Photo: Percy Ramirez/Oxfam America; click to enlarge

Above, Marlith Amasifuen Ishuiza and her son Bryan Sangama at a community water tap in Aviación, a rural town of about 300 people in Peru’s northern Amazon region. With support from Oxfam, women in Aviación worked together to cultivate a traditional garden, which protects their indigenous Kichwa culture while providing an additional source of food and income for their families.

I thought of my 2012 visit to Avación when I read “The Kids Left Behind by the Boom,” a moving op-ed by journalist Marie Arana that appeared in yesterday’s New York Times. With the story of 12-year-old Henrry Ochochoque, Arana touches on many of the same issues that Oxfam’s programs in Peru seek to address: the stark inequalities between the flourishing capital city and the struggling rural villages; the environmental and human costs of out-of-control natural resource extraction; and the still-persistent discrimination that leaves many indigenous people shut out of the country’s recent economic boom.

As Arana points out, these problems affect kids first and foremost. Henrry, and many others like him, are getting “an education that will leave [them] drastically unprepared for the 21st century. … 78 percent of Peru’s indigenous children live in poverty. A third of all rural children suffer chronic malnutrition. … For Henrry, despite his A’s and sunny optimism, the Peruvian boom may as well be on the moon.”

In the face of challenges like this, it’s hard to be optimistic about the future. But for Henrry’s sake, and Bryan’s too, I hope we’ll see some changes before they grow up.

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 by Eva-Lotta Jansson

As the mother of soccer players (both of whom are now too old for schoolboy sports, but never too old for pickup matches wherever they can find them), I read a story in the New York Times today that made me smile. “Joy that lasts, on the poorest playgrounds,” said the headline. It was about soccer—the universal language for love of a ball—and a new kind of material to play it with: PopFoam.

It was a story about an entrepreneur driven to develop PopFoam soccer balls for kids in some of the poorest parts of the world, where a ball is often just something that can be made to roll, even if it’s more oblong than round.

How many times have I witnessed that joy the headline heralds? It’s one of the thrills of any visit to the field I have ever taken  for Oxfam—to catch sight of a game on a patch of rough earth, on the foundation of a ruined house, beyond the mud walls of a compound. Plumes of dust billow at each bounce of the ball, feet flying after it. No shoes? No one seems to mind. The ball is all that matters.

 A whoop. A score.

And the game goes on. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not surprising that Mistura—Latin America’s most famous food festival, and one of the largest in the entire world—takes place in Peru. If you’ve ever been there, or even eaten at a Peruvian restaurant elsewhere, you know that the country’s cuisine is varied and unique (I’ve never tried chicha morada, or purple corn juice, anywhere else), and makes delicious use of fresh, seasonal ingredients.

But even though most of Peru’s food is produced within its borders, a lack of investment in rural areas–combined with other factors, like climate change—has left many Peruvian farmers facing poverty. In rural San Martin, for example, the Kichwa women I met earlier this year grew an amazing array of crops in their communal gardens, yet they said they had few opportunities to sell their produce and earn much-needed income for their families.

Oxfam’s GROW campaign (CRECE in Spanish) is working to increase the opportunities for small-scale farmers, especially women, in Peru and beyond. Here’s what Giovanna Vásquez, campaign coordinator in Perú, said about this short video, below, filmed by CRECE at Mistura last month:

“Close to half a million people attended the fifth edition of the Mistura food festival this September in Lima, Peru. For 10 days, Mistura featured the best dishes from renowned Peruvian cuisine, as well as thousands of products offered directly to consumers from more than 300 Peruvian producers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kichwa women in Chirikyacu, Peru, work together to cultivate traditional crops. Photo: Percy Ramirez/Oxfam America

The more I learn about Oxfam’s work in South America—and I’ve learned a lot in recent months—the more impressed I am by the power of women.

Indigenous people in countries like Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador have experienced centuries of discrimination and exclusion. Even today, many remain trapped in poverty. That’s why Oxfam works with indigenous groups to protect their fundamental rights and increase their political and decision-making power.

While many groups face ethnic discrimination, indigenous women have to overcome gender bias, too. A recent Oxfam report found that although women in Peru made significant contributions to the indigenous peoples’ movement, they are still less likely to hold elected office, get an education, or earn a living wage. They also face new challenges in their traditional roles as food producers. “Women are feeling the effects [of climate change] more, because they are more tied to the earth,” said Nancy Iza Moreno of Oxfam partner group the Coordinadora Andina de Organizaciones Indígenas (CAOI). “They are the ones who work in the gardens and in the fields.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Elizabeth Rojas, health and nutrition program coordinator for the community organization El Mantaro Revive. "“We are concerned about children’s health in La Oroya. Many have just started to recover from high levels of lead in their blood, and what happens now will be critical for them. Always, the most vulnerable population is the poorest.” Photo: Percy Ramirez/Oxfam America

Women like Elizabeth Rojas, above, are at the heart of an effort to defend public health and the environment in La Oroya, Peru, a city that’s been called one of the most polluted places on earth. While legislators and CEOs debate whether or not to reopen the Doe Run Peru lead smelter in La Oroya, these women continue their efforts to protect the community—even when it means putting their own safety at risk. Add your support by signing the petition at http://bit.ly/HEVNZQ.

Hear more from La Oroya’s women leaders on Flickr, and help raise awareness by watching and sharing the bilingual slideshow below. (Expand the slideshow and select “show info,” upper right, to read their testimonials in English and Spanish.)

La Oroya, Peru, in 2006, when the Doe Run Peru lead smelter was operating in the center of town. Photo: Flor Ruiz / Oxfam America

“Communication is power,” said Rosa Amaro. “I would like people around the world to know what’s going on in my town, La Oroya … and then our authorities here in Peru can respond to the problems.”

Amaro told me this when I spoke with her in Boston last fall. But I didn’t really understand what the Oxfam partner and community leader meant until I visited Peru last week, during a crucial moment in her and other residents’ effort to protect their community. For ten years, they’ve been calling on the Doe Run Peru Corporation (part of the American-owned Renco Group) to clean up operations at its giant lead smelter in the heart of their town. Toxic chemicals from the smelter have affected La Oroya’s air, water, and soil, and contributed to health problems like elevated blood lead levels in local children.

Now, Peruvian authorities are debating whether or not to extend the deadline for Doe Run Peru to improve its environmental standards in La Oroya. If they do, the smelter—which has been closed for the last two years—could reopen as early as May, with no guarantees of a cleaner operation.

Many of the activists from La Oroya have a child or other family member whose health has been affected by lead poisoning. Most are women. Organized into grassroots networks, they help one another. And while they don’t have the money or influence of a major corporation, they do have the ability to reach others and mobilize them to join the cause.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been nearly three years since an earthquake hit the area around Pisco in Peru, and a group of us who work for Oxfam visited a few of the communities affected by the disaster last week. Many people are still living in temporary shelters among the ruins of their homes. We visited on a rainy morning that later became a cool, cloudy day and the haze obscured the hills and blended together with the rubble in a tableau of gray. There were signs of reconstruction, though it is clearly a slow process. But despite the depressing winter weather, people are optimistic in Pisco.

We were looking at the role that women are playing in the recovery in Pisco. Oxfam has been working with the Women’s Association of Ica to help women create economic opportunities for themselves and their families, get involved in setting the agenda for rebuilding, and help reduce vulnerability to future disasters.

Marino Ucharima, Mayor of Independencia, Peru. Photo by Sarah Livingston.

Oxfam and the Women’s Association of Ica have been training women to raise guinea pigs for sale and their own consumption (yes, people eat guinea pigs in Peru), and participate in the local civil defense program. The women we met with got training in how to raise guinea pigs and process them in ways that help them sell in the market place. And the women’s role as breadwinners and organizers is building a lot of pride and satisfaction. Read the rest of this entry »

Marisa Marcavillaca speaks at Oxfam's Sisters on the Planet Climate Leaders Summit. Photo: Ilene Perlman / Oxfam America

 Right now, the US Senate is drafting language for a new climate bill—and if we don’t take action, the world’s poorest communities may not get the resources they need to fight climate change. Find out how you can help.

When Marisa Marcavillaca—a farmer and indigenous women’s organizer from Peru—spoke at Oxfam’s Sisters on the Planet Climate Leaders Summit last month, her words were quoted by everyone from Al Gore to a climate skeptic blog called Al Gore Lied. 

“We are very concerned, in my community, in my country, about global climate change,” Marcavillaca said through a translator. “We are seeing the impacts on a daily basis. We are losing our lands; our waters are disappearing. … It rains when it shouldn’t rain. There are freezing temperatures when there shouldn’t be freezing temperatures.”

At first, the idea of global warming actually bringing cooler temperatures might indeed seem counter-intuitive. But that’s the reality that many indigenous people are facing in the high altitudes of Peru, where marginalized communities have taken root on the very limits of habitable terrain. I visited some of these communities a few years back, and I still remember the compact stone houses, perched on the edge of impossibly steep mountain slopes. I remember the farmers’ stepped fields—some pitched at almost a ninety-degree angle—and the fragile, unlikely green shoots emerging from the soil.

When life is so precarious, any shift in weather—not just colder temperatures, but changes in rainfall, even floods—can have lasting consequences.

Read the rest of this entry »

Residents of the New Generation neighborhood in Cusco, Peru, are living in temporary shelters in Andahuylillas after their homes were declared uninhabitable. Photo: Roberto Guerrero/Oxfam America

A colleague just sent us these photos from southern Peru, where heavy rainfall has caused flooding and left widespread damage, including the destruction of homes, crops, and small businesses. Oxfam is supporting its local partner, PREDES, to help 529 families living in temporary shelters in the provinces of Anta, Calca, and Urubamba.

Like many of the photos I’ve seen of displaced families after the Haiti earthquake, these images highlight people’s resilience in the face of tremendous losses.

“The only thing we haven’t lost is our health and our lives,” Eufemia Araníbar, a member of the Nueva Esperanza neighborhood committee in the district of Izcuchaca, told Oxfam’s Celia Aldana. “We haven’t lost our children or our husbands. Everything else we can rebuild, because we have our health.”

Photo: Roberto Guerrero / Oxfam America

 See more photos from Peru here.