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Sat 22nd Nov 2008
	13:00	Unwritten
	14:00	Charge
	15:00	The Street Where You Live
	15:25	Volunteer Films 2008
	15:30	New Consumer TV

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Afar Angel

The remarkable story of a woman - Valerie Browning - who's spent 20 years helping the Afar people in a remote but stunningly beautiful corner of Africa.

The Afar region of northern Ethiopia is currently facing a new food crisis and Oxfam has warned that millions are again at risk of famine here and in the Horn of Africa.

Valerie Browning has experienced their struggle at first hand.

A trained nurse, she moved to Ethiopia from suburban Sydney in 1988 and married Ismael, an Afar elder. Together they have devoted their lives to helping the Afar, a forgotten people at the bottom of the ladder in one of the poorest countries in the world.

She's known here as Maalika, and has travelled amongst these nomadic people who now regard her as one of them.

Maalika with Afar women

Afar women in particular have incredibly difficult lives and do most of the physical work.

They are seen as a possession in marriage and suffer traditional practices such as female circumcision - all things Valerie is determined to change.

This film looks at the work she does moving from village to village often on foot, encouraging women to be trained in health care so that they can improve their circumstances.

It gives a candid insight into the Afar people's struggle to survive.

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Find out more on Oxfam's response to the new food crisis.

Last Updated ( Monday, 06 October 2008 )

Contact details of organisations

Oxfam