Press release for immediate release: Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Put An End To Bad Presents This Christmas With Oxfam Unwrapped

Sick of giving socks and jocks for Christmas? Oxfam Unwrapped aims to solve your gift giving woes with 60 fantastic gift ideas that will not only make life easier for you this festive season, but also for those working their way out of poverty.

The Unwrapped gift range includes three ducks for $15; baby emergency health kits for $25; or piglets for $40; Other gifts include a water tank; emergency shelters; starting a community business; and new for 2008, a horse to help transport produce to market in East Timor.

Every gift in the catalogue represents a need identified by the more than 100 communities Oxfam works with around the world; allowing families to work themselves out of poverty. And with 60 gifts on offer, shoppers can find the perfect gift that best suits their loved one.

Here's how it works:

A shopper goes online and chooses a gift for their friend, loved one or client. The recipient receives a personalised card explaining how their gift is used to help people overcome poverty.

"We're on a crusade to end bad presents!" says Oxfam's Arron Peacock. "Because isn't it time you liked what you unwrapped? Oxfam Unwrapped is a great way to give something truly unexpected and at the same time, make a real difference for people in need.

"For you, these presents are a fun alternative to more socks for dad or vouchers for mum. But to the families we help they have life-saving value."

The Christmas 2008 Oxfam Unwrapped range is on sale now. The catalogue is available online at www.oxfamunwrapped.org.nz or call 0800 600 700. Orders must be placed by December 18 to allow time for delivery.

ENDS

Editors' notes

Examples of the 60 gift items in the Oxfam Unwrapped online catalogue include:

• A goat - These goats just keep on giving - their manure helps to grow crops and they can produce 7 litres of fresh milk per week to drink, share or sell. Best of all under a village livestock loan scheme, the first female offspring is given to another family so the magic can start again!

• A gardener's pack - A gardener's pack is the essential ingredient to a life without poverty. In West Papua communities are able with a hoe, watering can, shovel and seeds, to make the earth move and turn an acre of land into veggies, fruit trees, and coffee.

• A toilet - In the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, less than 10 percent of the population have access to adequate sanitation. The installation of a toilet structure will mean the writing is on the wall for cholera and typhoid.

• A piglet - Little piglets can grow into an important source of income for impoverished families in East Timor. Farmers are taught how to care for and raise the piglets, which can then be sold at local markets, providing the family with additional income.

• A family emergency shelter - Each year more than 30 million people are forced to flee their homes as a result of either conflict or natural disaster. As well as water and food, they urgently need shelter, clothes, cleaning and cooking essentials. When everything else has gone, this gift provides one family with a roof over their heads.

All gifts through Oxfam Unwrapped are tax deductible. Oxfam works in more than 100 countries around the world with Oxfam New Zealand's focus primarily on the Pacific and East Asia.

All gifts in the catalogue are used in Oxfam's work, and the prices of each reflect the cost of providing them.

The purchase of an Oxfam Unwrapped gift goes towards funding projects that include your gift and to other needs in that community project.

Oxfam New Zealand is part of a global organisation dedicated to overcoming poverty and injustice.

© Scoop Media