Djimon Hounsou

Oscar-nominated actor Djimon Hounsou is a powerful voice against poverty and injustice and has supported Oxfam's work for more than five years. Hounsou has advocated for poor farmers who have been affected by unfair international trade rules and has campaigned against trade-distorting US farm subsidies.

Actor and model Djimon Hounsou has been a powerful voice against poverty on behalf of Oxfam for more than five years.

For Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign, Hounsou in 2005 traveled to Mali, where he met cotton farmers who were struggling because US subsidies were forcing crop prices down in Africa. In Mali, he worked alongside farmers, some of whom make a profit of just 16 cents a day. Following his trip, Hounsou became a determined and vocal campaigner. He spoke at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia and went on to lobby world leaders at the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. He urged industrial nations to boost aid to Africa, cancel debt, and remove trade barriers to help poor communities and lift the continent out of poverty. He spoke as an African – he is originally from Benin – who understands the struggle African farmers face. Hounsou returned to the US to support Oxfam’s work on Farm Bill legislation, campaigning against US farm subsidies that hurt farmers in poor countries.

Recently, Hounsou began campaigning with Oxfam as part of the fight against climate change. In 2009, he opened the UN General Assembly meeting on climate change in New York with a compelling speech about the impact of climate change on developing nations.

Oscar-nominated for his roles in Blood Diamond (2006) and In America (2002), Hounsou has supported a variety of fundraising activities for Oxfam, including donating tickets to the premiere of his movie Push (2009) for Oxfam’s eBay auction.