Oxfam Canada success stories

Thanks to thousands of donors, supporters and partners around the world, Oxfam Canada is proud of many success stories in 2011 and looks forward to many more in the New Year.

Together, they helped bring love, laughter and financial security to Kibnesh and her family in Ethiopia and helped Ibu in Indonesia earn enough from gardening to send her children to school.
 
Here are some of our success stories.
 

Ethiopia

Kibnesh’s Story
 
On what was her husband's farm in Ethiopia, Kibnesh experienced traditional gender roles.

She was responsible for domestic duties, while her husband had exclusive control over the operation of their farm. They slept in a leaky hut and faced food shortages that threatened their family. Today they live in larger, more solid house and their farm produces enough food to allow them to save money. She and her husband both work on farm operations and in the household.

“I learned how to save money and we have built a big house,” Kibnesh says. “In the past I didn’t think I could change my life like this.”

Kibnesh credits this change in fortune to the approach of “asset-based community development” (ABCD) used by Oxfam Canada and partner KMG.  ABCD is an approach that rebuilds people’s confidence in their own capacity, skills, assets, resources, abilities and strengths, starting with what they have instead of focusing on what they do not have.  

Hear the story from Kibnesh herself:

• Read more about ABCD here
• See two other success story videos here

 
Indonesia

Ibu’s story
 

Picture from Oxfam Canada 2011 annual report
Allan Lissner/Oxfam GROW campaign

Ibu Masni works in her organic garden. Money saved from growing vegetables helps her children go to school.

Ibu Masni is one of a group of women who are taking part in an organic farming field school run by Oxfam in Lawalla, a coastal village in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Masni has experienced many benefits from her participation in the training. She started cultivating the previously unused area around her house.

By learning to grow vegetables in her yard using organic fertilizer, that she also makes, she now spends less buying vegetables for the whole family. Prior to this, she was routinely spending 5,000 – 10,000 Rupiahs (half to one C$) a day for vegetables including essentials like chillis and tomatoes. Having her garden full of vegetables means she does not have to spend a rupiah on good, tasty, nutritious food.

“I now spend the money I have for vegetables on my children’s education,” said the mother of three. The women have shared their knowledge with their neighbours. Now growing crops and producing organic fertilizer is spreading rapidly in the area. As a result, more and more house yards have become verdant with crops.

Where there were only one or two trees, they now flourish with vegetables, flowers, and fast growing fruit.