The Hill News

Actress and Global Ambassador for Oxfam Kristin Davis is in Washington this week. She's meeting with members of Congress to lobby them on reforming the Food Aid portion of the Farm Bill which must be reauthorized by September. The Sex and the City star spoke to The Hill's Comment Editor Emmanuel Touhey about the need for reform, her visits to refugee camps in Africa and what she hopes to accomplish on her first visit to Capitol Hill.  Here's an excerpt of that interview.

The Hill: Kristin Davis, thank you for joining us today. Could you tell us why you’re here in Washington, DC?

Davis: I am here because I am a global ambassador for Oxfam, and we’re having an event here called Sisters of the Planet, and it’s very exciting,. We have about 70 women from around the country, all different walks of life â€" private enterprise, military women, faith leaders, it’s a very interesting group of people and we’re here to celebrate! International Women’s Day, and to mobilize ourselves to support some legislation and ideas up on the Hill. We’re kind of going there en masse, and it’s exciting.

The Hill: Food Aid is an important part of the Farm Bill, and that’s something you’re focused on. Why did you pick that issue?

Davis: Well, my work with Oxfam centers on women and women’s rights and women’s issues, so when you start to go out in the world and see what’s actually going on, one of the things that you notice is that most of the farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are now women, but people don’t really realize that. They’re not getting a lot of support. Often they’re not even technically allowed to own the land that they’re farming. They’re usually using kind of handed-down methods that aren’t necessarily working anymore because of the weather changes. There’s just so many things about what they’re doing that is difficult, but yet they’re! there, they’re holding together their families, they’re t! rying to educate their children. So we try to, to go and support
those women through Oxfam and just a little bit of support can just make so much change.

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