Oxfam
Oxfam House
John Smith Drive
Cowley
Oxford
OX4 2JY

Oxfam GB is a development, relief, and campaigning organisation dedicated to finding lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world. We believe that every human being is entitled to a life of dignity and opportunity; and we work with poor communities, local partners, volunteers, and supporters to help this become a reality.

Oxfam's goal is a world where every person is:

SECURE - Poor people usually have a clear idea of what could help them to overcome their problems, but they lack the resources needed to put their ideas into practice and build a sustainable livelihood.

HEALTHY - In poor countries, many people don't have proper medical care. Even if they can afford treatment, sick people often have to walk for hours or even days to see a doctor. Many children die of illnesses such as diarrhoea, which could be easily prevented or treated with some basic medical knowledge.

SKILLED - It's hard to change your life for the better when you don't know how to read or write. Yet today, millions of children are being denied an education, and their best chance of escaping poverty.

SAFE - Oxfam has a worldwide reputation for emergency relief work, providing shelter, clean water and sanitation services to people whose lives have been turned upside down by war or natural disaster.

HEARD - Most poor people have no say in the decisions that affect their lives, and no power to change things.

EQUAL - Often the most vulnerable people are those who are oppressed within their own society. This might be because they are women, or because of disability or ethnic or cultural identity.

Oxfam's livelihoods work includes micro-credit and training schemes which enable people to earn a living; programmes to improve access to food; supporting communities in rebuilding their livelihoods following conflict or natural disaster.

Our health work focuses on provision of clean water, sanitation and hygiene training; on improving access to health services and medicines; and increasingly, on HIV/AIDS awareness.

Oxfam helps communities to set up their own schools, and funds school buildings, equipment, and teacher-training programmes. We also support adult literacy classes for those who missed out as children.

In an emergency, our Logistics Warehouse can dispatch 30 tonnes of life-saving equipment to any airport in Great Britain within 13 hours. Afterwards, we put long-term programmes in place to help people rebuild their lives, and to prepare for future crises. This can mean literally raising villages beyond the reach of annual floodwaters, or strengthening houses in areas prone to hurricanes.

We help people who are marginalised to have a say in their own future, through training and lobbying decision-makers. For example, in Bolivia work around traditional lands has helped to overcome discrimination against indigenous people.

Our work on equity focuses on issues such as ending violence against women, and ensuring that everyone has the same access to opportunities.