Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
29 December 2021
Post No. 228
The Week’s Contents of the Last Post of 2021
• 2021 Year-in-review Report
• Year-end Fundraising Campaign
• Year-end Advice-giving Service
… And much more!
Festive Season’s Key Messages
• 2021 Year-in-review Report
The above mentioned report is an evaluation of what happened in this ending year (2021). It is not an annual report or an annual return. The report, which is a brief summary of 2021, will help to learn what went well and what did not get well within and around CENFACS, as well as how we can engage our charitable objects in 2022 and beyond.
This year-end post, which is the 52nd one, is therefore about covering the events of the year 2021 from the perspective of recapping the year for CENFACS’ audiences, followers and supporters, as well as from the point of view of CENFACS’ contribution to poverty reduction and sustainable development.
Under the Main Development section of this post you will find key highlights of CENFACS’ 2021 Year-in-review Report.
• End of Year Fundraising Campaign
Our End of Year Fundraising Campaign continues until the last day, hour and minute of 2021. For those who would like to donate to our End-of-year Support, Festive Gift Set and any other festive projects or campaigns or even causes before 2021 ends, please do not hesitate to donate. You can still make a helpful difference before 31/12/2021.
To donate, just contact CENFACS with your donation by any of these means of communications: text, phone, email and contact form on this website.
• End of Year Advice-giving Service
As we informed you in our 51st post of last week on this platform, we are in holiday break until the 5th of January 2022. However, some of our projects and campaigns are either self-running or designed to run throughout the holiday season like the festive holiday. One of these holiday projects is the Advice-giving one.
Indeed, during the festive period not everybody or member of our community can afford to celebrate on the New Year’s Eve. There are people who still need accommodation, food, income, guidance, support against the new COVID-19 variant, help against loneliness, etc. They may also need life-saving support of various kinds to cope and survive while other people, the lucky ones, are busy preparing themselves for the New Year’s Eve festivities.
Because of this on-going need and demand within the community, we have maintained a minimum level of advice-giving service to e-work with those who desperately need advice to reduce poverty or any type of hardships they are facing and do not have anywhere else to ask for help and advice, especially at this time of COVID-19 rebound with the Omicron variant.
If you are one of our members and facing serious hardship during the festive period, you can e-contact CENFACS for advice, guidance and support. If you are not one of our members and would like to discuss this year-in-review project, please still e-contact CENFACS.
Festive Season’s Extra Messages
• Charity e-Store: Recycle and or Give away your Unwanted or Unneeded Presents
You can recycle and or give away your unwanted or unneeded presents during this festive period. In doing so, one will not only support the noble cause of poverty reduction, but also will contribute to the Upkeep of the Nature while maintaining a fair balance between nature and festive presents, between climate and the season’s gifts.
To recycle and or give any unwanted or unneeded festive presents, please contact CENFACS to discuss the reuse of your items since we are under the constraint of renewed COVID-19 restrictions relating to the Omicron variant.
• Help for your Year-in-review Accounts
How to successfully close your end-of-year personal or family accounts and get prepared for the New Year accounts before the end of financial year
It is theoretically known that the financial year closes in April and the State budget starts in April of each year. For example, the 2021-2022 tax year began on April 6th 2021 and will run until April 5th 2022 in the UK.
Understandably, the coronavirus pandemic and its adverse effects may impact everybody’s financial calendar and deadlines. Despite that it is a good practice to use the opportunity of the end of the civil year to start to work out the balances of one’s personal or family accounts.
To help those who are struggling to close their year-end accounts of 2021, we will be looking at, from the start of January 2022 when we return, how to successfully close your personal or family financial accounts and prepare your new accounts in the New Year.
It is always a good practice to start early before the deadlines of the financial year!
It is wise to work out your year-end accounts early so that you could enter the New Year with a good understanding of your financial position while keeping financial control on accounts. In doing so, one can know areas of financial improvement to sort out their financial situation in the New Year.
This year-end financial control project or exercise includes income boost and other elements making our campaign to reduce and end income poverty. This is without forgetting the elements of Spending Limit Programme/Scheme and Zero Income Deficit Campaign we conducted.
For those who may be interested in this year-end financial control project, they can contact CENFACS in the New Year.
• COVID-19 Campaign over the Festive Holiday
Our COVID-19 Campaign continues during the Festive Holiday. We have not given up by repeating in saying to the community the following:
It is life-saving to keep following and implementing the coronavirus pandemic restrictions and rules.
All our community members should be aware of the nature of the current threat level posed by the COVID-19 and its variants (like the Delta and Omicron which are both in circulation). People need not only to follow but also to practise what the health authorities and professionals (e.g. World Health Organisation, the UK Government and the National Health Service) are saying.
The rapidly changing pandemic landscape means aggressive response. Without interfering in our community members’ health life, we are kindly asking to all of them to help in the following during the festive period:
√ Follow the voices, movies, signs and symbols of protection against the coronavirus pandemic and its variants
√ Be ready to implement stringent COVID-19 safety protocols prior to attending any in-person events during the festive time
√ Monitor your health with COVID-19 tests even if you are vaccinated
√ Check your COVID-19 vaccination status and test results before committing to any festive events
√ If in doubt, please do not be hesitate to opt out of any gatherings for festive celebrations as a safeguard or precautionary measure
√ Avoid a festive event that could become a source/centre of COVID-19 outbreak or contagion
√ Appropriately act upon information or data received on COVID-19 threats and risks
The above COVID-19 Campaign message should be added to the currently available COVID-19 restrictions and rules such as social distancing, confinement, sanitation, face coverings, etc.
For any enquiries and or queries about this message, please e-contact CENFACS as COVID-19 Campaigner.
Les images ci-haut contiennent un message, qui est celui de réduction de la pauvreté et du développement durable.
Elles sont sélectionnées et placées dans la galerie CENFACS parce qu’elles montrent comment l’année 2021 s’est déroulée au sein et autour de CENFACS.
Pour plus d’informations sur ces images ou la rétro 2021, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.
Merci et Joyeuse Saison des fêtes!
Festive Season’s Main Development
• 2021 Year-in-review Report
How the year 2021 has gone within and around CENFACS
The following contents make this report: a brief summary of the year, the theme of 2021 year-in-review, the key takeaways of the year, and commitments for the year 2022.
• • The Year’s Brief Summary
We entered 2021 with in mind the following question: how can our users reduce income deficit and what can they do for not to carry forward 2020 income deficit balance into 2021?
The question helped us together with users on the way of approaching 2021 despite the coronavirus constraint. From this starting point, there was a need to tirelessly work with those in need so that they can start 2021 with less income deficit and with income surplus regarding the opening balances of their family or household accounting books. This was vital as a way of stopping or reducing the transmission of poverty to their next generations. Throughout the year, we worked with them by helping them to resolve or reduce their income deficit.
Besides the above question, we were arguing with Africa-based Sister Organisations about the 2021 opportunities for them in order to continue the work of poverty reduction and sustainable development. This argument led us to believe that 2021 could be a year of uncovered opportunities for them; opportunities from the challenges they were facing from the coronavirus pandemic, financial uncertainty, economic impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns and global economic downturn. Throughout the year, some of these organisations managed to seize these opportunities in terms of market niches. Others are still suffering from the socio-economic effects of the above mentioned challenges.
Both the answer to the question on users’ income deficit (or users’ need of income deficit reduction) and the argument about the 2021 opportunities for Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) had shaped the contents and direction of our work with them (users and ASOs) throughout this ending year.
To respond to the income deficit problems of our users, we conducted together with them a Zero Income Deficit Campaign, which led to the Spending Limit Programme and Scheme in the end. To enable ASOs to grab the 2021 opportunities, we developed Capacity Development Advice from which they could find answers to the problem of living and sustaining in the newly formed African Continental Free Trade Area.
Briefly, to address both the question and argument we developed Build Forward Better Programme as well as Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit People’s Development projects. Through these programme and projects we were able to work together with users and ASOs throughout 2021.
• • Theme of CENFACS’ 2021 Year-in-Review
The theme for this review is building forward better together greener and cleaner in the post-pandemic year.
• • How did the Year 2021 go through from within and around CENFACS?
To underline the way in which the year 2021 went from within and around CENFACS, we are going to highlight the key takeaways of 2021 and the contributions we made.
• • • Key takeaways of the year
The points or facts to remember about 2021 from within and around CENFACS are as follows.
• • • • 2021 as a Leafy Year
Through Leaves-based Advice service, users could address the root causes of multi-dimensional poverty (including intergenerational poverty), access basic needs and use assets for income generation.
• • • • 2021 a post-coronavirus poverty reduction restructuring year
Thanks to users’ own contribution, we were able to develop a series of activities, proposals, plans, processes and tasks that helped them to deal with changes within the components of poverty reduction systems or structures.
• • • • 2021 a post-exit users’ development year
To help raise users’ living levels, create conditions for their self-esteem and increase their freedom from poverty and hardships; together with them we developed a set of activities, processes and tasks (e.g. Journal of Happiness and Healthiness written by users over last Summer).
• • • • 2021 as a year of not-for-profit development and solutions to poverty
During 2021, not-for-profit investors were invited to invest or increase their share of investment in African organisations working with poor people and in poverty issues.
• • • • 2021 as a year of debt and deficit management
The soaring of COVID-19 induced debts and deficits, especially from income poor users, has been a handicap to reduce and end poverty they are and were facing. Working with them on the issue of debt and deficit management was pivotal as many of them suggested sustainable solutions to COVID-19 induced financial debt and deficit they were facing.
• • • • 2021 as a year of generational economics
It has been a year during which we worked with users to explain and understand how their resources (including intergenerational share of non-renewables) have been allocated between them and future generations so that they could reduce or slow down intergenerational poverty. Many of them understood the problem and started to implement intergenerational solutions or changes to their problems.
• • • • 2021 as a year of building forward better together with users
Through a set of projects and activities organised together, users were able to ensure that the recovery from COVID-19 pandemic could sit on sound and sustainable foundations that could build back better the poverty reduction gains hard-won while moving forward greener and cleaner.
• • • • 2021 as a year of analytics-based solutions to poverty
Thanks to the help we received from many of you, we were able to analyse raw data about poverty in order to make insightful conclusions about information. Through data and contents generated by many of our users, we were in a position to communicate meaningful patterns and trends as well as actionable insights about poverty reduction. The results of this analysis have helped feed this 2021 Year-in-Review Report.
The above key features of 2021 have to be considered with the results or outcomes they generated.
• • • 2021 Key Produce or Achievements
2021 has also been a year of poverty reduction produce or accomplishments. After doing a round-up of all efforts we made to support the causes of those in need and work with them, we could name the following contributions.
∝) To support the severely socio-economic and health impacted of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, we conducted together with our followers and supporters these humanitarian relief appeals: Making Zero Hunger Grand Sud of Madagascar, Food Security Appeal to help tackle the food crisis and hunger situation in Tigray, etc.
∝) As we could not stay silent about human insecurity and displacement in the Ituri Region of the North-eastern in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we launched Ituri Peace Appeal and Re-appeal for the region.
∝) Through various e-discussions with interested users and African organisations, we produced a Guide for the Not-for-profit Investors in Africa.
∝) We could not be insensitive about what was happening in the African Sahel where innocent lives were unnecessary taken by food insecurity. Together with our supporters, we launched an Appeal to Protect the Acutely Food-insecure in the Lake Chad Basin and Central African Sahel.
∝) We advocated for the reduction of asymmetrical distributional effects of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns concerning distance working and learning technologies and means to run them.
The above are just the few selected accomplishments or produce we wanted to share with audiences and supporters in this year-in-review campaign. However, for those who would like get more insights into them and other achievements of the year 2021, they can still let us know.
• • Looking Forward to 2022
We shall undertake more sustainable initiatives about light (or energy) and poverty reduction since the global climate community has committed itself to phase down coal as source of energy whereas many energy poor people in Africa are coal-dependant.
We will as well be developing post-pandemic projects and programmes with contents of Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction. In other words, we shall plan and implement climate neutral projects to help keep us within the goal/trajectory of 1.5 Degree Celcius or below while also assisting in the reduction of poverty and the enhancement of sustainable development.
• • 2021 Gratitude
To end this year-in-review report, we would like to continue to thank our poverty reduction producers and enablers as we did in last week’s post.
2021 was a memorable year for CENFACS for those who inspired us in responding to local and African needs at the challenging time of the continuing coronavirus pandemic. We could not do it without their support.
We thank them for making possible 2021 as another rewarding year of poverty reduction and of sustainable development as well as for what we accomplished together. We hope to accomplish more in 2022 and beyond.
For further information or a full story of 2021 and to discuss any issues regarding this 2021 Year-in-Review Report, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
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 or as a New Year resolution.
Donate to support CENFACS!
FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)
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.
