- Lawrence Musa Lewis, the new HSP for Food Security and Livelihoods at Oxfam, discusses the challenges of working in Zimbabwe, including a lack of funding for long-term development programs from donors and the need for better coordination between organizations. He provides an example of how Oxfam programs positively impacted an elderly woman but she ultimately died from malaria, highlighting the need to address underlying causes of poverty. - Kebede Molla, who has worked with Oxfam in Ethiopia for 20 years, discusses the challenges of frequent natural disasters interfering with long-term development work and the weak capacity of local governments. He hopes a new Community Risk Management Program can help communities better prepare for and respond to disasters

1. - 1 -
Dear All
Welcome to the December edition of Humanitarian News. It is tempting -surrounded by the commercialised run-
up to Christmas in UK - to refer to it as the "Christmas edition", but this is also the month of the Jewish festival of
Hanukkah, the Buddist Bodhi Day, and the Waqf al Arafa (Hajj Day) in Islam and probably Eid al Adha before
the end of the month. So - welcome to the December Edition ... and whatever festivals or holidays you will (or
have) celebrate/d this month, I hope that everyone has a chance for some rest and peaceful reflection on the
year past, and the new one to come.
Having just returned from a programme visit in Zimbabwe I am delighted to see the interview with Lawrence
reflecting on the acute and chronic aspects of the food security and HIV&AIDS crises there - and the innovations
in our interventions which are necessary to address the needs arising from them. I am also delighted to see that
Kebede Molla (who I remember so well from when we worked together in Ethiopia) tells his story. This is
important since he (excuse me, Kebede) is someone who has worked extensively on both humanitarian and
long-term development programmes with Oxfam, and has a level of understanding of the inter-relationship
between the two that can only be achieved after 20 years of working at the challenge. It is no coincidence that
these two (Zimbabwe and Ethiopia) articles are both trying to tackle the implications of Oxfam's "dual mandate"
... no coincidence, precisely because Disaster Risk Reduction is now becoming a major focus of our work (and
you'll hear more of this in 2007).
Articles touching on innovation in other areas ranging from Fundraising to Logistics to Conflict-sensitive
programming all make good reading - as does Penny Lawrence's round up of the priorities as she sees them for
all of us in the International Division. Thanks to Magdalen and Musaddiq for taking the trouble to "Have your
Say" from Kenya and Pakistan respectively.
Please make time to read the section on STDs and HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy - this is very much at the front of
my mind following my trip to Zimbabwe with its very high rates of HIV&AIDS, where the conversations are open
and honest on these issues (holding monthly staff gatherings with external speakers).
The excellent Joke Competition speaks for itself - congratulations to all contributors - and thank you for
brightening up my day !
Lastly, please make sure that you get some kind of a break (however short) over the holiday period - you know
you deserve it !
( ... or Kebede might quote more Jimmy Cliff and say ...."You can get it if you really want / But you must try, try
and try / Try and try, you'll succeed at last /.... You can get it if you really want / - so don't give up now ." )
Best Wishes for a Happy New Year !
Nick
Pages: 2: Points of view – from Zimbabwe and Ethiopia
3-4: Editorials – Oxfam Unwrapped, the launch of WISE
4: News from the Hum Dept – Aim 3.2 in Sri Lanka
4-5: News from the International Division – letter from Penny Lawrence
Contents

2. - 2 -
6-7: Joke competition – the winner is announced!
8-9: Staff Health, leavers and arrivals
9: Have Your Say – letters from Magdalen Nandawula and Musaddiq Rashid Kayani
Zimbabwe and beyond
Hayley Duffell interviews Lawrence Musa Lewis, new HSP for Food Security and Livelihoods (EFSL HSP),
about his previous work
Lawrence is a quietly spoken man but has lots to say about our work in Zimbabwe. Formerly the Livelihoods
Programme Manager there, he is embarking on a 5-month HSP role. “This is part of the development of my
professional career. I really love Oxfam. I strongly believe in its policies, it’s unjust for people to suffer. The
HSP role gives me an opportunity to gain experience of Oxfam at a global level. It’s an opportunity to learn from
others and share what I have learned, and what I will learn, with others.”
He was excited to have the opportunity while visiting the Oxford office to meet and work with advisers, and felt
he contributed to documents being produced. “Even during the induction I have learned a lot, it is intense and
comprehensive, rather like doing a Masters! I have met so many people, got abreast of current trends in field
programmes, and can do the context analysis that we don’t get a chance to do in the field.”
Lawrence explains that one of the challenges of working in Zimbabwe is an apparent lack of will on the part of
donors (mostly western governments) to fund long-term programmes. “We do an assessment, get feedback
from communities on how to address their chronic problems, but the funding available is only for emergencies.”
Also, work is constantly geared towards donor targets and there is “no time to give feedback to the communities
for reflecting and lesson-learning and then incorporating this into new work. This needs to be implemented in all
aspects of programmes.” He goes on: “We have really competent and dedicated advocacy staff but we need
more coordination with the Government and other agencies. We should be asking: We are trying to address
chronic poverty year after year… how can we help each other?” Lawrence believes more dialogue is needed,
and suggests advocacy training for other agencies… “Oxfam needs to share the knowledge it has so others can
push advocacy issues as well.”
There is continual deterioration of the food security situation in Zimbabwe. Until 2002, drought recurred once
every ten years; “it is now more frequent, increasing the level of chronic poverty and peoples’ food-insecurity.”
The prevalence of HIV and AIDS “has meant fewer agricultural workers, so less food planted and harvested.”
Also, government policies have failed to support NGOs and other institutions to fund food and livelihoods
programmes. “There are strained relations between the Zimbabwean Government and other countries,” muses
Lawrence. He stresses the need for proper investment in long-term development and infrastructure, by both the
Government and NGOs. “Our programmes have lots of positive impacts on people. But we are coming in year
after year addressing symptoms of poverty rather than the underlying causes. During the huge drought in 2002,
all aspects were compounded and made life worse. There was a decrease in livestock and agricultural
production.” Emergency food aid was provided and the markets began to recover. Now, we distribute vouchers
in order to support the markets and our programmes include livelihoods, public health, HIV awareness and
providing access to clean water.
Lawrence tells the story of an old woman he visited in November 2005 who had lost her son and daughter-in-law
to AIDS, and now looked after her very sick grandson. She was given an animal to help plough her land and
received 5kg of maize and 10kg of fertilizer. “You could see her face was very radiant when she spoke about
how Oxfam helped her… In January 2006, she had a good crop and was expecting a good harvest.” But before
the harvest she became ill and did not accept help from her neighbours, and she died from malaria. “It really
broke my heart.” Lawrence says, “People [working for Oxfam] should not tire in what they are doing, they are
really making a change. Feel very encouraged about what you are doing to fight poverty.” He says, “don’t be
discouraged by the challenges faced, we should continue, as we are making a positive impact.”
Trying to take a longer term view in Ethiopia
Maite Alvarez interviews Kebede Molla – Humanitarian Programme Officer with Oxfam for 20 years.
My role is to encourage and support communities to identify their own problems and find a solution by
themselves, instead of us doing assessments and always coming up with answers. Oxfam’s role, and mine, is to
advise as much as we can, and only ‘do’ when communities don’t have any other options. However, I think
international organisations like us have distorted people’s ways of living due to too much external, culturally
insensitive intervention, increasing their dependence on us. Another problem is that there isn’t enough capacity
Points of View from around the world

3. - 3 -
at woreda (local government) level - more often than not they aren’t qualified to deal with emergencies.
Government institutions are also quite weak at local level - poorly equipped with very poor communication
capacity; most of them don’t have access to electricity let alone e-mail. As you can imagine everything takes
time and a lot of commitment. Although our partners have played a pivotal role especially during emergencies
and can access areas even before we do (ie distributing NFIs on the back of donkeys), they are in a similar
position to local government offices - very little capacity and in need of a lot of support.
Man-made and natural disasters are a way of life here; one year we are fighting drought and next minute floods.
Currently I am leading our flood response in Afar, and working on our response to Acute Watery Diarrhoea. We
need to start thinking ahead, reducing the impact these disasters have on the poorest of the poor, but because
of all the emergencies we keep having to postpone our Community Risk Management Programme. It was
supposed to be launched last August! I hope once we can start it, this programme will play a vital part in
achieving some kind of meaningful change. It will identify existing capacity, areas of vulnerability at community
level, and what gaps there are. Through these we will explore how people can cope on their own during
disasters, or how we can train local community representatives how to prepare and respond to future disasters
for themselves. We will be piloting the programme in a pastoralist area and the livelihoods programme areas.
Our emergency responses tend to last for 2 or 3 months; a Risk Management Programme on the other hand will
have a longer shelf-life. The aim is to launch the programme but then to hand over to partners. In my view we
should not rely on doing this too fast, but should pilot for at least 5 years before we hand it over. Once the
community has accepted the programme then we should be passing it onto partners. As the song says: “Rome
was not built in a day, opposition will come your way, but the hotter the battle is, the sweeter the victory will be.”
Normally people say they can’t cope with what’s coming because it came from God…but if we think that way we
will never do or achieve anything!
“So much more than fluffy animals”
Eve Rodgers explains ‘Oxfam Unwrapped’
‘Oxfam Unwrapped’ is a way of fundraising for Oxfam’s work worldwide, and is now in its third year. It is
essentially a catalogue of gifts (also available on our website), filled with items ranging from livestock through
seeds & tools to schoolbooks etc which form part of our programme work. Members of the public across the UK
‘buy’ these items and services as gifts for their family and friends, and at the same time are able to donate to
Oxfam’s work. In doing so they feel a more personal connection with our programme than they might do if they
were just giving cash to our general funds. It has been an enormously successful initiative and raises well over
£10 million a year for Oxfam to spend.
So how do we choose which items and services go into the catalogue? Eve Rodgers from Supporter Marketing
is very emphatic about this; “It is decided totally by countries and regions,” she says. Every year in March some
of the International Division Directors sit down and agree the widest categories that illustrate what we do around
the world – such as Livelihoods, Health, or Humanitarian Response. Regional Funding Teams work with
programme teams to decide what sorts of things they need money for within those categories. Lists of potential
items and services are collected together, and honed down to the final agreed gift list.
It is very important to Oxfam’s reputation that we don’t mislead donors on what they are buying. Last year over
175,000 people bought gifts from Oxfam Unwrapped, so we can only include items and services in the catalogue
that we need in large numbers or can spend relatively large amounts of money on across our programmes.
Programmes need to be able to commit to spending at least £25,000 on a given item or service if they submit it
for inclusion in Unwrapped.
In Peru for example, they are planning to spend a lot next year helping farmers raise alpacas and compete in
mainstream wool markets – members of the UK public can choose to buy the ‘alpaca package’ which pays for
animal care, training and support with wool production and marketing etc. “Its brilliant” Eve says, “as far as the
shopper is concerned they’ve bought someone a fluffy animal, but it’s actually so much more than that.
Everyone’s happy!”
Eve says that we now treat Oxfam Unwrapped like any other donor. “We need to account for the money that is
allocated from Unwrapped; our Finance Dept needs to know how much was actually spent, the sorts of things it
was spent on, and we need case studies to publish in the catalogue next year. There’s flexibility in what you can
spend the allocation on within the category, and up to 10% admin costs can be factored in, but you do have to
ensure it fits the criteria for the categories. Funding allocations are made as part of the annual budgeting
Editorials

4. - 4 -
process, but continue to be made during the year as more income is raised. For example the Lebanon
programme were able to get more than £200,000 this year for safe water and sanitation that hadn’t been spent
elsewhere.”
Eve is also keen to stress the process that should be followed for getting items or services included in the
catalogue. “Its about planned spend – we cannot include random items during the year” she explains. “If you are
planning to spend large amounts on programmes with a tangible element, say livestock, or seeds and tools, or
water provision, talk to your manager in-country or region about whether it can be included. We’ve tried various
ways of managing Unwrapped as a fund and we know now what works and what doesn’t. Talk to someone!”
There are guidelines available on the intranet, and copies of the catalogue are readily available for you to see
what it contains, and you can also look at the Oxfam Unwrapped website (www.oxfamunwrapped.com). Eve’s
contact details are erodgers@oxfam.org.uk
A WISE woman….
Pamela O’Honde launches a new organisation to improve gender sensitivity in Logistics
To what extent are gender issues really understood and addressed in every aspect of programming?
The field of logistics and supply chain management for example, which spearheads the procurement and
management of humanitarian goods and services, is traditionally male-dominated. This can arguably affect the
ability of aid agencies to meet the specific needs of women, particularly in emergency relief situations.
For example, a recent press release issued by the Coalition of Tsunami Affected Women noted, “the distribution
of underwear, bras and panties was carried out in public, with embarrassing comments about which sizes were
appropriate for which women.” In addition, male camp officials controlled the distribution of sanitary products,
handing them out one at a time, so women had to go back and ask again and again.
Pamela O’Honde, Deputy Head of Logistics and Supply in Oxfam explains, "I founded the Women’s Institute in
Supply Chain Excellence (WISE) in recognition of the lack of a balanced workforce in the humanitarian sector,
particularly in this sector. I observed that even the few who have defied the odds to join the profession lacked
the resources to fulfil their needs. Given that it is predominantly women who make up the most vulnerable
beneficiaries of our work, I believe it is very important that the number of women in logistics and supply increase
as well as the importance of the gender perspective - ensuring women beneficiaries receive proper aid with
dignity.”
WISE is a non-profit membership organisation founded this year with the support of an advisory group dedicated
to gender equality in humanitarian response. Membership is open to people who support the WISE goals and
currently includes professionals from organisations such as Oxfam, UNICEF, Air Serv, World Vision, Talent
Africa, Fritz Institute and Accenture.
WISE has adopted a three-prong strategy to accomplish its mission: (1) encouraging equal opportunities for
women in organisations’ hiring policy for logistics and supply chain professionals; (2) supporting further
education and development of both female and male logisticians on gender issues and professional training
throughout their careers; and (3) providing a mentorship programme offering members access to top-level
professionals for one-on-one careers advice to newer members, encouraging individuals to develop their full
potential and enhancing the experience of women working in the field.
WISE invites everyone to visit the WISE website and join in achieving its goal www.wise.uk.net
News from Aim 3.2: Conflict-sensitive programming in Sri Lanka
Conflict-sensitive programming has common values with good community development work; inclusivity,
participation, accountability, transparency, and good communication. Oxfam GB in Sri Lanka adopts a
Relationship Building strategy which focuses on resolving community level conflicts and social divisions using
these common values.
News and information from the Humanitarian Department

5. - 5 -
In Ampara for example we are building relationships between conflicting communities and ourselves to improve
Oxfam’s accountability to all sides. We have adopted “suggestion boxes” where communities are encouraged to
provide information (anonymously if they wish) on any aspect of our work. We undertake to address
suggestions within a week and either make relevant changes, or give reasons why changes cannot be made.
We have also installed noticeboards that communicate Oxfam’s plans and activities, as well as how much is
being spent and how many people will benefit. In this way we are building trust, improving Oxfam’s
accountability to communities, and ensuring inclusive decision-making processes.
In Hambantota when we met community members in an area of conflict to mobilize them to construct a
communal building, 2/3 of households did not attend because of work and social commitments. Others who
attended found the opportunity cost very high. One old woman had to leave her 93-year-old invalid mother
unattended at home in order to come. We now gather information about why people are not attending (whether
they feel marginalized or discriminated against, what the costs for them might be etc), and we take steps to
make sure that those who come to meetings tell others what happened, what decisions were taken, what follow-
up was planned, and how they might be able to get involved.
The communal building is now complete and used by the WHOLE community, which agreed unanimously to
hold all their important meetings there.
For more information please contact Aruna Dayaratna, Sri Lanka Programme Relationship Building Coordinator,
or Gavin Preüss.
Message from Penny Lawrence, Director of the International Division
I last wrote to you all over six months ago, when I first started in my job in March telling you something of my
initial thoughts, and naive plans! In order to be accountable and open I now want to report to you on what I've
been up to and of the priorities emerging from my conversations with all the many staff, partners beneficiaries
and supporters I've had the chance to meet.
My programme visits to Sri Lanka, Honduras, Brazil, and Kenya have enabled me to learn so much and to
remain grounded in Oxfam's programme reality during strategic planning discussions. The Oxfam GB strategic
plan is now ready to go to Council for final sign off, and will be distributed widely in January.
From everyone I have listened to I am particularly struck by the talent and commitment of staff that has led to
programmes that deliver strength, solidarity, capability, hope, and life-saving basic needs at times of crisis. I
have also been listening out to hear where people think I can add most value to Oxfam in my role as
International Director. I am now keen to share with you my sense of the top priorities:
1. How can we ensure that Oxfam delivers what we say we will deliver in Oxfam International (OI) and Oxfam
GB (OGB) strategic plans?
As well as vision and direction, strategic plans need to be connected to programme reality. They need to offer
clear frameworks with which everyone can plan and co-ordinate their contribution - to be able to do what we say
we will do to overcome poverty and suffering. This chain needs to link right across Oxfam, with performance
management clearly tied to delivery. I have been working with the Corporate Management Team to ensure we:
 Respond to the sense of 'stretch' that seems to be felt across Oxfam
 Respond to the need to build on programme strengths and opportunities
 Recognise where there are urgent issues we have to now include in our analysis such as climate change
 Continue to build on the foundation, structures and systems that have been introduced in the international
division over the last three to four years
 Make priorities clear within a complex OGB and OI environment
 Empower staff to deliver against these clear priorities keeping bureaucracy to a minimum.
We must now make sure that the strategic framework the OGB steer provides, not only matches regional plans,
but country plans and Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs). In order to achieve this we will be asking every
country programme to undertake a scan of their external environment and check that the programmes they have
chosen deliver the most we can to tackle poverty within the new strategic framework. We must then enable the
Updates from the International Division

6. - 6 -
analysis at national levels to feed back up the line, to regional and corporate levels to inform and align our future
thinking and planning.
2. Programme Quality
I'm delighted to have the experience and skills of Audrey Bronstein as a Deputy International Director. She has
started to lead the co-ordination of all the different programme quality initiatives that are going on at country and
regional level – mapping good practice and developing principles and guidelines for partner relations. Audrey will
be supporting the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team in successfully bringing in the exciting new
MEL systems over the next 18 months. Many argue that the real indicator of programme quality is how good we
are at being accountable to our partners and beneficiaries. There have been some innovative pilots in this area
in the Humanitarian Department. We need to build on these in the partnership and MEL work to enable us to
improve and recognise this important process more consistently across all our programmes. We will of course
need to continue to focus on getting the 'basics right' as the bedrock underlying our quality programmes. This
brings me to my third priority…
3. Staff Development
To deliver the one-programme vision and high-quality programmes, we must increase our investment in our
committed staff and 'grow our own'. This can also be a very effective way of increasing diversity within Oxfam. I
have met talented humanitarian programme managers recognising the need to engage in the long-term
vulnerabilities, but lacking the confidence to so. I have met extraordinary community development practitioners
lacking the confidence to engage in policy issues. I've met many staff challenged by organisational expectations
on people management and project management (particularly where there is external donor involvement). We
need to invest in staff development in the newer areas of development like MEL, of course, but we also need to
prioritise Oxfam House support for staff development in project management, people management, policy and
advocacy skills, as well as MEL, partnership and country analysis where needed.
I do hope you find this note encouraging, clear, and supportive. It is sent with this intent as I know so many of
you work so very hard and are just so committed to the cause and to Oxfam itself - to the point that work/life
balance is a real issue for many! Your feedback is very welcome. Your support and continued commitment is
both appreciated and highly motivating for me and for all those I come into contact with.
Contact Penny at plawrence@oxfam.org.uk
Many thanks to all of you who sent in jokes for this last edition of 2006! They are all reprinted here: Cathy Gibb,
Olwyn Mason, Martin Knops and Charlotte Preedy (from Staff Health) have judged them and have declared the
winner to be Lawrence Musa Lewis, new HSP EFSL, who as well as being our most prolific joke-teller, won the
prize of a fruit cake for this joke:
*******************************************************************************
Mandela was enjoying a hearty breakfast - bacon, eggs, coffee, croissants, toast, butter, jam, etc. when Bush
(chewing gum) sits next to him and starts a conversation: Bush: "You South Africans eat the whole bread?"
Mandela: "Of course." Bush: (blowing bubbles with his gum) "We don"t. In the States, we only eat what's inside.
The crusts we collect in a container, recycle, re-bake them into croissants and sell them to South Africa."
Mandela: "Oh Really?" Bush: "D'ya eat jam with the bread?" Mandela: "Of course." Bush: (chuckling and
crackling his gum) "We don't, in the States we eat fresh fruit for breakfast, put all the peels, seeds and leftovers
into containers, recycle them into jam and sell it to South Africa." Mandela: "Do you have sex in America?" Bush:
"Of course we do." Mandela: "And what do you do with the condoms then?" Bush: "Throw them away of course."
Mandela: "We don't. We pack them into containers, recycle them, melt them down into chewing gum and sell
them to America! "
********************************************************************************
Jonathon Brass, EFSL Camexca:
A Consultant turns up on a farm and says to the farmer "if I can guess how many sheep you have will you give
me one?" The farmer being a fair sport replies "OK".
So the Consulant gets his laptop out and his digital satellite feed and begins punching in numbers; his computer
whizzes and whirls until finally he states "you have 502 sheep". "Well blow me" says the farmer "you’re right on
there".
So the consultant picks up the sheep puts it in his van and is about to set off, when the farmers shouts "Oi, what
about if I can guess your job - will you give me my sheep back?" Being a fair man the consultant agrees. So the
*** Joke Competition ***

7. - 7 -
farmer stands there thinking and thinking then announces "you are a consultant". "Well by-jove how did you
guess old chap" enquired the consultant.
"Well" said the farmer, "first you turn up un-invited, secondly you told me something I already know, and thirdly
you don’t know nothing about anything - because that’s my dog in the back of your van!”
David Crawford, HSP PM:
David Cameron (leader of the opposition in the UK Govt) and Lord Ashcroft visited Oxfam in Darfur. They spent
the night in our house with a freezing shower, convent beds and outside squat latrine. I asked David and Lord
Ashcroft how their night and cold shower had been - "just like being back at school!" came the reply.
Medard Hakizamungu, HSP PHE:
During the interviews of Water Technicians conducted recently in the Tanzania refugee programme, one of the
questions asked was to explain the meaning of "priming" in water pumping system. Then one of the interviewees
responded that it is about "booking for an appointment with the Prime Minister".
Raphael Mutiku, HSP PHE:
In my effort to bring safe drinking ground water to the residents of Akot, South Sudan in 1995, I provided the well
diggers with ropes to be used as harnesses when going down the well. I mistakenly assumed the team knew
how to use these as the technology is quite basic - I mean, tie the rope below the armpits and get lowered to the
well using the walls as support.
Work started in the morning and I wasn't paying much attention. On checking the progress, I found that Majouk,
the guy being lowered into the 24m well, had tied the rope around his neck. “Trying to commit suicide?” I asked.
“No, from here the rope can never slip”……..
Irungu Houghton, Policy Adviser, HECA
A humanitarian worker walks into a clinic complaining of a pain in his leg, arm, hand and head. The doctor
patiently examines each of these in turn. Finding nothing, he proceeds to do other tests. After a while, she
smiles and asks him what he does for a living. "I am a humanitarian worker who has worked in some of the most
difficult places in the world!" he said. Ah that explains it, she says, your finger is broken"
And more from Lawrence Musa Lewis, HSP EFSL:
2. Our next-door neighbour Mr Moyo had an argument with his wife who packed her bags and went to her
parental home. Unfortunately for her, she had to pass her husband's place everyday as she went to work or to
the shops. Days passed and still Ma Moyo did not go back to her house until Mr Moyo realised that she was not
coming back and he decided to go to Edgars to shop. When he got to Edgars, he bought five pairs of XL
underwear in different colours.
Then here comes Moyo's wife passing by her house, only to see one red size XL underwear hanging from the
washing line....she ignores it. The following day there is a pink one....she ignores it but she starts fuming. The
next morning Moyo sees his fuming wife approaching him, " Iwe Moyo(Hey you Moyo), no fat woman of yours
will make me leave my home, I am back".
“Varume kunyarara ndoshasha” (Gentlemen the best thing is to keep quiet).
3. A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an
argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and
pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."
4. A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day... 30,000 to a man's 15,000.
The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men... The husband then
turned to his wife and asked, "What?"
5. A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time."
The wife responded, "Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made
me stupid so I would be attracted to you!
6. Husband and wife were in the midst of a violent quarrel, and hubby was losing his temper. "Be careful," he
said to his wife. "You will bring out the animal in me." "So what?" his wife shot back. "Who is afraid of a mouse?"
7. One evening after work, a man drove his secretary home after she had a little too much to drink at a party.
Although nothing happened, he decided not to mention it to his wife. Later that night, the man and his wife were
driving to a movie when he spotted a high-heeled shoe hidden under the passenger seat. Pointing to something
outside the window to distract his wife, he picked up the shoe and tossed it out of his window. They arrived at
the movie house a short while later and were about to get out of the car when his wife asked, "Honey, have you
seen my other shoe?"

8. - 8 -
David Loquercio, HPC, Zimbabwe:
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
Once called venereal diseases, these are among the most
common infectious diseases in the world today. They
include: HIV; Clamidia; Gonorrhoea; Syphillis; Genital
Herpes; Genital Warts; Pubic Lice & Scabies;
Trichomonas Vaginalis; Thrush & Bacterial Vaginosis; Non
specific urethritis. and some more!
Quite a long list and most of them do not have any
obvious signs or symptoms, especially in women. Even
when an STD causes no symptoms, a person who is
infected may be able to pass the disease on to a sexual
partner. They can cause long term illness, and especially
infertility and miscarriage. All of them are avoidable and
can be treated. STDs affect men and women of all
backgrounds and economic levels. The risk of acquiring
a STD also increases with the number of partners over a
lifetime.
What Can You Do to Prevent STDs?
Have a mutually monogamous sexual relationship with an
uninfected partner.
Correctly and consistently use a male or female condom.
Anyone diagnosed as having a STD should:
Be treated to reduce the risk of transmitting a STD to
another person.
Notify all recent sex partners and urge them to get a checkup.
Follow the doctor's orders and complete the full course of medication prescribed. A follow-up test to ensure that
the infection has been cured is often an important step in treatment.
Be prepared and always use a condom when having sex with a new partner.
http://intranet.oxfam.org.uk/support/hr/staff_health/sexually_transmitted_diseases/
S:InterDivStaff Health Shared InformationSEXUAL DISEASESSexually Trans Diseases plus Translation
HR and Staff Health
Arrivals
A warm welcome to the following new
HSPs:
 William Parmar, HSP Logistician, on
way to Philippines
 Laurent Ploquin, HSP Logistician, on
way to Philippines
 Paphulla Shrestha, HSP PHE starting
in January 07
 Kerry Zaleski, HSP HIV coordinator
starting Dec-Jan
Also to:
 Chris Bonfiglioli, Public Health
recruitment exec in the Hum Dept,
Oxford

9. - 9 -
Code of Conduct
Regardless of location, staff must ensure that their conduct is in keeping with Oxfam's beliefs, values, and aims.
Guidance regarding staff behaviour is provided in the Code of Conduct, and breaching the Code of Conduct
standards is likely to result in disciplinary action. The Code can be found at:
http://homepage.oxfam.org.uk/chr/chrcore/codeofconduct.htm#oxfamgbmissionbeliefsandvalues
Please also read the Sexual Conduct Guidelines, which provide clarity on the non-negotiable principles for
Oxfam staff in relation to sexual behaviour:
http://homepage.oxfam.org.uk/sco/life_security/sexploitation/guidelines.doc.
New resources from Oxfam Publishing
Paper 2 Reality: Experiences and Lessons of
Developing and Implementing an HIV and AIDS
Workplace Policy
Developed by CARE and Oxfam, this DVD and CD ROM
are packed full of case studies, practical ideas and
suggestions on how implement an HIV and AIDS
workplace policy. Both DVD and CD ROM include all
information in English, French, and Portuguese.
PAL version:
http://publications.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam/intranet/display.as
p?ISBN=0855985879
NTSC version:
http://publications.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam/intranet/display.as
p?ISBN=0855985887
This publication will soon be available in each Regional
Management Centre and can be purchased:
 In local currency from regional distributors, see:
http://intranet.oxfam.org.uk/support/other/ordering/dis
tributors
 With a 20 per cent discount from Ann Nelson
(anelson@oxfam.org.uk) or online via the Oxfam
intranet: http://intranet.oxfam.org.uk/support/other/ordering/index.htm
Letter from Wajir, northern Kenya:
Hello, my name is Magdalen Nandawula, Humanitarian Project Manager in HECA. I would like to contribute to
Hum News since it helps share experiences; these demonstrate the distances we are yet to cover to make a
difference to people’s lives.
1. At the moment there are heavy rains in the district and a number of locations are flooded. With poor human
waste disposal, the water has high levels of contamination. Incidences of diarrhoea have increased due to the
rains, and despite the efforts made to create awareness, mothers still bring children for medical attention as a
last resort and when they are completely dehydrated. Since late November 1-2 children are dying every day in
the main hospital. And the reason for this? Culturally, women who are breast feeding should not have sex with
their husbands as this is said to contaminate the breast milk leading to diarrhoea. So a mother seen with a child
with diarrhoea is a direct reflection of what has been happening in the household over the period…..Accordingly,
they hide the children and use local herbs. The question remains - have people ever heard of conjugal rights?
2. Malaria control remains a big challenge in Wajir, in the wet season there are many pools of stagnant water in
almost all settlements that encourage mosquito breeding. As part of malaria control campaigns, mosquito nets
are given out as the main intervention by all agencies. In Wajir, the primary strategy is to link distributions to
immunisation and antenatal attendance campaigns, which means nets get given to mothers. Unfortunately,
when mothers reach their homes, priorities of who should sleep under the nets change. Men get to sleep under
Have your say
Leavers
A sad farewell to the following:
 Heloise Troc, EFSL HSP who is going
to SC-UK
 Cecile Cherrier, EFSL HSP who is
going to WFP
 Also David Crawford, HSP PM, but
congratulations on his becoming the
CPM in Zimbabwe

10. - 10 -
nets, while mothers…..? Well, mothers will continue chasing the mosquitoes as and when they can. The thinking
is as follows; the men need to be alive and fit because even if a child dies, the woman can always “make”
another one, whereas she may not be in position to replace a husband.
Letter from Balakot, North-west Frontier Province, Pakistan:
“Before I joined, Oxfam was just a parrot green logo of an International Organisation which works in disasters.
The earthquake that struck Pakistan on 8th October 2005 is widely regarded as the most devastating natural
disaster in Pakistan’s’ history. The terrible scenes on TV screen captured by the media, as well as my own
experience of over 10 years in the field of community participation and health, urged me to apply to leading
international organisations helping to respond. Oxfam was one of them. I was successful, and joined Oxfam as
Public Health Promoter on January 1st 2006.
I arrived at Oxfam’s Mansehra Office at 8pm on 31st December in extreme cold weather and was sent to
Kurakurram Hotel. Gladys (the team leader) visited me to make sure that I had arrived safely; she asked me to
take some rest and meet Shagufta (my counterpart) the next morning for a field induction.
It was still an acute emergency situation, but Oxfam staff took a calm, professional approach with diversified
knowledge and great commitment. The international staff were very cooperative and listened to us patiently,
understanding well and discussing issues in a very friendly and professional manner. They also shared their
experiences and encouraged me to cope with the day-to-day demanding situations of the emergency phase. It
was such a great learning opportunity, and improved my skills with regard to emergency response particularly in
planning, implementation and monitoring of field activities in camps and villages. Through one-to-one meetings
Gladys built my capacity in stress management, staff management and coordination with other stakeholders.
With Brenda (PHP team leader) helping me to analyse health & hygiene risks, we kept on climbing mountains to
reach vulnerable communities and reduce their suffering. Overall I helped respond about 37,000 people by
targeting 32 camps and 25 tented villages.
We carried on into the Rehabilitation phase, successfully reaching about 32,907 beneficiaries through 2006 by
building the capacity of communities to better understand and reduce risks to health. This couldn’t have been
possible without the capacity building of public health promoters, and Oxfam staff’s tireless efforts in public
health promotion & watsan. Using community-led participatory tools and techniques, Oxfam is ensuring the
sustainability of the public health programme in the earthquake-affected areas. This story has no end, and the
coming generations will also reap the crop in coming days.
Now for me, Oxfam is a big institute with no comparison in the field of Public Health, led by highly professional
management which works with others to find lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world. Thanks
to Oxfam for considering me its family member and giving me great learning opportunities in a very professional,
caring and diversified manner.”
Thanks & regards,
Musaddiq Rashid Kayani, PHP Team Leader for our Pakistan Earthquake Response
We would very much like to hear your thoughts, comments, or stories. If you would like to write an article or raise
a question about one of the articles, please email humnews@oxfam.org.uk or use the contact details below.
Humanitarian Department Editors: Sophie Mack Smith, smacksmith@oxfam.org.uk +44 (0) 1865
473846 and Mark Shephard, mshephard@oxfam.org.uk +44 (0) 1865 472256.