Charity begins...

...after a hatchet job by the Daily Mail.

I may well be biting off more than I can chew, feeling stressed in the office and having to work on things late in the evening. I went to yoga as the only opportunity to chill and tried to clench my buttocks throughout, following the advice received on Monday.

This Oxfam scandal could damage the entire charitable sector. Most of the coverage displays a woeful lack of nuance, fairness and balance towards charities as a whole. In a large organisation such as Oxfam, it is as difficult (i.e. completely impossible) as in large banks, insurance companies and government departments to assess the moral fibre of all staff members. People who I have met working in charities in various countries are not all liberal do-gooders. Often they're just average folk meeting the required skillset, looking for work. Charities are not always awash with virtuous applicants and recruitment processes cannot easily wheedle out those who engage in illicit activities. Plus, those who trot out virtuous lines may be manipulating. We've all worked with people who turned out to be wildly different to how they presented themselves at interview.

Bad pennies turn up in every type of organisation. The acts that have been reported in Haiti are odious and require strong action against those individuals, but they are not indicative of charity workers or the activities of charities.

Overall, Oxfam and other agencies can be extremely effective agents of change. My fear is that the main result of this will be a drop-off in donations, which will only impact some of the world's most desperate people. As well as acting as a handy distraction from the misdemeanours of other sectors. Always a good win for right-wing media moguls.