Cours d'anglais

In many different ways, and with help from many different people:

We have programmes in more than 70 countries. We work with local people to improve their lives.

Together we might, for example, train health workers, set up schools or safeguard water supplies.

We respond to emergencies, providing food and shelter for people driven from their homes by floods, hurricanes and conflict.

We speak up on behalf of poor people to governments and powerful orga- nisations. We encourage people to speak up for themselves and change their lives for the better.

One way to find out is to look at their history. Some countries are poor today because in the past, powerful European nations took them over as colonies and exploited their natural resources (gold and diamonds, for example). The people were sometimes sold as slaves or used as cheap labour. Their land was taken away and used to grow luxuries for rich peo- ple – sugar, for example.

Although these events happened a long time ago, they still cause pro- blems today. We can also look at relationships between countries, such as trading or political links, and consider who benefits most from these.

OXFAM is an international organisation. Wherever we work, we always try to employ local people to help us, and we fund local organisations which are working to fight poverty. The use of this local knowledge and skills means that the work is done by the people who know most about the local communities and the problems facing them.

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