Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
20 July 2022
Post No. 257
The Week’s Contents
• Happiness and Healthiness Projects in the Context of Rising Costs of Living
• July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 2): Impact Assessment of ‘Build Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer’ Programme
• Impact Analytics of ‘Build Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer’ Programme (from to 18 to 31/07/2022)
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Happiness and Healthiness Projects in the Context of Rising Costs of Living
The lingering effects of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the rising costs of living continue to pose an enormous challenge to the plan of many poor children, young people and families (CYPFs) to have a decent, happy and healthy Summer holiday. Despite this challenge, there is still space to work together with these poor CYPFs so that they can navigate their way to have a happy and healthy Summer break.
CENFACS’ Happiness and Healthiness Projects may not be the panacea for their problems; however they could be a step forward to pulling together with these CYPFs and support them to enjoy some forms of happiness and healthiness during this Summer season. The projects can help alleviate poverty linked to the lack of happiness and healthiness.
The Happiness and Healthiness Projects, which make the second part of our Summer Programme 2022, are made of six Summer initiatives. The list of these projects or initiatives is given under the Main Development section of this post. Their contents will be unveiled as we move on and implement them during this Summertime.
For those who would like to have detailed information about each of the projects, they can contact CENFACS.
For any further information about the full 2022 version of the second part of our Summer Programme (that is Happiness and Healthiness Projects), please read under the Main Development section of this post.
• July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 2): Impact Assessment of ‘Build Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer’ Programme
Our work on this year’s All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment has moved to level 2. The latter is about assessing the changes that may have occurred as result of the Programme of Building Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer. Before going any further, let us re-explain what this programme is about.
• • What is Build-Forward-Better Programme?
Build Forward Better Programme (BFBP) is a set of projects and activities designed with the aim to ensure that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic sits on sound and sustainable foundations that build back better the poverty reduction gains hard-won before the pandemic erupted, and help beneficiaries to move forward better cleaner, greener and safer.
The programme has been scheduled for two years (2020 to 2022) depending on the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, with a possibility of roll out.
Through this programme, it was thought the following three ideas:
1) Beneficiaries would make steady progress in their journey
2) The work of reconstruction from the asymmetrical and distributional impacts of COVID-19 would be undertaken
3) There would be preparation to stay resilient to future similar shocks and crisis.
These three ideas are the ones we are assessing in terms of their impact.
BFBP, which takes stock of CENFACS’ version of Build Back Better Programme, is indeed about correcting the asymmetrical legacies of these measures since many of our community members have been unevenly hurt during the COVID-19 crisis compared to other economic crises (such as the global recession of 2008-2009).
The programme has two parts, which are: Build Forward Better with the CENFACS Community and Build Forward Better with Africa-based Sister Organisations.
This is the programme we are trying to assess. To assess it, we are going to refer to what theories say about impact assessment, and to apply or experiment these theories in the context of this programme.
• • What do theories say about impact assessment?
Intrac (1) summarises some of the positions around impact assessment by giving two definitions (from the OECD and Roche) of impact within social development, which are as follows: an impact is
“The positive and negative, primary and secondary, long-term effects produced by a development intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended” (OECD, 2010)
“Lasting or significant change – positive or negative, intended or not – in people’s lives brought about by an action or a series of actions” (Roche, 1999)
• • How we are going to apply these definitions
We are going to use both definitions in these ways:
(a) Roche’s definition will help to capture short-term and meaningful changes in terms of life-changing benefits such as saved lives from the health and humanitarian appeals we made (e.g. The Coronavirus-affected Children of Sub-Saharan Africa Desperately Need Your Help Right Now).
(b) The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) definition will enable to include long-term changes in CENFACS’ capacity and system of poverty reduction (e.g. the e-advice that we set up as a result of lockdown will continue in the future, particularly during this time of the cost-of-living crisis).
To conclude, we are still carrying out impact assessment or assessing change on an on-going basis (or impact monitoring) while doing another impact assessment or assessing actual change for some of our 2021-2022 programmes and projects affected by COVID-19 that have reached the end of their lives. This impact assessment will be carried out until the 31st of July 2022.
The results of these impact assessments will be published in our end-of-year 2021-2022 accounts and other financial statements in due course.
• Impact Analytics of ‘Build Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer’ Programme (from to 18 to 31/07/2022)
From 18 to 31 July 2022, we will be looking at the patterns and other meaningful information gathered from the analysis of data from the programme of Building Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer Programme; while we are conducting an impact assessment of the same programme. In other words, we are working to find out, interpret and communicate patterns in data in a meaningful way to the work of CENFACS relating to this programme. This exercise will help to know what data found will be telling us.
• • Engaging with the Analytics Activity
We are continuing to ask supporters and users as well as Africa-based Sister Organisations to engage with us in responding and reacting to our poverty relief work in their own words and numbers. They can rate and or provide a statement about these programmes and projects. Where possible, they can provide information graphics (such as charts, graphs, images, etc.). The data collected via their response will be processed and analysed to see if there is a meaningful pattern in them.
If anyone has data or information regarding the advice service we provided via for example the advice sessions we ran or resource we produced to help the community to build forward together cleaner, greener and safer; this is the opportunity to share these data or information with us.
To share data with us and or engage with this analytics activity, please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Summer 2022 Festival of Thoughts and Actions with a Focus on Infrastructures to Reduce Poverty
The 14th Edition of our Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions will start from Friday the 22nd of July 2022 as scheduled.
Our thoughts and actions on Infrastructures to Reduce Poverty will be not only about building infrastructures, but also on planning to better maintain and manage these infrastructures. This is because infrastructures are more than just immobile buildings. What are they?
They are the homes to contain people, institutions, cultures, history, livelihoods, etc. Therefore, they need to be looked after.
They are as well the places that can help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. In this respect, the infrastructures upon which we shall reflect would be those poor people depend on for their every day life. This is because there are sometimes infrastructures that are built and that do not have anything to do with poverty reduction and poor people. This is what kind of contributions we are expecting; contributions relating to infrastructures helping to reduce poverty.
To help anyone who wants to participate to the Festival, we have put together supporting festival information under the following headings:
∝ Making any contributions in the form of thoughts and/or comments
∝ Event Guide and Programme
∝ Supporting the 7DDJ2022 event
Let us explain what the above named headings contain.
• • Making any contributions in the form of thoughts and/or comments
For those who will be making any contributions in the form of thoughts and/or comments, it will be good to stick to the daily themes as planned. Likewise, it makes easy for the good running of the festival to be short and precise in making thoughts or comments.
This will allow capture the impact they are making. In this way, this will as well enable us to meet the Festival’s aim and get the difference that it will make to the lives of those who are deprived from the infrastructures they badly need.
THINK • ACT • SHARE • ADD VALUE • SPREAD
• • Event Guide and Programme
The following is the make-up of Summer 2022 Festival.
• • • 7DDJ Registration: FREE!
The entry to the 7DDJ2022 is FREE.
For those who are busy and who can remotely, directly respond to the daily themes from their technological devices (e.g. laptop, desktop PC, tablet, phone, etc.) without having to attend any online sessions, there is no need to register.
For those who will have the opportunity to join our online sessions (or video conference), they may be notified about the days and times these sessions may happen. They will need to sign into their Google accounts to join if everything remains the same.
• • • Daily Themes
Daily Themes (DTs) provide a daily opening thought or starting point of the broad topic/issue of Infrastructures to Reduce Poverty. Each DT will last all day and the only day it is planned.
• • • Responses to 7DDJ Contributors
Each respondent will receive a reply to their contribution in the form of either an acknowledgement of their participation or a reaction expressed as an argument to their responses or even both. Also, they will be entitled to receive the summary report on this annual event.
• • • Lead Thoughts
Lead thoughts, which will be introduced on the day of festival, are a general idea on the thought of the day. There are designed to lead to or generate more thoughts, potential research paths or investigative grounds that can be further explored to shade some lights to our Summer Thoughts and Actions. They are not an end for themselves.
MAKE YOUR IDEAS AND COMMENTS COUNT!
• • • 7 Daily Themes
Day 1: Relationships between infrastructure and poverty reduction
Day 2: Investing in infrastructure to reduce poverty
Day 3: Infrastructure for poverty reduction impact
Day 4: Climate and war impacts on infrastructure
Day 5: Funding infrastructures to reduce poverty
Day 6: Maintaining and managing infrastructures
Day 7: Centre staging people’s needs in the development of infrastructures
• • Supporting the 7DDJ2022 event
• • • 7 Ways of Supporting 7DDJ2022
You could…
√ Post your thoughts, comments and views on any themes and topics of the event directly to CENFACS
√ Pass the message onto interested persons
√ Feedback on previous 7DDJF events
√ Promote the event around you and/or by using other means available to you and at your convenience
√ Help us re-cover the expenses of the event specifically and/or the running cost of CENFACS’ work generally
√ Support CENFACS on a regular basis to enable us to continue our work
√ Support our new initiative about Infrastructure for Those in Need.
• • • 7 Ways of Proceeding with your Wish
Please choose below the kind of support you want to provide and let us know
√ Promote the event
√ Feedback CENFACS on previous events
√ Circulate the news about the event
√ Help in the recovery of 7DDJ 2022 expenses
√ Fund CENFACS for its deserving work and causes
√ Provide helpful and supportive comments/views
√ Support CENFACS in your own way.
Please mail your intent to support and or support to CENFACS
Closing date for reply: 07/08/2022
Please read the above event supporting information and mail us your comments and views (on the themes of your interest) to facs@cenfacs.org.uk
Thank you for your continued support.
With best wishes and full of inspiration and creativity throughout our dedicated days of Festival of Thoughts and Actions on: Infrastructure to Reduce Poverty.
The 7DDJ2022 Events Team,
Thank you.
• Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa
This Summer 2022 Humanitarian Appeal, which is one of the Summer Appeal projects making the first part of our Summer Programme, is still running.
There is a need to support Children Young People Families (CYPFs) who have not got any means to choose distress-free ways of life.
The impact of the war in Ukraine on the international food, fuel and fertilizer markets has exacerbated high levels of food prices in Africa. It has also deepened the cost-of-living crisis there.
It is possible to stop the cost-of-living crisis to have a lifelong impact on CYPFs.
It is possible to avoid the lost generation of the cost-of-living crisis to happen in Africa.
CENFACS’ Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa can bring hopes and aspirations.
CENFACS’ Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa will help to reduce distress and hardship by bringing hopes and aspirations during this seismic time of the cost-of-living crisis and beyond to these distressed CYPFs in dire need of help and support.
CENFACS would be very grateful if you could be one of its supporters in transforming CYPF lives in Africa for a better one.
Please do not wait to donate as the needs are pressing and urgent NOW.
We look forward to your support to make helpful difference for the poor, vulnerable, neediest and distressed CYPFs in Africa.
To support, just contact CENFACS on this website.
Thank you for your generosity.
• Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2021-2022 Programmes, Projects and Activities: Only 11 Days to Go!
We have eleven days left for our Analytics month. We are again appealing to you to tell us (in your own words, numbers and info-graphics) your perceptions, feelings and experiences about the programmes and projects we ran in the last 345 days preceding the beginning of July 2022.
Although we have selected 12 initiatives for Impact Feedback and Assessment One and 9 ones for Impact Feedback and Assessment Two for monitoring and evaluation purposes, we are not expecting people to provide feedback on all of them.
People can only feedback on the project(s) and programme(s) they benefited from, supported, recommended users to us or interacted within.
We again suggest picking up ONLY 1 or 2 initiatives for feedback.
Please feel free to say what you experienced.
Again, thank you for your experiential support!
Message in French (Message en français)
Festival de pensées et d’actions de l’été 2022 axé sur les infrastructures pour réduire la pauvreté
La 14e édition de notre Festival d’été des pensées et des actions débutera le vendredi 22 juillet 2022 comme prévu.
Nos réflexions et nos actions sur les infrastructures pour réduire la pauvreté porteront non seulement sur la construction d’infrastructures, mais aussi sur la planification pour mieux entretenir et gérer ces infrastructures.
En effet, les infrastructures sont plus que de simples bâtiments immobiles. Ce sont les lieux où contenir les gens, les institutions, les cultures, l’histoire, les moyens de subsistance, etc. Il faut s’en occuper.
Ce sont aussi les endroits qui peuvent contribuer à réduire la pauvreté et à améliorer le développement durable. À cet égard, les infrastructures sur lesquelles nous réfléchirons seraient celles dont dépendent les pauvres pour leur vie quotidienne. C’est parce qu’il y a parfois des infrastructures qui sont construites et qui n’ont rien à voir avec la réduction de la pauvreté et les pauvres.
7 Thèmes (un thème par jour) pendant 7 jours
Jour 1 : Relations entre l’infrastructure et la réduction de la pauvreté
Jour 2 : Investir dans les infrastructures pour réduire la pauvreté
Jour 3 : Infrastructure pour l’impact sur la réduction de la pauvreté
Jour 4 : Impacts climatiques et de la guerre sur les infrastructures
Jour 5 : Financer les infrastructures pour réduire la pauvreté
Jour 6 : Maintenance et gestion de l’infrastructure
Jour 7 : Mettre en avant le besoin des pauvres dans le développement des infrastructures
Vous pouvez soutenir le festival en publiant vos pensées, commentaires et points de vue sur un des thèmes et sujets de l’événement directement au CENFACS.
Pour soutenir le festival, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.
Main Development
• Happiness and Healthiness Projects in the Context of Rising Costs of Living
To approach Happiness and Healthiness Projects, it is better to understand them, to know the different factors that determine happiness and healthiness, and to deliver them. Thus, the following headings will ease our approach:
∝ Understanding CENFACS’ Happiness and Healthiness Projects
∝ Determining Factors or Indicators of Happiness and Healthiness
∝ Delivering Healthiness and Healthiness with 6 Projects for 3 Beneficiaries.
Let us now look at what is inside these headings.
• • Understanding CENFACS’ Happiness and Healthiness Projects
As said in the first key message, the lingering effects of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the rising costs of living continue to pose an enormous challenge to the plan of many poor children, young people and families (CYPFs) to have a decent, happy and healthy Summer holiday. In these conditions and circumstances, happiness and healthiness may not mean anything for them.
Despite that, it is possible to find health relief and happy fulfilment while still dealing with the lingering effects of COVID-19 factor and the cost-of-living crisis, this Summer 2022. It is possible to make the conditions of being physically, mentally and socially sound better this Summer.
To make these conditions sound better, we have planned six happiness and healthiness enhancing initiatives. This Summer, we are going to focus on ways or activities of finding this health relief and happy fulfilment in the context of lingering effects of COVID-19, rising costs of living and climate change. In other words, our centre of interest is on what will keep children, young people and families happy (or unhappy) and healthy (or unhealthy) over Summer under the debilitating conditions of COVID-19, seismic rise in the cost of living and changing climate.
In order to keep them happy and healthy, there is a need to budget and deliver Happiness and Healthiness Projects.
• • • What are Happiness and Healthiness Projects?
CENFACS’ Happiness Projects are poverty-relieving responses to bring joy while reducing misery for poor children, young people and families over the summer period and beyond it.
CENFACS’ Healthiness Projects are poverty-relieving responses to bring freedoms from diseases (including epidemics, virus like COVID-19) while reducing misery for poor children, young people and families over the summer period and beyond it.
• • Determining Factors or Indicators of Happiness and Healthiness
The underlying principles or philosophy behind these life evaluation projects are in line with the main factors or indicators that define happiness as both a social and personal concept as explained in successive World Happiness Reports edited by Helliwell et al. (2).
• • • Happiness as both a social and personal concept
Helliwell et al. (op. cit.) distinguish the social foundations of happiness from personal happiness, although the two are complementary. They argue that the science of measuring and understanding subjective well-being and happiness indicates that to be happy, one needs to meet the following six key variables or predictors that explain happiness differences among countries, which include:
income (Gross Domestic Product per capita), healthy life expectancy at birth, social support (having someone to count on in times of trouble), generosity, freedom to make life choices and trust (perceptions of corruption).
For example, Helliwell et al. (3) argued in their 2020 World Happiness Report that
“Sub-Saharan Africa is not only the areas in the world with low happiness scores, but also a region in which happiness differences between the city and countryside are most pronounced in favour of city life” (p. 40)
The report went on in explaining that African countries with most pronounced urban-rural differences in life evaluation include: Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Central African Republic, South Africa, Gambia, Niger, Liberia and Egypt.
In their World Happiness Report 2021, Helliwell at al. (4) note that
“Life expectancy has much improved in Sub-Saharan Africa… Life expectancy has become much more equal, and has increased in Sub-Saharan Africa for seven years” (p. 194)
When talking about key determinants of happiness and misery, they again argue that happiness is caused by factors such as income, employment, health and family life.
• • • Happiness is about ending poverty and misery
CENFACS Happiness Projects address the issues encapsulated inside the above variables and factors while keeping in mind first the needs of the CENFACS Community. This is because we think the way to keep people happier is to reduce as much as possible poverty and misery among them. Happiness is about ending poverty and misery.
At this time of record-high costs of living, to be happy could mean having the means and resources to meet these high costs of food, energy, fuel, transport, accommodation, etc. Those who are unable to meet these high costs, prices and bills will obviously be unhappy.
As we have brought in the concept of changing climate into our happiness projects, happiness is finally about ending poverty and misery amongst children, young people and families in an era of changing climate. Soaring temperatures during this Summer can only mean more fresh water, foods with higher water content, Summer diet/food, air-conditioned environment and other resources to deal with the heat. They could also signify a possibility of high threats and damages to health.
Those who would not have the means to manage these temperatures would not be happy and/or healthy. To get happiness, they need to find ways of keeping themselves cool while carrying on their life as a normal in a heatwave.
• • • Healthiness is about ending poor health conditions
CENFACS Healthiness Projects address the issues enclosed in the above variables and factors, particularly healthy life expectancy in this Summer 2022. These projects will help to keep in mind the needs of the CENFACS Community in terms of healthiness.
Keeping people healthier is about reducing as much as possible health and climate poverty and misery among them. Healthiness is about ending health poverty and misery. Healthiness is finally about ending poor health and poor living environment amongst children, young people and families in an era of the post-coronavirus pandemic.
• • Delivering Happiness and Healthiness with 6 Projects for 3 Beneficiaries
6 Projects to bring Happiness and Healthiness to 3 beneficiaries: Poor Children, Young People and Families
After the last school term, Summer is a holiday season of the year during which most of the schools are closed and families with small children and young people in much needed help are forced to stay with them and or use this time of the year to take holiday. The usual routine of educational/academic establishments with their recreational activities is scaled down.
This Summer is even dearer as many CYPFs have to face up skyrocketing prices of food, energy, transport, accommodation, etc. The cost of running Summer will be excessively high for many CYPFs. This is let alone the fact that many of them who are poor may not afford to travel, even inside the country, and to go for holiday. Yet, these CYPFs are in need of seasonal and recreational activities and programmes for improving their well-being, healthiness and happiness.
There are ways of ensuring that summer stays an interesting and enjoyable period for Multi-dimensionally Poor Children, Young People and Families. There are things that can be done to make summertime a season of Happiness, Peace, Vulnerability-free, Healthiness, Protection and Sustainability.
There should be projects that can help them to adapt and mitigate the adverse effects of the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. There should be projects that can help them to adapt and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
• • • Summer 2022 Happiness and Healthiness Projects
The following CENFACS suite of summer 2022 initiatives can help in achieving some joyful, healthful and helpful summer plans, goals and outcomes in the context of rising costs of living.
CENFACS Happiness and Healthiness Projects include:
1) ‘Holiday with Relief’ Resource (this year’s focus is on Food and Energy for Holiday)
2) Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities
3) Summer Harmony with Nature
4) True Balance in Happiness and Healthiness
5) Networking for Protection and Safeguarding at the Time of Cost-of-living Crisis
6) Community Care and Health Responsibility Enhancing Activities.
There is a link between these six initiatives. For example, knowing the food and energy that one needs during the Summertime can help to narrow gap in inequalities relating to happiness and healthiness. Likewise, the way in which one consumes food and energy can help build harmonious relationships with the nature, network for protection and safeguarding, and act in a responsible way in the interest of their own happiness and public healthiness.
These projects are the combination of skills, knowledge, resources, tools, tactics, fixers, enhancements, boosters and tasters for the relief from poverty induced by the cost-of-living and poverty due to the lack of happiness.
In the preparation of our Summer 2022 programme for CYPFs, we have considered the continuing happiness and healthiness issues from the lingering asymmetrical effects of COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis and climate change.
All the six Happiness and Healthiness Projects will be COVID-19 Secure and Compliant; just as they take into account the happiness and healthiness effects in relation to changing climate and the cost-of-living crisis.
They will be delivered to help improve life evaluation while taking actions to enhance the same life in the context and under the constraint of the lingering effects of COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis and changing climate.
In this way, Summer can be a season of Happiness and Healthiness NOT of Misery for un-served and under-served children, young people and families who are at the same time victims of the adverse and far-reaching lingering effects of COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis and changing climate.
They are the victims of adverse and far-reaching lingering effects of COVID-19 because COVID-19, which is an economic and health threat, is still coming back under different forms or variants.
They are also trapped in the cost-of-living crisis. The latter has taken them economically and healthily in hostage by affecting the way they dress, eat, house, educate, eat, warm their home, entertain, enjoy, care for their health and body, look after their homes, and above all the way they pass their Summer holiday.
They are finally suffering from the consequences of changing climate, which is transforming the way they consume, produce and entertain themselves.
For details about CENFACS Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022 and to access them, please contact CENFACS.
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• References
(1) https://www.intrac.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Impact-Assessment.pdf (accessed July 2022)
(2) Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J. (2017, 2018 & 2019), World Happiness Reports (2017, 2018 & 2019), New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network
(3) Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J. & De Neve J. E. (2020), World Happiness Report (2020), New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network
(4) Helliwell, John F., Richard Layard, Jeffrey Sachs, and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, eds. 2021, World Happiness Report 2021, New York, Sustainable Development Solutions Network
http://worldhappiness.report/ (accessed July 2022)
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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 also consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.
Donate to support CENFACS!
FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.
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 2022 and beyond.
With many thanks.
