Oxfam

Many of the stories coming out of India over recent weeks have been those of brutality, cruelty and outrage.

But there are also thousands of individual stories of ordinary women’s survival and struggle in the face of violence and abuse.

One of these many untold stories is that of Ranjana*, a young woman who my colleagues recently met in central India.

Continue reading "Finding light amongst inequality and violence" »

Remember the Kyoto Protocol?  The only international legally binding framework the world has to reduce emissions? Signing it, to much fanfare, was Labor’s first significant act after being swept to victory in 2007. It signalled Australia’s willingness to finally join international action to fight climate change.

Now, the first incarnation of Kyoto is about to come to its end, but that fight is far from over. A second phase of the Kyoto Protocol would pave the way to a more ambitious and inclusive global climate treaty, which is what we desperately need if we are to avoid dangerous climate change.

While the Government has copped a hammering on many fronts in recent years, the decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol remains popular, according to polling released last week by WWF.  The Opposition’s climate change spokesman Greg Hunt also is now on the record as saying his party supports signing on to the next phase.

Continue reading "Australia needs to warm up to climate change - the sequel" »

Five years ago, Oxfam started the Unwrapped giving program, giving Australians the chance to buy their friends and family a different kind of present – one that also contributes to our work helping people out of poverty around the world.

It’s a concept that many charities use in one form or another. It’s proved to be popular, and we hope it will become even more so.

It works like this - you chose a present, maybe a goat, maybe a pile of poo. You get a fun gift card to give as the present and Oxfam gets money to continue our work. That might not necessarily mean that we use the money to buy a goat for a poor family overseas, (a goat might not always be the solution), but we will use it for an agriculture related program that helps people grow food to be able to feed their family, and maybe make some money to send their children to school. How your money will be used is explained on our Unwrapped website when you buy your gift.

Continue reading "Why buying a goat does make a difference" »