Development work
Development work - sounds technical? Dull even? Try 'vital'. Because ’development’ is at the heart of what we do – and that's helping poor people find lasting answers to chronic poverty.
Spot the difference
In the right hands, a little help goes a very long way. Here are a few examples of poor people doing it for themselves, with support from Oxfam.
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Doing development – at a glance
Poverty. Too big to tackle? Not in our book. That's why we work successfully with local people worldwide, helping them to improve their lives for good.
We use our experience
Oxfam has been 'in the field' fighting poverty for over 60 years. This makes us one of the most experienced development agencies in the world, and we now work in more than 70 countries. Sometimes we gain experience in an emergency, like the Asian Tsunami, and it leads to long-term involvement with communities. In the Tsunami region, for example, we're now helping people get back on their feet - not only by rebuilding their homes, but by supporting people's efforts to earn a better living.
We work in partnerships
The best people to help poor communities are community members themselves. That's because no-one understands their problems better than they do. So listening is absolutely vital to finding lasting solutions, and making a project successful. In fact, Oxfam mostly works in partnership with local organisations – supporting initiatives that are their own.
We advise
People living with poverty have the ideas and the determination. But they're sometimes short on expert guidance. We've picked up a lot of know-how in 60 years, and our specialists are in constant demand - from advising poor coffee farmers on how to get more for their beans, to training health workers treating the very poorest in their communities.
We fund
We use every penny of donors' money wisely, carefully funding projects so local people can find the best way to improve their situation. Oxfam funds more than 2,000 projects around the world, and needs support it can count on - year in, year out.
We campaign
Bringing about the changes poor people want also means speaking out for them at the highest levels. The way we work helps us do this with considerable authority, because we're working with their communities all the time. In Mali, for example, we've supported projects with poor cotton farmers for years. This helped us really understand their problems - and campaign at international trade talks for a fairer world price for cotton.
