the agency’s largest programmes.
the years!
CSR in Hong Kong
Bali and Climate Poverty
Super-cyclone SIDR Update
Three Schools and 1,000 Wishes in Laos
08 20
Village in Vietnam, in 1997 and 2007
y ar nu Ja
How Vietnam has changed over
revolves around better farming, water,
year, a pilot project began in Thanh
Actually, Oxfam’s work in Vietnam
education and health care in remote
Hoa Province for a pro-poor bamboo
In both 1997 and 2007, Director
started in Hong Kong. In the mid-
rural areas such as where John Sayer
industry; now, in 2008, a regional
General John Sayer visited the same
1980s, tens of thousands of Vietnamese
visited. In 1995, hard-hitting research on
consortium is developing viable business
Oxfam project site in the remote hills
migrants were living here behind
landmines near the old border between
opportunities for the more than one
of Nghe An, a very poor province near
different things to different people.
barbed-wire, in sub-standard temporary
North and South Vietnam helped raise
million bamboo farmers throughout
the Laos border. Residents had worked
More motorbikes and televisions (say
camps. Oxfam lobbied for a more
awareness and support. In 2001, pro-
the Mekong region.
hard to improve their lives, doubling
the men in the village); more respect
humane policy in Hong Kong, and we
poor advocacy on accession terms to
Yes, change is what Oxfam is all
if not tripling their rice crop, the main
from other villages, and daughters
acknowledged that poverty in Vietnam
the World Trade Organization (WTO)
about, in this happy 20th anniversary
source of income. The progress called
who are more marriageable (say the
was one of the root causes of the
drew attention to the importance of
year of Oxfam in Vietnam, and every
for a celebration, and the villagers
women); more beautiful clothes and
refugee problem.
protecting the income of farmers.
year.
threw a party to rejoice: John Sayer was
houses (say the children). Vietnam is the O.N.E feature story
one of the happy guests. Change for the better. Perhaps this is what Oxfam’s projects are all about. Yet, the same change can mean
this month, as the year 2008 marks the
So, in 1988, we began projects in
Since 2004 we have supported the safe
Vietnam – one of the first international
return of people (mostly women and
Madeleine Marie Slavick
development agencies to do so.
girls, and mostly ethnic minorities) who
Editor, Oxfam News E-magazine
20th year that Oxfam Hong Kong has
We h ave h e lp e d b rin g a b o u t
have been trafficked, and preventive
Oxfam Hong Kong
been working in the country – one of
many changes. Core day-to-day work
work with people at risk. In the same
emagazine@oxfam.org.hk
Making Water Run Uphill Words and photos by John Sayer
DAY ONE
I am in a small town in the hills of
central Vietnam, close to Laos. The area has a long history of poverty, particularly among the ethnic minorities who live in these remote and inaccessible villages. There is no hotel. The government guesthouse has elec tricit y and fluorescent lights; when I first came here in 1998, the room had oil lamps and candles. Both times, we use mosquito nets.
in Vietnam
When we made that first visit, local officials brought us to areas with serious poverty and health problems. Tomorrow we will head deep into the hills to visit one of those villages that Oxfam began to work in ten years ago.
DAY THREE
As daylight arrives, roosters crow.
benefits in terms of their standing and
People stir. I wash next to the well,
relationships. “Our daughters are more
using a strategy I devised in rural India,
marriageable when people know they
needing only a single bucket of water
come from Nga My,” said one proud
and a ladle. Many of the villagers have
mother. “Now we feel good when we
been up longer and have prepared
visit our relatives in other villages,”
congee for our breakfast.
another smiled. “Our husbands now give
Today we want to hear some of
in Vietnam DAY TWO
the benefits of the projects in terms
John Sayer at the edge of 92 hectares of newly created, and irrigated, rice fields (also pictured on page 1) / Photos: Nguyen Quoc Tuan
us flowers on women’s day – they never used to,” said a third woman.
of people’s wellbeing. This wellbeing
The men emphasised other im-
goes beyond economic or material
provements. “When we sell a cow, we
improvements, which are relatively easy
no longer have to use the money for
to assess: 92 hectares of land cleared
grain to cover a food gap. We can buy a
and irrigated; food production up by
motorbike or a television.”
100% (from 97kg per person per year at
“When you see people on television,
the start of the project to 194kg, and in
living in the city with modern con-
some areas as much as 300kg); a serious
veniences, do you want to leave the
We are up early to eat congee, then
homes away from the prime flat land
protecting crops and livestock against
food gap eliminated for most families
village?” asks one Oxfam worker. “No,”
get into the car for a four hour journey
to higher ground. They also agreed to
disease. After the first year, even the
and reduced to only one month gap
a man replies. “We are not unhappy
to Nga My. The road starts well. There
do the work of digging the irrigation
most sceptical villagers were convinced
for the poorest families; enough cash is
when we see people like that on TV.
is a new bridge, then a sealed road
canal.
that the new fields were going to
being earned so livestock don’t need to
We just want to work for more success
change their lives.
be sold; and 32 motorbikes now ply the
to improve our own lives. We know
village road.
that can happen. Even children who are
winding over a mountain pass and deep
A lot of surveying was carried out
into a valley. But much of the ride is on
to see what land could be cleared and
And now, Mr. Thin is joining our visit
a dirt road not passable in the rainy
levelled. A weir about three metres high
to the village. When he had finished
But what do these statistics really
getting more education return to the
season.
was built upriver, and a canal less than
the initial project with Oxfam, which
mean to the villagers? If Oxfam uses a
village, they know they belong here,
Ten years ago, we needed ten hours
one metre across and one meter deep.
ran from 2000 to 2004, the district
‘one size fits all’ approach to measuring
and they know they can improve their
to travel by boat or a whole day by
After months of hard work, the once
government quickly recognised his
benefits, we might find ourselves
lives and the lives of their families here
motorbike: there was no dirt road,
jungle became 92 hectares of irrigated
skills: he now heads the Agriculture
carefully measuring and recording things
in the village.”
just rutted mountain paths too narrow
rice land. Water flowed, quickly, along
Department for the district.
for four-wheel vehicles. On those first
four kilometres of the valley floor.
that don’t matter, while completely
We also talked to schoolchildren.
In the evening, the villagers held a
missing changes that people cherish.
Many are too young to really make a
visits, Oxfam field staff talked with the
When we neared Nga My, we left
celebration to welcome us to Nga My.
Some things mean a lot to men, but
comparison of ‘before the rice fields’
community to identify what the women
our vehicle. The village bridge had been
Everyone around seemed to be helping.
absolutely nothing to women, or vice
and ‘after the rice fields’, but we did ask
and men felt were the most pressing
swept away in a flood, so we walked
After a collective meal in which people
versa. We need to break down language
them what makes them happy.
problems in their village, and what they
over the narrow, makeshift one. The rice
turned up in shifts, it was time for
barriers, gender barriers, cultural
“Love from parents and grand-
felt could be done. The villagers were
fields were prominent, stretching green
singing and dancing, and I recall the
barriers, barriers between different
parents” came one answer. “New
unanimous about the biggest challenge:
all along the path into the village. That
many times when people in Hong Kong
minority groups in a village, between
clothes and visiting friends during
‘We don’t have enough rice for about
was Oxfam’s contribution in terms of
ask me if it is hard doing a job where
the rich and poor in a village, to get the
Tet (Lunar New Year),” said others.
half of the year’. Between February
infrastructure, but we also supported
you see so much poverty and suffering.
clearest picture.
“Beautiful houses” ranked high, along
and September, many families faced a
Mr. Hoang Sy Thin, an agricultural
I always reply that we see the best side
Although the visit is quick, we held
with “good marks in school”. We also
food gap.
expert, to work with the villagers in
of most people. Supporters generously
separate discussions with groups of
asked them what they imagined the
This part of Vietnam consists of rocky
farming the irrigated rice: we had
donate their money and their time,
women, of men, and of children, to
village would be like in ten years time.
ridges plunging into narrow valleys.
not forgotten people’s concern about
and poor communities are generous
see what they valued about the Oxfam
“Oh, we don’t know,” came the reply.
Nga My is one of very few areas with
being inexperienced at working these
and often in a mood of celebration
project.
“We will be away at university.”
some flat land in the valley, and a river
new fields.
because of the work they are doing
I am certain that ten years ago, none
ran through it, several metres below.
With an excellent approach to his
lowland fields saved a huge amount of
of the children would have had the
Back then, villagers would farm some
job, Mr. Thin moved to the village, made
Night falls and we are farmed out to
time, and produced a lot more food.
ambition to go to university, and few
of the more gradual slopes, with the
friends with the residents, grew his own
different homes to sleep. The houses,
“I can look at the rice fields from my
would even have attended secondary
climb up to their fields taking many
garden as a living lesson in what was
entirely constructed of wood with
house, I can work for a short time and
school. But the improved standard of
hours. Women would carry their young
possible, and in general, spent a lot of
beautifully formed beams and struts
then go home to rest,” one woman said.
living, helped not only by the Oxfam
children up with them, and sometimes
time visiting families and learning about
under pitched roofs, are raised about
“I have time to help my children with
project, but also by recent government
families slept in shacks near the fields,
their needs and problems. He was soon
ten feet off the ground on sturdy round
their schoolwork,” said another. They all
work to bring electricity to the village,
as the walk back home was too long to
liked and trusted, and has been able
stilts. I hear the animals grunt and snore
agreed there was less malaria now.
have broadened the horizons of the
do day after day.
to work with the villagers on farming
underneath as I sleep on a mat under a
methods for the new rice fields, and on
mosquito net.
So a joint plan was proposed. Oxfam
with Oxfam.
For the women, it was clear that the
The women also pointed to
children. The simple dirt road was also a government effort, undertaken after
discussed with the officials and the
Oxfam committed to the irrigation
villagers the possibility of building a
scheme.
small weir, a low dam to raise the water
The children’s hopes for the future
level. This would be built upstream, and
are bold, but realistic. Their generation
an irrigation channel would divert some
will have opportunities and aspirations
of the river water through the valley to
their grandparents could not have
irrigate the flat land, which would be
dreamed of, and it is these changes that
cleared of the thick jungle.
are at the core of Oxfam’s work in any
Some people were sceptical, “You can’t bring water that far! You can’t make water run uphill!” Others were anxious about the plan. Although they
community, rural or urban, in Vietnam or elsewhere. John Sayer is Director General of Oxfam Hong Kong.
knew it was possible to produce more food in flat, irrigated land, they had no experience of growing rice in paddy fields. They were worried that the crop would fail, they would lose their investment, and the community would be let down. After a lot of discussions, a plan was settled. Oxfam provided some of the funds, the government added more, and the villagers agreed to move their
Villagers in 2002, when Mr. Hoang Sy Thin (2nd from left) was Oxfam’s extension worker. He is now the head of the district’s Agriculture Department. / Photo: Nguyen Van Son
I just returned from northern Laos,
WISHES in Laos Words and images by Madeleine Marie Slavick
“We are fine.”
where Oxfam has helped improve
Parents welcome us into their raised
farmers' health and food and income,
wooden homes: open smiles, water in
develop curricula for ethnic minority
a plastic pitcher, and proud stories of
children, train teachers, and pitch in
their children going to school. Most of
some of the costs for better primary
the fathers, and none of the mothers,
schools in remote areas – the district,
never had the opportunity.
province and the villagers themselves contributed the most.
Each community also welcomes us with a ba ci, a Buddhist-animist
When we arrived, the three new
ceremony to mark birth, marriage, a
schools had all just opened. Right in
homecoming, a recovery from an illness,
the village. With walls of concrete and
and all things happy. Our ba ci celebrates
roofs of zinc, the materials of choice.
the new schools, which took about a
Each primary school had a huge dirt
year to build. Together, we drank rice
playground in front, a bell made with
whisky and ate sticky purple rice in
a stick and the rim of a wheel, and
small lidded baskets, and very tender
sometimes a small vegetable garden
pork from a freshly slaughtered pig.
fenced with bamboo slats. Inside:
Villagers tie white cotton strings around
blackboards, cotton-stuffed erasers,
our wrists, talk-singing their blessings
daily flowers for the teacher, and desk
of peace and wholeness and health,
and chair sets made by teenagers in
and ending with a final 'whoo-ooooh'.
another Oxfam project.
Our visiting team of ten – the vice
But the most important thing we
president of the women’s union, several
saw was change. In the past, youngsters
government staf f from education
had to cross a river to get to school,
departments, a security officer and
which could be dangerous in the
Oxfam colleagues – must have received
monsoons. Other students had to walk
about 1,000 blessings.
six kilometres each way. Classrooms were
Evening arrives. A field of stars. The
cold, schoolbooks not always relevant to
whole moon is visible even though just
ethnic minority culture, teachers had a
a crescent is lit, underside. I look at the
tendency to resign, and parents were
78 wishes wrapped around my wrists
not motivated to send their children to
as we leave the remote carless villages
school under these circumstances. Many
and head back to Vientiane. I think the
kids worked the fields instead.
hardworking parents must be happy
Teachers welcome us into their
for making the new schools a reality,
freshly whitewashed classrooms, with
and I think their daughters and sons
the students rising, eyes wide, hands
appreciate the life that has been made
clasped, and a sa ba dee en masse: the
for them. Wishes do come true.
greeting of “Hello!” We reply sa ba bo.
Madeleine Slavick is the editor of O.N.E.
New schools, happy schoolchildren. Oxfam supported villagers to build three new primary schools in rural Laos. Some schools have a small garden, and the children – all ethnic minority students – learn vocabulary related to farming.
Bangladesh SIDR Update
More than nine million people
tablets, delivering chlorinated water,
about 30,000.
felt the super-cyclone that hit late at
cleaning ponds and canals, training
Distribution of goods has been a
night on the 15th of November, right
people on how to test water, building
challenge. In some remote areas, boat
in the middle of harvest time. A huge
sealed latrines and conducting health
is the only means of transport, and
disaster.
education activities. Roads and canals
low tides and fog have interfered. Yet
Oxfam has been working alongside
have been cleared and repaired, animal
overall, survivors are meeting the huge
community organisations in six of
carcasses safely disposed of, and for
task of rebuilding their communities,
the hardest hit districts. Together,
shelter, roofing kits and metal sheeting
and coordination has been good among
we have improved the water supply
are being provided. Household items
agencies, government departments and
and sanitation services (a top priority)
such as blankets, buckets, pans, clothing,
the military. It is work that will take
through installing new wells and
and soap have been provided for about
months, if not years, and it is never
repairing old ones, providing purification
15,000 families and food packages for
really finished.
Oxfam trains people to test their water supply to make sure it is safe to drink. / Photo: Oxfam Great Britain
What can people do about
The Climate Crisis Climate Change and Poverty? is a Poverty Crisis Please tell us at: The biggest ever UN conference on
http://forum.oxfam.org.hk/?c_lang=eng
the climate crisis was held at the end of 2007 in Bali. An Oxfam delegation was there. The news is mixed. Overall, the conference should have achieved much more. Good news is that the talks solidified the need to assist poor countries at risk
ONELINKs OXFAM HONG KONG WEBSITE www.oxfam.org.hk
of climatic crises, and the Adaptation Fund is now in place, with a balanced governance struc ture which gives developing countries a stronger voice in funding decisions. Yet, a very serious drawback is that there is no provision for scaled-up funding before 2012 to support urgent needs, and there is no mandate for the negotiations to set binding targets for developed countries. Good news is that ‘Bali Roadmap’ – which will be negotiated over the next two years – is the first plan for all countries to tackle climate change,
OXFAM BOOKS Oxfam Hong Kong has created more than 30 books, some in Hong Kong, some in Taiwan, some on the Mainland, some in Chinese, some in English, some bilingual, and some mostly with images, which cross all languages. Through publishing the voices of poor people around the world, we want to change the way people think about poverty. We want justice. Oxfam’s most recently supported supported the publication of 西部．希望 大山里的孩子們 (a book on education in western China, in Simplified Chinese). To order books: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/list?lang=iso-8859-1
more specifically, to agree on a set of emissions targets. The bad news is that the Bush Administration and its allies blocked progress so that there is now
E-NEWS Issued every month in English and Chinese, this e-bulletin provides the latest
no clear range for the global emissions
from Oxfam Hong Kong, with bite-sized news on emergencies, campaigns,
cuts. USA dragged in Canada, Japan and
community projects, public education and fundraising. Oxfam e-News is emailed
Russia, all of which are signatories to the
to more than 80,000 volunteers, campaigners, donors, Oxfam Trailwalkers, council
Kyoto Protocol, but which have already
members and subscribers. The Editor is Vivian Leung.
made clear that they will resist taking on the 25-40% emissions reduction range set out in the Protocol. The Adaptation Fund and the Bali
To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/16830 (English version)
www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/7263 (Traditional Chinese)
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Roadmap are a matter of life and death for poor people: millions of poor people are already struggling with more
Media stunt in Bali: about 15 Oxfam polar bears shouted “Save Humans Too!”
MOKUNG
frequent droughts and flooding, and
Ox fam Hong Kong publishes this
many more millions will be at risk in
quarterly magazine in Traditional Chinese.
the very near future. The climate crisis
Mokung, which means both “no poverty”
is definitely a poverty crisis.
and “infinity”, highlights a different
For more details on the Bali conference, visit the Oxfam International blog on climate change: http://oxfaminternational.wordpress.com/
aspect of development in each issue. The Editors are Tung Tsz-kwan and Fiona Shek. The January 2008 edition looks at Migration issues.
Largest
CSR Survey in Hong Kong
To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/ bookstore/?lang=big5 Mokung is online at www.oxfam.org.hk/ public/contents/category?cid=1017&lang=big5
ONE
Over 10,000 companies took part in
as part of their mandate, only 14%
this recently launched survey, creating
currently have guidelines against sex
O.N.E – Oxfam News E-magazine – is
a useful record of the state of CSR in
discrimination, 14% on age, 13% on
uploaded every month, in the middle of
Hong Kong. The crux of the situation is
disability, and about 10% on race.
the month, at www.oxfam.org.hk/one.
that only 23% of companies are aware of CSR.
Recommendations include more incentives for companies to begin
As Hong Kong is a major import-
CSR, listed companies to be required
export economy, it is disappointing
to publish CSR activities in annual
that only 31% of the companies say
reports, and the government to lead
they have policies or measures to ensure
in promoting and practising CSR.
that their suppliers comply with laws or
Oxfam Hong Kong, which produced
regulations, and only 16% have policies
its first CSR resource kit for companies
or measures on good employment
in 2004 and is currently updating it, was
practices. The majority (72%) say, “It is
interviewed in the initial stages of the
up to market force[s] to determine my
research.
company’s dealings with its suppliers.” While 61% see equal opportunity
The 87-page report can be accessed at: http:// www.cpce.gov.hk/eng/images/report07.doc.
To receive a copy in your inbox, please subscribe - it is free.
Hong Kong
17th Floor, 28 Marble Road, Northpoint, Hong Kong O. N .E, published in the middle of each month, is also online:
www.oxfam.org.hk/one//
COVER: Madeleine Marie Slavick
ONEquestion