Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
17 July 2024
Post No. 361
The Week’s Contents
• Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects for Children, Young People and Families This Summer 2024
• July 2024 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 2): Impact Assessment and Metrics for ‘CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future (Activity 2)
• Data Insight and Analytics for ‘CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future’ (Activity 2)
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects for Children, Young People and Families This Summer 2024
The cost of living pressures, extreme temperatures and the squeeze in household spending on basic needs continue to pose an enormous challenge to the plan of many poor children, young people and families (CYPFs) to have a decent, affordable, happy and healthy Summer holiday. Despite this challenge, there are still openings and opportunities available within the community and voluntary sectors to work together with these poor CYPFs so that they can navigate their way to have a happy and healthy Summer break. These opportunities and possibilities include CENFACS’ Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects.
CENFACS’ Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness 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, healthiness and wellness during this Summer season. The projects can make a difference by helping to alleviate poverty linked to the lack of happiness, healthiness and wellness. They can assist in reducing gaps in happiness, healthiness and wellness within our community while building trust and positive social connections to sustain happiness, healthiness and wellness. But what is happiness; what is healthiness; what is wellness?
• • Understanding Happiness
There are many ways of explaining happiness. According to ‘sloww.co’ (1), happiness is about solving the following (in)equation:
Happiness ≥ Events – Expectations
From this (in)equation, this website explains that
“The way we link about the events of our life and compare them to realistic expectations is what makes us happy or unhappy”.
John F. Helliwell at al. (2) go further in their annual World Happiness Reports including the latest one of this year by re-providing six factors of happiness, which are
income, healthy life expectancy, social support or having someone to count on in times of trouble, having a sense of freedom to make key life decisions, generosity, and the absence of corruption.
These factors are included in the design of CENFACS’ Happiness Projects 2024.
• • Explaining Healthiness
There are many ways of explaining and measuring healthiness. For example, ‘healthicine.org’ (3) speaks about individual measures of healthiness which include personal healthiness, nutritional healthiness, mental healthiness, etc. The same ‘healthicine.org’ tells us that each individual healthiness can be measured on a scale and shows it as deficient, normal, optimal or excessive. Deficient and excessive are both unhealthy.
One can use ‘calculatory’ system healthiness to find out if they are healthy or unhealthy. They can refer the body mass index (4) calculator to discover if their weight is healthy or not. They can as well refer to the metrics of calorie counting (5) to track what they eat and count calories.
These explanations and measures about healthiness have been included in the design of CENFACS’ Healthiness Projects 2024.
• • Defining Wellness
The definition of wellness used here comes from the Global Wellness Institute (GWI). According to GWI (6),
“Wellness is the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health”.
From GWI’s perspective, wellness is associated with an active process of being aware and making choices that lead toward an outcome of optimal holistic health and wellbeing. Still for GWI, most models of wellness include at least six dimensions: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental.
In the crafting of CENFACS’ Wellness Projects 2024, we have considered the above-mentioned six dimensions of wellness.
Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects (or 6.3 Programme), which make the second part of our Summer Programme 2024, are made of six Summer initiatives to support 3 types of beneficiaries. These projects are the result of discussions with the members of the CENFACS Community; particularly poor children, young people and families making this community. As a result of these discussions, we have added wellness in the 6.3 Programme. Wellness was already existing in this programme. This Summer, we have just made it visible. 6.3 Programme is designed for them as potential beneficiaries.
• • Features of Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects 2024
There are three features about this year’s Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects which are the link between CENFACS‘ services and life satisfaction of CENFACS‘ members, the distribution of life satisfaction amongst CENFACS‘ members, and social media and trackers in CENFACS‘ community happiness, healthiness and wellness. These features are highlighted in the Main Development section of this post. Under this Main Development section of this post you can also find the list of Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects making our Summer Programme or Programme 6.3. Their contents will be unveiled as we move on and implement them during this Summertime.
For those who would like to have detailed or further information about each of the projects or the full 2024 version of this second part of our Summer Programme (that is Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects), they can contact CENFACS.
• July 2024 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 2): Impact Assessment and Metrics for ‘CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future (Activity 2)
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 ‘CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future.
To start this assessment of the impact and the metrics to be used, it is better to explain some key terms (i.e., impact assessment, metrics and climate-resilient future) and how CENFACS‘ impact assessment relate to those terms.
• • Explaining Key Terms (i.e. Impact Assessment, Metrics and Climate-resilient Future)
• • • Impact assessment
The definition retains here for impact assessment comes from Chadwick and Glasson in 2017. Their view was quoted by David Streatfield and Sharon Markless (7) who argue the following:
“An impact assessment is an assessment that is frequently conducted to assess impacts or any consequences if any development projects, policies and programmes (Chadwick and Glasson, 2017). This assessment is essential in order to ensure 1) the development projects are being managed efficiently; 2) the policies and programmes are beneficial to stakeholders; and 3) the verified impacts are promoted to related stakeholders (Streatfield and Markless, 2009)”.
Using this definition, we are going to assess the impact of ‘CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future’. In other words, we are going to conduct an impact measurement. To carry out this impact assessment, we need to have an impact measurement strategy together with an impact dashboard which will enable to tell the story of this programme through charts and visuals.
• • • Impact metrics and indicators
Let us start with metrics. According to ‘kissmetrics.io’ (8),
“Anything that can be objectively measured in numeric form counts as metric”
Knowing what metrics are, it is possible to explain impact metrics. The website ‘socialimpactsolutions.com’ (9) explains it by arguing that
“Impact metrics are a set of measures that help you evaluate the effectiveness of your organisation’s activities, programmes, and projects. They allow you to determine whether or not a project has achieved its desired results”.
For the impact assessment of the above-mentioned programme, we can use both output metrics (e.g., the number of households signposted to specialist advice service) and outcome metrics (e.g., the quality of life improvement for households with financial resilience skills after following the project of Financial Resilience Programme for Households). In both cases (of applying output and outcome metrics), we shall ensure that these metrics align with the theory of change we are using, the mission and vision of CENFACS.
We are as well going to use impact indicators. The website ‘sopact.com’ (10) explains that
“An impact indicator is a measurable variable or metric used to assess the progress and effectiveness of an organisation’s activities in achieving its intended impact”.
In the context of impact measurement process and framework of CENFACS‘ Build-Forward-Better Programme (BFBP), actionable impact indicators and management will be employed.
• • • Climate-resilient future
Our view on climate-resilient future comes from what the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says about climate-resilient development. Quoting this Panel, ‘cdn.odi.org’ (11) argues that
“The IPCC defines climate-resilient development as a process of implementing greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation options within sustainable development for all in ways that support and advance human and planetary health and well-being, equity and justice. Climate-resilient development requires addressing issues of equity and system transitions in land, ocean and ecosystems; urban and infrastructure; energy; industry; and society, and includes adaptations for human, ecosystem and planetary health”.
From this definition of climate-resilient development and from what ‘cdn.odi.org’ (op. cit.) says about Building Forward Better, we are going to assess if CENFACS‘ BFBP has helped its beneficiaries to move beyond crisis management, as well as if the activities carried out so far under the BFBP were better linked, layered, sequenced and risk-informed.
• • What Is CENFACS’ 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 any disaster or crisis (e.g., the cost-of-living crisis) sits on sound and sustainable foundations that help beneficiaries to move forward better Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusively and Climate-Resilient.
To move forward, it would be good to refer to what the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (12) states about building forward better, which is
“Building forward means not only that no one is left behind but that people living in poverty are actively encouraged and supported to be in the front, engaging in informed and meaningful participation in decision-making processes that directly affect their lives”.
From this perspective, our Impact Assessment will continue to consider four areas of assessment which include
(a) reduction of endemic structural disadvantages and inequalities, (b) dismantling structures of discrimination disadvantaging the poor, (c) building on the moral and legal framework of human rights that places human dignity at the heart of policy and action, and (d) positively transforming our relationship with nature.
The assessment will be on the way our community members have rebuilt their lives in relation to these areas of the programme. For example, we could assess how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with the cost-of-living pressures or with their relationship with nature.
The programme (BFBP) was scheduled for two years (2021 to 2023) depending on the duration of the cost-of-living crisis, with a possibility of roll out. Although the programme is by definition closed, the impact from this programme can be assessed now or at any time. This is because it takes time to get the real impact of any intervention.
Through this programme, it was thought the following three ideas:
1) Beneficiaries would make steady progress in their journey to overcome the cost-of-living crisis
2) The work of reconstruction from the asymmetrical and distributional impacts of cost-of-living crisis would be undertaken as no one should be left behind
3) There would be preparation to stay resilient to future similar shocks and crises.
These three ideas are the ones we are assessing in terms of their impact.
The programme has two orientations, which are: Build Forward Better with the CENFACS Community (programme beneficiaries) in the UK and Build Forward Better with Africa-based Sister Organisations in Africa.
This is the programme we are trying to assess. Last year, we assessed it, but it was too early. To reassess it, we are going to refer to what theories say about impact assessment, and to reapply or re-experiment these theories in the context of this programme. We have already started the process of finding what theories say about impact assessment. We are going to continue this process below.
• • What Do Theories Say about Impact Assessment?
Intrac (13) summarises some of the positions around impact assessment by giving two definitions (from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 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” (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 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 savings made on energy and food consumption to manage the cost-of-living crisis. We can as well include humanitarian appeals we made (e.g. Libya-Morocco Joint Influence Appeal) to deal with events in Africa like environmental crisis (drought), war, famine, etc. that are affecting those in need in Africa.
(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 hybrid advisory service that we set up as a result of cost-of-living pressures will continue in the future, particularly during this challenging and changing time of overlapping multiple crises like trade tensions and geo-political uncertainties).
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 2023-2024 programmes and projects that have reached the end of their lives. This impact assessment will be carried out until the 31st of July 2024.
The results of these impact assessments will be published in our end-of-year 2023-2024 accounts and other impact reporting documents in due course.
• Data Insight and Analytics for ‘CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future’ (Activity 2)
From 17 to 31 July 2024, we will be looking at the patterns and other meaningful information gathered from the analysis of data from the programme of Building Forward Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future; 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.
• • Data Insight and Analytics Metrics
We are going to use metrics and frameworks to deal with data insight and analytics. We are going to utilise metrics and frameworks to know how users interacted with our services and within CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future’.
Data insight metrics will help to understand users’ journey to poverty reduction.
For example, we can compare the lifetime value of volunteer and compare it to the cost of hiring a volunteer.
Another example is that we can apply referral metrics to track users recommending our services to their friends and families or relatives. We can also employ email campaign performance to discover patterns in data from those who responded to CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future.
We can as well collect fundraising analytics metrics to improve our fundraising capacity in finding funding for the different projects or activities making CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future’.
For instance, we can utilize the following fundraising analytics metrics: donation volume donor lifetime value, preferred giving methods, contacted conversion rate, donation acquisition cost, return on investment, etc. These metrics will enable to analyse and get insights into how we managed to attract donors/funders to our noble and beautiful cause of poverty reduction.
• • Engaging with the Analytics and Insight 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, voices, infographics 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 (a collection of facts) or information regarding the advice service we provided via for example the advice sessions we ran or resources we produced to help the community to build forward together cleaner, greener, safer, inclusive and climate-resilient future; this is the opportunity to share their data or information with us.
To share data with us and or engage with this data insight and analytics activity, please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Summer 2023 Festival of Thoughts and Actions with a Focus on Reduction of Poverty as a Lack of Economic Opportunity
• Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2023-2024 Programmes, Projects and Activities: Only 14 Days to Go!
• CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum e-discusses Tomorrow’s Leaders Are Women: What Impact Will Women’s Rise to Public Accountability Be on Poverty Reduction in Africa?
• Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions with a Focus on Reduction of Poverty as a Lack of Economic Opportunity
The 16th Edition of our Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions will start from Monday the 22nd of July 2024 as scheduled.
CENFACS’ Summer 2024 Festival will
√ concentrate on how to expand economic opportunities and possibilities with and for poor people
√ think of the state of economic opportunity today
√ look at what can be done to enable economic achievements for the people in need, to improve the link between equality in economic opportunity and economic mobility
√ focus on problems and solutions surrounding poverty as a lack of economic opportunity by exploring ways of reducing it and enhancing sustainable development.
Therefore, this festival will also be of equality of economic opportunities.
The following headlines summarise the organisation of the festival:
∝ Making any contributions in the form of thoughts and/or comments
∝ Event guide and programme
∝ Supporting the 7DDJ2024 (Seven Days of Development in July 2024) 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 lacking or looking for economic opportunity.
THINK • ACT • SHARE • ADD VALUE • SPREAD
• • Event Guide and Programme
The following is the make-up of Summer 2024 Festival.
• • • 7DDJ2024 Registration: FREE!
The entry to the 7DDJ2024 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 Reduction of Poverty as a Lack of Economic Opportunity. Each DT will last all day and the only day it is planned.
• • • Responses to 7DDJ2024 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 summerly 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: Improving the link between equality and economic mobility
Day 2: Equal access to market-responsive skills, services and linkages
Day 3: Economic opportunity in employment market
Day 4: Economic opportunity and entrepreneurship
Day 5: Financial inclusion that creates equal economic opportunity
Day 6: Education that reduces poverty as a lack of economic opportunity
Day 7: Women’s access to child care for equal economic opportunity
• • Supporting the 7DDJ2024 event
• • • 7 Ways of supporting 7DDJ2024
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 Reduction of Poverty as a Lack of Economic Opportunity.
• • • 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 2024 expenses
√ Fund CENFACS for its deserving work, noble and beautiful cause of poverty reduction
√ Provide helpful and supportive comments or views
√ Support CENFACS in your own way.
Please mail your intent to support and or support to CENFACS
Closing date for reply: 07/08/2024
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: Reduction of Poverty as a Lack of Economic Opportunity.
The 7DDJ2024 Events Team,
Thank you.
• Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2023-2024 Programmes, Projects and Activities: Only 14 Days to Go!
We have fourteen days left for our Analytics and Insight Month 2024. We are again appealing to you to tell us (in your own words, numbers, voices 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 2024.
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. Your feedback will help to measure engagement and satisfaction from the work we did together. We will act on feedback insights that will be gained from the feedback data supplied.
Again, thank you for your experiential support!
• CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum e-discusses Tomorrow’s Leaders Are Women: What Impact Will Women’s Rise to Public Accountability Be on Poverty Reduction in Africa?
In recent years, there has been a gradual rise of women in high-level decision-making positions in various African countries. These responsibilities extend to various areas such as the government, the parliament, the senate, other democratic public bodies or institutions. This is also noted in the various sectors such as education, justice, defence, police, army, health, trade, banking, etc. This rise is a good sign or indicator of healthy democracy and development.
Dr James Emman Kwagyre Aggrey (14) said that ‘if you educate a man, you educate an individual but if you educate a woman you educate a whole nation’. Regarding our e-discussion, it’s not just about educating a woman. It is also a question of making women responsible outside their households, at a higher level of administration not only of social affairs and women’s conditions. Women find themselves empowered in various fields, especially in specific fields such as digital and electronics, which sometimes require special skills. This empowerment of women can be seen as a tool for poverty reduction and sustainable development.
In the face of this increase in women’s empowerment, some believe that it will significantly reduce poverty and even eradicate it in Africa. Proponents of this position believe that women may have a different approach to governance. They will be more motivated by the values of family and community life rather than maximizing their individual profits at the expense of others. That women in leadership will try to promote the values of peace, sharing resources and unity; this will ensure a more or less equitable distribution of resources, wealth and goods.
On the other hand, there are those who believe that this responsibility will not reverse the current trend in the poverty rate in Africa. They believe that the status of women alone is not enough to reduce poverty in Africa. Other conditions would be needed. The proponents of this theory believe that women’s empowerment must be accompanied by other conditions to see the real reduction, if not the disappearance, of poverty in Africa. They argue that there are many African examples where women hold or were in positions of political or other responsibility, it has not changed anything for people living in poverty.
The above is the gist which is shaping the main line of thought for our e-discussion for this week. This e-discussion is open to anyone to join in. For those who would like to join in, CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum would like to hear what they think.
Those who may be interested in this e-discussion can join in and or contribute by contacting CENFACS’ be.Africa, which is a forum for discussion on matters and themes of poverty reduction and sustainable development in Africa and which acts on behalf of its members in making proposals or ideas toward actions for a better Africa.
They can contact us at our usual address on this site.
Message in French (Message en français)
• Le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS discute en ligne du thème suivant: Les chefs de demain sont des femmes – Quel sera l’impact de la montée des femmes au poste de responsabilité publique sur la réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique?
Ces dernières années, il y a eu une augmentation progressive du nombre de femmes occupant des postes de décision de haut niveau dans divers pays africains. Ces responsabilités s’étendent à divers domaines tels que le gouvernement, le parlement, le sénat, d’autres organismes ou institutions publics démocratiques. Cela se note également dans les différents secteurs tels que l’éducation, la justice, la défense, la police, l’armée, la santé, le commerce, la banque, etc. Cette hausse est un bon signe ou indicateur de démocratie et de développement.
Le Dr James Emman Kwagyre Aggrey (14) a déclaré que ‘si vous éduquez un homme vous éduquez un individu, si vous éduquez une femme, vous éduquez toute une nation’. Concernant notre discussion en ligne, il ne s’agit pas seulement d’éduquer une femme. Il s’agit également de responsabiliser les femmes en dehors de leur foyer, à un niveau supérieur de l’administration, et pas seulement des affaires sociales et de la condition des femmes. Les femmes se retrouvent autonomes dans divers domaines, notamment dans des domaines spécifiques comme le numérique et l’électronique, qui nécessitent parfois des compétences spéciales. Cette autonomisation des femmes peut être considérée comme un outil de réduction de la pauvreté et de développement durable.
Face à cette augmentation de l’autonomisation des femmes, certains pensent qu’elle réduira considérablement la pauvreté et même l’éradiquera en Afrique. Les partisan(e)s de cette position croient que les femmes peuvent avoir une approche différente de la gouvernance. Elles seront plus motivées par les valeurs de la vie familiale et communautaire plutôt que par la maximisation de leurs profits individuels au détriment des autres. Que les femmes dirigeantes s’efforceront de promouvoir les valeurs de paix, de partage des ressources, des richesses et d’unité. Cela garantira une répartition plus ou moins équitable des ressources, des richesses et des biens.
D’un autre côté, d’autres pensent que cette responsabilité n’inversera pas la tendance actuelle du taux de pauvreté en Afrique. Ils estiment que le statut des femmes ne suffit pas à réduire la pauvreté en Afrique. D’autres conditions seraient nécessaires. Les tenant(e)s de cette théorie estiment que l’autonomisation des femmes doit s’accompagner d’autres conditions pour voir la réduction significative, sinon la disparition, de la pauvreté en Afrique. Ils/elles soutiennent qu’il existe de nombreux exemples africains où les femmes occupent ou ont occupé des postes de responsabilité politique ou autre, cela n’a rien changé pour les personnes vivant dans la pauvreté.
Ce qui précède est l’essentiel qui façonne la ligne de pensée principale de notre discussion en ligne de cette semaine. Cette discussion est ouverte à tous/toutes. Pour ceux ou celles qui voudraient se joindre à nous, le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS aimerait savoir ce qu’ils/elles en pensent.
Ceux ou celles qui pourraient être intéressé(e)s par cette discussion en ligne peuvent se joindre à nous et/ou contribuer en contactant le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS, qui est un forum de discussion sur les questions et les thèmes de la réduction de la pauvreté et du développement durable en Afrique et qui agit au nom de ses membres en faisant des propositions ou des idées d’actions pour une Afrique meilleure.
Ils/Elles peuvent nous contacter à notre adresse habituelle sur ce site.
Main Development
• Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects for Children, Young People and Families This Summer 2024
To approach Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects, it is better to understand them, to know the different factors that determine happiness, healthiness and wellness; and to deliver them. Thus, the following headings will ease our approach:
∝ Understanding CENFACS’ Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects
∝ Determining Factors or Indicators of Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness
∝ Relationships between Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness
∝ Features of Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects in 2024
∝ Delivering Healthiness, Healthiness and Wellness with 6 Projects for 3 Beneficiaries.
Let us now look at what is inside these headings.
• • Understanding CENFACS’ Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects
As said in the first key message, the cost of living pressures, extreme temperatures and the squeeze in household spending on basic needs continue to pose an enormous challenge to the plan of many poor children, young people and families (CYPFs) to have a decent, affordable, happy and healthy Summer holiday. In these conditions and circumstances, happiness, healthiness and wellness may not mean anything for them.
Despite that, it is possible to find health relief, happy fulfilment and good wellbeing while still dealing with these impacts and effects, this Summer 2024. It is possible to make the conditions of being physically, mentally, socially and environmentally sound better this Summer.
To make these conditions sound better, we have planned six happiness, healthiness and wellness enhancing initiatives. This Summer, we are going to focus on ways or activities of finding this health relief, happy fulfilment and good wellbeing. In other words, our centre of interest is on what will keep children, young people and families happy (or unhappy), healthy (or unhealthy) and well (or ill) over Summer under the debilitating conditions of the pressures of all kinds (like the high costs of living, changing climate and geo-economic tensions).
In order to keep them happy, healthy and well, there is a need to budget and deliver Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects.
• • • What Are Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness 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.
CENFACS’ Wellness Projects are a set of impactful and cost-effective activities that help improve health and well-being outcome; in doing so reducing poverty linked to poor wellness over the summer period and beyond it.
• • Determining Factors or Indicators of Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness
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. (15).
• • • 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 and group ages, 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. (16) 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. (17) noted 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)
In their World Happiness Report 2023, Helliwell at al. (op. cit.) explained that
“Happiness gaps globally have been fairly stable overtime, although there are growing gaps in many African countries” (p. 3)
After studying the level of happiness between age groups, Helliwell at al. (18) contend that
“Since 2006-2010, there has been the biggest increase in the inequality of Sub-Saharan Africa… But, life satisfaction has increased among the young in Sub-Saharan Africa” (p. 6)
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 or healthy or even feel well. 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-mentioned variables and factors, particularly healthy life expectancy in this Summer 2024. These projects will help to keep in mind the needs of the CENFACS Community in terms of healthiness; that is in terms of how their bodies, minds and spirits are healthy or unhealthy. If they are unhealthy, then there is a need to work with them to become healthy.
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 polycrises.
• • • Wellness is about ending poor choices and lifestyles leading to poor health
CENFACS Wellness Projects support healthy eating, physical activities, personal care and hygiene, good housing conditions, community care, etc. They are associated with an active process of keeping their users to be aware of and making healthy choices that lead toward an outcome of optimal holistic health and wellbeing, as the Global Wellness Institute (op. cit.) would think.
• • Relationships between Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness
There are links between happiness, healthiness and wellness. The Global Wellness Institute (19) argues that
“There is a strong correlation between wellness, happiness and health. This is because spending in wellness has strong correlations with happiness and health outcomes”.
During this Summer, we shall be working on this correlation and develop a strategy to apply it on the delivery of Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects. In other words, we will be trying to work with CYPFs so that they can be happy, healthy and feel well in whatever they will plan to do during this Summer.
• • Features of Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects in 2024
There are three features linked this year’s Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects which are the link between CENFACS‘ services and life satisfaction of CENFACS‘ members, the distribution of life satisfaction amongst CENFACS‘ members, and social media and trackers in CENFACS‘ community happiness, healthiness and wellness.
• • • The link between CENFACS’ services and life satisfaction of CENFACS’ members
This year’s our Happiness Season is also about our service capacity (or ability to deliver support services to the community) and how this capacity could help to avoid poverty or worsening of poverty and misery within our community. This service capacity can correlate or be linked to the average life satisfaction of our community members.
• • • The distribution of life satisfaction amongst CENFACS’ members
This year’s our Happiness Season is further about working with our community members to find out whether or not average life satisfaction is high or equally distributed amongst them.
• • • Social media and trackers in CENFACS’ community happiness and healthiness
This year’s our Happiness Season is as well about tracking changes in happiness (life evaluations) using social media trackers. It is about using social media data as way of measuring levels of happiness and/or misery among our community members.
The three characteristics have been considered in the design of this year’s Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects.
• • Delivering Happiness and Healthiness with 6 Projects for 3 Beneficiaries
6 Projects to bring Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness 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 could be painful as many CYPFs will continue 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, Wellness, 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 impacts of the high costs of living, extreme temperatures and the damaging effects of squeeze in household basic expenditures. There should be projects that can help them to adapt and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
• • • Summer 2024 Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects
The following CENFACS suite of summer 2024 initiatives can help in achieving some joyful, healthful and helpful summer plans, goals and outcomes in the context of rising cost-of-living pressures.
CENFACS Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects include:
1) ‘Holiday with Relief’ Resource (this year’s focus is on Holiday with Restricted Budget)
2) Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities
3) Summer Harmony with Nature
4) True Balance in Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness
5) Networking for Protection and Safeguarding at the Time of Rising Cost-of-living Pressures
6) Community Care, Health Responsibility and Wellness 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, healthiness and wellness. 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, community wellness and public healthiness.
These projects are the combination of skills, knowledge, resources, tools, tactics, fixers, enhancements, boosters, tasters, trackers and tricks for the relief from poverty induced by the rising cost-of-living pressures and poverty due to the lack of happiness, healthiness and wellness.
In the preparation of our Summer 2024 programme for CYPFs, we have considered the continuing happiness, healthiness and wellness issues from the lingering impacts of the health crisis, extreme temperatures and the damaging effects of the squeeze in household basic spending.
All the six Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness Projects will be safe; just as they take into account the happiness, healthiness and wellness effects in relation to changing climate and the rising cost-of-living pressures. They will help CYPFs to shield themselves from services inflation and the legacies of recent crises that can prevent them from enjoying a decent and desirable Summer holiday.
They will be delivered to help improve life evaluations while taking actions to enhance the same life in the context and under the constraint of the lingering impacts of any potential crisis/issue, extreme temperatures and the damaging effects of the squeeze in household basic expenditures.
In this way, Summer can be a season of Happiness, Healthiness and Wellness; 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 impacts of the poly-crises, extreme temperatures and the damaging effects of the squeeze in household basic spending.
They are the victims of adverse and far-reaching lingering effects of poly-crises. Although the health impact of the coronavirus has gone down, its economic carry-over effects are still there in mild forms.
They are also trapped in the cost-of-living pressures. 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, Healthiness and Wellness Projects 2024 and to access them, please contact CENFACS.
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• References
(1) https://www.sloww.co/mo-gawdat-happiness-equation/ (accessed in July 2023)
(2) Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R. , Sachs, J. D., De Neve, J.-E., Aknin, L. B., & Wang, S. (Eds.), (2023), World Happiness Report 2023, New York: Sustainable Development Solution Network (http://worldhappiness.report/)
(3) healthicine.org/wordpress/healthiness-unhealthiness-wellness-illness/ (accessed in July 2023)
(4) https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/ (accessed in July 2023)
(5) https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/lose-weight/calorie-counting/ (accessed in July 2023)
(6) https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/what-is-wellness/ (accessed in July 2024)
(7) Streatfield, D. & Markless, S. (2009). What is Impact Assessment and Why is it important? Performance Measurement and Metrics. 10.134-141. 10.1108/14678040911005473 (accessed in July 2024)
(8) https://www.kissmetrics.io/blog/metrics-vs-analytics/# (accessed in July 2024)
(9) https://www.socialimpactsolutions.com/what-are-impact-metrics/ (accessed in July 2024)
(10) https://www.sopact.com/perspectives/impact-indicators (accessed in July 2024)
(11) https://cdn.odi.org/media/documents/Building_Forward_Better_ODI_Framing_Note.pdf# (accessed in July 2024)
(12) https://www.un.org/en/desa-time-build-forward-together# (accessed in May 2023)
(13) https://www.intrac.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Impact-Assessment.pdf (accessed July 2023)
(14) https://www.quotes.net/author.php?name=Dr+James+Emman+Kwigyir+Aggrey&0=1 (accessed in July 2024)
(15) Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J. (2017, 2018 & 2019), World Happiness Reports (2017, 2018 & 2019), New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network
(16) Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J. & De Neve J. E. (2020), World Happiness Report (2020), New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network
(17) Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., Sachs, J. and De Neve, J.-E., eds. 2021, World Happiness Report 2021, New York, Sustainable Development Solutions Networkhttp://worldhappiness.report/ (accessed July 2023)
(18) Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., Sachs, J. D., De Neve, J.-E., Aknin, L. B., & Wang, S. (Eds.). (2024). World Happiness Report 2024. University of Oxford: Wellbeing Research Centre
(19) https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/industry-research/2023-health-happiness-and-the-wellness-economy-an-empirical-analysis/ (accessed in July 2024)
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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 AND BEAUTIFUL 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 2024 and beyond.
With many thanks.
