Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
12 May 2021
Post No. 195
The Week’s Contents
• All in Development Stories Telling Serial 2: Stories of Recovering from the Coronavirus Disaster and Containment Measures (From Wednesday 12/05/2021)
• Africa-based Sister Organisations and Data-based Stories of Recovering from COVID-19 Adverse Impacts
• Africa-based Sister Organisations and “Pro-benefit” Organisations in Africa
… And much more!
Key Messages
• All in Development Stories Telling Serial 2: Stories of Recovering from the Coronavirus Disaster and Containment Measures (From Wednesday 12/05/2021)
Our Story Month continues with Serial 2 which is devoted to people-centred stories of regaining a former and better condition in the process of building back better from the coronavirus and associated containment measures. They are also stories of setting again or returning to a previous stage or fixing what the coronavirus has destroyed, mostly from people in need.
Recovery is a process. Like in any process, there are phases or stages. In every stage or phase, there could be stories to tell and share. Recovery can be economic, social, environmental, etc. It can be in conservation, in disaster management, waste management, etc.
In the context of this Serial 2 of our May Month, we are interested in the storylines from disaster management; that is from the management of COVID-19 as a socio-economic and health disaster. Disaster management is understood in Chris Park’s Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation (1) as
“A comprehensive approach to reducing the adverse impacts of particular *disasters [natural or otherwise] that brings together in a *disaster plan all of the actions that need to be taken before, during, immediately after, and well after the disaster event” (p. 122)
One of the actions to be taken is recovery. Because the coronavirus has been a disaster, a recovery action can be taken at the individual and community levels.
We are calling for submission of the stories of a coordinated process of self-support and /or supporting communities and people who have been affected by the coronavirus and trying to return to their original state.
Since we are working within the framework of a recovery that is green, clean and sustainable; we are therefore looking for stories of recovery from COVID-19 health, climate and green economic crises.
Under the Main Development section of this post, there is more about this Serial 2 of our May Month 2021.
• Africa-based Sister Organisations and Data-based Stories of Recovery from COVID-19 Adverse Impacts
Our All in Development Stories Telling Programme includes the stories or experiences that our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) are having with local people regarding their recovery from the Covid-19 adverse impacts.
We continue to have reports of local people struggling to access life-sustaining basic needs (such as food, water, sanitation and financial support) in order to fight the economic threats and social disruptions from Covid-19; let alone the threat it poses to lives in Africa. We had also reports of those who have successfully recovered from the health and economic impacts from the same coronavirus and containment measures.
As we are in CENFACS’ Stories Month, we would like to include their tales or experiences of recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and containment measures. We would like them to tell us their stories with data (i.e. textual, numerical and visual data).
For any of ASOs that would like to submit or donate their data-based stories of recovery from Covid-19 adverse impacts, please contact CENFACS.
• Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) and “Pro-benefit” Organisations in Africa
We are carrying on with the proposals we made to those African organisations that are willing to build and develop their capacity in order to better operate and / or improve their participation in the development of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
As part of strengthening their capacity, we are also working on the “pro-benefit” sector or the fourth sector; a sector that is made of cooperatives, social enterprises, social change organisations, public benefit corporations, community development banks, community interest companies, etc.
We are advocating for those ASOs that have not yet done it so far to consider searching for market niches and opportunities with or within “pro-benefit” organisations in order to increase and improve their outcomes in terms of poverty reduction. ASOs can deliver “pro-benefit” services in some of the under-prioritised and unidentified markets in areas such as water, sanitation, education, shelter, protection, digital support, financial services, etc.
For those of the ASOs that would like to discuss with us about the “pro-benefit” work with African organisations, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• What to do when the heaviest burden falling on you during the recovery process?
As part of the recovery stories telling sessions, we are discussing what to do when the heaviest burden falls on you in terms of what to do to get out poverty induced by the coronavirus disaster and associated containment measures.
Those who would like to discuss with us and others through their recovery stories of having to handle the heaviest burden in order to get out of the damage that the coronavirus and associated impacts have inflicted upon them, they can contact CENFACS with their recovery stories.
To tell your recovery story of handling heavy burden through discussions, please contact CENFACS.
• Capacity Development to Live and Sustain within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
Our offer to work with African organisations and individuals from the charitable and not-for-profit sector to build and/or develop their capacities to operate in the context of the AfCFTA is still available.
For those who think that their organisation does not have the necessary and required capacity to provide cross-border services in the context of AfCFTA, they can contact CENFACS so that we can together organise a programme or plan of work.
CENFACS can work with your organisation in blended ways to find the right capacity to build and/or develop to enter and / or sustain in the trading space provided by the AfCFTA.
Need capacity development to operate within a free trade area; please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
• Survey about gains and losses for the African Not-for-Profit Organisations (AN4POs) in the Game of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
Our survey concerning the advantages and disadvantages deriving from the AfCFTA for the AN4POs is still on. The survey is about to evaluate the gains and losses for the AN4POs in the context of AfCFTA.
As a part of this survey, we have developed a questionnaire to help you give your views. One of the questions in this questionnaire is: Do you think that the AfCFTA will benefit the not-for-profit development in Africa?
If you have not yet answered to this question, please have your say. You can simply say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. You can go further in adding some comments. You can as well take part in the full survey should you wish to do so.
To take part in this survey, just let CENFACS know.
Main Development
• All in Development Stories Telling Serial 2: Stories of Recovering from the Coronavirus Disaster and Containment Measures (From Wednesday 12/05/2021)
Before developing the types of stories of recovery we are calling for, let us say a few words about the context, kind of recovery we are talking about, criteria about recovery stories, and benefits relating to stories telling and sharing.
• • Meaning of recovery in the context of AiDS Telling Programme 2021
As part of this context, recovery is looked at as the process of combating the socio-economic and health disturbances and disruptions brought by the coronavirus and associated adverse impacts. This recovery is part of a set of actions to be taken in the context of disaster management as defined by C. Parker (op. cit.). It is also in line with what the United Nations (2) argued in their General Assembly in 2016 which is
“Recovery is the restoring or improving of livelihoods and health as well as economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets, systems and activities, of a disaster-affected community or society, aligning with the principles of sustainable development and build back better, to avoid or reduce future disaster risk”
Since COVID-19 has been a disaster, recovery stories will be the tales relating to this disaster.
• • Kinds of recovery stories expected
They are those of a sustained cycle or stage of period of fight against the coronavirus disaster or shock in order to improve people’s socio-economic and health conditions.
They are the stories of what happened to people, especially those in need, at the flattening phase of the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus pandemic when the process of building back better starts.
• • Eligible criteria about recovery stories
The stories to be given or donated should be of recovering from the socio-economic and health impacts of the coronavirus shock/disaster and associated containment measures. These stories will be more appealing to the AiDS assessment team if there have highlights of green, clean and sustainable aspects in them.
• • Identification of stories according the phases of recovery process
As argued earlier, recovery can be a process or be done in different steps or phases. In each step or phase, there could be a story to tell or share.
For example, in the field of emotion or trauma management after the coronavirus shock or disaster, there could be five stages that people who suffer from COVID-19 emotion or trauma may take. These stages are: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and termination.
Another example could be of a disaster-stricken community that can take three phases to recover, which are: post-impact relief, recovery and reconstruction, and transition.
In these above different phases or steps, there could be a story to tell and share from those who have been through any of them. There could be as well stories to tell and share between stages whether it is about an individual or a community.
Those who have a story to tell and share on any of these steps or stages, they can do it.
• • Types of possible recovery stories
From what we have so far described, recovery stories can be of various types depending on each community’s or each person’s circumstances with the impacts of COVID-19. These stories could include those of different stages of the recovery process as highlighted above.
To the above, one could also add stories of vision for recovery; recovery plan; recovery approach used; recovery funding; restoration of emotional, social, economic and physical well-being, etc.
• • Advantages of telling and sharing recovery stories
The good thing in telling and sharing recovery stories is that these kinds of stories can bring four important outcomes to the community which are:
√ Providing inspiration to others, particularly but not exclusively to the CENFACS Community members, suffering from the coronavirus induced poverty and hardships
√ Proofing that it is possible to recover from the adverse impacts of the coronavirus, particularly the types of poverty and unsustainable development it may lead to
√ Strengthening our infrastructure networks of protection from poverty and hardships through stories telling, sharing and stewardship
√ Stewarding CENFACS’ All in Development Stories Telling Programme
• • Recovery story tracking tools
To track the recovery stories you are or will be telling and sharing with us, we have developed a certain number of tracking tools for monitoring and evaluation purposes. One of these tools is our AiDS terms and conditions which we highlighted last week. We strongly recommend to those who would like to submit their recovery stories to consider this tracking tool.
If you have a story of green and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 disaster and associated adverse impacts, please do not hesitate to tell it to CENFACS.
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References
(1) Park (2011), Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, Oxford University Press Inc., New York
(2) https://www.unisdr.org/files/53213_bbb.pdf (United Nations General Assembly, 2016)
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With many thanks.
