First Of Sally's pics from the craft Fair

Thanks to sally for coming along to help out at the craft fair and for all those who knitted up a storm. More pics to follow soon.

Chat with Richard from Oxfam

Our Oxfam helper Harriet got me in touch with a very nice Oxfam chap called Richard. I had a few questions, some directed at me from other people some of my own which he very patiently spent 45 minutes addressing. I feel a lot better about my support to Oxfam now and maybe some of the concerns you have about the charity are answered by him too. At the risk of paraphrasing what he said here are a few of the answers.
What percentage of each pound given to Oxfam goes directly to the projects?
81p in every pound. The remaining 18p is spent on things like ensuring that the monies go to the right things, raising more funds through events and advertising and making sure that the charity runs efficiently now and into the future.
Can such a big charity have as much impact on the ground as a little one?
The problem of world poverty is huge. Oxfam supports 8 million of those people and its size gives it huge influence in over 70 different countries. Oxfam will often work with smaller charities in specific countries and in partnership with the communities it works in. Its size makes it well placed to deal quickly and efficiently with emergency situations where it will often join forces with other charities to increase the impact. There is a place for every size of charity and different ones suit the many differing situations involved in addressing poverty.
How does Oxfam make its projects sustainable and make it so that people can come to stand on their own two feet eventually?
Oxfam very often works with partners and specific local people in different places, rather than just bringing in Oxfam workers from another country. This helps empower communities and give them a brighter future. There are a lot of complex situations however where things like war and climate change affect the ability of a place and its people to get along without longer term support. Its important to consider each situation on its own merit in terms of support.
How are the donations of clothes dealt with in oxfam?
Anything saleable is put into the shop. Other things are sent to other countries or if it is really not suitable to be worn any more it is shredded and sold as raw material. Nothing gets wasted. Again oxfam being large allows it to make this process work a lot easier than if it was of a smaller scale.
What about Oxfam in this country?
Oxfam has a programme in the uk which is mainly about campaigning for people's rights. For example they help let women's groups understand their rights.
If I want to volunteer with Oxfam do I need to be rich?
As a volunteer Oxfam believes that you should never be out of pocket and that everybody should be able to volunteer. So if you pay to get to Oxfam things or buy things for an event you can claim that back. We are just in the process of writing a kit which will give our community groups all this information.