Category: In the field

Fish is a fundamental resource for poor Cambodian communities. Easily accessible by communities who live alongside the Mekong river, fish constitutes 75% of Cambodia’s animal protein intake. But this abundance of fish is threatened by illegal fishing activities and destructive infrastructure development. Read more »

The 17th Garma festival was held recently in Arnhem Land. The significant forum discussed and debated various issues confronting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples such as constitutional recognition, economic development and the forced closure of remote Aboriginal communities — but it was also a celebration of Indigenous culture. Read more »

Victor wants to be a pilot, but without access to a clean toilet, he may never realise his ambition. This is the photo story of how one clever toilet is protecting children from disease, keeping kids in school, and changing the lives the people in the Mukuru slum in Kenya. Read more »

About three months ago, Oxfam Vanuatu Country Director Colin Collett van Rooyen, opened his front door in Port Vila not knowing what to expect. Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam had torn through Vanuatu’s capital just hours before. Today, he reflects on Oxfam’s recovery efforts and the incredible spirit of the people of Vanuatu. Read more »

Urban developments, otherwise known as slums, are quickly spreading across Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. With them comes a huge threat of disease and poverty for the hundreds of thousands of people who call the slums home. Read the stories of 10 kids from the Mukuru slum and their dreams for the future. Read more »

In the Mukuru slum in Nairobi, Kenya, Oxfam is working with our partner Sanergy to supply schools with Fresh Life toilets — providing a clean and sanitary environment for kids to go to the toilet. It sounds straight forward, but this ingenious invention is keeping kids in school, creating jobs and saving lives. Read more »

In the last month two large earthquakes and more than 100 aftershocks have devastated Nepal. Thousands of survivors are now without homes — and with the monsoon season around the corner — Oxfam’s top priority is to deliver shelter and emergency aid as soon as possible. Read 9 stories of survival. Read more »

With the escalation of conflict in Yemen now in its second month, the country is now in the midst of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. Water supply systems have been heavily damaged, food prices are spiralling out of control, and more than 300,000 people have been displaced. Oxfam program officer Bassim describes how the crisis has changed his life. Read more »

Davis has lived in Mukuru — a giant urban settlement, or slum — since the year 2000. The lack of proper sanitation and infrastructure in the urban slums of Nairobi cause vicious outbreaks of disease. But Davis has seen children’s lives saved with something called a Fresh Life toilet. Read more »

On her way to school, Yusra negotiates the toxic human waste that lines the streets. The sanitation crisis in her home — the Mukuru slum in Kenya — means residents are forced to use pit latrines and plastic bags as their toilet. The threat of disease lingers every where, but the implications of poor sanitation for young women and girls are particularly complex. Read more »