Authors posts

Leading from the front

Oxfam in Kenya awarded the most collaborative NGO by Kenya Revenue Authority for its work on Fiscal Justice. Tax Justice has been an anchor pillar of work under the Governance and Accountability programme for Oxfam in Kenya since 2015 with the rollout of the new Country Strategy. Recognizing the...

Fatuma Juma, her husband and last born daughter outside their makeshift house. Photo credit/Jeremy Mutiso

Recovering from floods

“These toilets have helped us maintain basic hygiene and prevent diseases because before that we were helping ourselves in the nearby bush which is dehumanizing,” Fatuma Juma. ALDEF, WASDA and Oxfam, under the ADAPT Consortium, with financial support from Sweden International Development Agency (...

Children dressed as who they might like to be when they grow up take part in an Oxfam campaign to promote Sanergy Fresh Life toilets at the Reuben Baptist School, in the Mukuru informal settlement, in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 28, 2014.Photo Credit:Sam Tarling

She is where muck is!

Oxfam and Sanergy installed Fresh Life toilets in schools, replacing unsanitary pit latrines. Schools with Fresh Life toilets have seen dramatically increased attendance, particularly of female students. Today as per Sanergy’s data (from their website) they have 1691 active fresh life toilets in...

A woman uses her water credit, which is stored in a small, plastic token, to buy water from a Water ATM in Hadado, Kenya. Photo Credit: Katie Nelson

If there is a will there is a way…

The women in the rural and urban areas feel that they can access water at any point of time in the day as they have the ATM and do not have to wait for the person to give access to the water kiosk. The water kiosks are less than half a kilometre away from the households and therefore saves the time...

On going community baraza in Turkana County. Photo Credit: Jeremy Mutiso

The Early Oil Pilot Scheme: A Litmus Test of Kenya’s Oil Governance

The Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) remains an important yardstick for how the government and the project proponent manage Kenya’s precious oil resources when commercial production starts. All effort must be put towards building citizen confidence and trust in the governance of the resource.

Sunrise shot of Turkana County. Photo credit/Oxfam

What more can be done for contract disclosure

During the launch of the Oxfam Briefing Paper of May 2018 entitled "Contract Disclosure Survey 2018", key insights were shared on contract disclosure best practice by companies and governments. A focus on policy, law and corporate policies shows three broad categories of ‘enablers’ allowing for...

Dandora dumpsite. Photo Credit: Jeremy Mutiso

A tale of two mountains

The hot burning sun in January, does not seem as hot as usual and especially in Dandora, but the chill on the slopes of Davos are undisputed, climate change? Perhaps, but a story for another day. What is evident is the stark contrast of the two cities and two mountains that seemingly have nothing...

Roda Lokaale, fetching water at an Oxfam supported water point in Turkana. Photo Credit: Joy Obuya

Sustaining universal access to water for all: Reflections from Oxfam WASH interventions in Kenya.

Oxfam is keen on working with communities, national and county government and local partners in exploring models that will ensure functionality of the water schemes embedded within citizen-led social accountability structure.

Helen Akuom, 50 and Nyartoe Nakwale 67 at he Gypsum mining field in Kapua Turkana County. Photo Credit: Joy Obuya

Resilient Communities: Story of Hellen Akuom

CMDRR is a process whereby a community systematically manages its disaster risk reduction measures towards becoming a safer and resilient community. Oxfam, through financial support from EU humanitarian aid has been working closely with communities through the Community Disaster Management...

Kenya’s New Government and Imperatives for Extractives Governance Reform

Communities in the oil and gas exploration regions of Kenya are likely to lose their land and or suffer involuntary displacement. There is, therefore, a need to ensure that compensation and resettlement processes are judiciously applied. It is important for the new government to work to ensure that...

The power of people against poverty