Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
08 September 2021
Post No. 212
The Week’s Contents
• Back-to-school Poverty
• Back to the Upkeep of the Nature with the Theme of “Blue Spaces”
• Coming in Autumn 2021: The 73rd Issue of FACS Newsletter, to be entitled as The Cost of Building Forward from the Coronavirus Pandemic
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Back-to-school Poverty
The post no. 212 of our blog page goes an extra mile in discussing the back-to-school poverty as the first key message and main development. This key message and main development takes stock of what we argued last year about the same topic while dealing with back-to-school challenge in 2021, poverty issue, support that CENFACS can provide during the back-to-school period, expenses budget and the particularity of this year’s back-to-school.
This particularity is that back to school is still overshadowed by a certain number of factors which are:
∝ The continuation of caution about the enduring coronavirus pandemic and its new variants (such as Delta) despite the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and testing programme
∝ Back to school is caught by hybrid working and learning, between at-home and in-person learning/working
∝ Cure of activities, services and infrastructures as a result of COVID-19 damages
∝ Counselling sessions for those who need them to manage the pain caused the coronavirus to cope with back-to-school process and pressure
∝ Blurred sanitary conditions in which restrictions have been lifted but there are constant messages reminding people to observe COVID-19 protection measures in public spaces.
Back to school is a challenging time for many families and parents especially for those on low income brackets or just poor. It is even controversial for many of them as they are trying to build back and forward educational life for children while they have still to deal with the legacies of the coronavirus pandemic. The controversy between rebuilding lives and being careful about the enduring coronavirus is shared by both our project beneficiaries here in the UK or in Africa.
The greatest challenge for these families is back-to-school poverty. Back-to-school poverty is what we are trying to help reduce or eradicate within our back-to-relief programme this Autumn 2021. We are tackling it while carrying on back-to-relief programme and services.
For more on back-to-school poverty, please read under the Main Development section of this post.
• Back to the Upkeep of the Nature with the Theme of “Blue Spaces”
We are taking stock of the theme of “Blue Spaces” we developed in 2019 and 2020 in the context of protection of oceans and seas. This year, we are adding new topics or notes to this theme. These new notes will be about the expansion of oceans and seas (as a result of global warming) and the effects on the poor, particularly coastal poor people in Africa. Additionally, we are carrying on in looking at blue poverty reduction and blue sustainable development. However, before presenting this week’s notes, let us clarify the theme statement.
• • Theme statement
The theme of “Blue Spaces” under the back to the upkeep of the nature (which is part of our back-to-relief programme) is about protecting blue spaces while using these spaces to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. There are two aspects in this statement.
The first aspect of this statement is about sea level rise and its impacts. This first aspect prolongs the work we have done so far on oceans and seas. The second aspect of this statement is what we called blue poverty reduction and blue sustainable development.
In labelling poverty reduction and sustainable development blue, we are trying to look at the extent to which the “Blue Spaces” together with the blue economy are helping people in Africa and elsewhere to alleviate or escape from poverty. This is what one can call “blue poverty relief“.
We are as well revisiting the sustainable development goals by re-exploring the role and place that the “Blue Spaces” are playing in capacitating poor people’s sustainable development. This is what one can term as “blue sustainable development“.
To materialise what we have said above, we have planned four key notes or topics (as shown on the above figure relating to blue space theme) which include:
(a) the impacts of sea level rise
(b) the reduction of these impacts
(c) blue poverty reduction
(d) blue sustainable development.
The notes or topics will be the vehicle by which we shall illustrate the central theme or message of blue spaces. Through these notes, we hope users in their journey with us to undergo change in the way they approach blue spaces.
Let’s now summarise the first note or topic of our September 2021 work on blue spaces; note which started from 06 September 2021.
• • Blue spaces-focused note for week beginning 06/09/2021: The impacts of seal level rise on poverty reduction in Africa
Sea level rise can adversely impact African coastal countries, especially the poor coastal people and communities of these countries, as well as the way in which the work on poverty reduction is conducted.
• • • The impacts of sea level rise on African coastal countries
Almost 33 out of 55 countries in Africa have coastlines. Amongst these 33 countries, 19 of them have port cities. For example, the State capitals of Dakar, Banjul, Conakry, Abidjan, Lomé, Accra, Lagos and Brazzaville are port cities.
According to Ibe and Awosika (1),
“If sea level rise on the African Coastal Zones like the above name port cities, there could be loss of wetlands, increased rates of beach erosion, flooding, salt water intrusion and higher water tables, deforestation, disruption in transport and communication and so on.”
There could be net adverse effects of sea level rise on coastal zones as these authors argued. Among these effects include the creation and or worsening of poverty for some and the challenge to reduce it.
• • • Effects of sea level rise on poverty reduction
One of the effects of sea level rise is the creation of situational or transitory poverty. What is situational or transitory poverty relating to sea level rise?
• • • • Situational or transitory poverty
Situational or transitory poverty can be defined in many ways. On the website Richmondvale.org (2), it is defined as
“a period wherein an individual falls below the poverty line because of a sudden event”.
There are many events that can push people or communities towards transitory poverty. In this context, transitory poverty is caused by climate change events (e.g. sea level rise) and environmental disasters like earthquakes, storms, floods, etc.
Sea level rises can lead to situational or transitory poverty or transitory poor. They can as well complicate the on-going work on poverty reduction.
• • • • Effects of sea level rise on the work on poverty reduction
Given the limited resources and capacities that our Africa-based Sister Organisations have, it could be challenging for them to intervene when sea level rise happens. They have to work hard to help those affected by sea level rise to get shelter, food, health service, sanitation, hygiene, etc. This is because an event like sea level rise requires a gigantic level of investments in order to save and preserve lives.
There is more to argue and prove about sea level rise and its effects in Africa. For those who would like to further discuss the matter with us, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.
• Abstract for the 73rd Issue of FACS
It costs to build forward better from the calamitous impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and associated non-essential economic inactivity. It costs for individuals like our users, for organisations such as our Africa-based Sister Organisations and for CENFACS itself. In other words, there is a cost to bear in the process of building back and forward from what it has been damaged, lost and destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The 73rd Issue of FACS will deal with the price of curating activities damaged and destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic while exploring the cost associated with non-essential economic inactivity from prolonged lockdowns. In doing so, the Issue will give the opportunity to readers to navigate basic accounting and financial processes and jargon in order to grasp the building forward process that has been undertaken by CENFACS‘ users and organisation beneficiaries.
In this Issue, we shall try to collect and illustrate examples and/or models on how users and organisations working with CENFACS are trying to manage the cost of building forward from the legacies of the coronavirus pandemic.
Far from being a simple part of financial translation of CENFACS‘ Build Forward Better together Programme, the Issue will go further by treating both financial and non-financial costs from COVID-19. It will look at these costs from the perspective of project planning and development in terms of cost-benefit analysis.
Besides looking at the cost of building forward as a financial operation, it will provide a non-financial look of the cost of building forward in the form another reading of poverty and poverty reduction. In this respect, there could be hidden or forgotten or even unaccounted costs that the process of building forward needs to consider.
Moreover, the Issue will be about how to work with users and Africa-based Sister organisations in order to not only account for these costs from the accounting and financial perspective since accounting is often about recording transactions that happened in the past; but also doing basic accounting and financial forecasting of the needs of the community as we are trying to build forward, for the future.
Finally, since we are in the era of delivering climate change pledges, the Issue will touch on the cost of building forward better greener and cleaner. It means that in our process of building forward better, we (users, African Sister Organisations and CENFACS) need to include the cost of taking green and clean paths.
The above gives a bit some flavour or general idea about the next issue of FACS, the 73rd Issue of FACS Newsletter.
For any enquiries and or queries about this Issue, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Leafy Year and Advice Month
Leafy Year is our dedication of 2021 as a leafy year or a year of leaves of poverty reduction. Advice Month is the month of the year during which advice is more pronounced within CENFACS compared to other months of the year. In other words, we invest more resources in advice in September than at any other times of the year. We can use this month of advice to support 2021 as a year dedicated to leaves via helping in poverty reduction.
• • Integrating leaves and advice to produce poverty reduction
Leaves of poverty reduction can be combined with advice on poverty reduction to achieve a good result. There are many ways in which this combination can be done. For example, if one considers advice on leaves, a lot can be said about how autumn leaves can bring relief and to clean the environment (e.g. collecting leaves, burying them, mulching them, etc.)
In terms of advice to use leaves to reduce poverty, there is much to argue and remember about leaves for food, health, shelter, body care, etc. Likewise, leaves can be used for wildlife, compost ingredients, bedding for chickens and ducks, etc.
This advice about the use of leaves can come from various professions and professionals including gardeners, farmers, doctors, nutritionists, etc. The integration of leaves and advice can also come from organisations working on leaves and advice on a regular or circumstantial basis. For example, CENFACS is working on the integration of leaves and advice in order to produce or help poverty reduction during this month of September 2021.
• • CENFACS’ Advisory Support that integrates Leaves
We hope through this support to work with our users and those who are looking for advice that involves leaves of poverty reduction. Leaves of poverty reduction will be featured and included in our advice sessions during this month of September. Users and others will figure out the benefit of poverty reduction approach that involves natural leaves.
To find out more about our Advisory Support that includes Leaves, please contact CENFACS. To enquire about Leafy Year and or Advice Month, please also contact CENFACS.
• Happiness and Healthiness Journal, Creative Activity No. 5: Create Your Journal of Trust
After last week’s pause, we can continue creating our Summer Journal of Happiness and Healthiness.
The coronavirus and associated effects may have perhaps made some people to lose trust in poverty reduction. Yet, there is a need or reason to keep faith in the reduction and end of poverty.
You can create your journal for any aspects of Summertime linked to trust. You can explain your experiences, feelings and thoughts in terms of happiness and healthiness about trust over this Summer of enduring COVID-19.
Your journal of trust can cover any of the following three areas: trust in poverty reduction, trust in people/communities and initiatives that build trust. Let us give some examples of what one can include in each of these journals.
• • Journal of trust in poverty reduction
You can record your thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories about the following:
promoting trust where trust is lost, dealing with disinformation and distrust about poverty reduction, struggling to cope with trust in poverty reduction, etc.
• • Journal of trust in people and communities
You can record your thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories about the following:
correcting inaccuracies and misinformation, stopping the spread of false information within your community/network, building trust with people through transparency, speaking about the most trusted person in your community, etc.
• • Journal of initiatives to build trust
You can record your thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories about the following:
building and protecting standards of trust, rebuilding trust in each other, explaining interactive initiatives you have taken to protect trust, etc.
The above three areas are just an example of the many about trust and journals of trust. If you have a different area of interest in trust that you would like to write for your Summer journal, please feel free to do it.
Briefly, you can share with the community your experience of happiness and healthiness with trust. This can be recorded in your journal and be shared by the end of Summer 2021.
To share the contents of your happiness and healthiness journal relating to happy, healthy and trustful Summer 2021; as well as to help build a better Summer holiday experience, you can contact CENFACS.
• Summer 2021 Reporting in Your Own Words, Numbers and Information Graphics
Last week, we started to unlock or unpack our Summer holiday data and to prepare to tell our Summer holiday stories. This week, we are going further in putting into practice our unlocked or unpacked data in support of Summer experiences or stories.
From this week until Saturday the 21st of September 2021, we are simply asking those who can to share with us and others their Summer experiences; experiences about what they did during the Summer break and think that it is useful for sharing.
The 2021 Summer Experiences Reporting activity is a further experience of reporting, sharing, learning and development opportunity for those who have not yet informed us about the outcomes of projects; projects pending for reporting, personal experiences to be shared, lessons to learn and development trends to spot.
• • Sharing Development Experiences, Stories, Tales and Reports about Summer 2021
As we are nearly reaching the end of Summer 2021, we would like our users and supporters as well as those who sympathise with CENFACS’ cause to share with us and others their experiences, stories and reports about the following:
√ Run, Play and Vote projects (Triple Value Initiatives): You can feedback the outcomes or Action-Results of your Run, Play and Vote projects.
√ Volunteering and Creation Stories: You can also share your volunteering stories with us and others if you did volunteer during the Summer break.
√ Summer programmes: Happiness, Healthiness and Appeal projects: You may prefer to report on your use of Happiness and Healthiness projects and your response to our Humanitarian Relief Appeal projects.
√ August 2021 Trending Activities: You can as well report on your experience of following the direction of poverty reduction through natural capital assets.
√ Leaf Activities: As we are in CENFACS’ Leafy Year, we would be more than happier to hear any stories related to this year’s dedication.
√ Journal of Happiness and Healthiness: You can share the contents of your happiness and healthiness journal relating to happy, healthy and trustful Summer 2021; as well as to help build a better Summer holiday experience.
√ Other Experiences and Stories Reporting: You can feedback on any moving experience or transformative story you have had during Summer 2021.
You can report your experience via e-mail, over phone and through social media networks or channels of communication (e.g Twitter).
Thank you for supporting us with your Summer 2021 experience, story and report In Your Own Words, Numbers and Information Graphics.
Le mois de septembre est celui de conseils au sein de CENFACS: conseils pour des individus et des organisations africaines.
Si vous avez un problème et besoin de conseils, s’il vous plaît n’hésitez pas de contacter le CENFACS.
Main Development
• Back-to-school poverty
In order to approach back-to-school poverty, the following items will be considered: back-to-school challenge, poverty, back to school disrupted by the coronavirus, back-to-school budget and support, and back to school greener and cleaner.
• • Back-to-school time as a challenging period for a basic human right and a deserving cause
For some, back to school/college is a normal time to prepare and do normal purchase whether it is for school uniforms or books or even any other school items. However, for those who are struggling to make ends meet, back-to-school time could be a very challenging moment as they may not always have enough financial resources or support to cope with the requirements of the start of the new school year. Yet, education is a basic human right and a deserving need for children and the all society.
Back to school/college for them is characterised by the following: the struggle to afford the costs linked to school/college, the inability to meet basic life-sustaining needs (including of education, food, fuel, shelter, skills development, etc.), deprivation of cleaning and disinfecting household items, the lack or poor access to internet broadband, etc.
This year’s back to school/college is still challenging as the side effects of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have not stopped to disrupt the normal preparation of back to school/college. This disruption started since lockdowns happened, from the purchasing of what pupils and students need to the format or formula of the school/college start.
• • Back to school disrupted by the continuing effects of coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns
This year’s back to school is still under the shadow of coronavirus as the crippling effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns continue to disrupt the entire organisation of the back to school for this September school entry 2021/2022.
The coronavirus pandemic has completely changed the way in which back to school has to be perceived and approached in many aspects and respects by including enhanced health and safety measures such as social distancing rules, disinfection of educational materials and establishment, daily number of people allowed by square meter in any educational infrastructures, etc. This year, the school return is even confusing as restrictions have been lifted while in some places there are messages telling people to continue to apply them.
The coronavirus pandemic has introduced new items while increasing the level of spending for other existing items in the back-to-school budget. It has brought new social rules such as the wearing of face coverings, the regular use of sanitising products, the requirement of vaccination and regular testing. This can only affect the togetherness and school community life.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the patterns and habits of working life and socialisation while introducing or reinforcing the virtual and online dimensions in the back-to-school preparation and delivery.
Briefly, due to the coronavirus pandemic the all health and safety policies and practices have to be redesigned and tested against the pandemic. While this has been done, some of those less well-off parents and families (those who do not have enough for their children) can find themselves in a back-to-school poverty with them. They could be in the back-to-school poverty while still struggling against sanitation poverty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
• • Back-to-school poverty
• • • What is back-to-school poverty?
Back-to-school poverty is the inability to afford the educational requirements of the start of the new school year. It is the inability for parents and carers to meet the basic life-sustaining needs of education for their children in terms of purchasing school items (such as uniforms, clothes, books, electronics, etc.) and providing the basic infrastructures and necessities (whether it is at home or outside) to support the education of their children.
This incapacity can include other expenses that compete against or with educational materials; expenses that are school fees, living expenses to start a new school year, transport cost to travel to schools, food, a place to study at home, family relocation, adequate meal to study, a proper bed to sleep well, basic healthcare at home, etc.
Besides these universal costs, there are new costs due to the coronavirus. They can include the following: buying soaps and often wash children’s clothes to disinfect them from the traces of the coronavirus, preparing special lunchboxes with items to disinfect hands and tools before eating, providing to each child personal school utensils to avoid any exchange with other school mates, etc.
• • • Back to school for families and parents living in poverty
Families and parents living in poverty or on a tight family budget may not be able to afford these additional expenses budget. They are forced to currently deal with two types poverty: back-to-school poverty and sanitation poverty.
The first type of poverty is related to the start of the new school year whereas the second is caused by the pressure from the coronavirus pandemic. As the Global Care (3) puts it on their website:
“The cost of coronavirus has been high for all our children – not least, a year of disrupted education. But, sadly, we believe the highest price is being paid by the poorest children”.
Children from families and parents living in poverty are likely to be the most affected by the adverse continuing impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
There could be support for them for some of the vital educational and sanitation needs to be met; just as there is no support for others.
• • • Back-to-school support at CENFACS
Any type of poverty needs response. As far as CENFACS is concerned, we can support those falling into back-to-school poverty trap by providing advice through our advisory package under the back-to-relief programme. This package includes activities such as advice, advocacy, information, guidance, signposting, etc.
Since the coronavirus pandemic started, we enhanced health and safety aspects in this programme. We are also providing support related to the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic and economic inactivity for those who are looking for this type of support.
Although our support to fight both back-to-school poverty and sanitation poverty is small and limited, it can nevertheless help beneficiaries to get something and keep moving towards of a BIG relief.
Since the battle against the coronavirus pandemic is not yet over, there are limitations on the ways our support can be accessed. It can be accessed as follows:
√ Only virtually on a no face-to-face physical basis, but on a one-to-one basis or as a group
√ Over phone
√ Via e-mail
√ and by filing the contact box on our website saying the type of support you need.
Where beneficiaries have access to video technology, we can arrange a meeting via a video scream.
Where in-person meeting with beneficiaries is unavoidable, extra precautionary health and safety measures will be taken before the advice can happen.
To seek advice or support regarding your back-to-school poverty or hardships, please contact CENFACS.
• • • Back-to-school COVID-19-induced Budget
The 2021/2022 Back-to-school COVID-19-induced Budget is a COVID-19-induced one for many parents and families as they have to cost and integrate the aforementioned aspects of protection related to the coronavirus pandemic into the educational budget of their children. It is also a budget of building forward from the coronavirus, although the fight against it is not yet over.
Although young children may not be wearing face masks, there are still some levels of investment that parents and families may have to do to keep the education of their children to an internationally agreed standard. They may have to proceed with the following initiatives:
∝ Invest in distance learning technologies (such as tablets, laptops, mobile phones, etc.)
∝ Improve their access to internet and broadband supplies
∝ Reorganise space at home to create an office-like desk environment for remote learning and video calling for the educational purpose of their children
∝ Improve or upgrade existing home infrastructures for e-education
All these types of investment will create additional costs in the back-to-school plans, although some of these costs will not be at the start of the school.
For poor families and parents, it is even more difficult for them to keep the educational level of their children to a good standard unless they get financial support to their back-to-school budget.
For those parents and families who are struggling to write their back-to-school budget, we can help them to do that. We can as well advise on some of the aspects related to the back-to-school budget preparation. Furthermore, we can lead them to specific advice services related to back-to-school matters.
To seek advice or support regarding your back-to-school budget, please contact CENFACS.
• • • Back to school greener and cleaner
Back to school in 2021 is also subject to the requirements of greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets as well as clean environment. It means that for parents and children whether well-off or less well-off, they need to make sure they take an eco-friendly path in the back-to-school preparation and delivery.
In practical terms, it means that in their preparation and delivery of back to school, there should be a zero waste consumption, recycling items, following the principles of circular economic model, avoiding depleting the environment, etc. Likewise, in their approach to reduce back-to-school poverty, it is better for them to adopt solutions to back-to-school poverty that do not adversely affect the nature and environment.
To support CENFACS’ back-to-school initiative, please also contact CENFACS.
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References
(1) Ibe, A.C., and L.F. Awosika (1991), Sea level rise impact in African coastal zones, In a change in the weather: African perspective on climate, ed. S. H. Omide and C. Juma, 105-12, Naïrobi, Kenya: African Centre for Technology Studies
(2) https://richmondvale.org/en/blog/situational-poverty-definition-and-types (accessed February 2021)
(3) https://www.globalcare.org/2021/back-to-school-in-poverty/ (accessed September 2021)
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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.
