In the lead-up to International Women's Day, here are five stories from Oxfam’s work that are warming our hearts this winter.
The year has just started and already we are being inundated with stories of tragedy, conflict, and political strife. Something we could all stand to hear more about is love.
At Oxfam, we have the honor of bearing witness to people’s stories. We have seen moments of tenderness in even the darkest places. We have the privilege of being there with people as they get back on their feet, put food in their kids’ mouths, and share life-changing lessons with their friends.
Here are few of the moments we’ve been a part of to remind you that love can be nurtured anywhere.
Helping girls find their voices
Nazia has become a mentor in her village in Pakistan. With support from Oxfam’s partner Sindh Agricultural Forestry Workers & Coordinating Organization, she has been helping young women in her village become vocal and financially strong.
She works with the organization to identity which women in the village should receive grants and educates young women on gender-based violence as well empowerment.
“People in this village trust me and I am trying to protect that trust,” she said. “Us women, we must stand together and utilize our resources to empower ourselves.”
The transformative power of fresh water
Halima lives in Kubi Dibayu, Kenya, where unprecedented droughts have decimated livestock and left families without access to dependable food and water sources. She told Oxfam that women in her community had to walk long distances in dangerous conditions just to fetch water from a dam where the water quality was questionable.
Recently Oxfam, Australian Aid, and Strategies for Northern Development partnered to build a borehole in Kubi Dibayu, which is providing water to more than 4,000 households. Now, Halima spends the time saved fetching water escorting her children to school.
"Everyone is pleased with the new borehole providing clean water in Kubi Dibayu,” she said. “The borehole helped me start a kitchen garden and now I have easy access to water and vegetables."
Finding a safe space
After surviving violence in Sudan that took the lives of her husband and teenage children, Nadia and her young son Ismail are finding some peace at a refugee center in Renk, South Sudan. The center provides a safe space for children like Ismail to play and express themselves through art.
In Renk, Nadia received cash assistance, buckets, dignity kits, and basic supplies from Oxfam to help her settle into this new phase. “Life is not easy here,” she said, “but it’s safer, we have toilets and bathrooms and I get a bit of cash support from Oxfam where I’m able to buy some food for my son.”
Ensuring there’s enough to eat
Elizabeth lives in Mchinji district, Malawi, where food insecurity is an issue. In a typical year, Elizabeth and her husband could expect their fields to yield around 17 buckets of maize. However, following the 2024 El Niño season, their last harvest was only one and a half buckets.
Through an Oxfam in Malawi program in partnership with Ireland's Civil Society Partnership and local organizations, she and her family received cash-based food assistance. The cash came just in time—they were down to just a small amount of flour. Elizabeth was unsure how she would feed her five children. Now, they will be able to buy food and other necessities.
Elizabeth plans to use some of the funds to purchase maize and manure for the next planting season, hoping for better yields in the future.
Lifting up one another
In Marsabit County, Kenya, a group of local women came together in 2018 to take a collective approach to a community issue: how to continue farming as a livelihood in the face of climate change. They created the Manyatta Konso Women’s Group as a support system to have each other’s backs financially.
After enrolling in a project with Oxfam partner PACIDA, the women’s group gained invaluable literacy skills. PACIDA also linked members to financial institutions so they could obtain credit to grow their businesses and invest in longer-term projects. Now the group has created what is essentially its own savings and credit association, allowing members to contribute and borrow money. They have also created a social fund to aid members during emergencies.
"We no longer feel vulnerable," said Halima Abdo, a member of the group. "We feel empowered."