It’s a funny thing about co-workers. At first, they’re the people you debate about the best ways to get “regular people” to care about fighting poverty. A few years later, they’re also the people you’ve bonded with – about the Oxfam mission, yes, but also really good television shows, weddings, and babies.

You’re proud and worried about them when they work too hard. One of my co-workers, Vicky, got so rundown and sick she coughed herself into a few fractured ribs. Another co-worker, Heather, emerged from a major project mostly unscathed and got to present a paper she slaved over at a UN meeting in Poznan, Poland this week.

Vicky should have been at that meeting. She led much of Oxfam’s work to prepare for it. But, this time, she chose her health instead of “the fight” – a good decision, in my opinion. Heather is pictured in the photo below, second from left, discussing her paper about the $50 billion poor people need to become stronger in the face of climate change.

You can read more about the paper here.

She’s one of several Oxfam colleagues working to influence negotiators at the special UN meeting on climate change. They’re pushing for specific elements – all of them meant to build climate resilience in poor communities – to be included in a climate change deal to be signed next year.

And, while you’re at it, check out photos from an Oxfam’s exhibit in Poznan. We collected paintings from around the world that show the urgent need to fund climate change adaptation right now.