A major earthquake has struck Haiti just ten miles from the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Local officials are reporting a catastrophe of major proportions.

Oxfam has long experience in Haiti, and we’re rushing in teams from around the region to respond where our assistance is most needed. Our response will include providing clean water, shelter and sanitation.

Statement from Jane Cocking, humanitarian director of Oxfam on Haiti earthquake:

“At this stage it is too early to tell the severity of the earthquake in Haiti, but the early signs are not good with communications down across the country.

“Oxfam has its emergency response team for Latin America based in Haiti so we are well prepared, with a public health, water and sanitation team in Port au Prince ready to respond. We also have emergency supplies in Panama that we are preparing to send in as soon as possible.”

“We hope to know more in the coming hours. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere where 85% of people already live in poverty, given the desperate needs that people face on a day to day basis, this earthquake is grim news for the poor people of Haiti.”

Kristie van de Wetering, a former Oxfam employee still based in Port-au-Prince described the situation as

“very chaotic with houses in rubbles everywhere. There is a blanket of dust rising from the valley south of the capital.  We can hear people calling for help from every corner. The aftershocks are ongoing and making people very nervous.”

What can I do?

Fundraising: Donate now and help us respond to this emergency. You can also donate in either Salisbury Oxfam shop or by phoning 0300 200 1999.

There’s been coverage on BBC News and a press release from Oxfam today reporting that Oxfam shops across the country are suffering a 15% drop in donations due to the recession. In Salisbury too, we have seen donations go down, which is a shame because during a recession is a time when Oxfam’s UK Poverty Programme, in particular, needs even more support than usual and without high quality donations our shops’ sales are bound to fall too even with demand remaining strong.

However, we think that people still have some things stored away at home that they are happy to donate to Oxfam but just haven’t quite made it to our shops yet. This is the time we really need you! Help us keep our stock levels high, our shoppers happy and those Oxfam helps from losing out on the support they need.

Many are now suggesting that we are heading towards the end of the recession, our Trading Director, David McCulloch said:

“This is a crucial moment for us. Over the last eighteen months, people have been buying less, replacing less and therefore donating less to Oxfam. Now sales are apparently on the increase, we can only wait to see if this is reflected by an increase in donations to our shops.”

We can only hope that this is correct, but in the mean time if you do have something you’ve been meaning to donate we’d love to see you, especially sooner rather than later:

“We rely on the generosity of the public for their stock. Without continued donations of everything from clothing to cookware, Oxfam shops could not continue to play such a key role in communities across the UK.”

For the shoppers out there, don’t worry, our shops are currently still well stocked with great bargains and we’re never short of fantastic ethical goods, scrumptious Fairtrade Food and our Oxhibitions Art Gallery will of course continue its monthly exhibitions raising money for Oxfam. We hope you’ll come and visit!

ACCIDENT OF BIRTH
A unique and moving photographic Oxhibition at Salisbury Oxfam Gallery
January 7th – 29th 2010

Salisbury based photographer Clare Allen Crook is holding an exhibition of photographs entitled Accident of Birth documenting her work with the Sri Lankan people following the tsunami in 2004.

Clare has worked as a photographer in London, New York, Afghanistan, Italy, Africa and Bermuda. In 2004, Clare was caught up in the tsunami in Sri Lanka and decided to remain there to make a photographic record of the aftermath and subsequent rebuilding process. On her return to the UK she became co-founder of a charity called Rebuilding Sri Lanka, which has remained operational ever since, providing sustained support and rehabilitation to the coastal villages and communities affected by the tsunami.

Clare says: “It is an accident of birth that separates us from the millions of people living in acute poverty throughout the world and the answer is not a complicated one. They need our help and we can give it to them. It is my hope that this exhibition will generate an understanding and compassion for a scarcely known country and the serious plight of its remarkable people.”

All sales and proceeds raised by Accident of Birth will go to Rebuilding Sri Lanka and Oxfam International.

Rebuilding Sri Lanka is a registered charity (No. 1109622). For more information on its work, visit www.rebuildingsrilanka.org.uk

The shop is packed with customers; presents, festive food, Oxfam Unwrapped gifts and much more are flying off the shelves. Christmas time is almost here!

This of course means a couple of changes to our usual opening hours:

***Late night opening***
Thursday 17th December – 9am – 7pm

Wednesday 23rd December – 9am – 5pm
Christmas Eve – 9am – 1pm
Christmas Day – CLOSED
Boxing Day – CLOSED
Sunday 27th December – CLOSED
Monday 28th December – CLOSED
Tuesday 29th December – 9am – 5pm
Wednesday 30th December – 9am – 5pm
Thursday 31st December – 9am – 5pm
New Year’s Day – CLOSED
Saturday 2nd January – 9am – 5pm
Sunday 3rd January – CLOSED
Monday 4th January – 9am – 5pm

… then open as usual (Monday to Saturday 9am – 5pm)

Very Merry Christmas to you all!

We are pleased to announce that there will be a new Oxhibition from 21st November at Salisbury Oxfam’s Gallery.

Since we opened our gallery in April 2008, we have been contacted by many local artists, so this prompted us to have this wide ranging exhibition, we will be show casing the works of more than 15 artists until Christmas.

Also, please join us for “Meet the Artists” day, on Saturday 21st November between 11am and 2:30pm, where you will have opportunity to enjoy a variety of art works with drinks, nibbles, and meet the exhibitors.