Oxfam shops in Wales raise almost £2 million for lifesaving work around the world

According to the charity, we are living in a time when more people – almost 60 million – are displaced from their homes than at any time since the Second World War.  Kirsty Davies-Warner, Head of Oxfam Cymru said: “We are helping those arriving in Italy by providing food, clothes, shoes, and personal hygiene kits as well as longer term psychological and legal support.  In Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, we are providing life-saving clean water, sanitation and vital support for families who have lost everything. With £36 Oxfam can provide clean and safe water to families and with £100 toilets and washing facilities for dozens of people made homeless”.

Ms Davies-Warner says that more than ever Oxfam shops need donations to raise crucial funds for its work to end extreme poverty and suffering around the world.

She concludes: “As the need around the world grows, we urgently need to scale up our work, and we cannot do this without the people of Wales. In the run up to Christmas, we really need more volunteers. You can have fun, learn new skills and help raise money that directly supports people living in poverty around the world. We have volunteers of all ages and backgrounds and have hours that suit everyone. To get involved, just pop into your local Oxfam shop for more details.”

The Moria camp takes in refugee or migrant families who land on the Greek island of Lesbos.
They have to register here to travel through Greece and continue their journey to prosperous Europe.
They also receive help from international NGOs such as Oxfam, Médecins sans Frontières
(Doctors Without Borders), Save the Children and many others.
There are houses where they can stay the night, with showers, bathrooms and dedicated areas
for mothers and children. The camps also hand out food and provide the most vulnerable families
with useful items for the journey, such as sleeping bags, shoes, gloves, hats, scarves, nappies,
sanitary towels, hygiene kits, raincoats, torches, and many, many more.

Image@ Maya Hautefeuille / Oxfam (Syrian children play with Oxfam worker in Lebanon)

Syrian children take part in a game of tug-of-war with an Oxfam Italy officer during an afternoon of
activities organised for refugees from an informal tented settlement in Ghaza, in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley.
Children learned about hygiene, hand washing, and using tooth brushes through games,
puppet show, face painting, drawings.