O.N.E December 2010

Oxfam

Unwrapped

December 2O1O

THE SHOPPING EDITIONTHINKING ABOUT THE FOOD WE BUY / ONE PERSON – JOHN SAYERFair Trade, organic, eating locally, sustainability, food from Africa, ethical sourcing, carbon labels… These are things that Oxfam Hong Kong Director John Sayer thinks about when he chooses what to eat.

FAMILY, POVERTY and SHOPPING in HONG KONGA new report by Oxfam reveals more poverty among families, despite at least one member being in the workforce. How do they stretch their money to buy enough groceries? Wong Shek Hung reports.

BUYING THE RIGHT STUFF FOR HAITIAs the one-year anniversary of the major earthquake in Haiti approaches, Oxfam Logistics Supply Manager Florent Mayolle talks about how Oxfam sourced the necessary supplies to help hundreds of thousands of people.

‘SHOPPING’ for CROPS TO GROW in BANGLADESHWith the climate changing, farmers may need to change the crops they grow. M.D. Ferdous Alam tells how, in northeast Bangladesh, people are trying out the potato and radish, and using elevated land.

CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, CATTLE, FARMERS, YOU, MEConstruction workers in Hong Kong already deal with a 30 degrees Centigrade workspace. Farmers in Ethiopia are losing cattle and crops. Climate change affects us all. In the lead-up to the climate talks in Mexico in December, Hong Kong recently hosted the global alliance, C40; and Oxfam Hong Kong is doing all it can to stop climate change, and to protect people from further poverty and hardship.

CHINA VOICESTake a look at Oxfam Hong Kong's newest book, CHINA VOICES, on life in China for women, workers, children, elderly people, ethnic minorities and more.

ACTIONHong Kong youth visit workers in Indonesia and then take their action to the streets of Hong Kong, through conversation and song.

LITTLE BLACK PIGShop at Oxfam Unwrapped. A little black pig is a new gift this holiday season, or for any special day. In Nepal, a black pig is an asset. In Hong Kong, pigs are seen as kind creatures, even sweet. Yet also bittersweet. Read on…

O.N.E December 2O1O �

ONE PERSON JOHN SAYER

see this as a measure of the product’s

carbon footprint.

But the picture is not that simple.

The argument that local food has a lower

carbon footprint is open to challenge. A

study some time ago showed that some

fruit, flowers and vegetables flown from

Africa to the United Kingdom actually

used less energy than flowers from the

neighbouring country of Holland. The

reason for this apparent paradox is that

in Europe, the flowers for example were

a product of mechanised agriculture,

and machines use fuel. Moreover, they

were grown in fuel-guzzling heated

greenhouses in colder months . In

contrast, African growers are among the

most efficient in terms of energy use

per capita. They use fewer chemicals,

less equipment and no artificial heating.

So, despite the energy used to transport

African products to Europe, African

agricultural products may have a lower

carbon footprint.

And those fresh local products out of

season? In the UK, British apples sold in

the wintertime may have been in cold

storage for as long as ten months. Local,

yes! Sustainable, no.

A carbon labe l on food products

might be more valuable than simply a

statement of its place of origin.

There is a second case for thinking

twice when you turn away from African

foods on your supermarket shelves. For

developing countries, all exports are

important. As these countries are usually

not industrialised, they need to buy most

manufactured goods overseas, from

simple items like cloth and plastic buckets,

through to complex but essential items

like computers and vehicles. To earn

foreign exchange, developing countries

When you are buying food, do you look at where it came from? Many people like to know the origin of their food; and for a variety of reasons. Some worry about food additives, contamination and the effectiveness of regulation, some are concerned about whether the sale is helping producers in that country, and some worry about how far their food has travelled. How do we reconcile these different concerns?

In Hong Kong, I try to purchase organic

vegetab le s when I can , knowing

that when I eat out, I often have no

knowledge or control over where the

food comes from and what chemicals

have been used in its production.

I also choose Fair Trade foods when I

can. These usually come from developing

countries by air and by sea. In many

developed places like Hong Kong, an

increasing proportion of food comes

from the developing world, whether it

is green beans from Kenya or avocados

from Peru.

There is a movement for ‘eat local’ food.

Its advocates argue that by purchasing

food locally, you are supporting your

local economy, getting fresher food, and

reducing the greenhouse gas emissions

used in transporting your food halfway

across the world. Proponents count the

‘food miles’ of imported products and


export what they can, mostly from

primary industries: raw materials and

agricultural products. If we don’t purchase

agricultural products from Africa – in the

name of the environment, or in the name

of protecting our local farmers – we are

depriving developing countries of the

market for one of their few competitive

exports, one of their few chances to earn

precious foreign exchange.

The Fair Trade movement deliberately

focuses on producers in developing

countries, call ing on consumers to

support small-scale producers in less

developed countries. If food miles were

the only issue here, then nobody should

buy Fair Trade products!

Another argument that developing

countries exporting food will leave

people hungry is a fallacy. African

countries with healthy export markets

generally also do a better job at feeding

PHILIPPINES: Edrulfo Astilla (right) with John Sayer. Oxfam’s project with Kasanyangan Rural Development Foundation (KRDFI) in Mindanao is improving vegetable production and productivity. About 100 farms are adopting rubber-based farming systems and setting the ground work for a sustainable development programme, engaging with the local government and other stakeholders.

MALAWI: Bessie Nambwereko (centre), a facilitator with Societies Tackling AIDS through Rights, or STAR, with John Sayer (right). STAR is working to reduce gender-based violence and harmful sexual practices, such as FISI, where a man sleeps with several female partners as a ritual for the man’s sexual cleansing and as a girl’s rite of passage. John Sayer brought a small gift of a fish, which in China can be a symbol of abundance. / Photo: Navin Vasudev

their own people. It is not an either-or

question; it is more a question of how

effective a country’s agricultural and

economic systems is.

When we buy food or f lowers in

supermarkets, do they come from small

farms? Some do, and some don’t. Some

ethical sourcing supermarkets deliberately

purchase a proportion of their products

from smallholders. Where all the goods

come from large commercial operations,

does this benefit poor people? Well,

large farms create jobs, and, as I have

said, they earn foreign exchange for the

country where they are located, and they

pay tax to the government.

I will continue to purchase farm products

from Africa. At the same time, I will

continue to try and understand what

we can do to ensure more of the money

I pay goes back to Africa. I will support

groups pressing for good wages and

conditions for workers on export farms.

I will support initiatives that help farms

become good corporate citizens in their

community in terms of social programmes

and environmental protection.

If we are thinking about sustainability

of the food we eat, an important issue

is whether the producer is living a

sustainable lifestyle, and whether our

purchase helps support the livelihood

of someone who is living a modest,

sometimes precarious life on this planet.

Making consumer choices that help close

the gap between rich and poor people

is one important component of living a

truly sustainable lifestyle.

Written by John Sayer, Director General of Oxfam Hong Kong


Ms. Ng, 55, supports herself and her

14-year-old son on HK$21 an hour

(US$2.7). She works six late nights

a week, from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am,

cleaning toilets and staircases at a luxury

shopping mall. She earns HK$3600

(US$465) a month.

Surviving on such a limited income, she

shops extremely carefully. Every other

day, she walks from her home in Shek Kip

Mei to the market in Mongkok. It takes

her an hour each way. She says the food

is the cheapest there, so it pays off. She

often buys potatoes and frozen chicken

wings and sausage, as they keep for a

long time and can be stretched out over

several meals.

Shopping in Mainland China is another

strategy. When she goes home once

a year to see her relatives, she gets as

many basic items – such as bedding, meat

and spices – as she can. “I half-cook the

meat to get around Hong Kong Customs’

rules against raw meat,” she says.

A few weeks ago, she and her son had

their first meal out in seven years. “I

have to have surgery soon, and I don’t

know whether I will be fine afterwards,

so I wanted to fulfill my son’s wish to try

sushi.” The meal cost HK$110, which is

what she normally spends for a full week

of meals, but she feels it was important

to do. “It’s a struggle to make ends

meet,” Ms. Ng sighs, “and I really hope

the government can help people like us.”

Ms. Ng’s family is one of the 192,500

families in Hong Kong who fall under

the poverty line despite the fact that a

family member is working. According to

“Employment and Poverty in Hong Kong

Families”, Oxfam Hong Kong’s most

recent report on poverty in Hong Kong,

poverty has worsened among families

of low-income workers: a 12 per cent

increase in the past five and a half years,

rising from 172,600 to 192,500 families.

To read the full report, go here: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/en/news_1301.aspx

A typical meal is sausage and vegetables

Ms. Ng shopping for low-priced vegetables

Text and photos by Wong Shek Hung


Wong Shek Hung, Advocacy Officer (left) and Alfred Choy, Programme Officer, address the media at the launch of the Oxfam Poverty Report: Employment and Poverty in Hong Kong Families, published on 19 September 2010.

Ah-Yee spends about one-fourth of her approx. HK$4,500 monthly salary on transportation to work. She thinks the government should expand the existing transport support scheme to provide subsidies for wage earners.


NO. OF EMPLOYED POOR HOUSEHOLD FROM �00� TO �010 (000')

No. of employed poor household

(000')

195

190

185

180

175

170

165

1602005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Year

192.5

189.7189.3190.8

186.9

172.6

An effective, responsible and credible

government must be committed to a

long-term policy aimed at slashing the

number of people living in poverty and

closing the income gap. The minimum

wage is a good start, but it alone cannot

lift families out of poverty. The statutory

minimum wage must take into account

a worker’s need to support his or her

family, as Oxfam’s report indicates

that every employed family member

has an average of at least two others

to support. The government must

also enlarge childcare and transport

allowance schemes, and in the long run,

tax credits should be explored as direct

income support and as a supplementary

provision to the minimum wage.

To read the full report, go here: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/en/news_1301.aspx

Wong Shek Hung is an Advocacy Officer with Oxfam Hong Kong. She and her colleague, Alfred Choy, worked on Oxfam Hong Kong’s employment and poverty report, which was launched on 19 September 2010. They have given many media interviews and have presented their findings to fellow NGOs, unions, government officials and to Oxfam Hong Kong supporters.

• Hong Kong has the highest income gap (Gini coefficient,

43.4) among developed economies (UNDP).

• The richest 10% families have 27 times more income than

Hong Kong’s poorest families.

• From 2005 to 2010, the monthly income of the poorest

families has stayed the same (HK$3,000) while the richest

families’ income increased from HK$70,000 to HK$80,900.

• One out of every 10 families (10.2%) with at least one

working member lives in poverty, an increase of 12% in

the past 5.5 years, from 172,600 to 192,500 families.

• 64.6% of these families (124,300 families) earn less than

the government social welfare payment each month

(CSSA).

• About 65% of the households have at least three family

members.

• Over 63% of the families have dependents aged below 15

or above 65.

• The ratio of workers to dependents in these families is 1:2,

compared to the overall ratio of 1:0.8.

Source: Oxfam Poverty Report: Employment and Poverty in Hong Kong Families (2010)


O.N.E:W h a t a r e t h e g e n e r a l

principles when sourcing supplies in

an emergency?

Mayolle: Quantity and Quality .

These are always the most important

things. We have to provide items that

meet people’s needs and correspond fully

to international standards [such as the

International Standards for Humanitarian

Response, or SPHERE]. Availability is

next. This can be a big concern at the

beginning of an emergency; it may take

a good amount of work to be able to

find the quantities required. The obvious

local market might already be depleted,

or not functioning, due to the disaster.

Deliverytime. The speed of the delivery

depends on where we source the goods,

the means and availability of transport,

and the customs process. Price. We

always look for the best competitive

prices when we have to purchase goods/

materials. For the transport, we think

about both price in terms of cash and the

possible pollution and carbon emissions.

O.N.E:Can you speak specifically

about the response in Haiti? How and

where did Oxfam source supplies,

locally or from other countries? How

does Oxfam select suppliers?

Mayolle: In the very first 48 hours, we

managed to organize two emergency

air shipments, thanks to prepositioned

emergency stocks we had in Barcelona

and Panama. In the first week or so,

we established a supply platform in the

Dominican Republic, since transport

infrastructure (airport and port) in

Haiti were not operating at that time.

Our priority during the first weeks was

availability, so most of the supplies came

from the Dominican Republic market,

the regional one (Panama, USA) and

the international one. Little by little, we

purchased more and more from the local

market right in Haiti, which benefits the

people the most because it stimulates the

local economy.

Before the emergency, we also had

a contingency plan in place in the

Dominican Republic. Market studies had

been conducted to identify suppliers, so a

database of suppliers was prepared. This

enabled us to find and select suppliers

quickly.

We had an infrastructure in place (people,

vehicles, networking, buildings..) which

allowed us to be operational from the

Dominican Republic in 24 hours.

To finish, in our supply strategy for Haiti,

we put in place a pipeline including

several warehouses situated between

Santo Domingo and Port Au Prince, in

which we stored materials/equipment

which we knew could be in short supply

in the local market. This was the case

with fuel, for example, of which large

quantities were stored in the first few

hours after the earthquake. This fuel

allowed the teams from Oxfam to work

from the first day, while other teams

were stopped by lack of fuel for cars and

motor pumps.

To choose between a local purchase and

a regional or international one, and to

choose whether to send by sea or by

air freight, we look at the quantity of

goods required, then the availability

in the market. Then we balance in the

delivery time required and the global

pr ice of goods and transport . For

example, according to the activity project

schedule, we might be able to split an

international order, sending one part by

air to be available for the project (and

the people!) in a short time and the

remaining part by sea in order to reduce

transport costs. For the same freight,

transport can cost 5000 euros by sea and

100,000 euros or more by air. That is

why it is really important to have good

communication and coordination with

project managers and officers to identify

the delivery times required.

To ensure that the supplies can be

safely delivered, road transport from

the Dominican Republic border to Haiti

THe rIGHT STUff fOr HaITIInTervIew wITH flOrenT mayOlle It is almost one year since the devastating earthquake in Haiti. O.N.E. talks

with a humanitarian logistics specialist about how Oxfam made sure that the

right supplies were sourced and delivered for survivors.


was secured by the United Nations,

while the World Food Programme

ensured secure storage facilities in Port

au Prince. Internally, we put in place

communication channels that allowed

us to always be in contact with the teams

in Port Au Prince; we could evaluate

the security situation between Santo

Domingo and Port Au Prince.

O.N.E:Can you give a breakdown

of supplies in the first few months?

Mayolle: I can give you an overview

of the volume of activities in the first

month from the supply platform in

Santo Domingo. We received 437 metric

tonnes of relief supplies there, which

we then sent on to Port au Prince. This

included 20 planeloads of supplies sent

from Europe. To supplement this, we

purchased 75 metric tonnes of materials,

or 630,000 items, in the Dominican

Republic.

In the first six months, these supplies

helped provide clean drinking water

and sanitation facilities for over 317,000

people, hygiene kits (soap, shampoo,

toothbrushes, toothpaste, sanitary pads,

towels) for about 120,000 people, and

tarpaulins and tents for 98,000 people.

Oxfam al so developed partnerships with

over 30 local and national organisations

in the country – these partnerships are

Oxfam supplies arriving / Photo: Kenny Rae, Oxfam America

FlOrENtMAyOllE

Logistics Supply Manager

Humanitarian Department

Intermon Oxfam

[email protected]

Tel : +34 93 48 20 855

Fax : +34 93 34 35 076

setting the groundwork for continued

work in many communities across the

country.

O.N.E:W h a t w e r e t h e m a i n

difficulties encountered in sourcing

supplies? How were they different

from other emergencies? How did

Oxfam cope?

Mayolle:The main constraint was the

availability of the goods and materials.

The supply available within Haiti itself

was exhausted very quickly because

of the huge needs and the number of

NGOs involved in the emergency. The

solution was to extend our usual areas

of sourcing, looking for new suppliers at

the regional and international level. We

also collaborated with other NGOs such

as ACH (Accion Contre el Hambre) to

borrow supplies from their stock.

As previously mentioned, another

big constraint was that the transport

infrastructure was not working. We

solved this problem by working through

our supply platform in the Dominican

Republic, stocking, purchasing goods,

ensuring transit for goods arriving by

ship and air, and organising all the

transportation of goods and people to

Haiti.

F lorent Mayol le i s Log i s t i c s Supply Manager of the Humanitarian Department of Intermon Oxfam in Barcelona, Spain. A special thanks to Angel Ng, from the humanitarian team of Oxfam Hong Kong, who coordinated correspondence and helped source photographs.

Aid flight arrives in Santo Domingo / Photo: Kenny Rae, Oxfam America

Materials for water storage / Photo: Ivan Munoz, Intermon


Farmer Sefya Fungie Hussene,

39, says rain used to come regularly in

Ethiopia, and farmers could easily plan

their planting and harvest times. “But

the change in the climate is completely

crazy, and there are huge losses for

people like me. I used to have 54 cattle,

but due to changes in the climate, they

couldn’t find enough grass to eat. Since

the lake has receded, there is little or no

grazing land by the shore. Because of

the lack of food and water, most of my

cattle have died. The few that survived

had to be sold so we could buy food to

live on. That’s how I lost all my cattle.

“The change in climate has ruined our

livelihood in many ways. Right now, we

make ends meet by selling our land to

those who have money and then end

up working as day labourers on our

own land for the new owners. People

are also cutting trees down to sell the

wood.

and technology. Supporting the action

was (from left to right) Legislative

Councilor Audrey Eu, Ethiopian farmer

and activist Sefya Fungie Hussene,

construction worker Wong Wai Man,

Legislative Councilor Gary Chan, and

Oxfam Economic Justice Campaign

Manager Stanley So. At the event,

Oxfam also screened two documentary

videos on how the climate is making

the l ives of outdoor workers and

of cubicle-dwellers in Hong Kong

even more difficult. The videos were

produced by Oxfam Youth Campaign

Partners.

B i l l ions of people , in deve loped

and developing societies, are being

affected by climate change. In early

November, Oxfam Hong Kong rang

an alarm loud and clear to point out

that poor people, from construction

workers in Hong Kong to farmers in

Ethiopia, are the most vulnerable to

the impacts of climate change. This

action was heard by policymakers in

Hong Kong and around the world, as

it was conducted during the meeting

of the C40, an alliance of leaders from

40 cities to address climate change,

mostly through low-carbon emissions


Stanley So ( r ight) , manager of

Oxfam Hong Kong’s Economic Justice

Campaign, added, “We want to remind

Hong Kong officials and C40 leaders

that, apart from talking about reducing

carbon emissions, they must take

care of vulnerable groups.” Oxfam

Hong Kong urges the Hong Kong SAR

Government to formulate heat wave

emergency plans and other concrete

policies; legislation is also needed to

require employers in Hong Kong to

provide protective measures for outdoor

workers in extreme weather conditions.

The Hong Kong Government has yet to

adequately address the needs of elderly

people, the chronically ill, people living

in substandard accommodations, and

outdoor workers such as construction

workers.

Hong Kong construction workers are

also at risk. Wong Wai-man, 55,

says the only way to continue working

outdoors in Hong Kong’s heat, which

often exceeds 30 degrees Centigrade,

is to drink about five litres of water

per day, which is about twice what

he needed to drink two decades ago.

Wong has been a construction worker

for 33 years, and about three years ago,

he started to take part in the labour

movement. Recently, he has taken up

the issue of climate change and its

impacts on workers, and he is now

fighting for regular rest breaks.

The Hong Kong Labour Department

has guidelines to protect construction

workers against heat stroke, such as

adequate rest breaks and a cool, shaded

rest area, but Mr. Wong asserts that

many employers ignore the guidelines

and that workers have to continue to

work without protection, because they

need the pay. His workday is difficult,

he says. “There is a saying among

construction workers: ‘If you work, only

one person will die. If you don’t, the

whole family will starve to death.”

“As I no longer have the means to

support all my children, only three of my

eight kids are still with me. It’s been five

or six years since we’ve been separated.

The fact that they live somewhere else

is very hard for me. No one gives up a

child voluntarily. Losing our assets was

bad, but the fact that our family is now

scattered is devastating. What makes

me sad is that life, rather than death, is

what separated our family.”

Sefya is more than a farmer; she is also

a community activist, advocating tree

planting, and speaking out at meetings

on climate change.

A video of Sefya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZK-0Lg157M

O.N.E December 2O1O 10

The haor is a large, bowl-shaped tectonic

depression in northeast Bangladesh

that receives surface runoff water from

many rivers and khals (streams), and

consequently, becomes an extensive

body of water during the monsoon

season. Flooded for six or seven months

of the year, the area is a wetland

ecosystem from about May to October

or November. Then it dries up almost

completely, transforming into a land-

based ecosystem for the rest of the year.

Life in the haor, then, changes and its

resources change too.

Yet, the people living in the haor are

some of the most impoverished in the

county. Their livelihoods depend on

fishing and on boro rice, which grows

in winter. People from all social classes

cultivate the rice, with landless and

marginal farmers tending to grow it on

‘shared-in land’, which belongs to people

who do not farm and so give permission

for others to use their land.

A recent phenomenon is flashfloods,

which pose a major threat to people’s

already precarious livelihood. With

climate change, the floods have been

coming earlier than usual, damaging the

crop just before harvest. Being a mono-

crop zone, the loss of a crop means loss

of income, loss of food security, and

more hunger. In 2009, most farmers

could not harvest their sole crop due to

flashfloods. If this continues, more than

20 million people will be at great risk.

Given this context, crop diversification

is imperative, and huge tracts of fallow

land in the haor present an opportunity.

The Rel iant Women Development

Organization, with support from Oxfam

Hong Kong and the Center for Natural

Studies, has taken the initiative to assist

farmers to ‘shop’ for a broader and

suitable range of crops to grow, as a

way to diversify, and as a way to protect

themselves against hunger and climate

change.

The steps of this crop ‘shopping’ and

diversification work follow this sequence:

1) participatory study and crop/variety

selection; 2) capacity building activities

w i th se lec ted fa rmer s , inc lud ing

technological ski l ls in agriculture;

3) establishing demonstration plots

with farmers and the community;

4) knowledge sharing about farming in

the haor; 5) extension to the community,

including learning sharing days; and

6) developing market linkages.

RWDO formed groups of 10 to 15 farmer-

members as a way to build cohesion and

support for the work at hand: shopping

around for suitable crops, learning and

using new methods, and then cultivating

and harvesting the new crops. These

members all attended training sessions

to build their technical, agricultural

and financial skills, and have started

cultivating different robi crops (winter

crops) other than boro rice, such as

potatoes and radishes, which are sown

in the winter and harvested in spring or

summer. Another change is that farmers

are now using kanda (elevated land)

which for the last twenty or thirty years

had remained uncultivated as necessary

technology was not available and the

land was not considered arable.

In the last dry season, farmers cultivated

new crops such as wheat, mustard,

ground nuts, potatoes and more; they

harvested satisfactory yields from all

these crops, and RWDO helped to link

them with buyers so they would get

good prices for their crops. Farmers were

not familiar with these crops before this

initiative, but are now very confident.

Their confidence, and the proven

benefits, are inspiring more people to

shop for the ‘right’ crops: to diversify

their crops, their food sources, and their

income.

M.D. Ferdous Alam is the Field Coordinator of the Reliant Women Development Organization, a partner organisation of Oxfam Hong Kong since 2007. The NGO is based in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Photos courtesy of Reliant Women Development Organization


Hello everyone! In October, a group of us

took to the streets of Mongkok in Hong

Kong to raise awareness about the life of

workers. We are members of the Trade

Group which was set up to focus on the

problems of trade and poverty. I would

like to take this chance to reflect on how

I feel about that action.

It all started a few months ago, in July,

when we went to Indonesia and stayed

with home-based workers, met farmers,

and talked with NGO workers for 11 days.

My host family makes badminton rackets

for a living. They work day and night but

earn a very low income. The experience

of living with them taught me that even

though people are hard-working, they

may not be able to escape from poverty.

This ran against the mainstream belief in

Hong Kong that good, honest work can

solve any problem – it might be seen as

the 'Hong Kong Spirit' or ‘the American

dream’. If work cannot save them from

being poor, then what can they do? I

want to do something to change this, so

I chose to join the trade group.

At first, our group had no idea about

which part of trade we should be

concerned about. As time went on,

and we read more and more about the

issue, we found that the unfairly treated

workers in garment factories touched us

the most, so we decided to take action

for them. These workers often have bad

working conditions, like working long

hours with low pay, and sometimes they

may be exploited, abused or physically

injured or mistreated. Yet, it seems that

too few people in Hong Kong know that

some of the products we use are made

under these conditions. The objective of

our action is to tell people they have the

right to know about workers’ conditions

and that they have the responsibility

to do what they can to improve the

situation.

The form of act ion was song and

conversation. We simply talked with

people passing by and sang them songs.

It seemed that people reacted best to

song, especially to ‘Consumption Behind’,

which is about workers and their rights.

We also placed some posters around the

area so people could learn more about

work conditions. I'm very glad that many

people stopped and talked. They listened.

They read. Some people said, “Good job

girls!” while some said, “I don't agree

with you.” Some responses were kind,

some were unkind, but overall, we felt

good about being able to communicate

with a wide range of people.

Several people asked the same question:

“What can I do for the workers?” Here

comes my own answer. Before joining

Oxfam Club, I wasn't a person who was

concerned about workers even though I

had read about some of the issues in my

Liberal Studies class. But now, I keep my

eyes on the news. I email companies to

tell them that I want ethical products.

Everyone can have a different solution,

and I choose these that suit me most.

In the journey of planning our action,

searching for information, and practicing

it, it was not an easy job for us. We went

through many hard times. The thing that

encouraged us to keep taking action is

that we do want to make some changes

against the injustice in the world. Before,

I was a teenage girl who did not care

much about what happened around her.

Now, through this action, I have been

inspired. I know that there are many

things that deserve our care, once we

use our heart to feel them. The world

is so big, so wide, and knowing what

is happening in it is important. I have

learned a good lesson from this action,

and I hope that you can get something

from reading this too. Thank you for

hearing me.

Bowie Chan, 16, is a member of Oxfam Club, an annual youth education programme set up by Oxfam Hong Kong in 1997.

Oxfam Club members with workers in Indonesia / Photo: Law Fong Chun


Street theatre in which Oxfam Club members acted as workers and consumers / Photo: Shi Dongming

Oxfam Club members 2010 / Photo: Law Fong Chun

9N E WPartnerOrganisations

O.N.EOxfam News E-magazine is published every two months, at

www.oxfam.org.hk/ONE.

To receive a copy in your inbox, please subscribe – it is FREE.

www.oxfam.org.hk/one/subscribe.html

O.N.E (Oxfam News E-magazine) is published every two months by

Oxfam Hong Kong, 17th Floor, China United Centre, 28 Marble Road,

North Point, Hong Kong. The publisher does not necessarily endorse

views expressed by contributors. For permission to reprint articles, please

contact us; normally, we grant permission provided the source is clearly

acknowledged. O.N.E is available free to all, in both an HTML and PDF

version, and in Chinese and English.

A NEW GIFT FROM OXFAM:LITTLE BLACK PIGS

BEIJING • Global Environmental Institution

GANSU • Tianshui Wushan District Education Sport Bureau

• Consultancy team affiliated with Hezhou Renmin Hospital

GUANGDONG • Dongguan Hengli Youwei Legal Consultation Service

GUANGXI • Loving Heart Association of Chinese People's Consultative Conference, Baise city

• Poverty Alleviation Office of Lingyun County, Guangxi Province

SHANDONG • You and Me (A social service centre in Qingdao)

SICHUAN • Poverty Alleviation Office of Beichuan County

YUNNAN • Animal Husbandry and Veterinary station of Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County

In this edition of O.N.E, we highlight the Poverty Alleviation Office of Beichuan

CountyinSichuan.

The new project with Oxfam Hong Kong is based in the village of Taihong, which is located

in Beichuan, the county hardest hit by the earthquake of 12 May 2008. Infrastructure was

destroyed, and farmland ruined.

The plan is to rebuild transportation and agricultural systems with the residents, including

a road measuring 0.5 km, a reservoir and pigsties. The planting of walnut trees and other crops

will also be initiated. The project is expected to last months, and already, the government unit

is working actively and enthusiastically.

CHINA VOICES Speak Out Against Poverty in Mainland China

Oxfam Hong Kong

has launched a book of

stories and photographs

that features the views

and accounts of people

whom oxfam has met in 23

years of anti-poverty work

in Mainland China. The

publication depicts the

lives of farmers, women,

migrantworkers, ethnic

minorities and community workers in China’s impoverished rural areas.

Available at Swindon Books, Kubrick Book Stores, Relay, Dymocks,

CUHK Press, Times Publishing, Hong Kong Readers, MCCM Creations, Xiyao

Book Store and Oxfam’s online shop at www.oxfam.org.hk

Every day, Oxfam Hong Kong works alongside

hundreds of groups around the world, from

small NGOs to international bodies, from

government departments of developing countries

to community groups based in Hong Kong.

Here are 9 ‘partner organisations’ that we are

supporting for the first time, all in China.

“With the help of Oxfam,

I have more pigs on my farm. I would

like to build a small house

for my family with the income.”

-Hastamaya Thada, farmer, Nepal

The little black pig is new at www.oxfamunwrapped.org.hk, and it looks like it will be a bestseller.

The animal holds sweet memories, or maybe bittersweet.

Do you remember your days at kindergarten when teachers would stamp a little pig on your

homework if you were a bit sloppy and a rabbit if you were neat? Yet, it is the pig that represents a

livelihood for millions of farmers around the world. And in Nepal, it is the black pig.

At Oxfam Unwrapped, the real pig goes to a poor community that needs it, while you get the

satisfaction of giving, and the person in whose name you have made the donation also shares the

joy. Oxfam provides a card with a personalised message for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries,

graduations, Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Lunar New Year or any other special day. Do we need

a reason to give, to share?

Since 2006, Oxfam Unwrapped has offered a collection of extraordinary gift ideas – 37 to date.

You can choose from a school, a goat, seeds, a little black pig and many more.

O.N.E December 2010

Documents

Transcript of O.N.E December 2010