Blog
Posted on November 8, 2018
By Fatema Z. Sumar, Vice President of Global Programs, Oxfam America
Asylum-seekers listen to a Mexican official explain the procedures they will be asked to follow. Credit: Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam America
As stories of the migrant caravan dominated U.S. headlines this fall, I found myself in a woman’s shelter in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa listening to stories of extreme violence and heartbreaking courage. I heard the story of a 7-year-old girl named Valeria who was given a choice between staying safe in this shelter or going back to her abusive father who could pay her school fees – Valeria chose to go to school. Now, my 7-year-old daughter will never have to choose between her education and her safety. But millions of girls in Central America do not have that choice.
As I traveled last month with Oxfam throughout the Northern Triangle – to the countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador – I heard gut-wrenching stories of gender-based violence and poverty, hunger, and gangs. It became clear to me the migrant caravan is more than a humanitarian crisis or an immigration issue.
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Posted on October 31, 2018
How a global non-profit revamped its communications to reflect its core values
By Andie Long
Director of Communications & Marketing
Global Washington
A year and a half ago, Jodi-Ann Burey, a health systems manager for VillageReach, sent an uncomfortable email. The organization had just appointed a new president, and his third day on the job, Burey figured the time was ripe to shake things up.
“Hey, I just wanted to talk with you about the lack of racial and cultural diversity in our headquarters,” Burey says she wrote to him. Wondering for a moment if she had just torpedoed her career, Burey was relieved to receive an email response right back, saying, “Let’s talk about it.”
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Posted on October 12, 2018
By Jared Klassen
With this week’s headline-grabbing report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it is clear that the consequences of a world just 1.5ºC warmer than pre-industrial levels could have a drastic impact on global food security.
After decades of progress made towards reducing global hunger, last year saw hunger levels increase for the third year in a row. Why is this happening? September’s release of the 2018 State of Food Security in the World confirmed that this upward trend was due to two key factors: conflict and climate change.
On October 9, Global Washington hosted a dialogue with a panel of experts and practitioners who are leading efforts around the world to improve food security and address climate change.
The panel included Chris Jochnick, CEO, Landesa; Chris Shore, Chief Development Officer, Economic Empowerment, World Vision USA; and Juan Echanove, Senior Director for Food and Nutrition Security, CARE. The dialogue was moderated by Gabrielle Fitzgerald, Founder and CEO, Panorama.
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