Aid charities launch social media campaign to rebuild trust after Oxfam scandal

A group of international aid charities have come together for a social media campaign to showcase the work of their frontline workers, in a bid to rebuild trust in the aftermath of the Oxfam scandal.

The campaign launched this week with a video featuring workers from Oxfam, Save the Children, Plan International, Cafod and an NHS midwife who is training midwives overseas through VSO. All the work featured in the videos has been funded by UK aid.

The campaign, which has been developed jointly by the charities, will also feature postcard style blog posts from the field and video diaries written by frontline aid workers.

The campaign comes amid a fall in public trust in charities following the Oxfam scandal, in which workers for the charity were accused of sexual exploitation while working in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.

Last month Charity Times revealed that more than 60 per cent of donors feel negatively about international aid workers and the charity sector following the allegations.

Charity campaigner Richard Darlington, who has been involved in developing the campaign, said: “Household name international development charities have brought together the stories of workers on the frontline of the battle against global poverty, in an attempt to focus public attention on who they really are and what they really do.

“The idea was first discussed in January and was always planned for the fortnight after Easter. Charities have noticed a surge in negative stories about aid and international development during the holidays.”

The campaign aims to show the breadth of the work carried out by international aid charities, in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

This includes Oxfam hygiene promoter Shireen Anwar Aghi Al-sulaiman explaining how the charity is providing long lasting water supplies to communities in Iraq.

Cafod community trainer Livison Chipatiso is also featured talking about the charity’s work helping a local community in Zimbabwe get the most from a local dam to irrigate their fields and provide food.

Plan International’s South Sudan based community support worker Dominika Kronsteiner details how providing seeds to families helps them cover education and healthcare costs.

Save the Children nurse Jedidah Onyanyo, who is treating children with pneumonia in Kenya, is another featured. Meanwhile, NHS midwife June McNulty details her work training midwives in Myanmar through a VSO project.

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