Author: Lucy Aitken-Read

I am sitting at my desk and on either side of me at their own desks, are two of my colleagues. The unusual thing about it is that they are both wearing football shirts. I really hate missing a fashion moment so politely asked why they didn’t flick the Wear Your Football Shirt to Work Day memo past me. Turns out it was just a spontaneous response to the fact that England are playing their first warm-up game for the World Cup tonight against Mexico.

Ah, of course. How could I have missed it? This tournament has suddenly become The Big Thing, as if it has been waiting nervously in the wings for the last few months and then last week someone decided to push it out into the spotlight, centre stage, so it could work its magic on every advert, every big brand and every newspaper out there.

Even the team here at Oxfam is getting on board; we have just launched a campaign called Don’t Drop the Ball on Aid- using Keepy Uppies to raise awareness about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals were agreed on by world leaders many moons ago, targets that would save lives and smash poverty, but that are not looking likely to be met. It makes sense when you realise that football season pre-empts a massive summit on the MDGs in September where the videos of people doing Keepy Uppies will be shown to world leaders, revealing just how many people want them to keep their MDG promises.

So why not get in the spirit of things and go to www.dontdropaid.org where you can upload your own Keepy Uppy video. If you keep your eyes peeled you will see me up there doing about a million expert footy tricks that not even Beckham can do. (Whatever you do don’t mistake me for the lass that is overly chuffed with her one kick of a big giant globe.)

In the next couple of days we’ll be putting up a few more ideas for those of you who are really keen. Watch this space and get involved to make sure we turn this footy season in to a world changing one.

I don’t imagine it is often that you find policy officers, volunteers and campaigners having an impromptu archery comp in the corner of the office on a Friday afternoon. But this is where we found ourselves a couple of weeks ago, venting some left over energy as we fired rubber arrows at a huge target (I surprised myself at being spectacularly rubbish, my arrow barely managing to get past my toes).

In fact, it is not often that we have archery equipment lying around. They are left over from some of our recent campaigning stunts around the Robin Hood Tax- you may have heard about it- it’s a tiny tax on bankers to raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change. This powerful little tax has tossed up for us a whole world of campaigning gems and wonders (as well as some frivolous antics in the office) and I want to introduce you to the latest tool in the Robin Hood Tax campaign box…

We are inviting people to become modern merry men and women on a multi-media treasure hunt around Brighton on Saturday 24 April and in East London on Sunday 2 May.

By solving clues, and producing creative content like photos, videos and tweets along the route, your team could win tickets to summer music festivals.  You can sign up as groups of 6, or we can put you together with new friends to form teams. Robin Hood will send you off of on a 3 hour adventure, to acquire money from the rich to redistribute to the poor. After the hunt, there will be chance to share tales of banditry over ale and cider with all of the merry men at our after hunt bash. 

You can grab your ticket by visiting www.robinbrighton.eventbrite.com or www.robineastend.eventbrite.com. 
Tickets cost a fiver. A bargain, surely.

Have a crack at it and let us know if we have reached dizzying new heights of combining good times and world change!

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a steamy forest drinking juice from a slightly fermented coconut. I had arrived here, at the patrolling station of a Community Forestry bang in the middle of Cambodia, after following a petite woman with a beetle-nut orange smile over fences, through bushes and under the branches of a huge cashew nut orchard. We had all followed her actually; myself and the Oxfam GB team and at least half of the local village. We must have looked like a scene from the Pied Piper as a long line of people snaked in and out of trees, trying to keep up with her, pausing only while she snapped off some branches to chew, loaded up her hat with leaves and fruit and jumped up on rocks to yell gleefully out to those straggling at the back.

Her name was Nhek Oeng and as we sat at the patrolling station downing warm, fizzy coconut juice her story unfolded. Throughout our time in Cambodia we had heard the stories of many women who seemed to be feeling the impacts of climate change, their crops becoming harder and harder to manage as more extreme weather patterns emerged, their children becoming ill in hotter weather than they had seen before. Oeng’s story had another dimension. She had recently joined Oxfam’s Women Empowerment Network and was now taking more and more of a leadership role in her Community Forestry. As well as describing how her village was committed to preserving the forest for the next generation and detailing the sustainable livelihoods work they are all involved in, she also told us of her transformation into a local mover and shaker.

When Oeng first wanted to join the network her husband didn’t want her to do it. It doesn’t really surprise me that before long she had persuaded him otherwise- even with the language and cultural barriers I found her utterly compelling. She described how meeting other women in similar positions, doing similar work, had made her realise her potential. Oeng is now able to represent women’s needs and issues in the Forestry decision making processes and when she described, with a glint in her eye, how she talks about gender all the time the whole crowd erupted into laughter and nodded their heads knowingly. Oeng mentioned that there has been a noticeable decrease in domestic violence and at least 50% increase in the number of men who understand gender equality. She spoke these words with pride, understanding the enormity of these changes.

A few days ago, back in cold, harsh London, I went to the launch of the Women’s Environment Network (WEN) latest report, Gender and Climate Change. Sitting coconut-less in the House of Commons I heard facts and figures about the way women’s lives interact with climate change and vice versa. Perhaps unsurpisingly, two of the main findings of the report are;

• Globally, women are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to different and unequal social roles and status.
• Women contribute less to climate change, are impacted more by it, and have less say in decisions about the problem.

It is a pretty desperate situation and provides some serious reading around this year’s International Women’s Week. Gender inequality oozes from each page making it a report that is hard to stomach. I think I was able to get to the end of it because I could see Oeng’s face in my minds eye. Her story involves all of the themes talked about in the report, and many of the themes we saw in a myriad of villages across Cambodia, but her story was strikingly different. Oeng had been able to change her situation. She had taken things in to her own hands, was speaking out in influential spheres and was championing a new way forward for women to engage with climate change issues. Oeng brings tangible hope to those who want to see gender equality permeate everything, and it is hugely encouraging to know that across the world there are female climate warriors with a powerful fire in their belly!

We kicked off this week with International Women’s Day and no doubt the next few days people across the globe will be reflecting on how far we have come on the journey toward gender equality. It is also a time to prepare for the haul ahead. Prompted by the WEN report we must take the chance to mourn the women and children lost to the impacts of climate change, but provoked by stories of those such as Oeng’s we must celebrate the efforts of women who are carving out a future bursting with gender and climate justice.

You are not allowed to edit this post.

I’m busy planning a cool little event out in East London and I want to tell you about it. I felt like putting on an evening do purely for inspiration’s sake – it’s spring but that bounce in my step alludes me. I felt like there were a lot of people like me who needed a dash of invigoration, but also a delicious bit of creative fun.

So, I had a little chat to the fabulous Kevin and Steve at the Dalston Oxfam Shop (yes, the very one that hosted that legendary Fat Boy Slim gig), as well as the immense musician, Theo Bard, and a few other imaginative people and together we are bringing the Climate Pik N Mix to East London. There is a bit of this and a bit of that, something to give everyone a tasty, sweet, thing to chew on. The climate equivalent of a cola bottle.

So, here are some of the morsels on offer…

Make
Get crafty and activistity with the Craftivism Collective, a space for you to create with others.

Swap
For the first time ever the Dalston Oxfam Shop will host a swap spot. Bring an item of clothing and exchange it for something new (to you!)

Listen
There will be live music from Theo Bard whose lyrics will make you a little bit joyful and a little bit inspired.

Connect
Mingle and meet with other locals over Fair Trade wine and cheese (ooh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about).

Ask
Our special guest, Shakar Abrab, a climate change officer from Pakistan will be on hand to discuss climate change, the impacts and response from his country.

Watch
Our film stations wil be screening short films from around the world that will make you think and energise you.

So if there are any Eastenders reading this, grab your stripey paper bag and come down to our Pik N Mix. It is just as fun as the one at Wooly’s but better for you and it hasn’t gone bust.

Tuesday 23rd March 2010, 7:30 – 9:30pm at 514-518 Kingsland Road.

RSVP to me, Lucy AitkenRead, on [email protected]

Check out the event on Facebook.

See you there!

A fat mango dropped out of the tree, centimeters away from my colleague’s head. We were about to commence a meeting with the eighth village here on our tour of Cambodia. As people began arriving my mind skipped back over the experience so far; we had only been here ten days but it easily felt like a month. In every village we had been greeted with huge genorosity, a fresh coconut to drink from and crowds of broad smiling faces. We had heard about honey, bamboo and resin processing businesses that were providing a diverse and sustainable form of employment for villagers.  We had stayed over night on an eco tourism island that Oxfam supports- delicious food, a refreshing swim and a viewing of the rare Irrawaddy river dolphins had convinced us that this was a worthwhile initiative! We were intrigued by how this village had made conservation and environmental education were key components of this island life.

We had watched villagers gracefully slide up and down palms trees at one village, harvesting palm syrup. This village had had its main source of income, rice farming, swept away (along with everything else) in last season’s monsoon, Ketsana. Oxfam was helping them double the income from their secondary source, palm sugar, by providing grants and training to turn it from soft form to granules. The vice -president of this sugar group described how the annual flooding often caused stress for those in the village but the last flood was the worst they have seen. It took everything away with it and they worry this will become the norm.  On one hand villagers who rely on palms rather than rice farming are better off as the palms will never be carried away in the current. On the other hand , she explained, they have no doubt that each year it is getting hotter and hotter, making it increasingly hard to harvest the syrup from the palms.

We had heard from a women -only fishing collective who, with money from an Oxfam grant, managed to purchase a store to sell their fish products. These women were feisty and full of passion as they told us about their meetings with the local authority, how they outline their needs and feel confident they are listened, and responded, to.

The last few villages were those which have been perhaps most impacted by the Ketsana disaster last year. Villagers here were tangibly more poor but determined to make the most of the support of Oxfam and the local partner organization. Villagers spoke animatedly about how cash grants had helped them meet their basic needs in the aftermath, as well as with more long term things. One man held up the fishing net he had purchased and described how he had managed to break out of the debt cycle that many villagers are locked into by borrowing from Oxfam rather than from private lenders who charge a high interest.

Something that has surfaced in each village is the weather and the changing climate. It seems to be coming at them from all sides. Just this afternoon one woman told us of how unpredictable weather is getting; there is rain in the dry season, it is hot in the cool season and it also gets cold in a way they have never known it. The extreme heat causes diarrhea and vomiting in their children, and makes growing crops and vegetables to eat much more laborious as they try to keep up with the extra watering they need.

 When I asked an Oxfam employee at the head office last week what the lack of a global climate deal from Copenhagen meant for the people of Cambodia he replied, “It means that the people who are least responsible for this disaster of climate change will continue to suffer, with increasing consequence. It also means that those who are most responsible can carry on with impunity. Failure at Copenhagen is bad news for a small nation like Cambodia.”

Meeting the villagers and hearing how the climate is impacting on their livelihoods and their children  this week has made this statement so much more real, so much more meaningful for me.  Going home to campaign on climate change in an environment where people are still questioning and doubting the reality of it will be increasingly hard with the memory of these warm and welcoming villagers so imprinted in my mind.

We were gathered in a circle in a traditional and beautiful pagoda. There was corner to corner bunting, and I am a big fan of bunting. It was early, only 9am, but I was already sweating and the mozzies were humming around me, my cheapo Boots repellent only just warding them off. As the chief stood to give his presentation I noted a few of the distractions around me; two monks cloaked in orange going about their busy day at the back of the room, an army of farm animals braying, squawking and snorting below us and, just in front of me, two tiny kittens pouncing on the frayed edges of the mat we sat on. But as our interpreter worked his magic I was hooked. For this, the story of two projects that are transforming the small village of O Sway, north east Cambodia, was what I came for.

I am here with three others from Oxfam, England, on one of the annual Communications and Exposure tours held for employees. I came to find a deeper understanding of Oxfam and to make the connection between my work as a campaigner in London and the lives of some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. I have been here 5 full days* and have had many meetings with office based staff and NGO partners that Oxfam works with out here. Meeting with the country director and the Disaster Reduction team, amongst others, has been fascinating.* But it is here in the village that I come face to face with the people I came to meet.

Chief Khong and his villagers work on two projects that Oxfam support.* The first is honey processing; we got a demo of how they use a vat to distill the honey and then package it on to sell at a profit.  It is a fairly new thing even to them but it they expect to receive a tidy sum. The second project focuses on turning bamboo into a more profitable product so villagers weave it into baskets and rice cookers to sell them on. These skills that used to be used just to make family life easier are now being utilised to allow families to generate sufficient income, and even put by savings.

These projects are tagged as “sustainable livelihoods” – instead of being involved in industry that has a short life span and is ultimately hard on the planet (such as logging) these villagers can thrive  using the land they live on as a resource.

There are still hardships. Health care is immensely expensive, villagers explained that not only do you have to pay to access medical treatment but also for a hospital bed and medicine. One weaver went in for appendicitis last year and it set him back $50 – he has to sell 50 baskets that take 3 days each to make to cover that… almost half a years wages. They also have to contend with private companies who own the land around the patch they share. These ratbags move the boundary markers and harvest the villager’s timber in such illicit ways that it is hard for the village to get the protection the government offers.

We heard how twice a year representatives from Oxfam’s projects attend the annual governmental conference on land issues, giving them the chance to be heard by Cambodia’s most influential. Chief Khong spoke at one last year, advocating the needs of his own village, and the 5 surrounding it. It is vital that villagers get to exercise their right, not only to livelihoods and land, but to be heard.

After some quality discussion we sat down together for a marvelous feast. The food is here is culinary heaven (although we are all having serious bouts of Delhi belly!!) and to spend time eating with the villagers was a perfect way to finish our time there.

We have 9 more days of visiting villages around Cambodia before we head back to Phnom Penh and I am looking forward to every people-packed, beauty-bursting and justice-jammed moment.

*Click to see a Youtube diary from my first 2 days

*Click for my Youtube diary from this day of meetings in Phnom Penh

*Click for my Youtube diary from today’s visit to O Sway

Dedication is what you need, but also a set of mighty fine skills up your sleeve. We have got a stack of training planned for 2010 to help you be the every bit of the Changemaker you are. From pulling of an inspiring speech, to leading a team, to lobbying your MP, we have a menu of training events you can chose from. Get these in your diary!

The first is being held on Saturday February 20th and it is being led by the wonderful team from UK Youth Climate Coalition. They will be hosting a workshop on Public Narrative- the campaigning tool that pretty much won Obama the election. Places are limited for this exciting day so do get in touch with Lucy as soon as you can.

31st March (evening) – Political training and action for the General Election
Come along to find out a little bit about how you can make sure the really important issues get put on the table throughout the general election. Find out about the mechanisms you can use to make sure your voice gets heard, and take part in a collaborative action to get climate change on the agenda. 

3rd June (evening) – Campaigning online
Come and discover some of the best ways the web is being used in the movement for social change. This evening will cater to all levels of internet knowledge and will help you feel more confident in campaigning online.

 
21st September (all day Saturday) – Media training
Doing radio interveiws,  penning press releases, setting up a stunning photo stunt and writing smart letters to the editor is all covered in this hands on workshop. Total novices have come along to this day and then felt confident enough to be interveiwed by the BBC about climate change just weeks later!

6th November (all day Saturday) – Leading an effective team
So you have a local campaign group or want to set up a student society but just not sure how to get the most out of your team? Come along to get the nuts and bolts on being an inspiring leader with a powerful and focused team.

To register for any of these please email Lucy.

The wake of a disaster, like last week’s earthquake that shook Haiti to the core, can reveal the very best of humankind. Over the last few days tradespeople, celebrities, politicians and poets have rallied together to raise funds and resources for the people impacted by Haiti’s emergency.  If you have already made a simple online donation and want to join the band of people doing that bit more, read on for 5 different ways to help Haiti.

Hold a Big Night In
Get on the blower and invite your friends round for a film night, a craft session, an acoustic jam or a Wii party. Ask everyone to donate to Haiti on this Big Night In what they would ordinarily spend on a Big Night Out. Going to the cinema equals a good 12 quid in my hood, club entry could set you back £20 and a slap up meal easily £30.

Write to your local newspaper
It could well be that in a few days the public interest in Haiti might fade away. It is paramount that attention remain on Haiti so that the needs of vulnerable people get met. Spend a few moments writing to the editor of your local newspaper with some new facts about the disaster and some of your own thoughts. For help with this, and to let us know about it, please get in touch with our Media Campaigner Lisa.  

Shake a Tin
We have a local volunteer who, within hours of an emergency, manages to organise some collections in Tube Stations across London. He and his team regularly gather thousands and thousands of pounds that go straight to the heart of the disaster. This is not a tricky thing to do and if you know some people you can get involved could be easily arranged. Get in touch with Lucy to find out how to organise a collection in your own neighbourhood.

Ask for the cancellation of Haitian debt
Take one minute to ask for the cancellation of Haitian debt.  It would be devastating if Haiti had to work through the aftermath of this disaster under the burden of their huge, historical debt. Email the Head of IMF to make sure the debt gets dropped.

Do the thing you love
Take 5 minutes to think about how you can use your own hobby or interests to raise funds or awareness for the people of Haiti. Nothing is more fabulous than people using the thing they are passionate about to do good. For example, lots of artists are selling off work on Ebay to raise money for Haiti  and auctioned it off, some bloggers organised a Bloggers Day of Action for Haiti and a tribe of dancers are holding a Haiti Dance Off. If you have any ideas and would like some support from us, do get in touch.