Oxfam GB in Indonesia In Action

 Oxfam GB is a development, relief and campaigning organisation that works with others to find lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world. Oxfam GB is an independent organisation registered as a charity and is affiliated with Oxfam International.[1]  Oxfam GB works with partners, volunteers, supporters and staff of many nationalities - part of our global movement to build a just and safer world.

The name “Oxfam” comes from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, founded in Britain during the World War II in 1942. This group of Oxford citizens campaigned for grain shipments to be sent through the allied naval blockade to provide relief for women and children in enemy-occupied Greece.

Oxfam works directly with communities and partners in the following areas:

1. Improving the livelihoods of small scales farmers & labourers
2. Saving lives by delivering humanitarian assistance & assisting communities to prepare for natural disasters
3. Helping to shape government policies in favour of poor people and minority groups
4. Promoting gender equality in all of our programmes

All of our work is based on the belief that everyone has:

• The right to life and security
• The right to a sustainable livelihood
• The right to basic social services
• The right to be heard

Oxfam have five fundamental beliefs that underpin our work:

• All human lives are equal value
• Poverty makes people more vulnerable to conflict and natural disasters 
• People’s vulnerability to poverty and suffering is increased by unequal power relations based on, for example, gender, race, class, caste and disabilitiy: women, who make up the majority of the world’s poor people, are expecially disadvantaged
• In a world rich in resources, poverty is morally indenfensible injustice which must and can be overcome
• With the right resource, support and training, people living in poverty can solve their own problems.

Our values are founded on our beliefs and centred around three inter-related themes:

• Empowerment: Everyone who is involved with Oxfam - whether by contributing to our work, or those who are living in poverty - feels empowered
• Inclusiveness: Oxfam is inclusive - open to everyone, regardless of ethnic background or religion
• Accountability: Our purpose-driven/results-focused approach, which holds ourselves - and others - accountable.

Oxfam GB works at all levels - from global to local - with international and national governments, global institutions, local communities, and individuals, to ensure that everyone’s rights are fulfilled and protected. Oxfam works closely with others to implement the most appropriate, effective solution in any particular situation.

50 Years in Indonesia

Since 1957, Oxfam has helped Indonesia through various national organisations. In 1972, a field office was established in Bogor, West Java. In 1994, Oxfam moved to Yogyakarta and then relocated its head office to Jakarta in 2006. 

In the 1970s, Oxfam’s activities concentrated on health, technical training, irrigation and the supporting disabled people. The emphasis of the programme in the 1980s was on supporting and strengthening NGOs and encouraging the formation of cooperative groups involved in community development work.

Since the 1990s, the main features of Oxfam’s work are supporting rural development, helping to give poor people access to fair trade, supporting women’s organisations and promoting the integration of gender awareness. Oxfam also supports the development of local NGO institutional capacity to analyse the causes of poverty and to help them integrate advocacy into their work, and facilitate the formation of advocacy networks, locally and nationally.  Oxfam also continues its humanitarian work by responding to disasters and preparing both government and communities to respond. 

Oxfam works throughout Indonesia in the following areas: East Nusa Tenggara, Java, Maluku, Sulawesi, Yogyakarta, Sumatra and Papua. Currently, Oxfam has offices in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Makassar, Kupang, Papua and Aceh.

For further information, please check our website:

www.oxfam.org.uk/indonesia

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[1] Oxfam International is an international confederation, comprised of 13 independent non-government organisations dedicated to fighting poverty and related injustices around the world. The thirteen Oxfam organisations are based in: Australia, Belgium, Canada (including Quebec), France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United States. A small Oxfam International secretariat is based in Oxford, UK, with advocacy offices in Washington DC, New York, Brussels and Geneva.