a pop-up gallery exhibit in Washington, DC, from April 10^th to the 21^st. (See invite here.) The exhibit was created in support of Oxfam’s efforts to bring attention to global land grabs and was first featured in The Economist’s Intelligent Life magazine.

The pictures speak for themselves.

(1) Street view, Andong slum

(2) Woman collecting water snails for food

(3) Slum dog

(4) Sor Sat, Executive Director of the Cambodian non-profit, Action for Environment and Communities, after a long meeting

(5) Daughter of land activists at a meeting

Around the world, a rush to grab land is underway. Land the size of the California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico combined was sold off globally in the last decade, enough to grow food for the one billion people who go hungry today.

The World Bank influences how land is bought and sold on a global scale. It has the power to step in and play a vital role in stopping land injustice.

Now, just before the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, encourage the World Bank to take action to halt the speed and scale of land grabbing around the world. Let them know the world is watching. Add your voice here.

Photo: Caroline Gluck/Oxfam

In Mafraq City in northern Jordan, children and young people lit candles to show their solidarity with the people of Syria. Their vigil was organized by Oxfam’s partner, human rights organization ARDD-Legal Aid, as part of a Global Vigil for Syria to mark the two year anniversary of the conflict. Vigils in 20 countries around the world remembered more than 70,000 Syrians who lost their lives and showed their support for more than one million who have fled their homes and rely on humanitarian assistance from organizations like Oxfam for survival. Their message was one of hope that Syria will be a country of peace and safe haven where their citizens can soon return.

Oxfam’s Areeg Hegazi remembers a vigil in Moustafe Mahmoud Square in Egypt:

“As it was nearing dawn, we started to light up the candles, some of the young men and women started forming the letters ‘Syria’ in Arabic on the floor.  Syrians in the vigil were touched with the numbers of Egyptians there – and by the opportunity to mark the anniversary while they were so far away from home.  As people drove past the vigil, they shared messages of encouragement, ‘inshallaah this would be over soon’ and ‘you’ll go back and reconstruct everything again.’”

Learn more about how Oxfam is helping Syrian refugees and donate now to support these efforts.

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.

Larry Fitzgerald (white shirt) and Anquan Boldin (right) help women artisanal miners pound rock and sand. Photo by Audra Melton/Oxfam America

The village of Sabodala in eastern Senegal is going through an amazingly difficult transition.  Until several years ago the community had access to land on which they farmed for generations. They had clean water whenever needed.  The land provided a means of livelihood for the community while villagers turned to artisanal mining for gold in the dry season to earn extra money.

Then a mining company came in and seized their land—and everything changed. People could no longer farm in the same places. They still had access to water through a pump the mining company was generous enough to build in the village – but not generous enough to let the community use for free.  Villagers say that sometimes the pump was shut off for days at a time.  Farmers in Sabodala  were forced to depend on artisanal mining for basic necessities in a way they never had to before.  Seemingly overnight, mining changed from a way to generate supplemental income to the only way to earn a living year-round.

I stepped into this situation with NFL wide receivers Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and Roddy White on a visit with Oxfam to learn about our programs in the region and what they, their fans, and you can do to support our friends and partners on the ground.

The players saw one of the ways the community of Sabodala has responded to their newly created situation: the creation of a women’s Saving for Change group by a local association that was also working with Oxfam to help farmers get compensation for their lost land and improve access to water. Each individual member of the group saves and deposits about 25 cents a week (roughly $12 each year) to the group fund. That seemed like a small amount to the players and myself, but when combined with the entire group savings, is actually a good sum of money to save in eastern Senegal.  The members can then borrow small loans to meet emergency needs or fund a small business venture.  The group has given the women access to resources they desperately need.

Changing for the better

We spoke with women who say their lives have been changed for the better through creating and accessing the savings group.  It is helping them open up new businesses, money for health care for children in the community, and getting new clothes. Although a savings group won’t solve all the problems in Sabodala, it will help people survive some difficult changes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo: Rankin

Huge news coming out of the UN today: this morning, delegates from 154 nations voted to adopt the first-ever international Arms Trade Treaty.

This is a historic moment. For the first time, the world has a treaty to help monitor and control the flow of arms and ammunition across borders. It’s a strong, effective treaty that will save lives and protect human rights around the world.

This momentous victory is the culmination of more than 10 years of campaigning by Oxfam and many other like-minded organizations and allies. And it’s the result of the actions of tens of thousands of Oxfam supporters like you – people who raised their voices in support of an Arms Trade Treaty, donated to fuel this work, and spread the word about this crucial issue.

For families in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Mali, and other countries wracked with armed conflict, the Arms Trade Treaty means a safer, brighter future. Ending armed conflict in poor communities is vital to righting the wrong of poverty, which is why Oxfam has been working to pass this treaty for more than a decade.

President Obama and his administration played an important leadership role to ensure the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty. Join us and send a message thanking them now.

As we’ve posted here  and written in our magazine (p. 7), Ghana civil society organizations have gained substantial ground in collaborating with their government to promote transparency in oil revenue. They can now see what taxes, royalties, and other payments the government collects, and monitor where that money is spent.

Here at Oxfam we have worked hard to support the work in Ghana to build a culture of transparency and good governance. We’ve complemented this work in Ghana with our advocacy in the US for the payment transparency provisions in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (p. 8). These provisions are under threat in a law suit by the American Petroleum Institute (the lobbying arm of the US oil industry), which is seeking to block that entire section of Dodd-Frank, legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Obama.

What are the oil companies y trying to hide? This is the question posed by Boakye Dankwa Boadi in a video we released last week. The efforts of Mr. Boadi and others in Ghana to promote transparency and responsible governance are under threat. He sees legislation like Dodd-Frank as a measure that will help them check the money coming in to the government with payments reported by the companies themselves. He says this will help Ghana “cross the path of poverty” to becoming a more developed nation.

The court heard oral arguments last week, and we anticipate a decision in the coming months. Oxfam is calling for oil companies to publicly disassociate themselves from the API suit, and we’re asking you to sign a petition to support this.