Land Grabs

Since the food price spikes of 2008, wealthy companies have invested heavily in cheap agricultural land in poor countries, often for commercial use. But in many cases, the land sold is actually being used by poor families to grow food. These families are often forcibly evicted with little or no warning or compensation, and in many cases the land is either left idle by investors who know it will only grow in value, or used in ways that reduce food production. So it’s time for effective global rules to get land grabs under control – rules which ensure local communities see the benefits of investments and which help make sure that governments provide secure access to land for smallholder farmers, and especially women.

What can you do?

There have been major developments since we launched our land grabs report into evictions, some violent, in Uganda, where at least 22,500 people lost their homes and land and many have been left destitute.

Recently, members of the evicted community had reported feeling intimidated and harassed after questioning by workers from the New Forests Company (NFC). Since this action was launched, and thanks to pressure on NFC, we have now received assurance from the company that it will halt this questioning of community leaders and conduct an external investigation. We will continue to monitor the situation on the ground in order to confirm that this has happened.

However, we need to maintain pressure on the NFC to ensure that the external investigation results in justice for these vulnerable communities in Uganda. Send an email to the Chairman of NFC, Robert Devereux, demanding he take immediate action.

Click here to email the New Forests Company.

GUEST SPEAKER Janine Woodward will be talking about her experiences of Oxfam’s work in Zambia.

Thursday 24th February 7:00-8:30
Oxhibitions, Above Salisbury Oxfam Bookshop, 10 Catherine Street, Salisbury, SP1 2DA

All welcome, RSVP to Agatha Morris on:
07769342545 or amor...@oxfam.org.uk

Download a copy of the poster for you to print and display.

Be part of Oxfam’s NEW Salisbury Fundraising Group

We’re looking for enthusiastic people to help raise money for Oxfam’s vital work through fundraising events in Salisbury.

The money you raise will help to alleviate poverty and suffering worldwide by funding health, education and water sanitation projects.

Meet like-minded people and have fun with a team of inspiring individuals.

This is a unique opportunity to have a voice in Oxfam and develop your skills.

Your group’s fundraising can be anything and everything – from cake sales to gala dinners. Furthermore there is a role to suit everyone and the choice is up to you!

What can I do?

• Do – If you are interested in joining this new group contact Agatha Morris: amor...@oxfam.org.uk, 07769342545
• Do – If you can think of somewhere you could put some flyers, you can download and print these out…
• Explore – Find out more about Oxfam’s vital work here

Be Amazing : Be Humankind

Events Include:

Nick Heyward in Candlelit Concert at Salisbury Cathedral

NICK HEYWARD’s career in music began at 19 with the band HAIRCUT 100. The band had tremendous success in the UK and in the States with songs such as “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)”, “Fantastic Day”, “Nobody’s Fool” and “Love Plus One”. After leaving HAIRCUT 100 Nick had great success as a solo artist and is performing at the Cathedral to help a cause very dear to his heart – Oxfam.

Find out more on the Facebook event

Tickets cost from £10 and are available from Salisbury Playhouse or online here!

For all the following events, entry is gained by purchasing a wristband here for the bargain price of £5. These should then be collected on the day from Salisbury Oxfam Gallery between 10:30am-4:30pm and 7pm-8pm. There will be some availability on the day, for £7, from Salisbury Oxfam Gallery between 10:30am and 4:30pm or at some venues after 6pm.

DIRTY ROUGE w/ Slhtt Shwgrls, TheOprtn + Ot Lke A Ln+ RECKON at the Old Ale House
Big charity rock night in the heart of Salisbury promises to offer the best up and coming bands Wiltshire has to offer!

Find out more on the Facebook event

Comedy at the Winchester Gate
Night of UK Underground comedy comes to Salisbury

Find out more on the Facebook event

Acoustic Night @ The Boathouse
Open Mic / contact us – All acoustic All Night – well 8pm – 11.30pm. Curated by Salisbury’s Darrell Ford, who happens to be playing two gigs in one night! This show will feature the best Wiltshire has to offer in the solo stakes!

Find out more on the Facebook event

At the moment there are some particular positions we are on the look out for, so take at look at the positions below that take your eye, and if you’re interested in finding out more contact us through the details on each!

• Accessories Sorter and Pricer
• Homewares Sorter and Pricer
• Gift Aided Goods Sorter and Pricer
• Men’s Clothing Sorter and Pricer
• Till Operators
• Toy Sorter and Pricer
• Women’s and Children’s Clothing Sorter and Pricer

We look forward to hearing from you!

At the moment, we’re looking for for acts, especially acoustic, who would be interested in playing at any time during October and in particular on the 23rd. We can help match you up with venues, though if you have anything planned anyway and would like to get involved with Oxjam as well we’d be delighted to hear about that too! Email oxja...@googlemail.com with any offers, questions or any other ideas.

As well as this, we’re looking for any volunteers to help us out on the day: collecting donations, giving out fliers and just enjoying the gigs! If you think you can help out with that drop us an email at oxj...@salisburyoxfam.org.uk and we’ll be in touch.

You can find out more about the plans and make contact by joining the OXJAM WILTSHIRE TAKEOVER Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=105570092820071 or following the dedicated Twitter feed @oxjamwiltshire – though we’ll also be retweeting key information on our feed @salisburyoxfam

Finally, if what all you really want to do is enjoy some fantastic live music this October: keep your eyes on this website, there’ll be plenty more news coming over the next few months!

During Fairtrade Fortnight, at Salisbury Oxfam (general shop only), you can swap a bag of quality donations for a delicious box of Cafédirect tea. It’ll help you kickstart the aim of swapping your usual brand of goods for the Fairtrade equivalent during Fairtrade Fortnight (22nd February – 7th March 2010) and tasting the increase quality without adding much to your shopping bill – and guaranteeing a fair price for third world producers.

While you’re in store you can also stock up on other Fairtrade goods as we have a fantastic selection with something for everyone!

What can I do?

• Shopping – drop into Salisbury Oxfam and buy some great Fairtrade goods
• Fundraising – drop in a bag of quality donations and we’ll give you a free pack of tea to get you started!
• Campaigning – register for The Big Swap at the Fairtrade Foundation website

Please note: offer available while stocks last and are limited to one per person.

Israeli air-raids have caused severe damage to the civilian infrastructure of Gaza, with many areas being left without water or electricity. The already severely limited health services in Gaza are now completely overwhelmed. All hospitals are reporting being out of critical supplies, and the basic supplies they do have are running out fast.

Oxfam’s response

In the last few days we have had to put our ongoing programme in Gaza on hold; our staff, and the staff of our partner organisations, are sheltering while the air raids continue.

Our programmes include ‘cash-for-work’ providing paid employment to agricultural communities, food vouchers which provide locally-grown fresh produce at fair prices, and work improving public health by helping maintain clean water supplies. Programmes such as this help markets to stay functioning and keep people healthy.

What can I do?

Fundraising – We urgently need to resume activities and respond to the increased needs arising from this latest crisis as soon as possible. Please give now.

Campaigning – Read more about the news from Gaza on Oxfam GB’s blog which currently has many updates from there and sign our ceasefire petition.

What can I do?

• Campaigning – Call for a strong international agreement to tackle climate change

• Poor people in developing countries spend between 50-80 per cent of their income on food
• Wheat prices are up 120 per cent and rice prices have risen by 75 per cent

The issue is already being played out in food riots across the globe; Mexico, Egypt, Tanzania and Senegal have all seen their people take to the streets.

Why is it happening?
Climate change, high oil prices, increased demand from China and India, population growth and the growing pressure for biofuels are just some of the reasons for soaring prices.

But there are other factors playing a part, like underinvestment in agriculture, the dominance of big companies, and the mismanagement of agriculture and food policy.

What needs to happen?
Food prices are threatening the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people. But they are also an opportunity for governments to act:

• Rich countries must give more money to poor countries to help reduce the immediate shock of high food prices
• They must also review their current targets for biofuels, which often directly compete against food and feed crops
• They should reform the food aid system so that instead of shipping food from miles away they buy it locally or give people cash

Poor country governments have a role to play too. They must invest in agriculture and infrastructure to help put small farmers in a better position to benefit from higher prices. Any they need to be wary of signing up to unfair economic agreements.

What we are doing
In our humanitarian responses we are already employing a broad range of tools adapted to local conditions. These include food distributions, cash or voucher handouts, buying food locally in times of drought, and other work aimed at reducing people’s vulnerability to market fluctuations.

We are doing a lot of work on reducing people’s risk to disaster and helping them prepare for natural events that may be inevitable. This includes working with governments to put social protection programmes in place.

We are also campaigning on civilians’ rights to protection and basic services in humanitarian crises. This includes holding governments and the international community to account to ensure that people have access to food, water, and basic services, even during conflicts.

Our campaigning and advocacy work on climate change, agriculture, and trade rules takes high food prices into account and includes recommendations aimed at preventing further negative impact. For example, we are urging caution on the expansion of biofuels mandates, asking governments to invest more in agriculture, and calling for more money to help poor countries adapt to climate change.

We will continue to monitor closely what is happening in food markets and the impact it is having on poor people. We will work with others, including our partners on the ground, academics, governments, and other non-governmental organisations, to devise the best responses to the challenges posed by the evolving situation.

What can I do?

Fundraising – Donate now to help Oxfam’s work fighting the global food crisis
Campaigning – Sign the petition to get world governments to help the world’s poorest