Two New Zealand men own more wealth than the poorest 30 per cent of the adult population, according to new research to be released today by Oxfam.
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Unstoppable
After suffering from a massive brain bleed two years ago Dennis Sanders was told to avoid rapid arm movements, though fortunately for this Oxfam Trailwalker stalwart, rapid leg movements wasn’t off the cards.
So he set about tackling his eighth 100km Trailwalker in Taupo in 2015. His team came in 7th in a time of 16 hours and 22 minutes.
“When I crossed the finish line, I got this great sense of relief that I could do it. I especially wanted to do Oxfam Trailwalker that year because I wanted to show people that they don’t have to be concerned about me. In the end, the only damage was to my feet – I lost four toenails that year.”
The brain bleed came on top of a diagnosis of Deep Vein Thrombosis in 2010. This year, he’ll undertake his tenth Trailwalker. He’ll be sixty two.
Since starting Oxfam Trailkwalker, he has knocked off about 6 hours from his original times, despite these health setbacks.
So what’s his top tip for newbies? “You first have to believe you can do it.” As Dennis has shown, with a bit of belief, anyone can.
Join Dennis and hundreds of everyday Kiwis at Oxfam Trailwalker.
Photo: Alicja Grocz and Matt Crawford.
Tiger toilets on the rise
A stunning low-cost piece of green technology is changing toilets around the world: The tiger worm.
As the ranks of migrants reaches 65 million and refugee camps swell, development agencies are facing up to a rather large problem – how to create a low-cost, flexible toilets.
Enter the tiger worm or the African Night Crawler. This worm measures 8 inches. It can exist purely on human faeces. And it has a voracious appetite.
“It’s a multi-national citizen and it has proven itself to be highly adaptable,” says Andy Bastable, Oxfam’s head of water and sanitation.
Andy Bastable became acquainted with the tiger worm in 2002 in Ethiopia and instantly thought it could be a better more sustainable, cost effective alternative for the 4 million people who use latrines that are unhygienic or unpleasant.
The toilets work like a sophisticated wormery – the worms sit on a bedding mix of coconut fibre to create a vermicompost that is passed through sand, gravel and charcoal.
As well as reducing the sheer volume of the waste by 70-80%, the end product – vermicompost – comes loaded with mico-organisms that helps to supress disease-causing pathogens. So it only needs to be sludged every five years or so.
In the past two years, Andy and his team worked on proving the effectiveness of the tiger toilet across semi-urban, rural and refugee camps in Myanmar, Ethiopia, Liberia, India and Kenya. So far, over 1000 tiger toilets have been installed.
“The tiger toilets have survived fluctuating temperatures, a monsoon in India, occasional overuse, and even flooding.” The only challenge? Getting your hands on this highly-prized piece of green technology. “You just need 1kg- 2kg of tiger worms to get you started. In some countries, like Ethiopia, this can be a challenge.
Caption: Women like Martha,45, no longer have to risk thier safety by defecating in the open at night or in dirty government-built toilet blocks that cost 10 Liberian dollars per visit. The value of a private toilet in your own home is evident in the pride with which women are maintaining their tiger worm toilets.
Oxfam scales up flood response in Fiji
Oxfam has stepped in to assist with relief efforts in Koro, Ra and Tailevu today after flooding hit the already vulnerable regions on Friday.
I hear you: Hollywood actors read powerful stories of refugees
Right now there are over 65 million people have been forced from their homes making it the largest the largest refugee crisis since World War 2.
This number represents countless ordinary people faced with overcoming impossible challenges. Forced to leave their homes, schools and businesses their stories are full of heartbreak, courage and hope.
The need to address the refugee crisis is at an all-time high and it’s these stories that need to be told because everyone deserves to live in safety. And everyone has the right to seek refuge when their safety and dignity is threatened.
So Oxfam has partnered with some of the best storytellers in the world to tell some of the most pressing stories.
Oxfam’s Five Top Tasks for English to be a Great Prime Minister
Oxfam New Zealand have highlighted five key areas Bill English must tackle if he’s going to be judged to be a successful Prime Minister of New Zealand, and tackle poverty and inequality in the Pacific and around the world.
They are:
1. Make sure that New Zealand is a good neighbour to our Pacific friends, by helping them to tackle rising sea levels and turbo-charged cyclones. Families in the Pacific are living on the frontline of climate change and they need resources to adapt to these increasing threats. But they’re just not getting adequate support from the New Zealand government right now. Solar panels are good, but not enough to battle rising tides. The new prime minster should fix that by rebalancing resources intended to tackle climate change in the Pacific so that they are adequate, effective, and reach those most in need.
2. Lead New Zealand to be a caring, decent and responsible global citizen, by allowing more refugees to make their home here. The world is in the middle of the most serious refugee crisis since the Second World War. Millions of people have been forced to flee their homes by conflict, violence, disasters and poverty. We should be helping more of these people out, and increasing the New Zealand refugee quota to 1500 will go some way to shouldering our fair share. That’s just 500 more people, who need our help, a year.
3. Crack down on the dodgy multinationals who aren’t paying their way in New Zealand. The schemes and deals that allow multinationals to minimise their tax, whilst legal, should not be tolerated by the new Prime Minister. If people are to have trust in the tax system, all governments, including New Zealand, must act immediately to end tax avoidance. Bill English should also use New Zealand’s international reputation as a fair-minded country to encourage other nations to crack down on tax avoidance.
4. Show clear intent to tackle the big issues of poverty, inequality and climate change by implementing the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, and do everything possible to end child poverty in New Zealand.
5. Be a decent bloke, and buy some goats for his cabinet colleagues this Christmas.
Rachael Le Mesurier, executive director of Oxfam New Zealand, said: “If being a good neighbour, leading New Zealand to be a responsible global citizen, cracking down on tax-dodging multinationals, tackling the big issues of poverty, inequality and climate change are all on Bill English’s to-do list, then he’ll be off to a cracking start as the new Prime Minister.
“If he manages to tick them all off during his tenure, he’ll be seen as one of the great New Zealand prime ministers, a true friend of the Pacific and an internationally acclaimed politician.
“And he could kick off his stint as the PM by showing he’s a decent bloke, and buying some goats for his cabinet.”
