Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
25 January 2023
Post No. 284
The Week’s Contents
• The Polycrisis-impacted Children of East Africa Need Your Influence Right NOW
• Influence (i) Project
• 2023 Donor and Stewardship Development Programme
… And much more!
To donate or fund on 30 and 31 January 2023, please contact CENFACS on these days. Whether you are a one-off or regular, short- or medium- or long-term giver, you can also share your story or thoughts about Joy of Giving on the same days.
Key Messages
• The Polycrisis-impacted Children of East Africa Need Your Influence Right NOW
It has been noticed and reported all over the humanitarian community that East Africa (particularly but not exclusively Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan) is experiencing a series of interlinked crises; crises which are natural (e.g., drought, continuing failed rainy season), insecurity (due to years-long of armed conflicts), and economic (which has led severe hunger).
As always in this kind of crises, children are not exempted. It is even them who bear the brunt of these interconnected crises: drought, extreme climate change, displacement and insecurity. For example, in its appeals for support, UNICEF (1) argues that there are
“16.5 million children in Ethiopia who are severely affected and in need,
5.1 million children in Somalia who are disproportionally-harsh drought affected,
and 4.7 million children in South Sudan, who are most vulnerable, have complex and chronic needs“.
Yet, it is possible to reduce or halve the number of these polycrisis-affected children. Whether the threats from this poly-crisis are climate-related or man made, it is conceivable to halve poverty for and with children at risk of loosing their life. It is even feasible to use the tenets of positive influence to secure life-saving outcomes for these children who are severely impacted by the poly-crisis in East Africa.
With and on behalf of these children of East Africa, (particularly but not exclusively Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan), we would like to ask to use your positive influence to help halve poverty and hardships they are facing.
CENFACS would like to appeal to those who may have influence on the people who have the key to the situation on the grounds and on factors leading to poly-crisis to use their influencing skills or power to help halve poverty by supporting children who are in emergency in East Africa in order to meet their life-saving needs and dreams.
Under the Main Development section of this post, you will find some details about halving poverty for and with these children of East Africa whose life is highly at risk.
• Influence (i) Project
Influence or ‘i‘ Project is one of the new initiatives for 2023. The following two elements help to understand this project: its meaning and its activities.
• • What is ‘i’ Project?
It is a series or set of interconnected influencing tasks or activities planned for the execution of CENFACS‘ dedication of year 2023 as of Influence. These tasks or activities, which aim at reducing poverty, will be undertaken all over 2023 within the requirements and limitations of CENFACS‘ existing and acquirable resources and assets. Through this project, we hope to continue to help reduce poverty through the influence on people and factors holding the key to the solutions of problems faced by our potential ‘i‘ project beneficiaries during 2023.
• • Activities and tasks relating to the ‘i’ Project
There will be twelve activities, one activity or task every month. Each ‘i’ activity will be announced at the beginning of each month. Through this project and each task, we will try as much as we can to identify people who may have influence on poverty reduction generally and on a particular area of poverty reduction (e.g., humanitarian or overseas development matters). We shall as well work to find things or factors that can be influenced so that they can positively contribute to the same goal of relieving need hardship and distress amongst our community members throughout our dedicated year.
To influence people and things in order to meet our members’ needs, we are going to undertake a certain number of influencing activities. For this month, the ‘i’ activity is about influencing people and factors to help achieve responsible or sustainable consumption while reducing consumption poverty.
• • Activity/Task 1 of the ‘i’ Project: Influence to achieve responsible or sustainable consumption and reduce consumption poverty
In this first task or activity, there will be two sub-tasks which are:
a) Influence people or things to achieve responsible consumption
b) Influence people or things to help reduce consumption poverty.
For those who need any help before embarking on any of these two sub-tasks, they can speak to CENFACS. For any other queries and enquiries about the ‘i‘ project and this year’s dedication, please contact CENFACS as well.
• 2023 Donor and Stewardship Development Programme
The 2023 collected processes and strategy for relationship-building with and retaining donors will consist of two areas: donor solicitations and donor products to match these solicitations.
• • Donor Solicitations
We are continuing our solicitation to some of you as donors and /or stewards of poverty relief as follows.
• • • Solicitation relating to CENFACS’ Donor Development Plan
Under this plan, donors can build quality donor-relations with CENFACS.
In this Year of Influence over Poverty Reduction at CENFACS, donor developers can help us in a number of ways, such as:
σ Influence the right people engaged to and informed about our work
σ Make our donations to grow over time
σ Help with technology like donor management software
σ Increase the levels of involvement from users
σ Help us to manage donors expectations
σ Assist us in donor-development goals and tasks such as event support.
• • • Solicitation relating to CENFACS’ Donor Stewardship Programme
Under this programme, you can help us in the following:
σ Steward donors
σ Build and maintain lasting relationships and communications with those who gave to our users or us a gift or any of our noble causes
σ Enable access to and use of donor stewardship tools.
• • Donor Development Products on Offer in 2023
We are giving away the products below to those who would like to engage, develop their interest, to build bond and loyalty to CENFACS and CENFACS’ work.
We are offering to the donor development market a donor status to enable those who want to commit themselves on regular basis to giving or boosting their status as donor to have the opportunity to do so.
We are inviting those who want to commit themselves as funder or donor to do so. They can do it by supporting CENFACS with a silver donation, a great relief and a product booster.
• • • Free for Supporters: Silver Status
Silver status is the legacy of CENFACS’ “Quadranscentennial” Year (2019). It is about supporting our projects as you can or as you choose if you visit them or if you happen to be within the area of their implementation. This will boost your support and help you to win a silver status as CENFACS’ Supporter in a CENFACS’ Year of Influence.
Alternatively, you can fund CENFACS’ Year of Influence to win the same status and continue CENFACS’ legacy.
• • • Want to provide Great Relief as a Supporter
You can provide great relief by becoming a regular giver or supporter, adding value to you support and boosting your support.
For example, at this challenging time of the cost-of-living crisis, we need those who can provide that sort of relief to keep our action going and out of the disruption caused by the cost-of-living crisis.
Many individuals and organisations stepped in to support their good deserving causes during the storming time of the health crisis (the coronavirus crisis); you can do the same by supporting CENFACS during this time of the cost-of-living crisis.
For those interested, they can contact CENFACS for details about becoming a Great Reliever.
• • • Need to boost your support or stewardship as a Product Booster
You can choose a particular sustainable initiative or programme or even CENFACS as your boost product.
You can support 3 projects or 2 projects and CENFACS
You can support 3 programmes or 2 programmes and CENFACS.
This will elevate your position as a Project or Programme Funder or a Product Booster
For further details about boosting your support or stewardship, please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• 2023 All Year-round Projects (Triple Value Initiatives): Play, Run and Vote for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development
• Financial Stability Campaign 2023 – Second Area of Focus: Paying Off Debts
• CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum Discuses Poverty Reduction in Africa in 2023
• 2023 All Year-round Projects (Triple Value Initiatives): Play, Run and Vote for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development
CENFACS’ Triple Value Initiatives, the All Year-round Projects, are now back for this year. You can play, run and vote to reduce poverty this year again.
The 2023 Edition of All Year-round Projects has kicked off.
You can Run or Organise a Run Activity to Reduce Poverty in 2023.
You can Play the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief.
You can Vote your 2023 African Poverty Relief Manager.
Before proceeding with one of the All Year Round Projects, it is recommendable to speak to CENFACS. We can discuss in details together your plan or the way you want to participate or engage with these initiatives.
• • How CENFACS can help you to engage with Triple Value Initiatives
The following examples show what we can discuss together before you start.
Example 1: Run Themes
For example, let’s take Run to Reduce Poverty.
There are Run Themes. You can Run alone or Run as group or even Run for fun. You can do Seasonal Run or Run to raise money for one of our noble causes or even Run to raise awareness. However, there are health and safety issues that everyone who will be involved in this Run activity must follow.
There are ways of making your Run event simpler. To do that, you can contact CENFACS before you plan your event. CENFACS can help you to select your theme. You need to confirm the date and time with CENFACS.
There are other things to consider as well such as: location, engagement in activities, prizes (rewards for participants), health and safety issues, child protection policy if children are involved, insurance cover, budget, refreshments, etc.
Example 2: Play Station Game
Let’s take another example, which is Playing CENFACS’ League for Poverty Relief.
You can create your own play station game with CENFACS’ League and run your own tournament and matches. You can even involve colleagues, friends and families sharing the same passion about how the selected African countries are working to reduce poverty. You can group or rate these countries according to poverty reduction performance (showing which one comes on top, middle and bottom). You can as well use game theories if you know them. Like for Run activity, you must include health and safety measures and guidance.
Example 3: People to Watch
Let’s take the last example, which is Voting your Poverty Relief Manager.
You can create your own list of Top 23 People to Watch throughout the year. One or two of them will be potentially the best managers of 2023. You can collect data and facts about them, follow their annual performance, assess their achievements and vote the best between the two at the end.
While you are running or organising a run activity, playing the CENFACS’ League and voting your Manager of the Year 2022; we would like you to share with us and others your progress, news, events, experiences, stories and reports regarding these projects. We would like as well to hear from you some of the pitfalls or hurdles you may encounter in the process of dealing with your chosen initiative/project. The end product of your share will be a kind of Action-Results Report 2023.
• • What we would like to hear at the end of this process
We would like to hear from you the following three bests or stars of the year:
√ The Best African Country or Countries of 2023 which will best reduce poverty
√ The Best African Global Games Runners of 2023
√ The Best African Development Managers of 2023
The deadline to tell us your bests or stars is 23 December 2023.
As we progress throughout the year, further information and support (in the form of workshop, discussion, questionnaire, questions-answers, etc.) will be released for CENFACS’ Triple Value Initiatives.
Please remember, the early you start the better for you.
For more information about these projects, please contact CENFACS.
• Financial Stability Campaign 2023 – Second Area of Focus: Paying Off Debts
Our Financial Stability Campaign 2023, which is conducted equally with Financial Controls 2023, deals now with initiatives we can take to help those who are indebted to navigate their way towards financial stability.
There are two aspects in this second area of focus of our campaign we would like to mention, which are:
a) The poor and the removal of debts from them
b) Ways of working with indebted poor households on the debt issue.
Let us look at each of these aspects.
a) The poor and the removal of debts from them
What can be done for income poor to pay off debts they are unable to pay?
There is a dilemma which is that indebted poor people do not have money to pay their debts. Yet, lenders or creditors will try to do every thing to force them to pay when they know they do not have the means to pay off their debts. This is why one needs to campaign to find way of removing debts from the poor so that they can navigate their way towards financial stability.
This area of the campaign is about undertaking an organised course of actions to achieve the goal of poverty reduction through debt removal. Debt inducing poverty or exacerbating poverty needs to be removed from the indebted poor people so that they can find their way to financial stability.
Apart from debt removal option, there are ways of working with these people to reduce debt-induced poverty they are experiencing.
b) Ways of working with indebted poor households on debt issues
To work with indebted households on this matter, one may needs to recall their understanding of debt. It is known that debt is the amount of money owed by a person (whether a physical or moral person) to another.
Whatever the reasons for which many poor people or households got into debt to meet the basic necessities of life, it is possible to work with them under the Financial Stability Campaign help them find their ways of getting out of debt to create or restore financial stability of their life, personal or household accounts.
For example, as part of the campaign to create or restore financial stability for the indebted poor households, we can undertake the following:
√ To avoid debt contracts that tie up households’ future or avoid household assets tied up in lenders’ and/or creditors’ hands and will
√ To minimise the risk of bad/toxic credits
√ To determine household income constraint and borrowing limits
√ To develop open policies to check and monitor debt contracts before agreements
√ To stop the transfer of intergenerational poverty through debt mechanism
√ To refrain from using any lending process that makes the future of any household to be at the mercy of lenders and creditors
√ To support poor households to exercise responsible financial controls on their level of spending to prevent the selling off of household future
√ To help these poor households have or regain controls of their lives and future.
In brief, this area of focus of our Financial Stability Campaign is about working with indebted poor households and others to help them improve their liquidity and working capital or their net current assets. It means to work with them by making sure that their short-term assets are more than or equal to their current liabilities (or debts). It is the ability to pay household short-term liabilities out of their current assets.
As part of this area of campaign, steps can taken to influence those who have the key to household debts so that those holding this key can do something about it, especially as we are dealing with poor or low income households who may not be in a position to pay debts at all. Finally, this area of campaign is about how we can reduce or end poverty linked to or exacerbated by debts.
• CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum Discuses Poverty Reduction in Africa in 2023
How to regain the lost decades of poverty reduction in Africa
In this first debate of a series of discussions scheduled for 2023, we are discussing how Africa can regain the lost two decades of poverty reduction and how Africa-based Sister Organisations can make this regain possible and sustainable.
A combination of events and factors (like the last three years of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns, the cost-of-living crisis, climate change, conflicts, etc.) has wiped out years-long and hard-won results of poverty reduction in Africa. As economies in Africa are back on track and looking for sustainable recovery, there is a need to explore and possibly lay the conditions for Africa to sustainably rebuild or recover the lost gain in terms of poverty reduction and produce even more poverty reduction in the future.
This need or concern can also be shared by our Africa-based Sister Organisations, particularly on how they can play a significant not-for-profit role in the process of regaining lost poverty reduction and building more of poverty reduction as we move throughout 2023 and in the years to come. In their role, Africa-based Sister Organisations can look at how they can use their leverage as being the organisations working with the poor in Africa in making the regain even bigger, sustainable and poor people friendly.
The above are the terms of reference for our discussion. For those who would like to join in or add their inputs to this first discussion of CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum for 2023, they are welcome to contact us at our usual address on this site.
Message in French (Message en français)
• Programme de développement des donateurs (trices) et de l’intendance 2023
Le processus et la stratégie recueillis du CENFACS en 2023 pour l’établissement de relations avec les donateurs (trices) et leur rétention comprennent deux domaines : les sollicitations de donateurs (trices) et les produits de donateurs (trices) correspondant à ces sollicitations.
• • Sollicitations de donateurs (trices)
Nous poursuivons notre sollicitation auprès de certains d’entre vous en tant que donateurs (trices) et/ou intendant(e)s de la lutte contre la pauvreté comme suit.
• • • Appel d’offres relatif au plan de développement des donateurs (trices) du CENFACS
Dans le cadre de ce plan, les donateurs (trices) peuvent établir des relations de qualité avec le CENFACS.
En cette Année d’influence sur la réduction de la pauvreté au sein de CENFACS, les donateurs (trices) développeurs peuvent nous aider de plusieurs façons, notamment :
σ Influencer les bonnes personnes engagées et informées sur notre travail
σ Faire fructifier nos dons au fil du temps
σ Nous aider avec la technologie comme le logiciel de gestion des donateurs (trices)
σ Augmenter les niveaux d’implication des bénéficiaires
σ Nous assister à gérer les attentes des donateurs (trices)
σ Nous aider dans les objectifs de développement des donateurs (trices) et les tâches telles que le soutien aux événements.
• • • Sollicitation relative au programme de gestion des donateurs (trices) du CENFACS
Dans le cadre de ce programme, vous pouvez nous aider dans les domaines suivants:
σ Gérer les donateurs (trices)
σ Établir et maintenir des relations et des communications durables avec ceux ou celles qui ont offert un cadeau à nos bénéficiaires ou à nous ou à nos causes nobles de réduction de la pauvreté
σ Permettre l’accès aux outils de gestion des donateurs (trices) et leur utilisation.
• • Produits de développement des donateurs (trices) proposés en 2023
Nous offrons les produits suivants à ceux ou celles qui souhaitent s’engager, développer leur intérêt, créer des liens et fidéliser le CENFACS et le travail du CENFACS.
Nous offrons au marché du développement des donateurs (trices) un statut de donateur (trice) pour permettre à ceux ou celles qui veulent s’engager régulièrement à donner ou à renforcer leur statut de donateur (trice) d’avoir la possibilité de le faire.
Nous invitons ceux ou celles qui veulent s’engager en tant que bailleur (eresse) de fonds ou donateur (trice) à le faire. Ils/elles peuvent le faire en soutenant le CENFACS avec un don en argent, un grand soulagement et un suramplificateur du produit.
• • • Gratuit pour les supporters: Le Status Argent
Le statut Argent est l’héritage de l’année « Quadranscentenaire» du CENFACS (2019). Il s’agir de soutenir nos projets comme vous le pouvez ou comme vous le souhaitez si vous les visitez ou si vous vous trouvez dans la région où ils se situent. Cela renforcera votre soutien et vous aidera à gagner un statut d’argent en tant que partisan du CENFACS au cours d’une année d’influence du CENFACS.
Alternativement, vous pouvez financer l’Année d’influence du CENFACS pour gagner le même statut et poursuivre l’héritage du CENFACS.
• • • Vouloir apporter un grand soulagement en tant que supporter
Vous pouvez apporter un grand soulagement en devenant un donateur (trice) ou un(e) partisan(e) régulier (ère), en ajoutant de la valeur à votre soutien et en augmentant votre soutien.
Par exemple, en cette période difficile de la crise du coût de la vie, nous avons besoin de ceux ou celles qui peuvent fournir ce genre d’aide pour poursuivre notre action et sortir des perturbations causées par la crise du coût de la vie.
De nombreuses personnes et organisations sont intervenues pour soutenir leurs bonnes causes méritantes pendant cette période de tempête de la crise économique; vous pouvez faire de même en soutenant le CENFACS.
Veuillez contacter le CENFACS pour plus de détails sur la façon de devenir Grand(e) Releveur (se).
• • • Besoin de renforcer votre soutien ou votre intendance en tant que Suramplificateur (trice) du produit
Vous pouvez choisir une initiative ou un programme durable particulier ou même CENFACS comme Suramplificateur (trice) du produit.
Vous pouvez soutenir 3 projets ou 2 projets et CENFACS
Vous pouvez soutenir 3 programmes ou 2 programmes et CENFACS.
Cela élèvera votre position en tant que bailleur (eresse) de fonds de projet ou de programme ou de Suramplificateur (trice) de produit.
Pour plus de détails sur le renforcement de votre soutien ou de votre intendance, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.
Main Development
• The Polycrisis-impacted Children of East Africa Need Your Influence Right NOW
You can help halve poverty in East Africa; you can help halve poverty for and with children at risk of loosing their life because of the detrimental effects of the poly-crisis on them.
This appeal includes two items:
a) Appeal summaries
b) How to donate.
• • Appeal Summaries
The following summarises the data, needs, request, use, beneficiaries and outcomes that briefly make the case for halving poverty for and with children at risk of loosing their life due to the ill-fated effects of the spiralling interconnections between drought, extreme weather, displacement and insecurity.
• • • The data
Data and facts coming from key humanitarian agencies and local people in East Africa indicate that children there – in particular but not exclusively in Ethiopia, Somalia and South Susan – are severely affected by the multiple effects of several crises in this region.
From the work conducted by the International Rescue Committee (2), Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan are amongst the top 10 crises of the world.
UNICEF (op. cit.) argues that there are
“16.5 million children in Ethiopia who are severely affected and in need,
5.1 million children in Somalia who are disproportionally-harsh drought affected
4.7 million children in South Sudan, who are most vulnerable, have complex and chronic needs“.
According to the Humanitarian Response Plan (3),
“6.7 million people were facing severe acute food insecurity at national level in Somalia between October and December 2022;
about 20.4 million people are estimated to be severely food insecure in Ethiopia;
and about 6.3 million people in South Sudan are expected to face severe acute food insecurity between December 2022 and March 2023“.
Amongst these food insecure people are children, who continue to bear a heavy toll of conflict, drought, insecurity and displacement.
All the evidence and studies from key international and pan-African humanitarian agencies show that the children of Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan are at risk of losing their lives due to the deadly effects from the compound of complex and chronic crises.
• • • The Needs
The needs for emergency life-saving support are 24 times more than average in East Africa where the livelihoods of children are severely affected. These children need your life-saving help to meet their life-surviving need.
• • • The Ask
What it has been asked to you is your influence or power to have a positive effect on those who are holding the keys to solutions regarding the problems these children are facing, especially for problems that are man-made.
You can use your power to provide an emergency and life-saving support to the severely-affected livelihoods of children of East Africa, particularly but no exclusively those in Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.
Your gift of Positive Influence will provide an emergency life-saving and enhancing relief to the Polycrisis-affected Children in Need in East Africa.
The outcome of your Positive Influence will benefit the severe food acute insecure of Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.
• • • The Use
Your gift of Positive Influence will be used to secure the following:
√ Treat malnutrition in remote areas and or in refugee camps
√ Reduce the number of displaced children refugees
√ Supply life-saving food supplements for children, especially for those under 5
√ Support children in camps to go back to school instead of working or looking for food to support their families
√ Incentivize parents to send their children to school
√ Reduce child marriages for girls
√ End gender-based violence
√ Cut the number of trafficked children
√ Access nutritional and cash assistance
√ Provide clean water to vulnerable families
√ Train communities on malnutrition prevention
√ Set up mobile teams to treat malnutrition in remote areas
Etc.
• • • The Beneficiaries of your Gift of Positive Influence
They include children who are…
σ food insecure
σ severely acutely malnourished
σ refugees or displaced by drought-related and conflict-driven causes
σ at risk from malnutrition and starvation
σ at risk of dying from diseases such as measles or diarrhoea
σ experiencing wasting or severely wasted
σ as young as 12 forced to undergo female genital mutilation
σ at risk of trafficking
Etc.
• • • The Outcomes
With the influencing support to be received, the following changes will be expected:
√ Reduction in the number of child refugees and in camps
√ Cut in numbers of food insecure children
√ Better food supplements for children’s well-being and welfare
√ Reduction of malnutrition in remote areas
√ Increase in the number of girls not going to face female genital mutilation
√ Rise in the number of rescued children from climate-related threats and conflicts
√ More and better access to clean water for vulnerable children
√ More happy and healthy children of East Africa
Etc.
• • How to donate
To donate, please contact influential persons (or those having the keys) to reduce or solve the detrimental effects of the crises that the East African children are suffering from and make these persons reduce or end these negative effects on them.
You can as well influence the things or factors that determine these crises in order to create lasting favourable conditions towards an end to years-long crises, like conflicts or economic crises in Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.
Please also let CENFACS know about your influencing work or contribution you are or will be making and its outcome on behalf of the children or peoples of East Africa.
To let us know, you can contact CENFACS as follows:
*over phone
*via email
*through text
*by filling the contact form on this site.
On receipt of your message or influencing donation, CENFACS will contact you for record and thank you for any influencing donation made. However, should you wish your influencing support to remain anonymous; we will respect your wish.
Thank you in anticipation for your willingness to give your Positive Influence and help save the lives of the Polycrisis-impacted East African Children, especially but not exclusively those living in the polycrisis-affected areas of Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.
_________
• References
(1) https://www.unicef.org/appeals (Accessed in January 2023)
(2) https://www.rescue.org/article/top-10-crises-world-cant-ignore-2023 (Accessed in January 2023)
(3) FAO (2022), Crop Prospects and Food Situation – Quarterly Global Report No. 4, December 2022, Rome (https://doi.org/10.4060/cc3233en) (Accessed in January 2023)
_________
• 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.
Additionally, we would like to inform you that planned gifting is always an option for giving at CENFACS. Likewise, CENFACS accepts matching gifts from companies running a gift-matching programme.
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 in 2023 and beyond.
With many thanks.
