About Us

Oxfam Trailwalker Staff

Our contact information can be found on our Contact Us web page.

Event Director - Ryan Hollinrake
Provincial Manager, Oxfam Trailwalker Canada
Oxfam Canada

Event Coordinator – Joanne Saliba
Special Events Officer
Oxfam Canada

Volunteer coordinator – Cheryl
Office Services & Fundraising Assistant
Oxfam Canada

About Oxfam Canada

Founded in 1963, Oxfam Canada is an international development organization that supports programs that develop leadership, self-reliance and active citizenship. We work in relationships of solidarity and partnership to eradicate poverty and injustice, with a focus on women’s rights and gender equality. Oxfam Canada is a founding member of Oxfam International, a confederation of 15 Oxfams worldwide. We work with over 100 partner organizations in twenty-eight countries around the world. Our core programs are located in the Americas, the Horn of Africa, Southern Africa, South Asia as well as our work here in Canada.

Our Mission

Oxfam Canada builds lasting solutions to global poverty and injustice. We work with allies in Canada and around the world to change the policies and practices that perpetuate human suffering. We support organizations in poor communities overseas in their struggle to secure basic rights. Oxfam’s advocacy and campaigns for just policies are rooted in the knowledge and experience gained in that struggle.

Trailwalker History

Oxfam Trailwalker began in 1981 as a military exercise for the elite Queen's Gurkha Signals Regiment in Hong Kong, and has since grown into one of the world's leading sporting challenges. In just over 20 years Oxfam Trailwalker has become a major international fundraising event held in countries all over the world. In 2013 the event will take place in fourteen countries: Australia , New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, and of course Canada. Since its inception, the event has raised more than $60 million internationally with thousands of people competing each year. The money raised goes directly to Oxfam’s critical humanitarian and development work around the globe. Oxfam Trailwalker truly is a global hike that changes the world!

About Trailwalker 

Oxfam believes that the end of poverty begins with women’s rights. We work with partner organizations in developing countries to tackle the root causes of poverty and in turn, we create self-reliant and sustainable communities. But to do that, we need your help. Join us on a fun, challenging, and rewarding team challenge: Oxfam Trailwalker.

Since 1981, Oxfam Trailwalker has evolved from a grueling military exercise into a truly global movement that effects real change in the lives of millions people living in abject poverty.

The event began in Hong Kong as a military training exercise, and today, it is a global movement. Every year in over fifteen countries, Oxfam Trailwalker is taking place. It’s more than just a fitness challenge, Oxfam Trailwalker is a commitment to change the world, one step at a time.

Like other Oxfam Trailwalkers around the world, teams of four commit to not only raising funds, but also hiking a grueling 100 km in 48 hours. Teams must start and finish the hike together.

This is a huge commitment put forth not only by participants but by their support crews, Oxfam volunteers, on-site EMS and other medical support, and the many people involved in making this event the success that it is.

The money raised from this crucial fundraising event will support Oxfam Canada’s initiatives all over the world. Specifically, the Oxfam offices in Canada are dedicated to supporting long-term development, advocacy and emergency programs in 28 countries. Oxfam Canada’s core programs are located in the Americas, the Horn of Africa, Southern Africa, and South Asia.

Funds raised from Oxfam Trailwalker also goes toward programs that provide emergency support during humanitarian crises as well as response to natural disasters. Examples of this include the current humanitarian crisis in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, where hundreds of thousands of refugees are suffering from the worst drought in years. Oxfam was also instrumental in providing relief following the  earthquake in Japan. And Oxfam continues to work on the ground to bring much needed aid to the current crisis in the Ivory Coast and Somalia.

Every year around the world, Oxfam Trailwalker is taking place. It’s more than just a fitness challenge, Oxfam Trailwalker is a commitment to change the world, one step at a time. Won’t you join us?