I came across Oxfam at a concert I attended a few months back, as the organization had a table set up with a petition at hand and a bowl of pins with their logos printed on them. They stressed to us the exceedingly high level of injustice that millions are facing today.
Oxfam stands by the belief that poverty results from injustice and that “poverty is NOT inevitable.” They refuse to watch people, who are as deserving of human rights as anyone else, suffer. Yemen, for example, now consists of 7 million people facing starvation.
Yet, whether someone is starving, lacks a clean water supply, or faces daily discrimination, that injustice they are confronted with can 100% be fought and put to an end. While this is not an easy task, it can most certainly be done.
As Oxfam strives to see good in this world, there are certain aspects that play into this powerful movement.
Oxfam partners with local and national organizations that are pushing towards the termination of poverty. Moreover, Oxfam not only provides them grants to support their mission and gets the opportunity to learn from them what they believe could be the best possible ways to end poverty. The grants that Oxfam provides them will support their endeavors so they can one day work for themselves and fight for global equality.
That being said, and considering the importance of community to Oxfam, their local partners are often the ones to bring the best solutions. This is because once Oxfam completes the giving of grants, these local partners can continue on their initiatives and maintain their relationship with those communities.
In addition, Oxfam educates citizens about their basic human rights so they can further recognize the injustice that impoverished people are facing. Once more and more people become educated, communities can be created that are stronger than ever that can then persuade governments to do their job.
On their website, you can read more about their stories and news updates regarding the action that is being taken globally.
That being said, Oxfam works in over 90 countries and over 1 million actions were taken last year by people like you. Because of this, “22 million people around the world benefited directly from [their] programs last year.”
Regardless of your background, who you are, or what you do, you can contribute to the ending of poverty. You can help change the world. Whether you donate, volunteer, host or visit a hunger banquet, or simply sign a petition, you can truly make a huge difference.
We all have the power to combat the injustice that millions of humans face and don’t deserve. We have the power to educate those around us and persuade governments to do what is right. As Oxfam would say, it is “the power of people [that’s] against poverty.”
