Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
06 October 2021
Post No. 216
The Week’s Contents
• History Month with Making Memorable Difference Project – In Focus: The Congolese Rumba
• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) Campaign with an Emphasis on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa
• Leafy Year and the History of Leaves with CENFACS
… And much more!
Key Messages
• History Month with Making Memorable Difference Project – In Focus: The Congolese Rumba
This week, the lead story line of poverty relief and sustainable development at CENFACS 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, which is the 13th one, is about the Congolese Rumba. The 13th MMD or MMD 2021 will be about learning and finding the heritage of rumba dance as a legacy and gift for poverty reduction and sustainable development, since it was introduced in the two Congos (Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville) in the late 1930s.
Rumba will be looked at in two ways:
(a) As a culture, art and patrimony
(b) As a legacy and gift for poverty reduction and sustainable development
For further information on this acknowledgement of the Congolese Rumba, read under the Main Development section of this post.
• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) Campaign with an Emphasis on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa
“A la une” campaign has already started with our work on the Great Beasts and the “Blue Spaces” theme. During these October and November 2021, we shall continue these two areas of advocacy while dealing with our work on Sustainable Trajectories for the Nature where we left it. In the campaign about the upkeep of the nature, we shall focus on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa. Before going any further step, let us try to understand the meaning of crop wild relatives.
• • Understanding Crop Wild Relatives
According to the New Phytologist Foundation (1), Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) are …
“Plant taxa closely related to crops and are a source of high genetic diversity that can help adapt crops to the impacts of global change, particularly to meet increasing consumer demand in the face of the climate crisis. CWR provide vital ecosystem services and are increasingly important for food and nutrition security and sustainable and resilient agriculture. They therefore are of major biological, social, cultural and economic importance. Assessing the extinction risk of CWR is essential to prioritise in situ and ex situ conservation strategies in Mesoamerica to guarantee the long-term survival and availability of these resources of present and future generations worldwide”.
The same New Phytologist Foundation argues that 35% of species (like maize, potato bean, squash, chilli pepper, vanilla, avocado, husk tomato and cotton crops) are threatened with extinction.
• • Focusing on the safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa
This year’s “A la une” campaign will be about the upkeep of these plants and crops threatened with extinction. An outline of the contents of our planned work on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives that will make this year’s “A la une” campaign will be given in our future communication.
For any more information about this year’s “A la une” campaign, please contact CENFACS and or continue to read our posts over this Autumn season.
• Leafy Year and the History of Leaves with CENFACS
Our dedication of year 2021 as a Leafy Year continues in this history month. After dealing with leaf activities and advice based on leaves, we are exploring the link between the Year of Leaves and the History of Leaves in the making of CENFACS.
Indeed, the history of leaves with CENFACS dates since CENFACS was set up in 1994 when we chose a bunch of leaves to make up our logo and symbol of poverty relief. Since then, our leaves of poverty relief have been instrumental in helping us to accomplish CENFACS’ mission and charitable objects. The leaves of poverty relief have helped us to find communicative, meaningful and powerful way to work together with those in need in the UK and Africa, to help them navigate their way to a sustainable relief from poverty and hardships, and to enhance the quality of their lives in the long term.
The history and story of leaves with CENFACS are of making leaves to be an instrument to perform the following tasks:
√ To inspire us to develop ideas, thoughts and resources to better carry out our poverty reduction work
√ To give something to the community here in the UK and in Africa
√ To effectively communicate our poverty reduction message to a broad audience
√ To network for poverty reduction and sustainable development
√ To deal with eminent crises, risks and threats (like the global economic recession in 2008)
√ To manage the current coronavirus crisis and associated impacts
√ To work with users through advice service
√ To run our activities, projects and programmes
√ To enhance and sustain freedoms and capabilities of our users
√ Above all, to engage and work in partnership with local people to develop sustainable initiatives
Briefly, leaves have been supportive to us at all stages of development and milestones of CENFACS since the beginning. So, this month is the history month. It is also the month of the history and tradition of CENFACS with leaves since we are in a Year of Leaves or Leafy Year at CENFACS.
To support and or enquire about CENFACS’ 2021 as a Year of Leaves and Leaves of Poverty Reduction, please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• October 2021 Food Security Appeal
This is an appeal to raise awareness and provide support to severely food insecure people in Africa. This appeal, which is a part of CENFACS’ Making Zero Hunger Africa Campaign, is also about joining in the World Food Day initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations on 16 October 2021.
Through this appeal, one could support those who are severely food insecure, particularly but not exclusively in those African countries subject of this appeal. These African countries include: Burundi, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisations of the United Nations (2), the numbers of severely food insecure people were in the above named countries as follows:
♦ 2.3 millions in the Central African Republic between April and August 2021
♦ 1 million in Burundi between June and September 2021
♦ 27.3 millions in the Democratic Republic of Congo between February and July 2021
♦ 194,000 in Djibouti between January and August 2021
♦ 2.6 millions in Cameroon between March and May 2021. (pp. 2 & 3)
With the difficulties that these countries are experiencing to manage the coronavirus, these numbers could increase or at best be stationary.
If one wants to build a zero hunger generation and act against hunger (as a way of backing World Food Day 2021), then supporting this appeal makes sense.
This appeal runs from now until the 16 October 2021; day on which we shall join others across the world to act against hunger.
You can support this appeal via CENFACS or directly help the severely food insecure in the above mentioned African countries.
To support via CENFACS, please contact us now.
• Triple Value Initiatives (or All-year Round Projects) as Social Prescribing Activities
As CENFACS is preparing the State of Play, Run and Vote for Triple Value Initiatives that users have conducted so far, CENFACS is looking into the possibility of considering these initiatives as social prescribing ones.
Social prescribing nature-based activities are known as those ones that support the health and well-being of the community. These activities can be land-based (green prescribing) and water-based (blue prescribing). The National Academy for Social Prescribing (3) describes social prescribing as
“Being about helping people getting more control over their healthcare to manage their needs in a way that suits them”.
For those who have been using the Triple Value Initiatives, it would be a good idea to share with us their experience in terms of health and well-being so that we know how social prescribing these initiatives can be. The more people respond, the more we would know about the health and well-being outcomes from these initiatives, the more we could be recommending people or socially prescribing them to use these initiatives.
To support CENFACS’ State of Play, Run and Vote as well as our work on social prescribing, please let us know your personal experience on Triple Value Initiatives in terms of health and well-being results.
• Fuel/Energy Budget for Families: Numeracy and Statistical Literacy Skills
Our work on the reduction of energy poverty continues this week by looking at energy or fuel budget for families.
Energy or fuel budgeting is our support to the community in the context of and the implementation of CENFACS’ 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme and Development Agenda. We are trying to support them to develop basic skills in numeracy and statistical literacy to understand energy or fuel budget and the implications for their entire family budgets. Through this process, one can hope they will be able to navigate their way to reduce energy poverty and other types of poverty.
Last week, we argued that it was known that those who spend more than 10% of their income in energy could be considered as energy poor. Also, through our energy poverty talks, we spoke about the sensitivity of energy share to household income. This week, we would like to share some views on the energy share to household income by looking at fuel/energy budget for families.
If you are a member of our community and would like to know more or exchange ideas about the right balance between your energy expenses budget and the other budgets for your household, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
Le 73e numéro du FACS traitera …
∝ du prix pour organiser des activités endommagées et détruites par le coronavirus
∝ du coût associé à l’inactivité économique non-essentielle découlant des confinements prolongés
∝ des coûts financiers et non-financiers du COVID-19
Le 73e numéro donnera l’occasion aux lecteurs de…
∝ naviguer dans les processus et jargon comptables et financiers de base
∝ comprendre le pocessus de construction en cours entrepris par les usagers et organisations bénéficiaires de CENFACS
Dans ce 73e numéro, il s’agira également de…
∝ faire des prévisions comptables et financiers de besoins futurs de la communauté
∝ fournir un aperçu non financier du coût de la construction sous forme d’une autre lecture de la pauvreté et de sa réduction
∝ intégrer le coût d’une construction meilleure ensemble plus verte et plus propre.
Pour passer votre commande et vous renseigner sur ce numéro, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.
Main Development
• History Month with Making Memorable Difference Project – In Focus: The Congolese Rumba
• • 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, Gifts and Legacies to Africa and the world.
This year’s dedicated two days (27 and 28 October 2021) are virtual days of historical study, analysis and skill recognition and celebration of the legacies left by Africans in dance, particularly the Congolese Rumba.
• • The Congolese Rumba
The history of Congolese Rumba dates from late 1930s and early 1940s in the Congos (Kinshasa and Brazzaville) when the Afro-cuban son groups (such as Septeto Habanero, rio Matamoros and Los Guaracheros de Oriente) were played over Radio Congo Belge in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). However, what does rumba mean?
• • • Etymological source of Rumba
The word rumba comes from the Spanish verb “rumbear”. In Collins Spanish Dictionary by Colin Smith (4), “rumbear” is defined in Spanish spoken in Latin America as
“to dance rumba, to follow a direction, to find one’s way, to get one’s bearings” (p. 636)
Rumba means a party, celebration from the same dictionary (p. 636).
• • • Two Virtual Days of the history of Congolese Dance, Rumba:
∝ One Day of Rumba as Culture, Art and Patrimony
∝ One Day of Rumba as a Legacy and Gift for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development
• • • • Understanding Day (27 October 2021): Rumba as Culture, Art and Patrimony
In the first day of MMD, we shall work on how Rumba as an art, culture and patrimony helped many African people (particularly Congolese) to find their way, to express their feelings and thoughts through dance.
Rumba will be looked at as a creative skill expressed by the body language supported by music and language. It is a storytelling found in body language.
It is also a cultural expression; that is customs of those engaged in dancing Rumba.
It is finally a heritage or property inherited from those who started it in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and passed it to following generations.
During this virtual day, we shall look at some of the key historical figures who brought Rumba to the Congos in the late 1930s and early 1940s, as well as the dancers of the time without forgetting their messages to the Congolese and African societies. It will be about decoding the message that Rumba sent and dealing with the transcendental aspect of Rumba between different generations.
• • • • Legacies and Gifts Day (28 October 2021): Rumba as a Legacy and Gift for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development
During the Legacies and Gifts Day of MMD, we shall go beyond the choreographic aspect and artship of Rumba to carry out an historical examination on how it contributed to poverty reduction and the enhancement of sustainable development.
For example, talking about the employment through language, music and dance; Alhassan Abubakar Musa et al. (5) argue that
“The social relevance of language, music and dance is profound. It is not only an abstract art, but as a force which affects the lives of the people who acquire it. Such experiences help the acquirers to live and contribute positively towards the progress and development of the society. This is an attitudinal, structural and cultural process whereby young and old people gain the ability, authority and agency to make decisions and implement changes in their own lives and the lives of other people in the society.
Through language, music and dance the youths have been gainfully employed” (pp. 4 & 5)
On the legacy and gift day, we are going to historically investigate how Rumba has enabled poverty reduction and sustainable development within the Congolese and African societies.
Briefly, the overall purpose of the MMD materials from the Congolese Rumba will be to extirpate the historical legacies and foundations in terms of poverty reduction and sustainable development in Africa, particularly in the Congos. They will be about finding out dancing messages about how Rumba has helped to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development since the late 1930s and early 1940s.
To engage with this year’s MMD theme and or support this project, please contact CENFACS on this site.
• • Making Memorable Difference Timeline
MMD has a history and timeline. The following is the timeline of MMD since its inception.
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
2019: We searched on the African Health History
2020: We celebrated African Sculpture and Representation of African Historical Figures of the Pre-independence Era (i.e. Period before the 1960s)
For further details about these past MMD events, please contact CENFACS.
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• References
(1) FAO (2021), Crop Prospects and Food Situation, Quarterly Global Report No.2, July 2021
(2) New Phytologist Foundation (2021), Extinction risk of Mesoamerican crop wild relatives, Paper first published 6 September 2021
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10225 (accessed September 2021)
(3) https://socialprescribingacademy.org.uk/about-us/what-is-socialpresscribing/ (accessed October 2021)
(4) Colin Smith (1997), Collins Spanish Dictionary, 5th Ed., HarperCollins Publishers, Glasgow & New York
(5) Alhassan Abubakar Musa, Omada Margaret Onyekunin, Friday Encojo Ikani and Sadiq Muhammad (2019), Language, Music and Dance as Tools for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development among the Igala Peopleof Kogi State, Nigeria, British Journal of English Linguistics, Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 1-6, Nov. 2019, Published by ECRTD-UK
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Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.
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.
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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 2021 and beyond.
With many thanks.
