In the right hands, a little help goes a very long way. Here are a few examples of poor people doing it for themselves, with support from Oxfam.
Seeds and tools
In drought-prone Mauritania, making a living can be desperately hard – so we gave people in Male Commune seeds, tools and training. They put in the work, and now have flourishing vegetable gardens, providing food and income.
Education is vital in fighting poverty. Villagers in Kakolo, Zambia, knew this and built their own small community school – we just helped make it bigger, and supplied equipment and teacher training. Eventually they won local funding. It now has 1,200 students.
Photo: Martha Douglass
Safe drinking water
Dirty water can kill. In north-eastern Brazil, there’s little rain and people have to risk drinking whatever water they find. Along with the Brazilian government, Oxfam is helping local organisations to build a staggering one million cisterns to catch rain – for clean water, all year round.
Photo: Anna Melland
Giving people a voice
Many women in India lead restricted lives, and suffer greatly from poverty. In Bundelkhand, we’re supporting women standing up for their right to a fuller life – as they bravely and imaginatively challenge traditional attitudes, through using community theatre, for instance.
Photo: Rajendra Shaw
Preventing disaster
Natural disasters can be devastating, especially to poor communities forced to live in vulnerable areas. Oxfam is working in places like Sandia, Peru – helping people set up their own ‘early warning systems’, to better prepare them for frequent mud slides.