Oxfam Canada
Encyclopedia
International development
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...
agency based in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and is a registered charity (OXFAM CANADA
129716866RR0001). It has offices throughout Canada and works with partner organizations in Africa, Asia and the Americas. It focuses on the root causes of poverty, injustice and inequality, with the stated intent of creating self-reliant and sustainable communities. Oxfam believes that to end global poverty women's rights must be secured.
History
Oxfam Canada traces its history to 1963, when the British-based Oxford Committee for Famine ReliefOxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
sought to establish a Canadian branch.
Oxfam Canada was independently incorporated in 1966; the first Board of Directors included 21 distinguished Canadians.
In 1967, Oxfam Canada became a key organizer of the successful Miles for Millions fundraising walks across the country. In that year, Lester Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
(then Canadian Prime Minister) led Oxfam's first Miles for Millions March. With its revenues, Oxfam began to provide educational materials to schools and undertake advocacy work in public policy development. This program has been was relaunched in 2009 as ‘Oxfam Canada Trailwalker
Trailwalker
Trailwalker or Oxfam Trailwalker and the related Trailtrekker are endurance walking events run across the world by Oxfam, in which teams of 4 competitors must complete a course of in a set time limit - typically between 24 and 48 hours...
’.
The early 1970s was a critical period of growth as Oxfam began its own programming overseas in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and established a network of staff and volunteers across Canada to support its work.
During this same period, Oxfam Canada began to analyze its role in the development process, moving from a traditional model of charity (one-time grants) towards long-term development programming (working with communities to effect lasting positive change.)
Deeply involved in the international movement against apartheid in South Africa and Central American solidarity through the 1970s and '80s, Oxfam Canada sought to address the fundamental, underlying causes of poverty.
This in turn led to Oxfam's role as a major advocacy organization in the 1990s, to mobilize public support for changing the policies that perpetuate poverty.
Today, Oxfam Canada works with over 100 partner organizations in developing countries, tackling the root causes of poverty and inequity and helping people to create self-reliant and sustainable communities. In Canada, Oxfam is active in education, policy advocacy and building a constituency of support for its work.
Oxfam Canada is a founding member of Oxfam International, the federation of Oxfams worldwide.
Mission
Though Oxfam's initial concern was the provision of food to relieve famine, over the years the organization has developed strategies to combat the causes of famineFamine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
. In addition to food and medicine, Oxfam also provides tools to enable people to become self-supporting and opens markets of international trade where crafts and produce from poorer regions of the world can be sold at a fair price to benefit the producer.
Oxfam works on trade justice
Trade justice
Trade justice is a campaign by non-governmental organisations lobbying for changes to the rules and practices of world trade so that poor people and the environment benefit...
, fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, debt
Government debt
Government debt is money owed by a central government. In the US, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a municipal or local government...
and aid
Aid
In international relations, aid is a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another, given at least partly with the objective of benefiting the recipient country....
, livelihoods
Livelihood
A person's livelihood referers to "means of securing the necessities of life". For instance a fisherman's livelihood depends on the availability and accessibility of fish.- In social sciences :...
, health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
, HIV/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
, conflict (campaigning for an international arms trade treaty) and natural disasters, democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, and climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
.
Oxfam's international programme has three main points of focus: development work, which tries to lift communities out of poverty with long-term, sustainable solutions based on their needs; humanitarian work, assisting those immediately affected by conflict and natural disasters (which often leads in to longer-term development work), especially in the field of water and sanitation; and lobbyist, advocacy and popular campaigning, trying to affect policy decisions on the causes of conflict at local, national, and international levels.
Oxfam Canada's Work
Oxfam Canada supports long-term development, advocacy and emergency programs in 23 countries around the world. Its core programs are located in the Americas, the Horn of Africa, Southern Africa, and South Asia.The international development work undertaken by Oxfam Canada emphasizes community-based development. Its programs emphasize self-reliance and are meant to strengthen the community’s ability to support itself in terms of food production, livelihoods and self-governance. Oxfam Canada also works with local and regional partner organizations to promote change in harmful or oppressive customs and legislation, encouraging the participation and agency of marginalized groups in determining the course of their social and political lives.
Oxfam Canada’s humanitarian program involves emergency response to natural and human-caused disasters. Oxfam Canada’s disaster relief programs focus on provision of clean water, effective sanitation, medical support and disease prevention. Oxfam Canada’s emergency programs also support gender-based community development and the creation of livelihoods and incomes through training and support in for those affected by disaster.
Domestically, Oxfam Canada’s activities involve fundraising, lobbying and public outreach. The organization attempts to influence the Canadian government, national and international organizations, and the public to prioritize social and humanitarian issues around the world.
Methods
Oxfam Canada’s development programs emphasize the capability of people and communities to create change in their own societies. The organization’s work attempts to build the capacity for self-directed change, governed and directed by community members rather than by external parties like international governments or NGOs. In order to do this, Oxfam Canada works indirectly through local and regional partner organizations who work for social justice in their own areas. Local partners and community members participate in decision-making and execution of work, which emphasizes their own role in the change and development of their region, and provides them with the experience and knowledge necessary to make change happen in their own lives.Oxfam Canada’s work incorporates a strong consideration of gender relations. The organization’s view is that gender inequity is directly linked to the problems they hope to solve, and that community education and support for women will result in sustainable positive change for all members of a society.
Programs are structured to promote the rights and fair treatment of women, and often address traditional practices or social structures that harm women and restrict community growth and well-being. Women are often the primary leaders and beneficiaries of Oxfam Canada projects, and are encouraged to take leadership roles in their communities.