8/7/2019 oxfam overview

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/oxfam-overview 1/2

A world leAder in disAster response

O ws ounded in Englnd in 1942 s

the Oord Coittee or Fine Relie.

Our rst ission ws to respond to the

plight o World Wr II victis in Greece.

Tking the ne o the coittee’s

postl bbrevition—OxFam—O’sounders continued providing ssistnce

to poor people throughout Europe beore

brodening their ocus. Tody, through

O Interntionl, conedertion o 13

Os including O aeric, we hve

the rech to provide lie-sving ssistnce

to those in need round the world. and

becuse we re on the ground even beore

disster strikes, we cn respond switly.

our ApproAch

Sving lives is O’s rst priority. We

help people preserve their helth nd

dignity. Even beore disster hits, we

work to reduce the risk o uture dissters.

Once the iedite dnger hs pssed,

we work with people to rebuild their lives.

Our coprehensive pproch includes

the ollowing:

meeting bsic needs

> ater n ssessent o the disster, we

quickly bring in supplies nd st to help

the locl orgniztions with which we

work eet the needs o survivors.

> Estblishing source o clen wter is

oten criticl. We drill wells, set up wter tnks, ly pipes, nd build wshstnds

to provide se nd dequte supply

o wter during the eergency. We re

guided by interntionlly ccepted stn-

drds tht cll or 15 liters (bout our 

gllons) o wter per person dily, which

is ent to cover ll drinking, cooking,

nd wshing needs.

> adequte snittion is essentil in

preventing the spred o disese. We

dig countless ltrines, provide privcy

enclosures, nd equip counities tokeep the ltrines clen.

> In dissters, ilies oten lose every-

thing they own. We supply vriety o 

household essentils, including plstic

sheets or shelter, clen wter jugs,

sleeping ts, blnkets, kitchen utensils,

sop, nd clothing.

Oxfam at a glance: Saving lives

In n eergency, O’s objective is to sve lives. In the long ter, dissters nd the wywe respond to the cn provide opportunities or socil chnge—chnces to crete lsting

solutions to poverty nd injustice.

> Interntionl guidelines cll or 2,100

clories per person ech dy. During

soe eergencies, we provide supple-

entl rtions to help eet tht gol. We

lso oer csh-or-work progrs tht

provide people with oney to buy ood in

echnge or their eorts to clen up thewreckge let in the disster’s wke.

Iproving public helth

> In the terth o disster, when

people re living in overcrowded nd

unilir conditions, the thret o 

diseses such s choler reins high.

Epideiologicl studies nd public

helth outrech re essentil copo-

nents o our work. We send in public

helth prooters who shre inortion

bout how to keep wter clen nd ood

se. They lso work with counities—especilly children—on tking siple

steps, such s hndwshing, to keep

everyone helthy.

In the town of Independencia, Peru, young women

carry water from a tank Oxfam helped to install.

When an earthquake struck off the coast of Peru in

August 2007, Oxfam quickly stepped in to prevent

the spread of waterborne diseases among the

displaced people. In the rst three months after the

quake hit, Oxfam provided 21,000 families with clean

water and sanitation as well as temporary shelter.

8/7/2019 oxfam overview

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/oxfam-overview 2/2

> During certin kinds o eergencies—

such s disese outbreks—we un-

dertke public helth ssessents to

help counities trck the rnge o the

proble, identiy its source, nd ndworkble solutions.

> We re beginning to develop erly

wrning systes tht use public helth

indictors to lert us to potentil probles

brought on by chnges in locl conditions,

such s drought. ared with this inor-

tion, we cn tke steps to vert the

disster tht drought oten brings.

advocting or rights

> Dissters usully hit poor people hrdest.

They oten live in the ost vulnerbleloctions—on deorested hillsides or in

low-lying costl res, in hoes built

ro terils tht cn’t withstnd the

onslught o nture—nd they lck the

resources to recover. and in n eer-

gency, the rights o poor people re oten

the rst csulty. They requently ce

violence, re denied bsic services, nd

re ecluded ro decisions bout their 

utures. We work with the poorest co-

unities to help the cli their rights to

sety, services, nd voice.

Wht is O? 

O aeric is n interntionl relie nd developent

orgniztion tht cretes lsting solutions to poverty, hunger,

nd injustice. Together with individuls nd locl groups

round the world, O sves lives, helps people overcoe

poverty, nd ghts or socil justice. To join our eorts or lernore, go to www.oeric.org.

We re eber o O Interntionl— coneder-

tion o 13 O lites—working in ore thn 120

countries with up to 3,000 locl orgniztions. With ny

o the cuses o poverty globl in nture, the ebers o 

O Interntionl believe tht we cn chieve greter ipct through our collective eorts. 

> Both behind the scenes nd in the pub-

lic ren, our policy dvisers work to in-

fuence legisltion nd iprove politicl

structures t ll levels o governent so

tht the needs o the poorest survivors

will be et.

> Our respect or the needs o woen

nd the rights o both genders is

integrl to our eergency response.

For instnce, in building ltrines, we

tke into ccount the sensitivities o woen who re pregnnt or those

whose culture vlues odesty. In soe

situtions, we work with storytellers to

help chnge culturl ttitudes bout the

roles nd responsibilities o woen.

When we distribute household goods,

pckets y include snitry npkins,

bby cre ites, or ternity dresses.

Helping people ern living

> Getting bck to work ter n eer-

gency helps people nd counities

recover ore quickly. We provide

vriety o progrs tht oer iedi-

te eployent s well s ostering

long-ter econoic security. aong

our inititives re grnts nd lons tht

help people jup-strt businesses. We

Oxfam America

226 Cusewy Street, 5th Floor 

Boston, ma 02114-2206

(800) 77-OxFam

www.oeric.org

© 2008 O aeric Inc. all Rights Reserved. O aeric is registered trderk o O

aeric Inc., nd the O logo is registered trderk o Stichting O Interntionl.

080100

und voctionl trining. and we support

soe counities with the distribution

o bsic ring nd husbndry sup-

plies, such s high-qulity seeds nd

ilk-producing gots.

Preventing the net disster 

> Finding wys to help people prepre

or eergencies nd prevent nturl

events ro becoing dissters is

centrl to our ission.

> We work with counities to tke

prcticl steps. For instnce, in res

prone to severe fooding, we help people

understnd the risks, p their resources

nd devise plns tht llow everyone to

rech sety. In res where shortges

o rin re chronic, we help counities

iprove their locl wter supplies.

> We lso urge governents nd inter-

ntionl id groups to direct resources

towrd disster prevention.

“Unless we tke ction to reduce people’s vulnerbility hed

o tie, even the sllest nturl event will becoe disster 

or the poor nd rginlized.

” 

mike Delney, O aeric’s director o hunitrin response