What is Oxfam?

Oxfam GB's work in Indonesia

Well, many of you may be unfamiliar with Oxfam, unless you're British or Australian, where they have a constant presence.  Oxfam is one of the older international development agencies in the world, and one of the most esteemed.  They are a fundamental resource for research and data monitoring various transnational policies, they provide humanitarian aid in times of disaster, health and education, and they also campaign for an assortment of causes.  Oxfam started as a famine relief charity in the UK during World War II.  Since then it has grown and today there are now 15 different Oxfams: Oxfam Australia, Canada, America, New Zealand, Québec, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, India, Mexico and Great Britain, etc.  (I love how there is an Oxfam Canada and Oxfam Québec, bien sûr!) Oxfam International is attempting to bring all these agencies under one umbrella to reduce effort duplication.  I am working for Oxfam GB, funded by British taxpayers, a plethora of grants, and also in part by AusAID.

Oxfam has moved away from the model of sending Westerners into areas they are unfamiliar with to serve as 'experts' in places that they don't speak the language or understand the culture, to employing locals on the ground who then partner with other small local NGOs (non-governmental organisation) to implement projects.  Thus you will be hard pressed to find a bule (whitey) working for Oxfam in a foreign country, unless they are the Country Director.

Last year in Perth I did a bunch of different events with Oxfam: The Walk Against Walk, running fair trade stalls at concerts, staffing an information booth at my university, soliciting signatures to increase national contribution to foreign aid, and also attended their quiz nights, various presentations, and some training.  We also discussed Oxfam in my politics and development classes.  So I was pretty excited that I was assigned to work with them.

Of course many people are skeptical of NGOs and of giving funds to them.  Oxfam uses about 15% of donations for its own administrative purposes, as well as campaigning for more funds.  So that leaves 85% to go towards actual project implementation.  Oxfam is very committed to working on issues such as women's rights, climate change, land rights, and fair trade.  In the developed world, Oxfam sells second-hand clothing and fair trade products to increase their funds.  They also encourage things such as flash mobs, parades, walks, and other attention grabbers to highlight certain issues.  Here in Indonesia, both Oxfam GB and Oxfam Australia are working on climate change, women's rights, and labour rights.
My American friends may be familiar with Christopher McCandless, aka Alex Supertramp, who gave his 25,000$ to Oxfam and then set off to the Alaskan wilderness, related in 'Into the Wild.'  Oxfam constantly reevaluates its campaigns, management, staffing, ethics, and its overall approach to development.
Yes we do sit in an office that pumps out AC all day, Oxfam employees fly all over for conferences and projects, and it is easy to criticise their actions as hypocritical and whatnot.  Others may accuse them of perpetuating poverty, creating dependency, wasting money, and being self-serving.  The whole purpose of development NGOs is to work themselves out of a job, to be no longer needed.  Unfortunately that day still seems a long way off.  In the meantime, people need food and water during floods, tsunamis, landslides; women do need a push to get them to demand a voice in rural village politics where they have been marginalised for centuries, politicians do need a wake-up call to act on climate change, so Oxfam is still here.