Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
26 July 2023
Post No. 310
The Week’s Contents
• Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2023
• July 2023 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 3): Impact Feedback of XX236.3 F Programme
• 2022-2023 Data Analytics and Insight Activities from 24 to 31/07/2023
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2023
Our summer 2023 campaign about finding health relief and happy fulfilment continues this week with some brief accounts about Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2023. These summaries are about projects to keep children, young people and families happy and healthy over Summer 2023 and in the treble context of lingering impacts of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the damaging effects of the fall in real household disposable incomes.
As we explained in the last week’s post, there are three features about this year’s Happiness and Healthiness Projects. These features are as follows:
1) the link between CENFACS‘ services and life satisfaction of CENFACS‘ members
2) the distribution of life satisfaction amongst CENFACS‘ members
3) social media and trackers in CENFACS‘ community happiness and healthiness.
These blended particulars will be apparent as Happiness and Healthiness Projects get fully unveiled and implemented.
The above-mentioned essential summaries can be found under the Main Development section of this post. The full details of these projects are also available on request from CENFACS, including ways of accessing and using them.
To access and or support them, please contact CENFACS.
• July 2023 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 3): Impact Feedback of XX236.3 F Programme
Our 3-tier impact feedback has reached its third level or tier. Unlike Impact Feedback of our 2022-2023 Programmes and Projects given by Users and Stakeholders, Impact Feedback of XX236.3 F Programme is provided by CENFACS to inform its audience (including users and stakeholders) about the progress it is making in terms of this programme.
• • What is this Impact Feedback from CENFACS about?
CENFACS’ Impact Feedback of XX236.3 F (2020 to 2030 to 2063 Follow up) Programme is about the observation on the following five key components of this follow-up programme:
(a) The Paris Treaty
(b) The Istanbul Declaration
(c) The Maputo Treaty
(d) The United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals
(e) Africa’s Agenda 2063.
This feedback also provides our feelings and what we would like (if we could) to be different regarding these five frameworks or pieces of work.
Our observation, feelings and need of difference will be in terms of progress made so far concerning these frameworks. Our observation, feelings and need of difference are indeed in relation to the kind of work of poverty reduction we do since these global and international frameworks/initiatives greatly impact us. Our feedback is not an evaluation of these frameworks of work. What observation do we make about them?
• • Observation about the Five Pillars of XX236.3 F Programme
The following statement is what we would like to make about the five pillars.
Concerning the Paris Treaty, one can hope that Enhanced Transparency Framework, which will start in 2024, will enable countries to transparently report on action taken and progress in climate change mitigation, adaptation measures and support provided or received. One would also expect that zero-carbon solutions will become the norm or way of life for most people.
Regarding the Istanbul Declaration, it is better to wish that the application of the cybercrime frame to digital violence against women will extend its work as a supporting tool. One can as well believe that this tool will continue to provide information on and combat violence against women on the basis of the Istanbul Convention.
As to the Maputo Treaty, one can expect that progress in realising women’s and girls’ rights and aspirations will continue and be evened within and between countries. Discriminatory laws will be abolished if one wants to build forward better together by leaving no one behind. One can as well desire that improvement in sexual and reproductive health will carry on. Sexual and gender-based violence, child marriage and female genital cutting will end.
CENFACS will keep on advocating for the promotion of Africa’s women and girl rights in all forms of human empowerment.
With respect to the United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals, many studies are warning about the impossibility of meeting these goals by their deadline of 2030. In particular, many of these studies speak about the impact of the coronavirus on the realisation of these goals. Amongst this body of works includes the Special Edition of the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023 from the United Nations Department of Economic Social Affairs (1) which points to the same direction of missing targets.
Let us hope that the upturn and return of the global economy will help the developing regions of the world, in particular Africa, to better navigate their way towards the realisation of the above-mentioned goals.
With reference to Africa’s Agenda 2063, the African Union’s report (2) on the implementation of this Agenda 2063 indicates that Africa performed better in 2021 than in 2019. There are still challenges and threats, just as there are opportunities and priorities for Africa. What many Africans would like to see is a sustained progress about the implementation of this agenda.
The above is just an observation we wanted to make about these pillars. Some elements of this observation do not come from us as many people have the same feeling or view like ours. This observation is not complete. For those who would like to know more about our observation, feelings and need of difference regarding these pieces of framework of work, they can contact CENFACS.
• 2022-2023 Data Analytics and Insight Activities from 24 to 31/07/2023
The two tasks or activities (i.e., data analytics and data insight of the programmes and projects we ran in the last financial year) have been carried out and will finish by the 31st of July 2023. Although these data activities are jointly conducting, let us briefly highlight each of them.
• • 2022-2023 Data Analytics Activity from 24 to 31/07/2023
To highlight Data Analytics Activity, it is better to mention what needs to be said concerning this activity and its usefulness.
• • • What this Data Analytics Activity is about
It is about continuing to collect, transform and organise 2022-2023 data. To do that, we are using descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive analytics. Data analytics skills such as data management, probability, statistics and others are also engaged in this analytics process.
Once this work is completed, we shall draw conclusions, make predictions and drive informed decision-making process about our poverty reduction work. In other words, we will be using data findings to theorise and forecast poverty reduction as well as build data systems.
For example, we shall look at what fundraising data, humanitarian appeals data and so on tell us. We can also consider data from the campaign on financial controls in 2023 and determine to continue or redesign or close this campaign.
• • • How this Data Analytics Activity is useful
This Data Analytics Activity will help to track projects (like All-year Round Projects or Triple Value Initiatives) as well as to make informed decision for the new financial year. We can look at data about services we provide and decide which ones to continue, update or close. We can further check the community members’ data or beneficiaries’ data to decide if the needs have been met or unmet within the community. This data analytics will help to drive CENFACS‘ strategy in the new financial year.
• • 2022-2023 Data Insights Generation from 24 to 31/07/2023
To draw attention to Data Insights Generation we are conducting, we are going to narrate what relates to it and its helpfulness.
• • • What this Data Insight Generation is about
It is about collecting, organising and curating data about the 2022-2023 programmes and projects. We are as well extracting knowledge from 2022-2023 data while analysing the extracted knowledge. Once this knowledge extraction is completed, we shall hypothesize action plans for each insight and apply the insight/action plan.
• • • How this Data Insight Generation is helpful
Gleaned data-driven insights will help in a number of ways. For example, they can assist in the following:
√ identifying, categorising and crafting individualised messages to prospective donors for marketing purpose
√ customising messages to Africa-based Sister Organisations
√ finding out new members for targeted marketing in terms of their preferences
√ detecting users’ needs in times of high demand induced by natural catastrophes or crises (like the cost-of-living crisis, geo-economic crisis) or war events in Africa
√ determining popular contents within the CENFACS Community
√ improving CENFACS reporting and analytics capabilities
√ boosting CENFACS poverty reduction work
√ enhancing CENFACS‘ work on sustainable development
etc.
The above is the summary of 2022-2023 Data Analytics and Insight activities.
For those who would like to know more about these activities, they can contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Happiness and Healthiness Journal: Creative Activity No. 1: Create Your Journal of Happy and Healthy Social Support
• Happiness and Healthiness Budgets 2023 – Holiday Budget Deficit
• Data Analytics and Insight Experiences from the Perspective of Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs)
• Happiness and Healthiness Journal: Creative Activity No. 1: Create Your Journal of Happy and Healthy Social Support
Social support is one of the six predictors of happiness and healthiness. But, what is social support? Social support can be defined in many ways. According to ‘verywellmind.com’ (3),
“Social support involves having a network of family and friends that you can turn to in times of need”.
The website ‘verywellmind.com’ adds by arguing this:
“Social support refers to the psychological and material resources provided by a social network to help individuals cope with stress”.
One can refer to the above definition and create a journal for having someone to count on in time of trouble like of the cost-of-living crisis or any other social network matter over this Summer. They can do more within this first creative activity.
• • What else they can do as part of this creative activity no.1
They can create a journal for the things and people who have been socially supportive to their enjoyment and good conditions of life during this Summer 2023.
They can record their thoughts, feelings and experiences in relation to the social support they have received or given.
They can share with the community their experience of happy and healthy social support as recorded in their journal by the end of Summer 2023.
• • Sharing the content of your journal
One of the objectives of this journal is to share one’s Summer holiday experience. Thus, sharing your Summer holiday experience via the records from your journal could be helpful and useful for others who are looking for social support and inspiration. You can share the content of your journal via CENFACS by submitting it.
To submit the contents of your happiness and healthiness journal relating to social support, and help build a better Summer holiday experience within the community, please contact CENFACS. When submitting the content of your journal to us, please do not forget to give us permission to share it.
• Happiness and Healthiness Budgets 2023 – Holiday Budget Deficit
How to Sustainably Manage Budget Deficit in the Treble Context of Lingering Impacts of the Coronavirus, Extreme Temperatures and the Damaging Effects of the Fall in Real Household Disposable Incomes
We are continuing our hacks, hints and tips to help in budgeting Happiness and Healthiness by looking at holiday budget deficit.
• • What is a budget deficit and why does it matter for poor people?
A deficit is generally defined as the amount by which expenditure is greater than real income. In terms of holiday budget deficit, it simply means that one’s holiday expenditure is more than holiday income. It is a negative balance which could suggest that there could be a need to finance it (here holiday budget deficit).
Yet, speaking about holiday budget deficit could seem bizarre since we are talking about poor people or those in need. These are the people who often struggle to make ends meet. They are the ones who often are short of money to tie the knots of the two ends of the month. Despite that any sensible humans should do some budgeting, here holiday budgeting.
• • What is budgeting for a household?
Budgeting is forward thinking process that can help to coordinate the different areas of household life while defining responsibility and delegating powers within the same household. It is indeed an instrument for household control as well as a basis for decision making process and changing plans where there is a need to do so.
For those households making our community who are familiar with budgeting process, they know they need to budget their holiday incomings and outgoings. For those ones who are unfamiliar with this process, CENFACS is available for help and support.
• • Working with the community on holiday budget
We are available to work on the budgeting process with those who are struggling to make ends meet and those who are interested in budgeting their holiday expenses and incomes. We will be working on how to avoid and sustainably manage holiday budget in a Summer of lingering impacts of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the damaging effects of the fall in real household disposable incomes.
For those who are familiar with online tools, they can find countless examples of family or household budgets sometimes in the form of Microsoft Application Spread sheets. For those who are unfamiliar with these free available online resources, they can use CENFACS’ line of financial advisory support.
In the construction of this Summer Happiness and Healthiness Budget, it is better to include numbers relating to lingering impacts of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the damaging effects of the fall in real household disposable incomes.
So, we will be checking with them on which part of this deficit is attributable or not attributable to the above mentioned contexts or factors. This exercise enables to take into consideration the way in which these factors are affecting their holiday budget in what they eat, drink, cover or uncover their body, entertain, shelter, etc.
To learn or seek support on how to avoid and sustainably manage holiday budget deficit or negative budget balance in Summer of lingering impacts of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the damaging effects of the fall in real household disposable incomes; please contact CENFACS.
• Data Analytics and Insight Experiences from the Perspective of Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs)
This week, we are as well looking at the way in which our Africa-based Sister Organisations perceive data analytics and insight. It is pointless to mention that theories of data analytics and insight used can be the same. But, the context in which these theories can be applied and the perception of the data analytics and insight could be slightly different, especially in places where there could be data poverty.
Because of these differences in perceptions and theory applications, it is a great idea to exchange views with our ASOs on data analytics and insight of programmes and projects in the African context. This is an enriched and technically valuable exercise which will enable both sides to align works, cement their partnership and continue to develop sustainable initiatives.
We are therefore inviting ASOs that have impact stories or case studies or experiences about their own data analytics and insight processes to share with us. Likewise, we are asking to those ASOs that need advisory support in the area of data analytics and insight to let us know. This is an opportunity to learn and develop best practices and policies in this area.
Need to share your work or experience in terms of data analytics and insight for the programmes and projects you are running, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
Message in French (Message en français)
• Expériences sur l’analytique et la perspicacité des données du point de vue des organisations sœurs basées en Afrique
Cette semaine, nous examinons également la façon dont nos organisations sœurs basées en Afrique perçoivent l’analyse et la perspicacité des données. Il est inutile de mentionner que les théories de l’analyse des données et de la perspicacité utilisées peuvent être les mêmes. Mais le contexte dans lequel ces théories peuvent être appliquées et la perception de l’analyse et de la perspicacité des données pourraient être légèrement différents, en particulier dans les endroits où il pourrait y avoir une pauvreté de données.
En raison de ces différences dans les perceptions et les applications théoriques, c’est une excellente idée d’échanger des points de vue avec nos/des organisations sœurs basées en Afrique sur l’analytique et la perspicacité de données des programmes et des projets dans le contexte africain. Il s’agit d’un exercice enrichi et techniquement précieux qui permettra aux deux parties d’aligner les travaux, de cimenter leur partenariat et de continuer à développer des initiatives durables.
Nous invitons donc les organisations sœurs basées en Afrique qui ont des histoires, des études de cas ou des expériences sur leurs propres analyses de données et leurs idées à partager avec nous. De même, nous demandons aux organisations sœurs basées en Afrique qui ont besoin d’un soutien consultatif dans le domaine de l’analytique et de la perspicacité des données de nous le faire savoir. C’est l’occasion d’apprendre et d’élaborer des pratiques exemplaires et des politiques dans ce domaine.
Si vous avez besoin de partager votre travail ou votre expérience en termes d’analytique et de perspicacité des données pour les programmes et projets que vous menez, n’hésitez pas à contacter le CENFACS.
Main Development
• Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2023
The following headings will help to summarise Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2023:
∝ 2023 Edition of Summer of Happiness, Healthiness, Peace, Vulnerability-free, Protection and Sustainability
∝ Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects.
Let us briefly uncover these headings.
• • 2023 Edition of Summer of Happiness, Healthiness, Peace, Vulnerability-free, Protection and Sustainability
This 2023 Edition is out now and trending. It covers the main initiatives and activities planned for this summer. In this edition, the 2023 Happiness and Healthiness Projects may have kept the same names for some of these projects like in the previous Summers, but their contents reflect this year’s themes of happiness and healthiness in the treble context of lingering impacts of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the damaging effects of the fall in real household disposable incomes.
These projects are as follows:
1) ‘Holiday with Relief’ Resource (this year’s focus is on Finance 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.
They are the combination of skills, knowledge, resources, tools, fixers, enhancements, boosters and tasters for poverty relief. They consist of:
√ Two resource projects (Family Happiness and Healthiness Mini-Guide, and Holiday Information Manager)
√ One communication-protection project (Networking Platform for Happiness and Healthiness)
√ One climate and environmental campaign (Summer Harmony with Nature)
√ One interactive (interaction between people and their community) project (True Balance in Happiness and Healthiness)
√ One set of initiatives to stay happy (Happiness Enhancing Activities).
They are the projects to build forward together better summer holiday in cleaner, greener and safer way.
In their design, we have considered the effects of climate change all over our Summer 2023 Programme. In other words, all the six Happiness and Healthiness Projects will have green, sustainable and climate changing contents. They will be aligned with greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets. The consideration of the effects of climate change all across is what makes Summer 2023 of a zero or neutral carbon one.
This is done to help improve life evaluation while taking actions to enhance the same life in a 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 the victims of the adverse effects of climate change, particularly but not exclusively extreme temperatures.
They are the victims of adverse effects of climate change because climate change affects the way they dress, eat, house, educate, entertain, care for their health, and above all the way they pass Summer holiday.
We can briefly present these projects one by one as follows.
• • Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2023
Here are the essential summaries of the Happiness and Healthiness Projects making the 2023 Summer Programme Part II. As said previously, these projects can help in achieving some happy, helpful, healthful and hopeful Summer plans, goals and outcomes.
••• 1) ‘Holiday with Relief’ Resource with a focus on Finance for Holiday
Holiday with Relief is one of CENFACS useful and helpful ICDP (individual Capacity Development Programme) resources for holiday makers and travellers. The resource, which is published during Spring of every year, can also be used during Summer holiday or any holiday.
This year’s Holiday with Relief with its theme of Finance for Holiday is designed to help those in need by having happy and healthy holiday (e.g. Summer holiday). It provides wealthy advice, tips and hints linked to funding holiday. Within this wealth of information contained in this Issue, there are tips and hints that can be used to tackle holiday poverty.
These tips and hints are meant to support those of our users and non-users who may experience some difficulties in raising the finance they need in order to cover their holiday budget (that is; work or school holiday budget and long Summer holiday budget).
This resource is packed with seasonal relieving ideas about how to reduce holiday poverty.
To build forward happy and healthy Summer break, and or get this Family Happiness and Healthiness Mini-Guide, please contact CENFACS.
••• 2) Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities
Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities (‘NAGAHAIN’) Project is our Information Manager for this year’s summer. The goal of the ‘NAGAHAIN’ Project is to help make the distribution of subjective well-being even or equal within the community. What is really about?
It is about…
√ Improving the psychological equality or happiness quality or even subjective well-being
√ Enhancing happiness levels amongst the members of CENFACS Community to avoid high levels of happiness differences
√ Increasing the community trust, that is the belief in the integrity of other members of our community.
One of the concerns for many people and families is how to pass this Summer happy and healthy under the constraints of rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus.
The NAGAHAIN Project/Resource as Holiday Information Manager is the awareness, preparedness and solutions-focused Resource to Manage Information to turn summer of constraints and worries into that of happiness and healthiness. It contains a set of tips and tricks to help and enable vulnerable unaware people to plan their holiday or break with confidence to achieve the goal of increasing happiness.
For further details about this Holiday Information Manager or Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities, please contact CENFACS.
••• 3) Summer Harmony with Nature
Summer of Happiness and Healthiness is also of accord with nature with its creatures. Keeping a harmonious relationship with leaves, plants, animals, landscapes and surrounding natural species (like trees, plants, waters, parks, etc.) and resources adds a great value to our happiness and healthiness. In other words, it is about equating our needs of happiness and healthiness to those of the nature.
Living in harmony with nature means that to pass a good summer we do not need to upset the nature with its creatures. Humans can pre-emptively take the lead by keeping their relationships as harmonious as possible to avoid the degradation and depletion of nature.
Need to keep harmony with nature, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS’ Summer Campaign over Nature.
••• 4) True Balance in Happiness and Healthiness
Through this initiative, we shall work with users to address some forms of imbalance in happiness; imbalance between happiness as an individual experience and happiness as a collective endeavour. In other words, we shall support the community members to achieve their own happiness without compromising the ability of the other members of the community they belong to to have their own happiness.
It is in the interaction in happiness of each of our members and the CENFACS Community that the true balance in happiness can be found.
To find out further about this Happiness and Healthiness Project, please contact CENFACS.
••• 5) Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against the Cost-of-living Crisis
Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against the Cost-of-living Crisis is a CENFACS Social Media Platform to facilitate the flows of information and communication in order to keep local children, young people and families (CYPFs) out of the threats, troubles, attacks and challenges of everyday life and during the Summertime of changing climate, rising costs of living and lingering effects of the coronavirus.
Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against the Cost-of-living Crisis is about improving the Flow of Information over the Summertime amongst us and other stakeholders by gaining access to mutual support, facilities, services and resources in order to protect and safeguard multi-dimensional deprived CYPFs.
It is not enough to carry out our individual actions against the cost-of-living crisis unless we sum up them by coming together in the form of social connections as human chains. Such connections or network will help to exchange information and data for the mutual interest and collective defence or security.
Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against the Cost-of-living Crisis or Summer Social Media Platform is a means to access and facilitate the flows of information about the protection and safeguarding against the cost-of-living crisis. It is our capacity to help protect our members from threats, risks and attacks. Through this means, one can receive and pass on protective and safeguarding information about any threats and risks from the rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus within a networked community.
To network for protection and safeguarding against the cost-of-living crisis, please let CENFACS know.
••• 6) Community Care and Health Responsibility Enhancing Activities
Community Care and Health Responsibility Enhancing Activities are a combination of the physical, emotional and social support to people/our community members to live with care, control and dignity in our community on the one hand; and our shared responsibility for the public health on the other. Health responsibility means that our community members fulfil their duties to maintain their physical, mental and social well-being.
Through this Personal/Family Healthcare Plan, we will try to reduce lifestyle-induced diseases for ourselves and others while promoting our own health without adversely impacting the health of others and future generations. Community care and responsibility imply as well whatever we do we must comply with the rule of the community, society in which we live.
We can use this Happiness and Healthiness initiative to create a post-coronavirus Proof Wellness or Healthcare Plan. Such a plan will include the following: health vision and goals, lifestyles habits, follow-up tips and checks.
For further details about Community Care and Health Responsibility Enhancing Activities, please contact CENFACS.
The above six interlinked themed ways/projects of creating and sustaining Happiness and Healthiness in a Summer of rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus do not replace any good advice and practice (like the ones produced by statutory bodies on the cost-of-living crisis). They just add value to what it is already in place. They are to be used in conjunction with the existing other measures to bring happiness as well as health and safety measures.
For further details about any of these projects, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
We would like to wish all multi-dimensionally Poor Children, Young People and Families Happy, Healthy, Vulnerability-free, Peaceful, Safe and Sustainable Summer Days.
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• References
(1) https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2023.pdf (accessed in July 2023)
(2) https://issafrica.org/event/agenda-2063-how-much-progress-has-been-made (accessed in July 2023
(3) https://www.verywellmind.com/social-support-for-psychological-health-4119970 (accessed in July 2023)
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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.
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 throughout 2023 and beyond.
With many thanks.
