World Food Day: “Food for Thought”

Oxfam at University of Ottawa is hosting an event called “Food for Thought” with the support of Equal Voice uOttawa. This event is taking place in the ecologically friendly Cafe Alternatif, a leader on campus for organic and healthy food. Come out on Thursday October 13 at 8 pm!

To compliment Oxfam’s GROW campaign, we are hosting 2 speakers to speak on the pillars of GROW: food, women and planet.

For the food pillar, we have Lucy Sharratt, coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN). This will include themes of the local food system, how what we eat here in Canada affects the global community, and the importance of food, health, human and environmental integrity.

For the planet pillar, we have Courtney-Anne Craft, a long-time intern at Oxfam Canada who will be speaking about themes surround our broken global food system, the factors that influence and affect this system, and its impact on the world’s vulnerable communities.

This event will be catered by Credible Edibles, an ecologically conscious and healthy food option. Following the speakers, who will roughly speak for 10-15 minutes each, there will be a Q & A/ discussion session, followed by mingling with food and beverages and LIVE local music!

This event is not ticketed, but note that there is a suggested donation of $5 at the door.

 

Please visit the facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=141456105953584

Urgent: East Africa Food Crisis

Dear OxfamUO members,

You may have heard about the worsening food crisis in the Horn of Africa. More than 11 million people in East Africa have been pushed into a struggle for survival, yet there is a lack of media attention surrounding this issue.

Over the last week, Oxfam has launched an emergency appeal or the food crisis in East Africa. Conditions are deteriorating rapidly, forcing many families to abandon their homes for refugee camps, a journey so difficult many don’t survive. We need your help to get the conversation started.

We urge you to take the initiative and be a leader by informing your networks about our collective responsibility to foster global food security. 

Oxfam needs your help to deliver critical water and life-saving supplies – Donate now >>

The situation is particularly critical in Somalia, southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. Learn more >>In some areas, more than half the livestock has perished, while remaining herds are sick or seriously underweight. But people aren’t worried about their animals anymore – there is fear for the lives of their children, their families and their neighbours.Oxfam is trucking water to villages where all other sources have dried up, digging wells and providing life-saving food and medical supplies to people in crisis. As this crisis grows, we MUST rush more supplies and staff to Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

Please donate today to make it happen – your gift will save lives!

• For $50, you can provide clean water for 175 people for a day.
• For $100, you can feed a family of six for two weeks – helping them survive and giving them the strength to assist their community.
• For $175, you can dig a well that will provide drinking water for an entire village. With your gift, we can start right now – in some areas, the closest well is currently 50 miles away.

To learn more you may wish to consult the following news articles:

CTV.ca
Kristen Davis, Oxfam ambassador, interviewed on her trip to the Horn of Africa.
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/africa-crisis/#clip500243

Toronto Star
The Humanitarian Coalition of which Oxfam is a member, placed an Op-ed on thestar.com yesterday.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1024577–severe-humanitarian-crisis-grips-east-africa

Huffington Post
Blog by Louis Belanger from Oxfam America on the nature of the food crisis.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/louis-belanger/food-crisis-africa-_b_895157.html

Thank you in advance for your generosity and commitment to Oxfam’s initiatives.

Sincerely,

OxfamUO Exec

Facebook : OxfamUO

Twitter : @OxfamUO

E-mail : oxfamuottawa@gmail.com

Blog: www.oxfamuottawa.wordpress.com

Oxrevamped!

Hello Oxfamily,

It has been quite a while since our last blog post so we wanted to say hello and update you on what we’ve been up to here at the University of Ottawa.

OxfamUO had a very successful 2010-2011 campaign this year. This year we organized advocacy events to support Oxfam’s mission to uphold women’s rights, and increase awareness about world issues such as food insecurity.

We participated in various rallies for Bill C-393 on Parliament Hill, and mailed letters to MPs to raise the issue of the freeze on aid in Parliament. We also met with MP Mauril Belanger regarding Oxfam’s Unfreeze Aid campaign.

We staged a flash stunt in which OxfamUO volunteers wore several layers of winter clothing and stood outside to inform passing students about the freeze on aid implemented by Parliament.

In December, we organized a Red Night Benefit Concert on World AIDS Day.

We also held various Oxtalks to discuss food security, women’s issues and international poverty and learn more about what we can do as global citizens to change this.

We also attended the “I Might Not Be a Feminist But…” event at National Archives Canada for International Women’s Day.

Since the term ended, some OxfamUO members attended the National Change Summit in St. John’s Newfoundland in May, and we’ll be participating in Oxfam’s Trailwalker Walk as well, so please help us fundraise!

OxfamUO looks forward to an exciting year with our new club executive continuing to support Oxfam’s mission and recruiting new volunteers. Stay tuned for news about Oxfam’s new campaigns and more ways to get involved!

Have a oxfun filled day,

OxfamUO exec

First Semester Success!

Though it has been awhile since the first post, OxfamUO has not forgotten its blog/website! To use the age old excuse for neglect… We’ve just been so busy!

First we participated in Stand Up Take Action – End Poverty Now! on October 16th. Ottawa was one of many cities across the world to demand that world leaders end poverty and achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. Our campus group teamed up with the Art of Living Foundation to make posters for the event, and met up again on the Hill. The president of our campus club was even invited to MC for the event, and Paul Dewar took time out of his day to speak on the subject, along with a number of organizations across the National Capital Region.

Paul Dewar Speaking!

Our "stunt" for the day!

Our second major event so far was “Fill the Hill Day of Action”. To  learn more about what it was, and we did, click here. It was a rainy and cold day, but we managed to have some fun while getting the message of the importance of climate change across.

Fill the Hill

Fill the Hill

We also have some very exciting projects on the go! More updates on those to come…

Welcome! Bienvenue!

Thanks for taking a minute to check out the BRAND NEW Oxfam uOttawa blog!

This year we’ll be posting photos, event information, and information tidbits about our adventures in the national capital region! Stay tuned as the year progresses and dont hesitate to join us on campus!

Merci de prendre une minute pour vérifier le blog TOUT NEUF d’Oxfam – section Université d’Ottawa!
Cette année, nous publierons des photos, de l’information sur nos événements et sur nos aventures dans la région de la capitale nationale. Restez à l’affût au courant de l’année et n’hésitez pas à vous joindre à nous sur le campus!