February 2O11
Quilt-making in Pakistan. In a cash-for-work programme, Oxfam has been paying women to make quilts,
which are distributed to flood-affected families. / Photo: Kathleen Hwang, Oxfam Hong Kong
HaPPy year OF THe rabbIT
everybody Healthy, everybody Happy
ONe PerSON – LuK LeuNG yuK CHuN urges the Hong Kong EMERGENCY UPDATE
Government to provide elderly people with a cash allowance for food and
clothing. A recent Oxfam Hong Kong study reveals that about 40% of HaITI earTHQuaKe – ONe year ON Six residents tell how they
elderly people aged 65+ live in poverty. could begin again. Oxfam has helped 1.2 million people.
NePaL – eTHNIC HarMONy Imagine a community with no school, PaKISTaN FLOODS – July 2010 A village of over 1,000 residents
no bridge, no water system. An Oxfam-supported cooperative is uniting rebuilds their lives, with the help of Oxfam.
ethnic groups and changing this.
PHILIPPINeS TyPHOON – October 2009 In villages ravaged by
CHINa – HIV and aIDS A development worker in Yunnan helps a Typhoon Parma, ‘working moms’ are trying to make a better future.
couple with HIV-AIDS shift from despair to hope.
CHINa – beauTIFuL WaTer, beauTIFuL HaIr With a better
water supply, people can wash their hair once a week. Another component
of the Oxfam project is first-ever gynaecological check-ups for women.
CHINa – MIGraNT WOrKerS Can photography help close the
gap between rich and poor people?
TOGeTHer
any cash… The lack of money led to a among the four different groups of people, a forest and has the right terrain. She
lot of internal conflict within the family. who work together for the common good. says that many families can now earn
ONe PerSON
Women used to hide our illnesses. Since enough to send their children to school,
Luk Leung yuk Chun – eTHNIC we had no money for treatment, we
thought it better to suffer in quiet.”
radha Mahato, a Tharu woman and
President of Kalika Group says, "In the
and some have enough to pay for home
improvements.
HarMONy IN a better life with
past we never worked in a group. Now,
being members of the same group, the Other villagers raise poultry, and some
NePaL a cooperative sense of unity has increased… We even
started purchasing daily household goods
are doing it on a commercial scale. Yet
others raise pigs. Maya Thapa, President
by Sahamati Thanks to Sahamati, a community together for all group members. We find of Mahila Kalyankari Samuha (Women’s
organisation based right in Nawalparasi that purchasing in large quantities is Welfare Group) says, "We knew how to
Imagine a community with no unity – District and supported by Oxfam Hong cheaper than buying individual amounts." do piggery, but in the past it was all with
some of the people not allowed to gather Kong since 2006, there is a new women’s a local breed of pigs and was not very
in the same place with other people, and saving and credit cooperative in the area, bishnu Maya Pariyar, a Dalit group leader, profitable. We attended training sessions
sometimes having to stay away from with training opportunities in vegetable expresses how she feels about joining so that we could try a different breed and
public occasions altogether. farming and in livestock raising, income the Cooperative, “Most of the families build better pigsties.”
generation activities, and a revolving fund are Dalits in my village. All of the families
Five years ago, this was the reality in with a low-interest rate for the extremely are landless. We work as daily wage Mina Mahato, Manager of the Cooperative
Luk Leung Yuk Chun at several villages in Nawalparasi, a district poor members. The women's group also labourers. If we get wages, we have food. says, "In 2010, we submitted two
a press conference held in a mountainous region of Nepal. In
by Oxfam Hong Kong in
manage a separate fund for health care, If there is no work, then in most cases applications to the District Agriculture
December 2010. / Photo: Matikuri, a village of about 300 families, and all the families in the village contribute we go without food. Now, as members of Office for a water pump. Our application
Cara Ko, Oxfam Hong Kong
there used to be a considerable amount to it. the Cooperative, we are more relaxed. was accepted…. The Cooperative has
of disharmony among the four groups: We know we can obtain a loan, maybe helped raise people’s living standards,
“I am very sorry that three old people believes in self-reliance and hesitates Tharus, the indigenous people; Magars, The Cooperative, named Yug Chetana to cover a crisis that might hit us, or to and at the same time has reduced the
suffering from various illnesses died to accept assistance from others. She an ethnic group who migrated to the area; Nari Savings and Credit Cooperative, start up a small business of some kind… gap between different ethnic groups."
in the hospital after being found prefers to skimp on food and clothing the Dalits; and the brahmins. was formed by rural women and is run by I started a small shop that supports my
unconscious in their homes yesterday, instead of applying for CSSA, but she them, all on a volunteer basis. The women family’s daily expenses.” In December 2010, the Cooperative
the coldest December day in Hong does receive the HK$1,000 Old Age One could say that this non-unity meant attended training in leadership, community formulated a three-year business plan,
Kong for the past ten years. I strongly Allowance (an automatic payment non-services. The village was deprived development and basic financial skills As President of the Jana Jyoti Women’s with a target membership of 1,200
urge the government to provide all based on age, not income) from the of government assistance – there was such as bookkeeping. They started with Goat-keeping Group, she thanks women. by December 2013, the women
low-income elderly people with a cash government and HK$2,000 in financial no school, no bridge over a stormy river five groups and now have 20 groups, Sahamati for helping the group link with hope to have their very own office
allowance of HK$1,000 (about uS$130) support from her children, which is which made it dangerous for students with a total membership exceeding 400 the District Livestock Development Office, building.
for buying food and clothing,” says Luk considered a duty in a Chinese family. to walk to the school located elsewhere, women as shareholders. The women and who supported the women in her village
Leung Yuk Chun, 79, one of more than and no safe drinking water system. Sahamati see livelihood improvement of Saalghari through a goat exchange Sahamati is a local development organisation based
in Nepal that Oxfam Hong Kong has supported since
160,000 older people who are eligible to Luk has suffered from eye diseases and Politicians used to promise to improve as one of the most important goals, but project, complete with training in rearing 2004. The Sammunati programme team of Sahamti
receive Comprehensive Social Security knee pain for years, and her medical the community infrastructure, but it never also ethnic harmony: the programmes the animals. She sees goat-keeping prepared this article. / Photos courtesy of Sahamati.
Assistance (CSSA) but who do not. expenses have been nearly HK$1,000 happened. They would come to the village are designed to build up more interaction as suitable, because Saalghari is near
a month. In 2009, the government before elections, reassure the people
According to a survey released by launched a Health Care Voucher of change, and then disappear. Without 1 2
Oxfam Hong Kong in December 2010, Scheme to partially subsidise the unity, without solidarity, the people did not
about 350,000 people aged 65 and use of private primary care services. have a strong voice to demand their basic
above live in poverty. This constitutes a The Scheme provides five vouchers rights to these and other public services.
poverty rate of 40 per cent, the highest of HK$50 for each person aged 70
among all age groups in Hong Kong. and over each year. “Only HK$250 One resident of Matikuri, Maya Ale,
Many are trapped in abject poverty in vouchers is definitely not enough summarises the hardship and poverty
yet do not receive CSSA and other to cover the extra cost of visiting people used to face. "We only had
protection from the government and private clinics,” complains Luk, who rice and chilli for our food, and were
society. The survey – commissioned by needed all five vouchers for just one malnourished… The only way to get a
Oxfam Hong Kong and conducted by consultation. Oxfam Hong Kong urges loan was from moneylenders, who would 4 5
Policy 21 – reveals that older people not the government to increase the amount want double the amount in return. We 1 Maya Ale
on CSSA face a deficit of about HK$545 to HK$1,200 per year and to explore the could only afford to repay after a harvest, 2 Sabina Mahato and Fulmaya Tamang
(uS$70) a month, and that their major feasibility of providing a meal allowance and in rice, not cash. Farmers like us got radha Mahato
items of expenditure are for food and for elderly people. poorer and poorer, and gradually, most of 4 bishnu Maya Pariyar
health care. us had to sell our land to be able to pay 5 Mina Mahato
For more information, please visit:
for our basic living expenses.”
www.oxfam.org.hk/en/news_1403.aspx
Luk Leung Yuk Chun lives alone in
Story by Alfred Choy, Programme Officer with
public rental housing. Like many other Oxfam Hong Kong. Sabina Mahato, a Tharu woman, adds,
older people in Chinese society, she "We did not have much income, hardly
O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 2 O.N.e FebruArY 2O11
Friendship and aIDS in rural China THe DISTaNCe IN 15 MINuTeS
– Migrant Workers in China
It was a day in August 2008 when Xiao know who work with the ruili Women and could claim him, saying that “Living like into the office to see us, showing off their
Tu, a rural doctor, and I visited a couple in Children Development Center (rWCDC). this is just too tiring.” healthy son, everyone smiling. Yet they,
their late thirties who had tested positive They have a way to assist people like you and we, were still concerned about their
for infection. Their child was less than a who live so far from town.” What was tiring was their sickness as well financial difficulties. So, in 2009, when
year old. As we arrived in their remote as their poverty. He went on to say that rWCDC began a new project to award
village, they were busy shucking maize, Although the couple did not say anything, he and his wife didn’t know where to find small loans, the couple welcomed the
but they quickly dropped their work to it was clear, from their faces and the the money for oil and salt, let alone for opportunity and applied. Their application
greet us and lead us into their home. tone in their voice, that they had lost all other things they need. They do odd jobs was accepted, and they joined the self-
confidence and courage. Xiao Tu and I for their income. One day’s work makes help project, complete with basic training
I asked Xiao Tu, “Have they taken their left with a positive word, and I gave them one day’s pay. He said he didn’t have the in farming techniques and money
medication today?” my office address and telephone number. capital to plant. management. They used the money to
build a pigsty and buy four pigs.
The woman, who wishes to remain rural reality, rural poverty I could feel the huge pressure of life
anonymous, said, “I don’t think I need to on the couple by listening to him, but I The pig-breeding went smoothly, thanks
take it anymore. He (her husband, who The majority of China’s HIV-AIDS patients reminded him that he, and we, could not to the couple’s hard work. The first time
shall also remain nameless) used to take live in rural areas, like this couple. Their give up. I said we must all persevere. at the market, when they sold two pigs,
it, but stopped.” village is home to many AIDS sufferers; There was a bottle of cooking oil that he the wife told my colleague, “Thank you so
their province of Yunnan, in southwest could bring back to his family and some much… The money we earned is enough
“Why did you stop?” I asked him. China, has one of the highest rates of clothes he could choose from that been to pay off the debt to the village, make the
HIV infections in the country. It was the donated to rWCDC. first repayment to the RWCDC loan, and
“The dormitory of a female worker” photographed by Wang Xiao Hong, 30, a migrant
He said, “I tried taking it for six months, husband who infected his wife – the there is still some left over for our daily
worker in Shenzhen, the economic zone bordering Hong Kong. The image is part of
but my body reacted badly. I felt sick from most common method of transmission in My colleagues and I continued to counsel expenses. After we sell the remaining two
an exhibition of workers’ photography called The Distance in 15 Minutes.
it. besides, travelling to the city to get the Yunnan, and in China. him, and finally, he and his wife decided to pigs, we plan to buy piglets again.”
medication is inconvenient and expensive, restart the antiretroviral therapy together.
about 50 Yuan each time. So I stopped.” Discrimination against AIDS patients can The decision was followed by good news: They did sell the remaining two pigs, paid
be difficult to bear, and the fact that the Their child tested negative. My colleagues off the full loan, and bought three piglets.
I knew that the local health centre stocks couple chose to go to the city of ruili for and I were so happy for them. In June 2010, they applied for a second
antiretroviral drugs for people from the their treatment is understandable. So, loan. After discussion and assessment,
fourth month, and realised that the reason when I returned to my office, I immediately Healthier, wealthier the group decided it would support them
they went to the city to get it was for talked with colleagues at rWCDC, who to raise pigs again, since their skills were
privacy: they do not want anyone to know were able to fund the travelling costs. With treatment, they slowly but surely good, and their credit too. They received
they have AIDS. I felt an indescribable Xiao Tu informed them of this decision. recovered – their bodies and their minds. 2,000 Yuan, with which they bought five
pain in my heart, which deepened when They brightened. Their confidence grew. piglets. A happy life is there for them to
Xiao Tu told me that their infant son had The next time I saw the man it was at Their general perspective towards life grasp, and new hopes await them.
not been tested yet. my office. Still despondent, he repeated turned optimistic. Whenever they came to
that he would poison himself before AIDS ruili to get their medicine, they stopped And rWCDC continue their work. Current
I gathered my strength to say, “You will projects include a self-help group with
both soon get worse if you don’t take the people who receive or about to receive
medicine to control the virus. What will A rV ( a n t i r e t r o v i r a l ) t h e r a p y. M a n y
you do when that happens?” people react badly to the drugs, and with
preparedness, patients can be ready
The wife didn't answer, and the husband for the difficulty. They can support each
said, flatly. “I will take poison. That’ll be other through the hard times, just as Xiao The title of the exhibition refers to the gap between rich and poor people in
the end.” Tu, my rWCDC colleagues and I have Shenzhen: it takes 15 minutes to walk from the grit of factories to the glitter of
supported the couple. Peer support is downtown. The exhibition won an award from the OPFIX Foundation, which
I sighed inside, but responded aloud, “Your crucial for people living with HIV (often encourages young photographers to document social issues.
wife has poor eyesight and your child is termed PLHIV). Maybe ‘support’ is
still so young. What will they do if you just another word for friendship. The art photography project was initiated by Small Grass, a centre in Shenzhen
die and end it all like that? If you don’t which provides a range of information and services for migrant workers: legal
want your wife and child to be bullied The couple in this story have asked O.N.e not to support, cultural/art/recreational activities, a reading room, hospital visits and more.
disclose their identity. The author of this article also
and to go hungry, please see the doctor, wishes to remain anonymous. Oxfam Hong Kong The centre is named for the fact that each migrant worker, like each single blade of
tell him you want the medication, and has supported various projects affiliated with the Ruili grass, is important and deserves respect. Oxfam Hong Kong has assisted the centre
Women and Children Development Center since 2007.
overcome your difficulties. It’d better for ever since it was established, in 2003.
The majority of people with HIV-AIDS in China live in remote rural areas. Here, community
everyone. Meanwhile, I’ll consult people I workers are on the way to visit patients in Yunnan. / Photo: Courtesy of RWCDC.
Text by Wong Yingyu, an Oxfam Hong Kong colleague based in beijing. Photos supplied by Small Grass.
O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 4 O.N..e .FebruArY 2O11
O N e FebruArY 2O11 5
EMERGENCY UPDATE
beauTIFuL WaTer, beauTIFuL HaIr
ONe year ON – Making a living in HaITI
Story and photos by Xiao Sha
In Carrefour Feuilles and Corrail Camp, two areas of Port-au-Prince hard hit by the
January 2010 earthquake, people are making a living again, thanks to grants from
Oxfam which have enabled them to restart their small businesses. One criterion for
participation in the scheme is that they offer products that people genuinely need, such as
food and hardware supplies. Here are six of the hundreds of people who are benefiting;
some have adapted Oxfam’s shipping containers to serve as their business premises.
“Joy in my heart”
– Marie Carole St. Juste
Li Hongmei, age 10, washes her hair once a week. A few
years ago, this was not possible. In 2007, few people in her
village could wash due to insufficient water, only ten per cent
of the families had a toilet, and the majority of the adult women
had frequent gynaecological diseases as they could not clean
themselves properly.
Hongmei lives in Gaoshan, an arid and impoverished village
in China’s northwest province of Gansu. It was in 2007
that community projects began there, and the changes are
significant. Before 2010, no woman in Gaoshan had ever had
Still, life remains a challenge. Most adult women work long
a physical check-up, which included gynaecological care: last
and hard, in and outside of the home. They typically wake up
year, each adult woman received this. Villagers now have
at about six in the morning and farm until about eight at night.
enough water, fresh from the mountain stream and directed to
Chen Huawa (left), age 53, says sometimes she is so tired
communal taps, for drinking, laundry, cooking, and for bathing
that she does not have the energy (or the time) to wash, even
and washing, such as Hongmei’s hair. It used to take hours to
though water is now available.
get to the nearest town, but with the new 11.5-kilometre road
that residents built, it now takes just one hour to arrive. Marie Carole St. Juste, 34, (right), entry of the boutik, its walls painted with “I’m really happy about the work Oxfam
With Oxfam’s support, Li Gaiping (centre), 29, learned about
received one of these containers. She a fresh coat of pink paint – a colour she is doing. If it wasn’t for the good work, a
danggui (Angelica sinensis) an herb used in Chinese medicine
The project took three years to complete, and a lot of re-opened her business there, a bottled- loves. “If it wasn’t for that container, I don’ lot of people here would have lost their
to treat gynaecological problems. She planted it, and in 2010
cooperation among the Gansu Yutian rural Community drinks and packaged-food business t know when I’d be back on my feet. I’m minds because they would be focusing on
had a very good harvest. In the photo, she discusses her
Development research and Service Center, which managed known as a ‘boutik’ in Kreole. “It really put on my way. I know I’m going to be able to their problems.”
success with Jiao ruoshui (right), a professor from Lanzhou
the work; the village residents, who contributed their ideas, joy in my heart,” she says, standing in the make it back.
university. Li Gaiping is the only woman in Gaoshan who can
labour, and 39,000 Yuan; and Oxfam Hong Kong, which
read. This too will soon be changing – there is a new library
provided technical assistance and financial support amounting
right in the village.
to 814,000 Yuan.
Xiao Sha is Assistant Communications Officer with Oxfam Hong Kong. Based in
Chengdu, she visited the village of Gaoshan in Gansu Province in November 2010.
O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 O.N.e FebruArY 2O11
EMERGENCY UPDATE
“I know about life” “The government should be doing more”
– Charitable Pierre – Gerson Almeda
A small restaurant owner for about thirty
years, Charitable, 45, has four children
and is pregnant with a fifth. She used to
run her business from her house, but it
collapsed into a heap of rubble during
the quake. She has now re-opened in a
makeshift spot across the street, with two
small tables. rice and beans are common
fare. Someday – when she has saved
enough – she plans to rebuild. “I’m happy,
but I don‘t have the means to do it yet,”
she says.
Oxfam assisted by giving Charitable a
fuel-efficient stove and a grant with which
she restocked the shelves with food
items. In the early days after the quake,
Oxfam selected her to prepare food for
about 80 of her neighbours for about two
months. Later, Charitable participated in
the Oxfam-supported business training.
“They taught us how to manage our
business so it won’t crash,” she says.
“My mom died when I was little, so I
know about life. A lot of misery.” but she
says she doesn’t dwell on her hardships,
because “if you get mad, hypertension Gerson Almeda, 38, runs a barbershop, He participated in the business training
might kill you. And God works with me. a 25-year-old business he inherited from Oxfam offered and used the grant to help
You can’t be in a hurry. You have to his father. He has four employees and pay the rent. The shop survived the quake
be patient and wait for God. It’s about a younger brother working at the shop, nearly intact – only two mirrors broke –
working hard. I didn’t have all this, but which is open from about 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. but business was slow in the months that
look at it now – and maybe in the future everyone works on commission, and followed. ”It’s picking up a bit now,” he
I’ll have even more.” Gerson helps support his mother, brother says.
and sister.
“It’s not a well-managed country,” he says.
“The government should be doing more.”
O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 9
EMERGENCY UPDATE
“all the houses that were destroyed rebuilt” “I’m really proud of myself”
– Jean Ilmane – Agda Frederique raphaël
Agda (right) is 37. She and her husband
have four children and are taking care of
two more children who lost their parents.
The eight of them live in a two-room
apartment in Carrefour Feuilles. “before
the earthquake, I was a seamstress and a
merchant of food. I sold eggs, bread, and
spaghetti from the porch. It was a good
business,” says Agda.
After the quake, Oxfam gave her a grant
that she used to buy a sewing machine
and to re-launch her street-side food
business. Agda is now back to selling
cooked food during the day and sewing
at night. “You have to,” she says, when
asked about having two jobs. “You have
to pay school fees.” All six of the children
in her house are in school.
“I’m really, really proud of myself. When
I was living in the street (right after the
earthquake), I didn’t know how I would
support myself. What was I going to do
to support my children? I was worried,
because I didn’t know how I would send
my children to school, how to eat.”
Jean Ilmane, 35, (right) is a metal worker When there’s electricity in the neighbour-
with a wife and two children. He says he hood, he can weld. but when the supply is
has been able to support his family with cut, that presents challenges for the shop.
his trade. He received a grant from Oxfam
to purchase new tools, such as a level, What needs to happen for the neighbor-
drill, hammer, vice and chisel. He also hood to become revitalised? “For me, it
joined Oxfam’s business training. would be to have all the houses that were
destroyed rebuilt.”
O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 10 O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 11
EMERGENCY UPDATE
“We're in this by ourselves” In the 1st year after the earthquake,
– Joseph Dessources
Oxfam has helped 1.2 million Haitians
with
15 metric tonnes of seeds
1,000 bathing facilities
2,500 latrines HAITI
,000 farming tools
,00,000,000 litres of clean drinking water, enough to fill
1,440 Olympic-sized pools!
and more...
2,000 families were provided with cash grants to re-start
their livelihoods
42,000 families received an emergency food supply
Joseph Dessources, 60, and his family I really do, because the doctor says it’s resourcefulness to get by. “I have five
live in Corrail Camp. Through the Oxfam good for me to keep moving my hand.” people to feed. I have to be resourceful. If 94,000 people were provided with emergency shelter
livelihoods programme, he was able to you have 25 Haitian dollars, you purchase
get a new foot-powered sewing machine Joseph received business training from a half ‘marmite’ (a potful) of rice and cook and basic household supplies
to replace the ones he lost in the quake. Oxfam. “They teach you how to manage only half. You save half for tomorrow.”
What has he been sewing? “A few people your business, how to save, and how 2,000,000 Hong Kong Dollars (about uS$30m)
had uniforms commissioned; they haven’t to manage things so that you don’t lose
come to pick them up yet because they any profit,” he says, adding it was like will be spent in the next two years by the 14 global
don’t have money – but I do it anyway.“ a refresher course for him. “When you
Joseph says he wants to have the put up capital you have to monitor what affiliates of Oxfam
garments ready in case the customers do comes in and out. You may think if you
come up with the money. “There are no make money, it’s a profit – but you could 52,000,000 Hong Kong Dollars (about uS$68m)
jobs in the camp and that’s why there is end up losing everything if you don’t
no money for people to pay.” monitor how much you spend.” has already been allocated by Oxfam in the first year
Hypertension caused Joseph to lose What’s it like living at Corrail Camp? He
mobility in his right hand and right leg. He answers with a Haitian proverb: Chak
Joseph’s three children in Corrail Camp. They are
traces out the patterns on the fabric and moun gade pa’w or We’re in this by looking at a photograph of Joseph. / Stories and photos
his children cut them out. “I push myself. ourselves. He says he has to have the supplied by Oxfam America
O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 12 O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 1
EMERGENCY UPDATE
urgent needs remain
homes left to return to; their mud brick Other families either were not on the
Pakistan floods:
houses lay in ruins, and their fields – government’s list of affected families, or 1 Heavy monsoon rains in late July
which in good times provided cotton, could not produce the necessary identity 2010 triggered flooding that affected
wheat, sugarcane and mustard – were documents to receive their cards. Allah some 20 million people in Pakistan
Millions left homeless and hungry, still under water. Nawaz, the village head, received his; he
collected the first payment but spent it on
– more than the 2004 Indian
Ocean tsunami and the 2009 Haiti
Thousands assisted by Oxfam Not long after the first villagers returned,
Shaban Daud, 28, a Pakistani public
transporting all the villagers home when
the camps closed, and on necessary
earthquake combined.
Story and photos by Kathleen Hwang health engineer recruited by Oxfam to medicine for some of the people who did 2 Donations from the people of Hong
support flood relief and recovery efforts, not receive their watan cards. Kong allowed Oxfam Hong Kong to
When the government officer arrived in the goats and chickens, leaving cows camp – a girl of 17 and three small boys located the village about an hour’s drive contribute HK$11 million (uS$1.4
village of Gul Hassan Mangrejo in early and donkeys to swim alongside them succumbed to gastroenteritis. over fields and flatlands from Khairpur, Nawaz continues to work with the million) to provide access to clean
August to warn its inhabitants that a flood to safety. following directions from a villager he government to help all the villagers obtain a n d s a f e w a t e r, s a n i t a t i o n a n d
was coming, Allah Nawaz, the 62-year-old I n m i d - O c t o b e r, t h e g o v e r n m e n t met in the camp. He took along a local their cards, but the delay means they hygiene facilities, emergency food
village head, was not overly worried. After The villagers were taken to an empty announced that floodwaters had retreated technician to help repair damaged hand have already missed the critical wheat and shelter and livelihoods assistance
all, his village, located on the flood plain of school building in the town of Khairpur, and that it was safe for villagers in the pumps and install new communal ones planting season. Farmers must plant for over one million people severely
the Indus river in upper Sindh Province, where they sheltered for about a month, Khairpur area to return home. but in to ensure a safe and clean water supply. by November to harvest their wheat in affected by the flooding.
had seen minor flooding from time to time living on food provided by the government Gul Hassan Mangrejo, few villagers had They also built proper flush latrines for spring. Flat breads made of wheat, such
and had been visited by officers before. and aid agencies, before being moved to men and women. as chapatis, are the main staple food for 3 The Hong Kong SAr Government
Their warnings to evacuate, till now, had a tent encampment. poor rural families. Disaster relief Fund provided
proved unnecessary. Daud, who has an engineering degree altogether HK$9.95 million (uS$1.28
It was at the camp that Oxfam workers from Leeds university in england, takes To g e t h e r w i t h t w o l o c a l p a r t n e r million) to four non-governmental
but when villagers heard the roar of water met some of the villagers from Gul great satisfaction in working to help organisations Pirbhat and Participatory agencies, including Oxfam Hong
and saw it begin to encircle their village, Hassan Mangrejo. Oxfam had been people rebuild their lives. “I studied Development Initiatives, Oxfam is Kong, to support Pakistan flood
which is located on a bit of high ground, setting up WASH (water, sanitation and infrastructure and waste management, but implementing a cash-for-work programme, relief.
they knew this time was different. They hygiene) facilities in the camps, boring it’s all related to public health,” he says. paying women to make quilts which are
gathered up what few belongings they holes to access clean groundwater for It is an honour for me to work with these then distributed to flood-affected families, 4 Oxfam affiliates provided the
could carry as a small armada of motor drinking and washing, installing hand people. After studying so much, if I am not and paying men to clear away rubble or e q uivalent of HK$168.6 million
boats and pedal boats approached, sent pumps, building separate latrines for men able to help my people and my country, build latrines and washrooms. While this (US$21.68 million) to the flood relief.
by the government and the navy to rescue and women, and passing out hygiene kits what am I doing? “ does not meet all the families’ needs,
5 In early January 2011, the Sindh
them. including soap, towels and other items. it does at least provide cash to cover
Provincial Government said that
Allah Nawaz (left), head of Gul Hassan Mangrejo village, There is still a long way to go before life immediate necessities, and temporary
describes the village’s needs to Shaban Daud (right), about 3.5 million people in the
The village’s 1,025 residents crowded Keeping healthy was a challenge; Gul returns to normal. Most urgently, people employment for men and women eager to
a public health engineer recruited by Oxfam, while villagers province were still in acute need of
onto the small boats, along with their Hassan Mangrejo lost four children in the look on. need to have their homes rebuilt and their improve their situation.
shelter, food and other aid.
winter crops planted.
“We have good land, we can grow good
Hygiene, health and high aspirations 6 The united Nations says uS$1.9
The government has allocated 100,000 crops, but now we have no seeds, no fuel
billion is needed (more than HK$14.7
rupees (about HK$9,000) in two payments for our irrigation pumps, and no houses
August is the beginning of the school and organised workers to do the job, as says Khusboo, a bright-faced girl of 11, billion) to help displaced people repair
to each flood-affected family, which they or food,” said Allah Nawaz, surveying the
year in Pakistan, but the bhurgri Girls well as technicians to repair the plumbing. describing her lesson with Kaladi. their homes and begin to generate
can access through a “watan card,” an ruined village. “Only Oxfam has come
elementary School in Khairpur did The staff followed up with public health income.
ATM card with a pre-set value. but only here to help.”
not open on schedule in 2010. The training at the school and others “We learned how to prevent diseases.
about 15 per cent of the families in Gul
government had chosen it as a temporary like it. When I am sick I have to miss school, 7 The most urgent need is for shelter
Hassan Mangrejo received these cards, Kathleen Hwang, Communications Officer with Oxfam
shelter for families displaced by flooding in and we have to pay a lot of money for Hong Kong, visited Pakistan in December 2010. and health services for 500,000
which were distributed in the camp.
their villages. Around 550 people stayed In early December Sassi Kaladi, 20, medicine,” adds 10-year-old Farhana. people still living in temporary
there from August to mid-September, visited the school to conduct a health “I want to finish my education.” settlements.
camping in classrooms and courtyards. and hygiene session with pupils aged
five to eleven. She is an Oxfam recruit In a country where many girls are kept out 8 Oxfam plans to continue flood
In September the government moved from Khairpur, working as a public health of school for financial or cultural reasons, recovery work in Pakistan until
them into tents in a nearby camp and promotion assistant. She loves her work, these girls are among the lucky ones. July 2011, providing emergency
the school was free to reopen – but the she says, as it offers her both a learning Their families support their studies, and shelter kits; cleaning water systems
facilities were a wreck. Litter and waste experience and a chance to serve the the girls have high ambitions; they aspire and building latrines in villages;
were everywhere, and the plumbing was community. to become doctors or engineers, and one distributing winter quilts, household
clogged. wants to be a pilot. but Khusboo says, items and hygiene kits; and
“We learned how to keep our homes “When I am older, I would like to work for continuing cash-for-work programmes
Local staff recruited by Oxfam identified and school clean, about boiling water Oxfam, inshallah (God willing).” A villager uses one of the new hand pumps installed by Pupils at the bhurgri Girls elementary School in and other services. We aim to assist
Oxfam in Gul Hassan Mangrejo to bring clean groundwater Khairpur practise washing their hands with soap after a
the school as one in need of a clean-up and keeping food and water covered,” to the village. The rubble is all that is left of peoples’ homes; lesson in personal hygiene. / Photo: Honorio de Dios,
more than 206,000 people.
they now live in tents. Oxfam Hong Kong
O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 14 O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 15
EMERGENCY UPDATE
9
every day, Oxfam Hong Kong works alongside
hundreds of groups around the world, from small NGOs CHINa VOICeS
Working women, Working moms N e W
to international bodies, from government departments
of developing countries to community groups based in
Speak Out Against Poverty in
Mainland China
by Frank elvey PartnerOrganisations Hong Kong. Here are 9 partner organisations that we
are supporting for the first time. In this edition of O.N.E,
we highlight the NGO called "build Community Voice"
The women of Salavante aspire to a better life. One year after their village in the in Cambodia.
Philippines was flooded by Typhoon Parma, their aspirations include having more CaMbODIa • build Community Voice
adequate food, more savings, better community facilities, more self-reliance, and CHINa
better disaster preparation and response. Fujian • Green Ground Migrant Workers' Service Centre, Xiamen
Guizhou • Guizhou HeMei Indigenous Handicraft Development (Guizhou Institution for
Indigenous Cultural Development)
Sichuan • Pengzhou Zhongda Green roots of Social Work Development Centre
In the first photograph, a group of Tianjin • Tianjin Tiangong Lechuang enterprise Management Information Consultation
Salavante women are reflecting on their Yunnan • The Commission of Communist Youth League Gongshan
aspirations, achievements and challenges • Office of Ziyuan County Poverty Alleviation and Development Leading Group
• Yunnan Youth Development Foundation
and what they can do to improve family
HONG KONG • People Alliance for Minimum Wage
and community wellbeing. The 26 women
Oxfam Hong Kong has launched a book of
call themselves Salavante Working Moms
established in 2008, build Community they decided to make their views heard, stories and photographs that features the
Disaster risk reduction Organisation, or
Voice, or bCV for short, supports indigenous and protested peacefully. Still, two villagers views and accounts of people whom Oxfam
‘Working Moms’ for short. has met in 23 years of anti-poverty work in
and non-indigenous communities to were arrested and detained without charge.
advocate in defence of their economic, social undaunted, in April, about 400 residents Mainland China. The publication depicts the
and cultural rights. In particular, bCV works mobilised themselves and blocked the lives of farmers, women, migrant workers,
to build up people's skills in developing their national road route, making a huge traffic ethnic minorities and community workers in
own useful and low-cost media materials. jam for people returning from Cambodian China’s impoverished rural areas.
new year holidays. The bCV-supported
Their approaches and methods are effective, event attracted a lot of attention from the Available at Swindon books, Kubrick book
The Chairperson of the group, Vilma rufo, culturally appropriate, and fit well with media, the general public, and from various Stores, relay, Dymocks, CuHK Press,
the overall strategic plan for Oxfam Hong levels of government. The media coverage Times Publishing, Hong Kong readers,
is pictured in the middle photograph,
Kong in Cambodia, which is to improve helped raise a significant amount of MCCM Creations, Xiyao book Store and
together with the bamboo handicrafts
the livelihoods of indigenous people in the awareness and support for the communities, Oxfam’s online shop at www.oxfam.org.hk
the women make, mostly for sale to local
upland northeast. Main issues these people and the two villagers were released.
traders. An item sells for 4 to 10 pesos
face are the steady loss of natural resources
and by making hundreds of handicrafts,
on which their livelihoods depend and the bCV networks with many NGOs and
each Working Mom can earn up to 1,000
loss of their culture and traditions. In the coalitions, such as the nationwide O.N.e
pesos a week (or HK$180), an important past, they have had little opportunity to voice Community Peace-building Network, Oxfam News e-magazine is published every
supplement to the family income. their concerns in the public arena, and bCV Indigenous rights Active Members, two months, at www.oxfam.org.hk/ONE.
is working to change this. They consider Cambodian Human rights Action Committee
community-produced media materials as (with 19 members), uN bodies, and To receive a copy in your inbox, please
important, if not essential, for effecting several other groups. The specific Oxfam- subscribe – it is Free.
change at the community and national level. supported project runs from December 2010 www.oxfam.org.hk/one/subscribe.html
to September 2011 and has three main
In the third photograph, the women In early 2010, for instance, bCV supported aims: 1) to improve the appropriateness
residents from 11 villages in Om Leang and accessibility of media and information O.N.e (Oxfam News e-magazine) is
are working alongside the local group
Commune whose land rights and livelihoods in indigenous communities, 2) to improve published every two months by Oxfam Hong
Peoples Disaster risk reduction
were jeopardised by an economic land the ways that NGOs and donor agencies Kong, 17th Floor, China united Centre, 28
Network, other partner organisations and
concession to produce sugarcane, owned can empower community production and Marble road, North Point, Hong Kong. The
Oxfam Hong Kong, to develop concrete publisher does not necessarily endorse
by Senator Ly Yong Phat of the ruling ownership of media materials, and 3) to
plans to achieve their goals. This includes Cambodian People's Party, which tried to support communities to have power and views expressed by contributors. For
engaging with government to advocate take control over 2,000 hectares of their control over their lives and to demand better permission to reprint articles, please contact
for better public services. The women land. rice crops were destroyed, land governance. Oxfam has been supporting the us; normally, we grant permission provided
also plan to link with women in other occupied, and access to external sources NGO since 2008 with small projects, but this the source is clearly acknowledged. O.N.e
communities to share what they have of support forcefully and militarily blocked, new project represents a larger commitment is available free to all, in both an HTML and
learned through working together and the villagers were angry and scared, yet and a stronger partnership. PDF version, and in Chinese and english.
supporting each other.
Frank elvey, regional Manager for Archipelagic
Southeast Asia with Oxfam Hong Kong, visited
Salavante in October 2010 as part of a responsible
Wellbeing Workshop that included partners and Oxfam
staff meeting with the women's group. / Photos: Sandy
Wong, Oxfam Hong Kong Working with people against poverty
www.oxfam.org.hk | 2520 2525
O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 1 O.N.e FebruArY 2O11 1