Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
02 October 2019
Post No. 111
The Week’s Contents
• History Month with Making Memorable Difference Project
• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature)
• Autumn Humanitarian Appeal
… and much more!
Key Messages
~ History Month with Making Memorable Difference
The lead story line of poverty relief and sustainable development at CENFACS this week is about Making Memorable Difference in October. October is the History month in CENFACS development calendar. We normally remember the African history through Making Memorable Difference (MMD) project.
This year’s MMD is about Health History, in particularly about the ways in which Africans managed to deal with epidemics and viruses in the past time (both in pre-colonial and post-colonial areas). MMD 2019 is about acknowledging African Legacies in terms of healing people and communities to avoid widespread contagion that can lead to humanitarian catastrophe or disaster that some kinds of diseases can cause.
For further information on this acknowledgement, read below under the Main Development section of this post.
Besides the main history theme of October, we are also running our environmental campaign “A la une” as planned.
~ “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep the Nature in Existence)
“A la une” campaign has already started with our work on the BIG BEASTS and the Protection of the Oceans. During these October and November 2019, we shall continue these two areas of advocacy while taking our advocacy about the nature to the next level. This next level is of advocating for Sustainable Trajectories for the Nature. We already spoke about this new initiative during last Summer. We will be dealing with it now while adding more contents to “A la une” campaign.
Since this year we are in a situation of the urgency of taking a bold climate action to keep under control the trajectories of rising temperature, our work on the nature will also include this dilemma about how to help meet life-sustaining needs while handling life-threatening impacts of climate change. So, “A la une” campaign will integrate life-sustenance and life-treat.
Below you will find an outline of the main areas of work that will make this year’s “A la une” campaign.
For more information about this year’s “A la une” campaign, please contact CENFACS and or continue to read our posts over this Autumn season.
What’s more, our usual Autumn Humanitarian Appeal will be re-launched soon.
Just to let you know, the environmental campaign known as “A la une” and humanitarian appeal are part of our Autumn programme.
~ Autumn Humanitarian Relief Appeal
Our humanitarian appeal for Autumn 2019 will be launched this October 2019 and will be live on the Support Us page of this website: cenfacs.org.uk/support-us/
This appeal is about supporting needy people, flora, fauna, communities and organisations in Africa. It will include the following five selected projects:
1/ Skills for Value Chains
2/ Inequalities Reducer
3/ Righters of financial deprivations
4/ Hardship After Summer Holidays
5/ Save Flora and Fauna projects.
A brief summary of these projects will be given on the page Support Us of this website.
Donors and funders can directly and respectively donate or fund these projects.
A message about this appeal can also be passed on to a person who is in a position and willing to support. Many thanks for passing this message!
You can donate £2 to create 2 benefits (1 benefit for humans and 1 benefit for other natural livings) or any amount starting from £2 or more as you wish, gift aid your giving and support these projects in a way that is the most suitable and related to your situation, capacity and willingness.
To donate, gift aid and support otherwise; please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
~ September Recaps
~~ Virtual Open Day and Hours (VODHs)
Our September VODHs for advice is now closed. We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who contacted us for advice and or made enquiries about our other services. We would like to particularly thank The Big Local Broad Green for providing us space to work in our last VODH.
VODHs event is closed, but our advice work is still on. For those who need advice and who could not contact us on the day (every Fridays of last September) and hours (between 10am and 2pm), they can still seek advice online, 24 hours and 7 days a week.
Need advice; please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
~~ Protection of the Oceans
The other final repetition of September themes is the protection of the oceans. So, September was also the month of the oceans. Our back-to-the upkeep of the nature with the protection of the oceans enabled us to take stock, exchange ideas and look forward to a better protection of the oceans and coastal areas, particularly of small island countries of Africa.
~ “Quadranscentennial Historicité”
As we are still in the “Quadranscentennial” (“Q”) year and the history month, we are continuing to learn a bit more about the history of CENFACS as a “Quadranscentennial” organisation. We are doing it through a small initiative or activity called “Q” Historicité. “Q” Historicité is about finding out and learning about the historical character of CENFACS. It is the authenticity of CENFACS.
To learn the history of CENFACS as a “Q” organisation and or to support the “Q” Historicité small initiave, please contact CENFACS.
Main Development
• Making Memorable Difference (MMD) – In focus: African Health History
What is MMD?
MMD is
∼ a two-day event of Awareness, Thought and Recognition set up by CENFACS in 2009 to celebrate the Black History Month in our own way and feeling while preserving the tradition linked to this remembrance and standing on the shoulders of similar celebrations
∼ a historic project of collective memory about works carried out, heritage and legacies left by Africans
∼ all about collectively telling, acknowledging, studying and learning that every day Africans wherever they are (in Africa) or elsewhere (in the UK-Croydon and the world) are striving to improve the quality of their lives and of others. Through their historically valuable works, they are making memorable difference and the world a better place for everybody, including the generations to come.
∼ a celebration of African Abilities, Talents, Skills and Gifts to Africa and the world.
This year’s dedicated two days (27 and 28 October 2019) are the days of historical study, analysis and skill recognition and celebration of the legacies left by Africans in the Health History in Africa. We will search on the African Health History.
So, our sharing and engaging content this October is on how the skills, abilities and knowledge of Africans helped in healing epidemics and viruses in the past time, while reducing poverty and enhancing sustainable development.
This topic has been chosen in the light of what is happening in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, which almost had 2,000 people and tragedies due to the Ebola virus. In this topic, we will try to understand the past epidemics and viruses in Africa and how Africans managed to cope or eradicate them. One could hope that both the understanding and coping strategies of the past epidemics and viruses can help to understand or draw a parallel with what is happening now.
Two days of African Health History:
27 October 2019 (Understanding of African Health History in relation to epidemics and viruses: Understanding Day)
The first day is about learning more about the kinds of epidemics and viruses that Africa went through in pre-colonial and post-colonial times. This health history will be done in scale and scope. References will be given about the places where these epidemics and viruses happened, knowing that there were not enough health facilities at that time. This understanding will also be expanded to the health knowledge at that time while making some incursions about poverty linked to poor health situation.
28 October 2019 (African Epidemics and Virus Healers: Legacies & Gifts Day):
Although Africa may have received some support to cope with its epidemics and viruses in its history, we would like however to investigate the contributions made by Africans to heal them. This second day will therefore help us to find out how good or bad Africans were in healing epidemics and viruses. It is as well the day of learning the coping strategies in terms of healing these deadly diseases. In doing so, we will try extirpate their legacies and gifts as healers and doctors on their own ways against deadly epidemics and viruses. Finally, the day will help to draw historical and analytical parallel with what is happening now in places like the DRC and others.
To engage with this year’s MMD theme and or support this project, please contact CENFACS on this site.
• Making Memorable Difference Timeline
2009: CENFACS recognised environmental sustainability.
2010: We acknowledged and honoured sports contributions and history in relieving collective poverty and improving community lives beyond fitness and beyond individualistic achievements.
2011: We recollected, remembered and revered caregiving talents and legacies of young carers in enhancing human development (their own development and other people’s development) by reducing the burden of poverty.
2012: We dedicated our historical recognition to Africa’s Global Game Runners and the Science of Running.
2013: Our two days were about the Memorable Difference Made and brought by Working Poor (Miners & Factory Workers) in relieving poverty. We consecrated them to the historical study of The Role of Working Poor Miners and Factory Workers of Natural Resources and Extractive Industries in the Poverty Relief in Africa since the Berlin Conference (1884-5).
2014: We celebrated the place of the African Music and Dance in the pre– and post-colonial eras, the late 1950s and the early 1960s. This celebration focused on the African History of Singing and Dancing and their Impacts on Liberation and Freedoms.
2015: Making Memorable Difference focused on African Negotiators of the History.
2016: We remembered the Protectors and Guardians of the African History and Heritage.
2017: We acknowledged the Communicators of the African History
2018: We learnt about African Communications and Oral History
For further details about these past MMD events, please contact CENFACS.
Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going
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Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.
With many thanks.
