Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
08 January 2020
Post No. 125
The Week’s Contents
• What is new in these New Year and New Decade?
• The Season of Light continues in the Month of Responsible Consumption (with a Focus on Reduction of Wasteful Consumption)
• Light Projects: Post-War and Post-Disaster Appeals
… and much more!
Key Messages
~ What is new in these New Year and New Decade
⇒ The Twenty-twenties (2020s) programme
Since we moved into a new decade (the 2020s), we will be having a new poverty relief programme for this 2020 decade. Since last year, we already started some rounds of reflections and conversions about this new programme of our poverty relief work. These rounds of discussions, thoughts and consultations with CENFACS’ stakeholders will enable to shape up the future of our poverty relief work.
From March 2020, we hope to start implementing this new programme once its blueprint is ready. If these discussions, thoughts and consultations move quickly enough, we would be able to implement it even before March 2020.
⇒ 2020 as the Year of Poverty Relief Mission (the Mission Year) for CENFACS
Each year, we try to find the best way to meet the needs of our project beneficiaries while remembering some of the key works we did with them and exploring innovative ways to re-engage with stake holders. We do it by dedicating the year to a particular memorable theme. As result, 2020 has been declared as the Mission Year for CENFACS.
After celebrating the 25th anniversary of the concept of CENFACS last year, it is worth revisiting what we stand for in terms of CENFACS foundations. If we stand for the relief of poverty and it was on the basis of these principles that CENFACS secured its charitable objects in 2002, it is then worth eighteen years later for us to reincarnate this value as we start a new year in a new decade.
In other words, poverty reduction has never been an end business for as long as people are still poor. It is therefore normal for us to go back to that mission we set up ourselves (of helping in poverty reduction) and how we can apply it to the current and new settings of the changing development landscape due to a changing climate in 2020 and the 2020s. 2020 is also a year to revisit the mission statement of CENFACS and see how relevant it is today in the world of 2020 and beyond.
As we travel along 2020, we shall reflect this Mission Year in our works, projects and programmes. However, if any of you wants to know more about this year’s dedication, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS. We hope you will continue to support CENFACS during this Mission Year.
⇒ New Tools for Poverty Reduction in 2020
New Year and new decade could mean that we come up with new or improved instruments to deal with the same or new or even emerging types of poverty. New tools will include the following with built-in reliefs:
√ Tools to help you transition from a regional economic integration to the exigencies of an exiting economy
√ Advocacy for e-commerce sites as poverty relief tool for Africa-based organisations
√ Reforms of some the services provided for the CENFACS community to take into account the realities of the 2020s
√ Help users to improve digital finance skills through the use of mobile money devices
√ Extending community support beyond the mantra of our generic services while staying specialised and focussed on what we are good at doing
√ New programme of poverty reduction with the 2020s programme
√ An improved CENFACS Analytics Dashboard
√ Last but not the least, a renewed poverty relief mission.
Although we have scheduled these tools for March 2020 in the above development calendar, we may start some of them this January, so hoping that in March 2020 most of them would be operational. The details of these new tools will be unveiled as they become available.
~ The Season of Light continues in the Month of Responsible Consumption (with a Focus on Reduction of Wasteful Consumption)
=> What’s on this January 2020
January is the month of Responsible Consumption for CENFACS. The initiative featuring this month is our resource entitled Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change. The 8th Issue of this resource will be about the “Reduction of Wasteful Consumption”.
Under the Main Development section of this post, we have given some highlights about this Issue.
Besides this resource, there are other initiatives as indicated in the above development calendar.
=> What’s on this Season of Light
Our Season of Light continues with the Light Projects, as indicated on the above projects and programmes planner scheduled for January, February and March 2020.
To put our Season of Light into practice, there will be two waves of advocacy work to support the victims of armed conflicts and destructive natural disasters in Africa.
a) The first wave of action
The first wave of action will be on the past, the legacies of the very latest disaster and war events which hit poor people in some parts of Africa (this is our Africa Post-War and Post-Disaster Appeals).
Examples of these events include: a growing insecurity, instability and ethnic violence in countries such as Burkina Faso; extreme weather and drought in Mali; extinction risk of the African tropical flora in south of the Democratic Republic of Congo; the impact of the Indian ocean dipole in Djibouti, etc.
As a result of these events, there have been problems of malnutrition, displacement of people, food crisis, pressure on biodiversity, etc. They require a combination of support such as humanitarian assistance, the protection of the most vulnerable and defenceless and a systematisation of other types of support.
In the context of these legacies, we will appeal for the support of displaced persons, the victims of insecurity and natural disasters.
b) The second wave of action
The second wave of action will be on advocating for support for the victims of the current and emerging armed conflicts and destructive natural disasters in Africa. Because of the nature of the events that these appeals are dealing with, we may change the gear to take into account of the unpredictability of these events.
=> What’s new to this year’s Season of Light
What is new for the three first months of 2020 is also new for this year’s Season of Light. As indicated in the above development calendar, there are three new initiatives which are: the 2020 Tools for poverty reduction, 2020 as Mission year and the 2020s Programme.
In addition to the above, we will be moved to the level 3 of our Digital and Social Media Campaign; level 3 (in 2020) which is about Digital Infrastructure, Security and Defence. The level 1 (in 2018) was about the Role of Mobile Phone as a Tool for Poverty Relief for Women and Children, while level 2 (in 2019) was about IT and Online Security.
Other initiatives making the 2020 Season of Light
Generation Global Goals project is an online discussion regarding the impacts of the global goals on children. It will be conducted under CENFACS be-Africa forum.
Another feature of the current Season of Light is the continuing implementation of the project ABCD (Adaptation for Building Capacity and Development), project that enables us to get our mindsets, skills and capacities ready while the on-going negotiations regarding the process of UK exiting (or not exiting) from the European Union are underway.
Briefly speaking, the above 2020 Projects and Programmes of the Season of Light are Top Quality Reliefs for those in need. They are made with a selection of hard to find poverty relief products and services as 2020 kicks in.
~ Light Projects in 2020: Post-War and Post-Disaster Appeals
This Winter 2020, our Lights projects will focus on two parts or two waves of action as said above:
1/ post-war and post-natural disaster developments
2/ current and emerging armed conflicts and environmental catastrophes
A Blaze of Hope for post-life following armed conflicts and natural disasters
When there are environmental disasters and armed conflicts, there are pledges and commitments to end the effects of wars and disasters. For various reasons, some of these pledges do not materialise. The post-war and post-disaster developments are sometimes left without support until the conflicts and disasters return and or strike again.
As it is not a good idea to wait for the return or repeat of the same wars and disasters, our first Blaze of Hope (Post-life Blaze of Hope) will go this Winter to the unfinished business of previous destructive wars and natural disasters as we did last Winter. We call it the Post-War and Post-Disaster Appeal.
A Blaze of Hope for the eruption of any armed conflicts and natural disasters
We always advocate for preventive development and we do not seek for destructive events to happen. However, our preparedness and readiness should make us to assemble as quickly as possible advocacy tools should any effects and impacts erupt from unpredictable wars and natural disasters in Africa.
So, our second wave of intervention or In-life Blaze of Hope will go this Winter to erupted effects of armed conflicts and natural disasters in the areas of our interest in Africa. This is our Appeal related to Live Conflicts and Disasters.
The Details of this second appeal will be released as events appear and unfold. One of these events is what happened in Burkina Faso at the end of December 2019 where lives of innocent civilians were taken in armed attacks. CENFACS would like to you to support its appeal for peace and dialogue between the conflicting sides.
With these two waves of action over this Wintry Season, we hope to enlighten the lives of those in need.
CENFACS look forward to your support to deliver these Wintry Appeals.
Extra Messages
~ All-in-Development (AiD) Winter e-Discussion on Volunteering in the 2020s
Our AiD Winter e-Discussion on Volunteering in the 2020s is now closed. We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who supported or contributed to these discussions, especially for taking pain to stay over the Festive Season for the discussions.
We are studying all the contributions made and will stage a process for putting them together in order to see how they can add value to our volunteering scheme.
Once again, thank you for your support.
~ The Season of Giving continues with SHOPPING and DONATIONS at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/
Every season or every month is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships. January is too a good and great month of the year to do it.
You can donate or recycle your unwanted and unneeded goods gifts you received over the festive days to CENFACS’ Charity e-Store, the shop built to help relieve poverty and hardships.
You can as well buy second hand goods and bargain priced new items and much more.
CENFACS’ Charity e-Store needs your support for SHOPPING and GOODS DONATIONS.
You can do something different this Season of Goods Donations by SHOPPING or DONATING GOODS at CENFACS Charity e-Store.
You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:
√ DONATE unwanted Festive GOODS GIFTS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Charity e-Store this January and Winter
√ SHOP at CENFACS Charity e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief this January and Winter.
Your SHOPPING and or GOODS DONATIONS will help to the Upkeep of the Nature and to reduce poverty and hardships.
This is what the Season of Giving is all about.
~ Digital and Social Media Campaign – IT (Information Technology) and Online Security to Reduce Poverty
Level 3: Digital Infrastructure, Security and Defence
This campaign is part of our Digital and Media Programmes. It is the continuation of our 2018 work on the Role of Mobile Phone in Reducing Poverty and Hardships amongst Women and Children (Level 1) and 2019 work on IT and Online Security (Level 2).
IT and Online Security is not anymore a matter of security experts only. Anyone handling IT equipment and using online services needs to have basic (not necessarily expert one) knowledge and skills to protect themselves and other vulnerable people (such as children) and do their work without fears and threats.
The IT and Online Security is a part of our digital social media campaign to help protect vulnerable and poor people and families using IT and online technologies against various types of online threats and digital risks (such as scams and illegal and malicious practices). The campaign includes the use the e-safety tools and advice. This level 2 of our digital and social media campaign takes us the level 3, which is Digital Infrastructure, Security and Defence.
The work on Digital Infrastructure, Security and Defence (Level 3) is our awareness raising campaign about the digital infrastructure, security and defence for the poor. The campaign looks at these matters at the individual level rather than at community or national level. In other words, we shall work with users to help them build basic life-sustaining infrastructures, security and defence to protect themselves against online threats and risks.
This digital campaign is a fight against poverty and vulnerability in these three areas. Through this campaign, we can together fix some of the security flaws and provide setups and updates at individual level. It helps as well to understand what security in the field of poverty relief as far as the digital world is concerned.
The campaign will be done without undermining the value of our community or collective infrastructure, security and defence. We all benefit from collective or national protection. We are stronger together. To add a value to our togetherness, we need as well to reinforce individual protection. The sum of our individual protection makes up or gives a total or a community of protections.
For further details and to support the three levels of our Digital and Social Media Campaign, contact CENFACS.
Main Development
• Consume To Reduce Poverty and Climate Change
Issue No. 8: Reduction of Wasteful Consumption
Key highlights, Tips & Hints
What is Wasteful Consumption?
The 8th Issue of CRP is dealing with the satisfaction from and spending by consumers on final goods and services that do not generate waste. This is a kind of consumption that does not involve any material unused or rejected as worthless or unwanted or that involves only a tiny piece of this material.
This Issue is dealing with the process of consuming resources to satisfy human wants and needs in making sure that products and services bought have less waste or by-products that are free from harming health, wildlife, the nature and environment.
It means that before consuming, care must be taken to check and avoid products and services that have harmful waste. It is said and proven that carbon is a negative example of waste from a by-product of hydrocarbon combustion.
Non Wasteful Consumption Shopping Basket
Using the internet, e-mail, social networks and other communication technologies; it is possible to get enough information about products and services that reduce wasteful consumption and poverty at the same time. It is as well possible to find resources and websites that compare these kinds of products, services and prices. People can then choose products and services that do not create negative waste and add them to their online shopping basket.
Reduction of Wasteful Consumption and Poverty
Individual and family strategies of reducing the state of having little or no money or even no material possessions are not incompatible with the reduction of wasteful consumption. Individuals and families (including the poor ones) can consume products and services that do not have negative waste. People and families can leapfrog poverty reduction to the reduction of wasteful consumption.
Non Wasteful Consumption and Circular Economic Model
Embracing the recipes of the economic model that decouples (bad) exploitation of natural resources and the desire to meet human needs and wants (circular economy), can help improve consumer behaviour against harmful waste. It is said that all processes create waste. However, the circular economic model helps to deal with improper disposal of waste; in doing so it benefits humans to fix, reuse, reduce and save resources.
Non Wasteful Consumption and the Growing Climate Economy
The process of using resources in a frugal way to satisfy human wants and needs can goes hand in hand with an organised system for the production, distribution and use of goods and services that takes into account the changing weather conditions. In other words, consuming anti-wasteful products and resources can help reduce adverse climate change. As climate economy continues to grow, it can bring new climate educational opportunities, economic savings and improved well-being for the poor. These attributes of the Growing Climate Economy can help them consume goods and services that have less or no harmful wasteful materials.
Reduction of Wasteful Consumption in the Context of Changing Climate and Life-threatening Impacts of Climate Change
Maybe enough has been said about the impacts of changing climate. If not, then one area of work could be for humans to rethink about the negative waste that their consumption can create. If there is such harmful waste for some types of consumption, then there could a need to reduce it for the sake of the environment and the nature on which we all depend.
Budgeting for Wasteful Consumption
It is a good idea for users to budget for waste as part of the overall of household budget. This kind of preparation in terms of financial statement for any planned incomes and expenses for a particular period can help to maximise the use of resources and reduce wasteful spending. It can as well provide alternative to wasteful way of consumption to reduce poverty and hardships due to waste.
Waste indication on products for verification, identity and authenticity
It is a good idea for any consumer rich or poor to check non wasteful features on their buys and other specifications and read other people’s testimonies, reviews or comments about it. Also, one needs to be sure that the messages for a proper disposal of negative waste are advertised and marketing match products results and tests, and customer’s satisfaction.
Security and Guarantee
When buying anti-wasteful products and services (whether using online or physical store), one needs to check, compare and contrast products, terms and conditions of business, buying terms, prices etc. There is a need to check as well guarantees and safety policies against harmful waste.
If you are buying online, before you sign up, add to your anti-waste shopping basket and purchase an item; you need to read, discuss and check what you are agreeing on. You may even take more precautions when selecting items, filling up buying forms to enter your personal, financial information and sensitive details.
You should also be aware of scams and illegal and malicious practices. For own online security, use the e-safety tools and advice.
To support Responsible Consumption and get the full issue 2020 of Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change, please contact CENFACS.
Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.
We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis. Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.
One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS as a New Year’s resolution.
Donate to support CENFACS!
FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/
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 in the New Year and New Decade as well.
With many thanks.
