Resources – LHL

Keeping the Door Open: The Story of Mikee Payuran-Gonda

September 2, 2026

In Balagtas, the absence of women in the Municipal Council became Mikee Payuran-Gonda’s motivation to stay, speak up, and make space for others. Rather than seeing womanhood as a limitation, Mikee sees it as the foundation of her leadership and public service. Faced with a male-dominated political environment, she refused to walk away from the council simply because there were no other women at the table. Through the Angat Bayi Women Local Humanitarian Leadership Fellowship, she strengthened her leadership alongside other women working in local governance and humanitarian action. Today, as Vice Mayor, Mikee continues to champion women’s participation in decision-making, showing that representation is more than being present—it is about having a voice and using it to open doors for those who come next. Read Mikee’s Story in Voices from the Frontline Keeping the Door Open: The Story of Mikee Payuran-Gonda

A Journey of Courage and Care: The Story of Sadaf Ajmal

September 2, 2026

In Balochistan, where women with disabilities face both gender and disability discrimination, Sadaf Ajmal found her purpose through her own family. When her sister was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Sadaf witnessed how disability could narrow a woman’s education, social life, and opportunities. That experience became a turning point. In 2015,

A Journey of Grit and Leadership: The Story of Rahima Sultana Kazal

September 2, 2026

In Bangladesh, calling someone “Apa”, elder sister, is a mark of deep communal trust and respect. That Rahima Sultana Kazal is known everywhere as “Kazal Apa” says everything about how her community sees her. In the late 1990s, frustrated by organizations that treated women’s rights as secondary, she took a

The Middle Path: How Hnuni Transformed Tradition into Tribal Leadership

September 2, 2026

Zir Than Hnuni’s path from silence to leadership in Myanmar’s Chin State is a story of remarkable resilience in the face of both patriarchal religious systems and conflict. Educated in India and Amsterdam, she encountered gender equality frameworks that sparked her feminist convictions, only to return home and find herself

The Heart of Leadership: Riris and the Flower Aceh Journey

September 2, 2026

Riswati, known as Riris, began her journey not in a boardroom but in the streets of Jakarta as a student activist advocating for peaceful resolution to the Aceh conflict. Armed with a Master’s degree in Gender Studies and what she calls “feminist goggles,” she returned to Aceh after the 2004

Colouring the System: Bringing a Feminist Heart to Humanitarian Aid

September 2, 2026

Khotimun Sutanti, known as Imun, is a woman of quiet defiance and deep conviction. A survivor of the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, she witnessed firsthand how women’s specific needs were sidelined in chaotic relief efforts. Rather than accept the status quo, she stepped forward as an informal volunteer amid the ruins

The Pulse of the Market: Nani’s Journey to Feminist Humanitarian Leadership

September 2, 2026

Sarni Siyauta, known as Nani, discovered her path to humanitarian leadership through a chance encounter on the streets of Ambon, where a mentor recognized her potential. Starting as a teacher in a community preschool run by LAPPAN Ambon, she built her understanding of empowerment one family at a time. In

SHIFT ASIA Learning Report: Sessions 1-3

September 2, 2026

The SHIFT Asia Learning Sessions were convened as part of the second phase of the Supporting Humanitarian Initiatives for Transformation in Asia (SHIFT Asia) Project to advance collective learning on feminist, locally led humanitarian leadership. Across the first three sessions, women humanitarian leaders, feminist networks, civil society organizations, and humanitarian

Emergency Response Fund Agility: Evaluating a Locally Led Humanitarian Funding Model

August 26, 2026

This evaluative research studies Oxfam’s Emergency Response Fund (ERF) Agility, a funding model designed to be accessible to local actors that was piloted in Bangladesh, Puerto Rico, and Uganda from 2021 to 2025. The findings show that when local groups lead the response, aid can be faster, more appropriate to

A Decade of the Grand Bargain: Localization, Power Shifts, and the Future of Humanitarian Action

August 11, 2026

The LHL Network convened humanitarian practitioners and localization advocates from Asia Pacific and Africa online to reflect on 10 years of the Grand Bargain. While participants recognized the GB’s significant progress in making localization a mainstream humanitarian priority, the discussion highlighted persistent gaps in equitable partnerships and power shifts in decision-making. On the

Exploring Evidence for Gender Justice — and Women’s Power to Deliver

April 23, 2026

This research pack brings together Oxfam studies and evidence that explore how inequality, poverty, climate crisis, pandemics and conflict disproportionately affect women, girls, and gender-diverse people—while also highlighting the strengths, leadership, and solutions women and women’s rights organizations already deliver every day. Alongside exposing structural barriers and power imbalances, this

Building Disaster Resilient Communities Through Women’s Leadership

April 23, 2026

Women in Nepal and the Philippines, along with those in other Asian countries, suffer disproportionately from disasters caused by natural hazards yet are excluded from leadership in disaster preparedness and response (DPR). Even as women make a crucial contribution to community resilience, they are hindered from DPR participation by restrictive

Locally Led Humanitarian Response Networks Learning Brief

April 21, 2026

This brief explores how locally led humanitarian response networks are reshaping the way aid is delivered—placing local and national actors at the center of decision-making, coordination, and response. Drawing on experiences from networks in Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, and Somalia, it highlights how these collaborative models enhance the speed, relevance, and

Participatory Grantmaking Workshop Report

April 10, 2026

Discover key insights from a multi-stakeholder workshop on Participatory Grantmaking (PGM) held last November 2025, which emphasize practical models that empower local communities in decision-making. This report showcases real-world experiences and emerging funding strategies, while also addressing challenges like balancing flexibility with accountability. Additionally, it provides actionable recommendations for implementing more

Roadmap for Feminist Local Humanitarian Leadership

March 27, 2026

Oxfam in Asia and its partners recognize that gender and power inequalities persist both incrisis-affected communities and within the humanitarian system. These inequalities arehistorically rooted, intersectional and layered; they exist among diverse populations, betweenaffected communities and humanitarian actors, and within humanitarian institutionsthemselves. As an international actor, Oxfam holds significant power

Building Disaster Resilient Communities Through Women’s Leadership

March 7, 2026

Asia Community Preparedness and Transformation (ACT) Learning Brief

August 6, 2025

Asia Community Preparedness and Transformation (ACT) Program recently had its regional learning workshop hosted by Oxfam Pilipinas. The weeklong event was attended by 42 participants from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Asia Platform, The Global Humanitarian Team, Notre Dame University, USA, Oxfam Pilipinas and Oxfam America. The best news? We see

Fatima Gomez is overcoming challenges of living in the dry corridor of El Salvador.

April 27, 2024

This is part of the Building Community Preparedness for Disaster Response and Recovery in Central America project, implemented by Oxfam in El Salvador with partner organizations to achieve its objectives. One partner is the Asociación Fundación para la Cooperación y el Desarrlolo Comunal de El Salvador (CORDES), and the other

Locally Led Emergency Response Fund (LL-ERF) Project: Experiences from Bangladesh, Puerto Rico, and Uganda

February 6, 2024

This report contains learning from a pilot implementation of the Locally Led Emergency Response Fund (LL-ERF) Project in three countries. The LL-ERF is a funding innovation that provides flexible, quick humanitarian funding to local actors in order to save lives during emergencies, advocate for the rights of people affected, and

Listen and act before it’s too late

January 8, 2024

Women and girls on the front lines of climate change are in deep crisis; the COP 28 discussions about loss and damage need to address their reality. Read the full blog post:https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/listen-and-act-before-its-too-late/

Suffering, and a whisper of hope: women and the climate crisis.

January 8, 2024

As nations discuss compensation for climate-related losses and damage, they need to understand what women in the most at-risk communities are going through. Read the full blog post:https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/suffering-and-a-whisper-of-hope-women-and-the-climate-crisis/

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Local Humanitarian Leadership

Keeping the Door Open: The Story of Mikee Payuran-Gonda

A Journey of Courage and Care: The Story of Sadaf Ajmal

A Journey of Grit and Leadership: The Story of Rahima Sultana Kazal

The Middle Path: How Hnuni Transformed Tradition into Tribal Leadership

The Heart of Leadership: Riris and the Flower Aceh Journey

Colouring the System: Bringing a Feminist Heart to Humanitarian Aid

The Pulse of the Market: Nani’s Journey to Feminist Humanitarian Leadership

SHIFT ASIA Learning Report: Sessions 1-3

Emergency Response Fund Agility: Evaluating a Locally Led Humanitarian Funding Model

A Decade of the Grand Bargain: Localization, Power Shifts, and the Future of Humanitarian Action

Exploring Evidence for Gender Justice — and Women’s Power to Deliver

Building Disaster Resilient Communities Through Women’s Leadership

Locally Led Humanitarian Response Networks Learning Brief

Participatory Grantmaking Workshop Report

Roadmap for Feminist Local Humanitarian Leadership

Building Disaster Resilient Communities Through Women’s Leadership

Asia Community Preparedness and Transformation (ACT) Learning Brief

Fatima Gomez is overcoming challenges of living in the dry corridor of El Salvador.

Locally Led Emergency Response Fund (LL-ERF) Project: Experiences from Bangladesh, Puerto Rico, and Uganda

Listen and act before it’s too late

Suffering, and a whisper of hope: women and the climate crisis.

Suggest Resource

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