2009 in pictures

January
Following a fierce 22-day conflict in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of people were left without adequate water, food and fuel. A Gaza DEC appeal raised £3 million in its first week, providing vital supplies of blankets, food, water, sanitation and medical equipment to 800,000 people. Oxfam is still there, offering vital support - thanks to you.
Gaza crisis: Oxfam's response

Photo: Mohammed Ali

February
Oxfam was one of the pioneers of Fairtrade more than 40 years ago, so we were delighted when Cadbury's announced that the UK's favourite chocolate bar – Dairy Milk – was going Fairtrade. A landmark moment for the Fairtrade movement, announced during Fairtrade Fortnight, and great news for cocoa farmers and chocolate lovers everywhere, we reckon.
Dairy Milk goes Fairtrade
Photo: Sarah Errington

March
Sad news came on 4 March, when Oxfam and 12 other international aid agencies were expelled from northern Sudan by the Sudanese government. Our projects in the region had been supporting 600,000 people – like these school children in Port Sudan, who were helped with a classroom, books and desks. We'll keep lobbying hard to get back in so we can continue our life-changing work.
More on Oxfam in northern Sudan
Photo: Oxfam Sudan[more stories from March] 

April
Climate change is such a massive issue, that we began the countdown to Copenhagen early with the launch of our Here and Now campaign – on this website, and on posters and billboards all over the country. We've been focusing on the people we work with who are already being hard hit by climate change, like Sufia in Bangladesh (pictured). The message: climate change costs lives.

Photo: Dan Chung[more stories from April] 

May
We all love a challenge. That's why we started the poverty-busting Trailwalker trek across the South Downs all those years ago. And that's why, this May, we launched an even bigger challenge. The all-new Trailtrekker is a truly epic, Herculean walk through 100kms of Yorkshire's finest rugged countryside. We’re doubling the number of teams for 2010 – so get training.

Photo: Toby Adams[more stories from May] 

June
"Demand action on climate change until you're blue in the face" – that was the message from stars like Jarvis Cocker and Fatboy Slim as the festival season kicked off in June. They very generously volunteered their time to get a blue paintjob – joining the thousands of you who volunteer in our shops, at fundraising events, and campaign at festivals every year. You're what makes Oxfam tick.
Photo: Rankin

July
We've always been big on books. And to prove it we launched Oxfam Bookfest, a fortnight of brilliant bookishness, events and readings, on 4 July. To mark the occasion we published Ox-Tales, four collections of exciting, new short stories from the glitterati of UK and Irish literature, including Mark Haddon, Joanna Trollope and Sebastien Faulks. Bookfest will be back in 2010.

Photo: Mark Chilvers[more stories from July] 

August
Fittingly, as World Water Week (16-22 August) came and went, we were busy doing what we do best – providing safe drinking water to people who need it most, all over the world. Like here, at an Oxfam water point in the Swat Valley, Pakistan. Oxfam launched an emergency response to provide support to around 360,000 displaced women, men and children following fighting in the region.

Photo: Oxfam[more stories from August] 

September
A traumatic month for people in East Asia, as typhoon Ketsana hit Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines, an earthquake hit Indonesia, and another typhoon, Parma, hit the Philippines. On the other side of the world, drought pushed 23 million East Africans towards severe hunger as rains failed for a fifth year. Is this further evidence of the increased frequency of climate-related disasters?

Photo: Oxfam[more stories from September] 

October
Following an emotional visit to climate change affected communities in Bangladesh, artist and animator Jamie Hewlett (Gorillaz, Tank Girl) was inspired to paint a series of evocative watercolours. They went on show in London, and limited edition prints went on sale online – highlighting the human impact of our changing climate ahead of December's climate talks in Copenhagen in December.

Image: Jamie Hewlett[more stories from October] 

November
With the festive season approaching, Ricky Gervais helped to promote an alternative to socks, shower gel gift packs and other rubbish Xmas presents. As well as donating a special range of Flanimals gifts to our Oxfam Unwrapped gift catalogue, he volunteered behind the counter of our Oxford shop with a life-sized version of a Flanimal.

Photo: Mark Chilvers[more stories from November] 

December
Over 50,000 of you braved the cold, dressed up in blue, waved your banners, and sang your hearts out at the UK's largest ever climate change demonstration, ahead of the world’s most important climate change summit in Copenhagen. The summit ended in disappointment, but that's just made us even more determined to continue the fight for climate justice until we get the fair and safe climate deal the world's poorest people - and all humankind - need.

Photo: J Evans[more stories from December]