Tag Archives: Malawi

So, How Do Charities Spend Your Money?

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Oxfam launches nationwide search to find a member of the public to see for themselves how money donated to the charity is spent

Oxfam is today launching a nationwide search to find a member of the public to travel to one of their projects and see for themselves how money donated to the charity is spent. The successful applicant of this unique opportunity will report back with their personal experience of Oxfam’s work helping communities out of poverty and will feature in a major advertising campaign.

Oxfam’s research highlights that uncertainty about whether donated money gets to where it’s needed or if it even makes a difference long term can be a major barrier to giving. The ‘See For Yourself’ campaign aims to dispel these myths and show how giving just £3 a month to Oxfam really can transform people’s lives. The core of the initiative is being open and honest about how donated money is spent by showing Oxfam’s work from an impartial point of view.

Earlier this year mum-of-two and Oxfam supporter, Jodie Sandford, became the first person ever to take part in ‘See For Yourself’ when she travelled to Zimbabwe to see Oxfam’s work first-hand. Now, in an unprecedented step, the charity is widening the recruitment for the next phase and is specifically looking for someone who is not an Oxfam supporter to travel with them to Malawi, southeast Africa.

Oxfam are looking for someone who is curious and not afraid to ask questions. They will need to be willing to embrace new experiences as the trip itself will be physically and emotionally challenging. The journey will take them to an Oxfam project, where they will meet the local people and share their personal account of their thoughts and feelings about directly witnessing Oxfam’s work.

The whole experience will be filmed as part of a TV, print and online campaign which will launch this autumn to encourage more people to donate to Oxfam on a regular basis.

Oxfam’s Paul Vanags, Head of Public Fundraising added: “Regular donations make Oxfam’s life-changing, life-saving projects possible but we urgently need to do more. We believe that the most powerful way to encourage more people to give is to show them our work through the eyes of someone impartial who’s never seen it before. This trip will not only offer an experience of a lifetime, it will also form the basis of a major initiative to help us find new regular supporters.”

Prospective candidates will need to hold a valid UK passport and be available to travel for up to two weeks in July or August 2012. Recruitment is open from 6-14 June 2012 and Oxfam will be interviewing short-listed applicants on 21-22 June 2012.

To apply go to www.oxfam.org.uk/apply

12 helpful tips to save your water.

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As the hosepipe ban is introduced across parts of the UK, people need to make sure they’re keeping an eye on their water consumption. The shortage will affect millions of homeowners, not to mention having a potentially adverse effect on the UK’s wildlife. Cutting down water usage not only makes good environmental sense, it can save on household bills too which is why Megaflo, the water experts, have put together some practical, everyday tips to help homeowners save precious water.

 

1.    Savings on tap

There’s no need to keep the tap running while brushing your teeth or shaving as you can waste up to 9 litres a minute by just letting the water pour down the sink , so turn it off in-between cleaning(water-guide.org)[i]. This way, we are only using as much water as we really need.

 

2.    A glass a day helps keep the ban away

Why not just use one glass for your drinking water each day or refill a water bottle as this will cut down on the number of glasses to wash, reducing both your washing up time and

 3.    Make sure your wash is a full one

When using your dishwasher or washing machine make sure the load is full as this can save gallons of water and also helps you shift your piles of washing more quickly!

 

4.    A shower of savings

Spend less time in the shower and even turn off the tap in-between rinses while washing your hair.  If you aim to spend no more than two minutes in the shower it will go a long way to helping cut down on your water usage.

 

5.    Rationalise your tea-making operations!

Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need as this will save both water and energy.  Using a cup to measure out the amount of water you put into your kettle will help reduce the strain on your bank account as well as on the UK’s water resources!

 

6.    Fix your leaks

Those leaky taps can waste gallons of water, it is estimated that just one drop a second from a dripping tap wastes nearly 5,000 litres of water a year (fhc2020.co.uk)[ii]. So get the plumber in and fix those faucets! Having a new washer fitted will be a lot cheaper than the cost of the water a leak can waste.

 

 

7.    If you can, use it twice!

Never let water down the drain if you can use it again.  Did you know that you can re-use your washing-up water to water your plants and garden?  Washing up liquid is harmless to our growing friends and recycling the used dish water ensures you are doing your bit for the environment.  You can even water plants with your used vegetable cooking water!

 

8.    Keep it cool

Keeping a bottle of water in the fridge avoids you having to run the tap for a while and waste water while you wait for it to run cold.  You can then refill the water bottle as you need it and even use the water left over in your kettle to be super-efficient.

 

9.    Wash your dishes

When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run while rinsing. Try filling one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water and wash up everything in one go.

 

10.  Keep your greens green!

However, you can wash your fruits and vegetables in a single bowl of water instead of running water from the tap through a colander.

 

11.  Forget the hose- use a bucket and sponge

Using a sponge and a bucket of water to clean your car, instead of a hose, is the smart way to keep our prized four-wheeled friends shining, without breaking the water bank.

 

12.  Stop your flushing

Did you know that each time we flush the toilet it uses the same amount of water which a person in the third world used all day for washing, cleaning, cooking and drinking?(whrnet.org)[iii]Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily; put your tissues and other waste in the bin rather than the toilet.

 

Megaflo is showing its support to helping save water by co-funding a Pump Aid project to develop water wells and flushing toilets for 21 schools in Malawi.  Pump Aid is a charity dedicated to providing clean water and good sanitation to underprivileged areas in Africa.