Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
27 January 2021
Post No. 180
The Week’s Contents
• Halving Poverty in Africa’s Central Sahel; Halving Poverty for and with Children in Emergency in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger
• Leaves that Reduce Consumption Poverty
• Donor and Stewardship Development and Maintenance
… and much more!
Key Messages
• Halving Poverty in Africa’s Central Sahel; Halving Poverty for and with Children in Emergency in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger
There are many crises which are going on in the world. Amongst them is the health crisis characterised by the coronavirus pandemic which has currently high profile and has more captivated attention than any other ones. However, this does not mean one should forget or undermine the severity of other crises.
The other crisis or emergency which is happening is about the life-threatening and destroying conditions of children in Central Sahel of Africa. There are almost 7 million children there who are in need of humanitarian protection and assistance due to the insecurity, forced displacement, lack of access to basic sanitation services and the socio-economic impacts of COVID.
With and on behalf of these children of Central Sahel of Africa, we would like to ask for the halving of poverty and hardships they are facing. CENFACS would like to work with those who would like to halve poverty by supporting children who are in emergency in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in order to meet their basic life-sustaining needs and dreams.
Under the Main Development section of this post, you will find some details about halving poverty for and with these needy children of Africa’s Central Sahel.
• Leaves that Reduce Consumption Poverty
There are many types of leaves that are consumed or used in order to satisfy human needs in the forms of food, medicine or other use. This week, we are interested in leaves that are affordable for poor families and that can help to meet their food needs as well as to reduce food or consumption poverty.
For example: Cassava leaves can help any families in some parts of Africa including those on low income to purchase or grow them if they have a garden. This basic commodity can help to meet basic consumption needs of food. Cassava leaves are rich source of protein, minerals and vitamins as many studies show. It is the consumption of properly processed cassava leaves that we are talking about. Detoxified cassava leaves can serve as a safe nutrient source. They are an important source of protein and micronutrients. Processed cassava leaves can play a vital role in terms of food security and commercial crop by sustaining the livelihoods of poor farmers. In this respect, the leaves can help to alleviate malnutrition and reduce stunting amongst poor populations.
As part of our Leafy Year, we are going to search on how many affordable consumable leaves (like cassava leaves) that make the plates or dishes for ordinary families are sustainable. In this exercise, we hope to include the sustainability element while taking into account other forms of use or consumption of leaves such as medicine or drugs in natural medicine to cure a variety of illnesses or diseases.
Those who may be interested in our Leafy Year and Responsible Consumption of leaves, they can contact CENFACS.
• Donor and Stewardship Development and Maintenance
Last year, we continued our solicitation to some of you as donors and /or stewards of poverty relief, particularly those who wanted to build bond and loyalty to CENFACS and CENFACS’ work. It was an opportunity given to those who wanted to engage and develop their interests in CENFACS’ work.
As a result, we carried on by offering to the donor market a donor status to enable those who want to commit themselves on regular basis to giving or boosting their status as donor to have the opportunity to do so.
This year, we are moving towards the same direction by developing what we created two years ago and in inviting those who want to commit themselves as funder or donor to do so. You can do it by supporting CENFACS with a silver donation, a great relief and a product booster.
• • Free for Supporters: Silver Status
Silver status is the legacy of CENFACS’ “Quadranscentennial” Year (2019). Support our projects as you can or as you choose if you visit them or if you happen to be within the area of them. This will boost your support and help you to win a silver status as CENFACS’ Supporter in a CENFACS’ Leafy Year. Alternatively, you can fund CENFACS’ Leafy Year to win the same status and continue CENFACS’ legacy.
• • Want to provide Great Relief as a Supporter
You can provide great relief by becoming a regular giver or supporter, adding value to you support and boosting your support. For example, at this challenging time we need those who can provide that sort of relief to keep our action going and out of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns. Many individuals and organisations stepped in to support their good causes during this storming time of the health crisis; you can do the same by supporting CENFACS.
Please contact CENFACS for details about becoming Great Reliever.
• • Need to boost your support or stewardship as a Product Booster
You can choose a particular sustainable initiative or programme or even CENFACS as your boost product.
You can support 3 projects or 2 projects and CENFACS
You can support 3 programmes or 2 programmes and CENFACS.
This will elevate your position as a Project or Programme Funder or a Product Booster
For further details about boosting your support or stewardship, please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Gifts of Peace, Edition 2020-2021: Ends 31 January 2021
Gifts of Peace for Edition 2020-2021 are coming to an end this Sunday. If you have not yet supported, there is still four days to go. You can still do something for poverty relief and for healing the scars of coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns.
We know that many supporters of good causes have been affected by the adverse impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. However, for those who can please do not hesitate to support these good causes of peace since the potential beneficiaries of them are doubly impacted by:
(a) The coronavirus pandemic which has brought economic and social lockdowns
(b) The already extremely poor conditions in which they are living
Every support counts to help reduce and end poverty. To support, just contact CENFACS or go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/.
• COVID-19 Campaign –
Integrating COVID-19 Mutation into a Shadowing Model of Resilience against COVID-19
Our Campaign of Resilience against and Recovery from the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19 Campaign) continues. As part of this campaign, we are re-purposing our shadowing model against COVID-19 by considering the new COVID-19 variant and its fastest and aggressive impact.
Indeed, as we have been informed by the epidemiologists and medical experts, the new COVID-19 variant is very aggressive. Besides that, the number of COVID-19 cases does not show any sign of abating since it continues to grow to the extent that many non-essential economic activities are still closed and lockdowns are still in place. Like last Autumn, this Winter has been sinusoidal with some rises and decreases of the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus pandemic; the rising trends being the most noticed. There is even a speculation or thinking about the possibility of a third lockdown.
In the light of this situation, there is a need to rework our shadowing model of resilience against and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic so that one does not lose ground on the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. In practical terms, it means that the more and better one applies to letter the COVID-19 health and safety restrictions and measures, the higher the probability of winning the battle against the coronavirus pandemic and variant will be. This is every things remaining equal and without ignoring the contribution that a COVID-19 vaccine rollout can make.
This could as well imply that one needs to match the aggression and power of the new COVID-19 variant or any mutation with a bold evolving determined action. This is all shadowing is about. It is about matching our level of responses and means to that of the challenges and threats that any COVID-19 mutation will pose. In brief, this requires integrating COVID-19 mutation into our shadowing model of resilience against and recovery from it.
For any further details about the match/fit of our shadowing model against COVID-19 aggression; please do not hesitation to contact CENFACS.
• 2021 All Year Round Projects (Triple Value Initiatives): Play, Run and Vote for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development
CENFACS’ Triple Value Initiatives, the All Year Round Projects, are now back for this year. You can play, run and vote to reduce poverty this year again.
The 2021 Edition of All-year Round Projects has kicked off.
You can Run or Organise a Run Activity to Reduce Poverty in 2021.
You can Play the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief.
You can Vote your 2021 African Poverty Relief Manager.
Before proceeding with one of the All Year Round Projects, it is good to speak to CENFACS. We can discuss together your plan or the way you want to participate or engage with these initiatives.
• • How CENFACS can help you to engage with Triple Value Initiatives
The following examples show what we can discuss together before you start.
Example 1: Run Themes
For example, let’s take Run to Reduce Poverty. There are Run Themes. You can Run alone or Run as group or even Run for fun. You can do Seasonal Run or Run to raise money or even Run to raise awareness. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns, there are health and safety restrictions that everyone who will be involved in this Run activity must follow.
There are ways of making your Run event simpler. To do that, you can contact CENFACS before you plan your event. CENFACS can help you to select your theme. You need to confirm the date and time with CENFACS.
There are other things to consider as well such as: location, engagement in activities, prizes (rewards for participants), COVID-19 health and safety issues, child protection policy if children are involved, insurance cover, budget, etc.
Example 2: Play station Game
Let’s take another example: Playing CENFACS’ League for Poverty Relief
You can create your own play station game with CENFACS’ League and run your own tournament and matches. You can even involve colleagues, friends and families sharing the same passion about how the selected African countries are working to reduce poverty. You can group or rate these countries according to poverty reduction performance (showing which one comes on top, middle and bottom). You can as well use game theories. Like for Run activity, you must include the coronavirus pandemic health and safety measures and guidance.
Example 3: People to Watch
Let’s take the last example: Voting your Poverty Relief Manager
You can create your own list of 21 Top People to Watch throughout the year. One or two of them will be potentially the best managers of 2021. You can collect data and facts about them, follow their annual performance and vote the best between the two at the end.
After running or organising a run activity, playing the CENFACS’ League and voting your Manager of the Year 2021; we would like you to share with us and others your news, events, experiences, stories and reports regarding these projects. The end product of your share will be a kind of Action-Results report 2021.
• • What we would like to hear at the end of this process
We would like to hear from you the following three bests
√ The Best African Countries of 2021 which will best reduce poverty
√ The Best African Global Games Runners of 2021
√ The Best African Development Managers of 2021
The deadline to tell us your bests is 23 December 2021.
As we progress throughout the year, further information will be released for CENFACS’ Triple Value Initiatives.
For more information about these projects, please contact CENFACS.
Vous pouvez commander et lire ce dernier numéro (no. 70) du FACS.
Pour commander ce numéro du FACS (en version française), simplement contactez le CENFACS.
Main Development
• Halving Poverty in Africa’s Central Sahel; Halving Poverty for and with Children in Emergency in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger
The following summarises data, needs, request, use and outcomes that briefly make the case for halving poverty for and with children in emergency in Central Sahel of Africa.
• • Data telling the story of children in emergency situation in Central Sahel of Africa
Various organisations working on this issue have come up with the following data.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (1) argue that
“The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented global health, humanitarian, socio-economic and humanitarian crisis, exacerbating the vulnerabilities of affected children… Across the Central Sahel some 13.5 million people (7.2 million children) are in need of humanitarian assistance due to insecurity, forced displacement, lack of access to basic services and the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19” (p. 6)
Taking the same line of argument, the United Nations Population Fund (2) point out that
“The conflict in the Central Sahel region…, has created a protection crisis for women and girls. Escalating violence and displacement have heightened the risk of gender-based violence and harmful practices and disrupted access to basic services. Of the 13.4 million people who require humanitarian assistance, 6 million are women of reproductive age and adolescent girls” (p. 10)
Likewise using a statistical approach to the impact of the COVID-19, the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (3) state that
“Children already left behind will likely bear the brunt of the pandemic’s impact, whether through missing out on life-saving vaccinations, increased risk of violence, or interrupted educated” (p. 54)
Furthermore, in its last economic report on Africa the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (4) predicted in general terms the following:
“The COVID-19 pandemic could push additional 5 to 29 million Africans into extreme poverty and exacerbate existing income inequalities” (p. 21)
Although the figure from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is not directly linked to a situation of emergency for children, it nonetheless gives some indication on what may happen if nothing is done to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic on Africans and African children of Central Sahel who are part of those people who could be in extreme poverty.
We can finally argue that the above numerical and text data provided indicate the life-threatening and destroying conditions in which children are in the Central Sahel (particularly but not exclusively in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger).
References
(1) United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF Humanitarian Action for Children 2021 Overview, Dec. 2020
(2) United Nations Population Fund: Humanitarian action 2021 Overview, Dec. 2020 (www.unfpa.org)
(3) Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (UNCTAD): How COVID-19 is changing the world: a statistical perspective, 2020 (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/ccsa/)
(4) United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Economic Report on Africa 2020: Innovative Finance for Private Sector Development in Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• • The Needs
There are almost 7 million children in need of emergency support as well as adolescent girls amongst 6 million women of reproductive age who are in protection crisis and at risk of gender-based violence and harmful practices.
Like anywhere in the world every child matters in Central Sahel of Africa where children are looking for an end to life-threatening and destroying conditions they are in due to the insecurity, COVID-19 adverse impacts, extreme natural weather events, armed conflicts, etc. They need health and economic protection not only to end poverty but also to fulfil their potentials and ambitions like any child in a free world.
• • The Asks
CENFACS is asking to those who can to donate whatever they can to help HALVE POVERTY FOR AND WITH THE PROTECTION NEEDY CHILDREN OF AFRICA’S CENTRAL SAHEL. Any support will be welcome.
Your support will help to save children’s life, reduce child poverty and assist early childhood development and fill the gaps in protection funding needs of children in Central Sahel of Africa, specifically in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
• • The Uses and Beneficiaries
Your support will help to protect and save children’s lives as they are suffering from disruption from access to basic services, civil insecurity, displacement, interruption of their education because of insecurity and socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, etc.
Amongst the beneficiaries, we can count or list the following children in need who are:
√ At risk of losing life to preventable diseases
√ Displaced
√ Impacted by mobility restrictions
√ At risk of violence, exploitation and abuse
√ Experiencing interruption of education because of COVID-19, civil insecurity and natural events
√ Frontline responders to COVID-19
√ Vulnerable living in informal settlements and conflict settings
√ Girls at risk of gender-based violence
√ Excluded from social protection
√ Orphaned as a result of civil conflicts
Etc.
• • The Outcomes
One can hope that the following results will be achieved through their giving:
√ Stopping of children’s displacement and organising the return to where they come from or belong to
√ Resumption of education for children in a coronavirus-safe environment and or the organisation of distance learning courses with them
√ Improvement in children’s physical and mental health conditions
√ Reduction of violence, exploitation and abuse towards children
√ Increase peace, security and economic contribution of these children
√ Decrease or end of child trafficking, labour, or soldier
In brief, one can hope to have children who will be happy, healthy and safe through this initiative.
To enquire and or support CENFACS’ Halving Poverty for and with Children in Emergency Situation in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, please contact CENFACS.
Many thanks!
Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this Festive Season.
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 in the future.
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 throughout 2021 and beyond.
With many thanks.
