South America

Example of Oxfam programs

Image: Dolores Primo Primo, a leader of the Timpia community, in Peru’s Urubamba river valley, works in a garden near her village. Credit: Thea Gelbspan/ Oxfam

Community gardens help anchor indigenous villages in Peru – With the coming of modern times, the Machiguenga and Yine people in Peru’s Urubamba river valley have had to settle in communities. Working with local partners, Oxfam has helped the indigenous people of these areas establish ownership of their ancestral lands, empowering them to protect their forest and water resources, and to have a hand in determining their preferred means of economic development to help them overcome poverty.

Image: Steep slopes of the Lake Imbakucha watershed in Otavalo, Ecuador. Credit: Donna Morris/ Oxfam America

Smart management of Ecuador’s Lake Imbakucha – Ecuador’s highlands, some of the most stunning scenery in the Andes, are just 90 minutes north from the capital Quito. All that natural beauty was seriously threatened just a few years ago, as a result of unsustainable agricultural practices and deforestation. By tackling poverty and pollution in the same project, indigenous people in Ecuador make substantial improvements to their lives and the environment.

Image: Ignacia Pachuri Vaca, an elder from a Chiquitano indigenous community in Bolivia. Credit: Renato Guimaraes/Oxfam

Working for indigenous rights in Bolivia – Oxfam has been working with the Chiquitano people to achieve recognition of their right to land and territory, to protect their cultural identity, and to actively participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives. Thanks in part to the Oxfam Indigenous Program in Bolivia, the Chiquitano are now helping redesign their country’s political and social landscape.

Image: Paramilitary soldiers taking part in a disarmament ceremony in Colombia. Credit: Oxfam

Colombia: No peace without justice and the truth – For decades now, the Colombian people have had to suffer an internal conflict. The Uribe government is saying that a new law offers a chance for justice and peace. NGOs and the international community fear that the law will not change much in practice. The Colombian people have become the unwilling prisoners of a power struggle between the guerrilla groups FARC and ELN on the one hand and the paramilitaries and army on the other. The last two are responsible for the majority of the victims.

Which Oxfams work in:

South America	AUS	BEL	CAN	DEU	ESP	GBR	HKG	IRL	NLD	NZL	QC	USA
Amazon Region
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Peru
Surinam
Uruguay

This information covers the financial year 2005-2006 and refers to areas where Oxfam is involved in one or more of the following: operational programs (development or emergency), working through partners and/or working through another Oxfam affiliate.