Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
15 October 2025
Post No. 426
The Week’s Contents
• Autumn 2025 Humanitarian Relief and Nature Conservation Appeals
• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign and Themed Activities – In Focus for Week Beginning 13/10/2025: Conserving Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi)
• Campaign to End Poverty Induced by High Costs of Living through Long-term Actions – In Focus from 15/10/2025: Reduce the Impacts of Oppressive and Punitive Market Dictatorship
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Autumn 2025 Humanitarian Relief and Nature Conservation Appeals
Needy People, Flora, Fauna, Funga, Communities and Organisations in Africa are Asking for Your Support!
These combined appeals, which are made of human relief and nature/species conservation, are about supporting needy people, flora, fauna, funga, communities and organisations in Africa.
The humanitarian relief side is a fundraising drive launched by CENFACS to solicit donations for people experiencing the asymmetrical distribution effects of natural disasters, gap/shortage in digital creation skills, young people suffering from social inequalities (like in Morocco and Madagascar), and out-of-school children in Africa.
The nature or species conservation aspect of these appeals is about raising money to protect threatened species (like African Forest Elephant for fauna, Marasmodes Genus for flora and Afrothismia Fungiformis for funga), their habitat, or the broader ecosystem they depend on.
The two aspects of these appeals will work together as there are links between humanitarian needs and long-term conservation goals in Africa.
The appeals include the following five selected projects:
1) Digital Creation Skills
2) Symmetry Poverty Reduction Projects
3) Youth Social Inequalities Reduction
4) Rescuing Children’s Education
5) African Forest Elephant, Marasmodes Genus and Afrothismia Fungiformis.
A brief summary of these projects can be found under the Main Development section of this post. The full project proposals of each project making these appeals are available should any of the potential donors or funders make a request.
Supporting these combined appeals will provide three types of relief:
a) Human relief for project beneficiaries
b) Nature/species relief through the protection of these species and biodiversity
c) Shared relief for both humans and nature/species (expressed as human-nature connection) in terms of the contribution of the well-being of both humans and the environment.
Donors and funders can seize the opportunity provided by these projects and the giving season to directly and respectively donate or fund these projects.
A message about this appeal can also be passed on to a person who is in a position and willing to support. Many thanks to those who will be passing this message!
We understand that the world is still trying to find ways of coming out of multiple crises (food, energy, climate change, geo-economic crises, etc.). This struggle affects the ability of people to support good and deserving causes.
However, the effects of these crises are even stronger in places where there is a high level of poverty and where humans are busy with their own problems than to worry about nature/species conservation, like in Africa. This is why we have launched these seasonal appeals to help not only to reduce poverty but also to save both human and species lives from these crises.
Therefore, we are inviting those who can, to donate £7 to create 3 reliefs (1 relief for humans, 1 relief for other natural livings and 1 shared relief between humans and nature) or any amount starting from £7 or more as they wish or can.
You can gift aid your donation as well as support these projects in a way that is the most suitable and related to your situation, status, circumstances, budget, capacity, feeling, and willingness.
To donate, gift aid and support otherwise; please contact CENFACS.
• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign and Themed Activities – In Focus for Week Beginning 13/10/2025: Conserving Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi)
To compose the note relating to the conservation of the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi), let us briefly explain the following:
σ What is the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi)?
σ The conservation status of the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi)
σ What can be done to Conserve the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi).
• • What Is the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi)?
The website ‘nationalgeographic.com’ (1) explains that
“The Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi) is a small and powerful amphibian which is part of a family that goes back 70 to 80 million years, to the time of the dinosaurs. The Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi) ranks 18th in the hundred most genetically distinct and critically endangered in the world: It is as different from other amphibians as humans are from pigs”.
The Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi), which is a species of frog in the family of Conrauidae, is found in the Togo-Volta Highland, along the border of Togo and Ghana. It inhabits flowing water in forest habitants, primarily in streams and waterfalls.
• • What Is the Conservation Status of the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi)?
The Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi) was previously thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in the 2000s after being unrecorded for over 20 years. It is classified as critically endangered. It needs conservation. Conservation efforts are ongoing to protect this species from habitat destruction and human consumption.
• • What Can Be Done to Conserve the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi)
To conserve the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi), the following actions can be taken:
σ Educate and raise awareness about the importance of the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi) and its conservation efforts
σ Implement sustainable water systems that reduce dependence on stream water
σ Promote conservation-sensitive behaviour that teach children about the value of ecosystem integrity and the impact of poaching and pollution
σ Establish reserves to protect the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi) and its habitat from human activities
σ Support conservation programmes relating to the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi)
Etc.
The above-mentioned actions are the few ones that can help ensure the survival of the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi) and its critical habitat. To stay within the scope of this note, we can limit ourselves to the above-mentioned actions or steps to conserve the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi).
• • Add-on Activity of the Week’s Campaign: Develop an Interactive Game to Engage Participants to Learn about Amphibians
Developing an Interactive Game to Engage Participants to Learn about Amphibians involves creating activities that are educational, fun and engaging. There are many activities that one can research both online and on paper to engage participants to learn about amphibians. Among these activities, we can mention the following ones:
σ Interactive science game where children can be helped to learn to identify different amphibians by matching the shadow of an amphibian with the correct image;
σ Hoppy frog, which is a board game designed to raise awareness about amphibians and their conservation needs;
σ Reptiles and Amphibians Interactive, which is an online resource that serves as an online reference about reptiles and amphibians, with 30 different species profiles available;
Etc.
These games and activities are designed to make learning about amphibians enjoyable and accessible, helping participants to develop a deeper understanding of the amphibians.
Briefly speaking, the above is our second note of the “A la une” Campaign for this year.
To find out more about this second note and/or the entire “A la une” Campaign, please contact CENFACS.
• Campaign to End Poverty Induced by High Costs of Living through Long-term Actions – In Focus from 15/10/2025: Reduce the Impacts of Oppressive and Punitive Market Dictatorship
Reduce the Impacts of Oppressive and Punitive Market Dictatorship is the third long-term campaign action of our Campaign to End Poverty Induced by High Costs of Living. To approach this action, it is better to clarify some of the issues surrounding this action. In particular, there is a debate over the dictatorial or non dictatorial character of market.
Let us highlight this discussion as well as what consumers can do to deal with the prices the market is dictating them which they cannot afford because of their real disposable income.
• • Controversy over the Dictatorial or non Dictatorial Character of the Market
Author like Colin Leys (2) in his book entitled ‘Market-driven Politics’ argues in an interview that
“With the removal of capital controls, once capital could move where it wished to, governments ceased to have control of the direction of investment, or the terms on which investment is made making politicians more responsive to the bond markets to their electorates…I had seen that happening in Africa where ex-colonial states, very poor and very dependent on external capital , were constantly having to adapt what they said in public, and what they did in practice, to external forces, and it seemed to me that that would be likely to happen to all countries once capital could go where it wanted”.
Taking the opposite line of reasoning, Denis Kessler (3) thinks that criticisms about market do not stand up to scrutiny. According to him,
“Markets send strong signals to warn states that the economic policies they are following lead nowhere… except defaulting on payments, or even bankruptcy. Markets seem to be more effective than the populations concerned in forewarning the dangers associated with reckless public debt accumulation. Blaming the messenger to avoid hearing the message is an irresponsible stance, even if it is millennia-old”.
The two above-mentioned competing positions highlight the disagreement over the responsibility of market. However, without blaming the market the truth is market can sometimes operate in way that those with low income cannot afford to meet the prices coming from that market.
Our campaign action is therefore about what can be done when people cannot simply afford the market prices, when these people feel some forms of oppression and punishment on them because they can cope with or control the market prices, because market is dictating them the prices while their real disposable income cannot match or recommend these market prices. What can they do to reduce the market power on them?
• • Reduction of the Impacts of Oppressive and Punitive Market Dictatorship
There are actions that consumers (amongst them the members of the CENFACS Community) can take in order to respond to the prices the market is dictating them if they cannot afford them because of their income or earning capacity limitations. Amongst these actions, it is worth mentioning these below:
σ Boycotts: Consumers can refuse to purchase from brands known for overcharging or overpricing;
σ Free alternatives: Consumers can use free, open-source alternatives to meet needs without spending too much;
σ Advocacy: Consumers can join forces with others to raise awareness about overpricing issues;
σ Be price-sensitive: Understand your own price sensitivity and the elasticity of demand for different products, as this can help you identify which products you are willing to pay more for and which ones you are not;
σ Prices comparison: Use the internet or mobile apps to compare prices across different retailers for the same product;
σ Price controls: Consumers can advocate for price controls to maintain affordability and control inflation, which are at the centre of the debate over the cost-of-living crisis as it is today.
By taking these actions and other ones, consumers can influence market prices and ensure that they are not dictated by the market. They can oppose dictated prices by being price-sensitive and using market knowledge to find better deals through comparison shopping apps, and leveraging sales. Also, they can indirectly influence prices by supporting more competitive retailers, demanding better pricing, and choosing to not purchase products that are priced out of line with their perceived value.
Those who will be interested in this second campaign action and would like to join it, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
Those who have any enquiries and or queries about Campaign to End Poverty Induced by High Costs of Living through Long-term Actions, they can address them to CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Online Micro-volunteering Activities with CENFACS
• Triple Value Initiatives for Santa: Raising Funds while Playing, Running and Voting for Poverty Reduction over the Long Festive Period
• Triple Value Initiatives (or All-year Round Projects) as Orange or Brown or Blue or Green or Grey Prescribings
• Online Micro-volunteering Activities with CENFACS
As well as supporting CENFACS and its noble and beautiful causes with donations made without directly giving cash, people can add or think of alternative ways of involving with CENFACS. For example, they can micro-volunteer with us either online or offline or both.
To enable our readers and those who may be interested in micro-volunteering with us to understand what we are talking, let us explain the following jargons: micro-volunteering, smart tasks, smart communications tools and smart poverty relief.
• • What Is Micro-volunteering with CENFACS?
It is about undertaking or completing small tasks, that can be online or offline or both, to make up one of our main projects. While we recognise the importance of both online and offline tasks in our volunteering scheme (All in Development Volunteers), our focus on micro-volunteering in the context of this post will be on the online part of it.
• • Online Micro-volunteering Doing Small Smart Tasks
Small tasks are micro-actions. From what Anna Patton said (4), these tasks need to be easy, no-commitment, cost-free, to take less than 30 minutes to complete, little or no formal agreement needed before a volunteer can get started, and no expectation that the volunteer will return, no long-term commitment for the volunteer.
These tasks could be smart, that is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely; as well as capable of generating and increasing support towards CENFACS’ good and deserving causes, especially at the time of the enduring cost-of-living crisis. These tasks can contribute to a smart poverty relief.
The above table (table no.1) briefly provides a summary of these tasks. For those who would like to dive into online micro-volunteering doing small smart tasks, they can contact CENFACS’ All in Development Volunteers Scheme.
• • Online Micro-volunteering Done via Smart Communication Tools
It is the use of internet connected devices or tools (such as smart phones, tablets, video calling devices, notebooks, laptops, cameras, drones, Artificial Intelligence enabled tools, etc.) to re-engage with CENFACS audience and supporters as well as to recruit new supporters.
Smart communication tools include as well other devices designed to run or complete actions carried out by smart phones, tablets, notebooks, etc. These extra tools could be wireless printers, broad bands, messenger apps and so on.
Additionally, online micro-volunteering by using distance working and online technologies in our campaigns can help us to reach out to our supporters and Africa-based Organisations.
We understand that not every volunteer can afford to have them. This is why we often ask support with smart communication tools so that our volunteers (All in Development Volunteers) could be able to micro-volunteer smarter and deliver smart poverty relief with impact.
• • Online Micro-volunteering to Achieve Smart Poverty Relief
This additional way of working and engaging with our audience and supporters via online micro-volunteering action has brought some opportunities and benefits. Amongst these opportunities or openings is that of creating smart relief, of reducing poverty symptoms for temporary relief which could lead to permanent relief.
In this respect, smart poverty relief is about prioritising resources and making sure that CENFACS’ poverty reduction system is helping to meet the needs of those in need as we undertake online micro-volunteering activities.
In other words, when volunteers carry out micro-actions, they are not doing them for the sake of entertaining themselves or just passing their time with and for CENFACS.
Through their small online tasks, they are bringing their contribution, however little it can be, to the larger project or programme or picture of CENFACS. By adding up their small pieces of work/relief, one can get the sum of poverty relief, a big poverty relief. Online micro-volunteering could be smart when it contributes to the big picture of poverty reduction.
To enable us to continue our voluntary work, we are asking to those who can, both individuals and organisations, to support us with smart communication tools to enhance our online micro-volunteering action.
To support CENFACS with Smart Communication Tools to micro-volunteer doing Smart Tasks to deliver Smart Poverty Relief, please contact CENFACS.
• Triple Value Initiatives for Santa: Raising Funds while Playing, Running and Voting for Poverty Reduction over the Long Festive Period
You can help CENFACS raise life-saving funds it needs for its noble and beautiful causes by making participants or interested parties to Triple Value Initiatives (or All-year Round Projects) to dress like Santa.
Participants and vested parties can then donate or sponsor your Triple Value Initiatives of Playing, Running and Voting for poverty reduction. The following notes briefly explain how you can do it.
• • Raising Funds while Playing for Poverty Reduction over the Long Festive Period
It can be done either by streaming your game online, which allows viewers to donate, or by organising in-person events with entry fees and raffles.
For online gaming fundraising, you can set up a fundraising page, stream your gameplay, engage audience, and collaborate with gaming sponsors. In short, you can live-stream, set a challenge, and host a tournament.
For in-person and event-based fundraising, you can organise a tournament, raffle off prizes, sell concessions and merchandise, set up collection points, and rent out your equipment.
• • Raising Funds while Running for Poverty Reduction over the Long Festive Period
To raise funds while running, you can consider the following strategies:
σ Choose CENFACS as your charity and cause that resonates with you;
σ Set a fundraising goal (e.g., determine how much you want to raise and break it down into achievable milestones);
σ Create a fundraising page;
σ Engage the/your community by sharing your running journey and the cause behind it;
σ Offer incentives/rewards for donations;
σ Be accountable to yourself by tracking your progress and sharing updates.
These strategies can help raise funds while making you to enjoy the health benefits of running.
• • Raising Funds while Voting for Poverty Reduction over the Long Festive Period
There are several methods that one can consider to raise funds while voting. These methods include:
σ Crowdfunding (for instance, by using crowdfunding platforms);
σ Fundraising competitions, that can unite people or groups around the idea of finding the Best African Development and Poverty Relief Managers of 2025, and that can enable participants to compete to see who can generate the most donations;
σ Organising events to engage the the community and present the opportunity to raise funds for your voting campaign;
σ Combining the act of voting with the act of donating by making it an interactive and engaging fundraising approach.
Briefly, you can leverage the power of social media and crowdfunding platforms to create a more engaging and effective fundraising campaign for your Vote Project.
The income to be raised on these occasions of Triple Value Initiatives for Santa can be donated to CENFACS. It will help to support those in most need so that they can navigate their way out of poverty and hardships.
However, to raise funds via Triple Value Initiatives for Santa, one needs to first discuss the matter, their plan/idea with CENFACS. Together with them, we can better plan their/our fundraising drive and help deliver it in a smooth and hassle-free way while following the rules of the game.
To raise funds for Triple Value Initiatives for Santa to help CENFACS and its noble and beautiful causes of poverty reduction and sustainable development, please contact CENFACS.
Just remember, do not forget to record and report your scores, results and fixtures about your Triple Value Initiatives (or All year-round Projects). You can share them with us to feature the 2025 State of Play, Run and Vote.
At the end of the process of All year-round Projects and by the end of the year, one should be ready to announce the 2025 Action-Results for either of the project: Run or Play or Vote.
The final Action-Results will consist of finding out and revealing the following for this year:
√ The Best African Countries of 2025 which would have best reduced poverty
√ The Best African Global Games Runners of 2025
√ The Best African Development and Poverty Relief Managers of 2025.
If you have not yet thought about this finding or revelation, please start thinking right now and have your say about it by the 23rd of December 2025!
• Triple Value Initiatives (or All-year Round Projects) as Orange or Brown or Blue or Green or Grey Prescribings
Our work on orange, brown, grey, green and blue spaces continues as we are trying to get the views of those of our members using Triple Value Initiatives as orange or brown or blue or green or grey prescriptions. CENFACS is looking into the possibility of how their undertakings of these initiatives can be fitted into orange, brown, blue or green or grey prescriptions.
Social prescribing nature-based activities are known as those ones that support the health and well-being of the community. These activities can be orange colour-coded (orange prescribing), land-based (green prescribing), water-based (blue prescribing), grey-based (grey prescribing), and brown-redeveloped (brown prescribing).
The National Academy for Social Prescribing (5) describes social prescribing as
“Being about helping people getting more control over their healthcare to manage their needs in a way that suits them”.
For those who have been using the Triple Value Initiatives, it would be a good idea to share with us their experience in terms of health and well-being benefits so that we know how orange or green or blue or grey or brown prescribing these initiatives can be.
The more people respond, the more we would know about the health and well-being outcomes from these initiatives, the more we could be recommending people or orange/blue/green/grey/brown prescribing them to use these initiatives.
Their responses will as well help prepare CENFACS’ 2025 State of Play, Run and Vote.
To support CENFACS’ 2025 State of Play, Run and Vote as well as its work on orange/blue/green/grey/brown prescribings, please let us know your personal experience on Triple Value Initiatives in terms of health and well-being results or outcomes or benefits.
Message in French (Message en français)
• Activité/Tâche 10 de l’Année et du Projet de Restauration (« R ») : Partager l’Histoire de la Restauration et de la Réduction de la Pauvreté qui y est Liée
Notre année et projet de restauration (« R ») ont progressé jusqu’à l’activité/tâche 10, qui est « Partager l’histoire de la restauration et la réduction de la pauvreté qui y est liée ». Pour réaliser cette tâche, il est nécessaire de savoir ce que nous entendons par le partage de l’histoire de la restauration, les efforts déployés pour réduire la pauvreté associés à l’histoire de la restauration, et les moyens par lesquels ils peuvent soutenir cette activité/tâche.
• • Qu’est-ce que le partage de l’histoire de la restauration ?
Il s’agit de comprendre son importance et son impact sur divers aspects de la vie et de la société. L’histoire de la restauration est une période qui a été étudiée et discutée pour ses caractéristiques uniques et les changements qu’elle a engendrés.
Cette étude et discussion sur la restauration peuvent toucher de nombreux aspects de la vie, tels que les changements politiques, la renaissance culturelle, le développement littéraire, ainsi que les changements sociaux et économiques comme au Royaume-Uni. Puisque nous sommes dans l’Année du Patrimoine Culturel Africain, on peut penser à partager l’histoire de la restauration dans le contexte africain et la relier à la réduction de la pauvreté. Illustrons-le.
• • Exemple de partage de l’histoire de la restauration et de ses liens avec la réduction de la pauvreté : Cas de l’Afrique
Dans le contexte de l’histoire de la restauration en Afrique, l’exercice de partage peut inclure de nombreux types de partage tels que les suivants :
• • • Partager l’histoire de la restauration du patrimoine culturel
Cela pourrait inclure l’histoire des efforts visant à restituer les biens culturels, tels que les artefacts et les objets sacrés.
Le lien ici avec la réduction de la pauvreté pourrait être de guérir et de renforcer les communautés pauvres qui ont été affectées par la spoliation historique.
• • • Partager l’histoire des initiatives de restitution
Il pourrait s’agir de l’histoire des trésors africains pillés qui ont été restitués.
Le lien avec la réduction de la pauvreté pourrait être de retrouver l’identité culturelle et le patrimoine, ainsi que de remédier aux injustices historiques.
Les deux exemples ne sont que parmi les nombreuses façons d’illustrer le partage de l’histoire de la restauration.
• • Soutenir cette activité/tâche
Ceux ou celles qui souhaitent poursuivre cette activité/tâche par eux/elles-mêmes peuvent le faire. Ils/elles peuvent suivre ces étapes :
planifier la manière dont ils/elles veulent partager l’histoire de la restauration, utiliser une approche structurée pour guider le processus de restauration dans ce partage, et utiliser des techniques de restauration pour guider les personnes à la recherche de restauration.
Ceux ou celles qui souhaiteraient faire partie d’un groupe de travail aidant à la réalisation de cette activité/tâche peuvent en informer le CENFACS.
Ce qui précède correspond à l’Activité/Tâche 10 du Projet/Année de Restauration (R). Ceux ou celles qui souhaitent la réaliser peuvent y aller.
Pour ceux ou celles qui ont besoin d’un peu d’aide avant de se lancer dans cette activité/tâche, ils/elles peuvent s’adresser à CENFACS. Pour parler à CENFACS, il leur est demandé de planifier à l’avance ou de se préparer concernant les questions qu’ils/elles souhaiteraient soulever.
Pour toute autre question et demande de renseignements concernant le projet ‘R‘ et la dédicace de cette année, veuillez également contacter le CENFACS.
Main Development
• Autumn 2025 Humanitarian Relief and Nature Conservation Appeals
Needy People, Flora, Fauna, Funga, Communities and Organisations in Africa are Asking for Your Support!
To approach these appeals to you, let us briefly define them and summarise their contents.
• • What Are Autumn 2025 Humanitarian Relief and Nature Conservation Appeals?
Autumn 2025 Humanitarian Relief and Nature Conservation Appeals are joint appeals made of two parts: humanitarian relief and nature conservation.
The humanitarian relief aspect of these appeals refers to the efforts to be made to support and resources to be provided to individuals and communities affected by disasters, conflicts, or other emergencies in Africa. It aims to protect life and health, ensure respect for human beings, and alleviate human suffering in Africa.
The nature conservation appeal, on the other hand, is fundraising efforts to support conservation projects, that is projects that protect and restore habitats, wildlife, and natural landscapes. The appeal will help ensure the survival of endangered species (like African Forest Elephants, Marasmodes and Afrothismia fungiformis) and their habitats.
The two aspects of these appeals will work together as there are links between humanitarian needs and long-term nature conservation goals in Africa.
• • Appeals Summaries
The following items summarise the appeals from Needy People, Flora, Fauna, Funga, Communities and Organisations in Africa:
∝ The data that justify the need to help
∝ The projects
∝ The request
∝ The beneficiaries
∝ The asks
∝ What your donation can achieve
∝ How to send your support.
Let us unpack each of these items.
• • • The data that justify the need to help
The data (or information in words and numbers) that tell us there are humanitarian need and nature conservation necessities to support are given in the following examples.
• • • • Examples of data
Example 1
According to ‘icdl.org’ (6),
“Only 50% of African countries include computer skills in their school curriculum, compared to a global average of 85%…Alarmingly, 90% of children in Africa reportedly leave school without basic digital skills… Youth internet usage in Sub-Saharan Africa (which is 34%) is far below the global youth average of 71%“.
Example 2
Writing on inequality, ‘csea.africa.org’ (7) argues that
“According to the International Labour Organisation, over 72 million young people in Africa are not in education, employment, or training; and young women make up the largest portion of this group. This situation has been worsened by widespread underemployment, informal employment, and low job security, making it even harder for young people to find decent work”.
Similarly, the United Nations Children’s Fund (8) provides the following inequality indicators for Africa Union:
∝) Palma Index of Income Inequality (that is, the ratio of the richest 10% of the population’s share of gross national income divided by the poorest 40%’s share) was 2.0 between 2015 and 2023;
∝) Gini Coefficient was 40 between 2015 and 2023;
∝) The proportion of children covered by social protection was 18 between 2015 and 2023.
Additionally, the United Nations Development Programme (9) in its Human Development Report 2023-2024 provides the following information:
a) Population living below monetary poverty line (at PPP $2.15 a day) between 2011-2021 was 37.4% in Sub-Saharan Africa (p. 299)
b) Inequality in income was 39.4% in 2022 in Sub-Saharan Africa (p. 286)
c) Gender inequality index in terms of labour force participation rate (% ages 15 and older) was 63.9 for female and 76.4 for male in 2022 in Sub-Saharan Africa (p. 296).
Example 3
Studying the situation of young people in Africa, ‘blogs.lse.ac.uk’ (10) explains that
“Over 80 million young Africans live in extreme poverty, this is more than three-quarters of the global youth population who live in such conditions… Many also experience a critical shortage of urban housing, forcing large numbers to live in informal settlements without access to basic services such as clean water and sanitation”.
Example 4
Reporting on educational situation in Africa, ‘reliefweb.int’ (11) writes on the highlight made by the Norwegian Refugee Council on the International Day to Protect Education from Attack that
“In West and Central Africa, more than 14,000 schools have been forced to close due to violence and insecurity as of June 2024, impacting learning of hundreds of thousands of children across the region”.
The ‘reliefweb.int’ adds that
“Across the Sahelian countries of Burkina Faso and Mali as well as Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, school closures affected millions of children in 2023 and continue to do so this year”.
Example 5
Writing on African fauna, ‘worldwildlife.org’ (12) states that
“The population of African forest elephants declined by 62% between 2002 and 2011, and during that period the species lost 30% of its geographical range”.
Referring to flora situation in Africa, ‘nature.com’ (13) explains that
“Marasmodes has 13 species that all occur in the Cape lowlands, with ten in the genus categorized Critically Endangered. These shrubs are of high conservation concern as all have lost an estimated 95% of their natural habitat to urban and agriculture expansion”.
Likewise, in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Afrothismia fungiformis (which is a myco-heterotropic plant species endemic to Cameroon, specially known from Mount Kupe in the South West Region and Ebo Forest in the Littoral Region) is assessed as Endangered under criterion B.
What do the above-mentioned examples, pieces of information and facts tell us?
They indicate and help draw the conclusion below.
• • • • Conclusion
Whether it is about digital creation skills or youth social inequality or asymmetry caused by natural disasters or children’s educational rescue, the above data just highlight the underlying problem of extreme poverty in Africa.
One part of the above-mentioned figures and facts also points out the continuing extinction threats to wildlife and the lack of skills in some situations to transition out of poverty and hardships.
Furthermore, as the global cost-of-living crisis continues the figures about poverty and threats to the wildlife could be different; meaning that poor people, children, young people, flora, fauna and funga could be in a worse scenario case or situation in Africa. Humanitarian relief, nature relief and shared relief could be part of the response.
Humanitarian relief will help humans (that is, African children, youth and adults alike) on their journey to recover.
Nature relief will benefit the living creatures that are part of these appeals (that is, African forest elephants, Marasmodes and Afrothismia fungiformis).
Shared relief (or human-nature connection) will happen by supporting the protection and restoration of natural lives for these endangered species while contributing to the well-being of both humans and the natural environment.
Data-based solutions to poverty induced by the cost-of-living crisis can only help this situation, especially in the long term.
These above data from multilateral agencies as well as those from individual researchers finally highlight CENFACS‘ findings and the reality on the ground in Africa in the area of operation of CENFACS. They also point out that there is need out there that deservingly requires support that the locals are requesting to address existing humanitarian needs, especially at this time of the difficult global economic situation exacerbated by the effects of geo-economic and insecurity crises. They are as well demanding support to deal with extinction threats of the above-mentioned species.
• • • The projects
Five projects to help reduce poverty and meet the needs of the local people, animals, plants, fungi and organisations this Autumn and beyond
1) Digital Creation Skills Project (Learning and Skills Development Project)
This is a project that helps to reduce poverty linked to poor or incomplete digital creation skills, knowledge, information and capacities in Africa. The project is designed to help improve the ability to use digital tools and technology to design, develop, and produce new digital content. This includes creating various forms of media such as writing, images, audio, video, and code, as well as understanding the processes and editing needed for these creations. It also involves using software to build websites and apps, to take photos, and to create engaging social media posts to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.
Digital creation skills encompass a range of abilities that enable individuals to produce and distribute multimedia content across various online platforms. These skills are essential for creating and posting video, photo, audio, and written content for social media and beyond. Among these skills, it is worth mentioning video production techniques, photography skills, content planning and management tools, and video creation and editing software.
2) Symmetry Poverty Reduction Projects Relating to Natural Disasters (Equality Projects)
Symmetry Poverty Reduction Projects can be of various kinds within CENFACS. The first wave or generation of symmetry projects was to address the unfair distributional effects of the coronavirus. This first wave or generation of Symmetry Poverty Reduction Projects was implemented during the period of the coronavirus (from Autumn 2019 to Autumn 2021).
The second wave or generation of Symmetry Poverty Reduction Projects was about projects of working with local poor people in parts of Africa where there has been uneven impact of the cost-of-living crisis and poverty reduction in order to establish equal right and address the historical roots and causes of this type of asymmetry or inequality in a sustainable way.
The 2024 wave or generation of Symmetry Poverty Reduction Projects aimed at reducing the difference in the distributional effects of conflict and violence that have been asymmetrical or uneven. The disproportional impacts of conflict for women and girls in the cases of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as somewhere else in Africa are part of Symmetry Projects. In those cases, women and girls continue to be disproportionately impacted by the lack of safe, easily accessible, and affordable water, sanitation, and hygiene as noted by the ‘unwomen.org’ (14).
This Autumn’s Symmetry Projects, which are the continuation of the previous Autumn’s Symmetry Projects, are sustainable development initiatives aiming at reducing the difference in the distributional effects of natural disasters. What are natural disasters.
According to ‘sci-tech-today.com’ (15),
“Natural disasters encompass events that adversely affect communities or societies resulting in property damage, loss of life, and significant economic repercussions”.
Natural disasters disproportionately affect different people in Africa due to a combination of factors such as pre-event vulnerability, post-event response, and the socio-economic conditions of the affected communities. Asymmetrical effects of natural disasters in Africa are seen in how they disproportionately impact vulnerable groups, such as women and children who face greater risks to their health, education, and safety.
For example, droughts can force women to travel longer distances for water and increase child marriage, while flooding can increase sexual violence and displacement in camps. Wealthier and urban areas also have a more resilient infrastructure and greater access to resources compared to rural communities that depend on rain-led agriculture and are therefore more vulnerable to droughts and floods. Even in urban areas, natural disasters can disproportionally affect the urban inhabitants like in the case of Kinshasa (in the Democratic Republic of Congo) where the worst floods disproportionally affected densely populated urban areas this year.
3) Youth Social Inequalities Reduction (Empowerment Project)
It is a project set up to address the disparity or uneven distribution of wealth, income, opportunities, or resources faced by young people in Africa. The project will try to more reduce poverty and discrimination linked to exclusion towards the contribution that young people, particularly young girls, are making or can make.
Youth social inequality in Africa is evident as youth unemployment (around 60% of Africa’s total unemployment) is twice the adult rate in many African countries. Significant disparities also exist in education, where half of sub-Saharan African youth (that is, individuals aged 15-24) are out of school, and in wealth where the bottom half of the population owns less than 5% of the total wealth. These issues are compounded by factors like gender, rural versus urban location, and socioeconomic background, which disproportionately affect young people’s access to opportunities.
4) Save African Forest Elephant, Marasmodes Genus and Afrothismia Fungiformis (Environmental Projects)
These are wildlife preservation, conservation and protection initiatives which help to advance justice and equity for flora, fauna and funga, and which include three areas of action:
a) Life-saving actions against new forms of exploitation and trafficking of animal, bird and plant species
b) Life-saving action against the cost-of-living crisis on flora and fauna
c) Life-saving actions to reduce the impacts of climate change on fungi.
The first action is an action to protect African Forest Elephant (also known by its scientific name as Loxodonta cyclotis) in Africa from new forms of wildlife exploitation and trafficking, including kidnapping of animals from their natural sanctuary.
For example, in the DR Congo African forest elephants are in the dense tropical rainforests of the Congo Basin, including in large areas of intact forest like Salonga National Park and Virunga National Park. These areas are crucial strongholds for the species. Other areas include Tshuapa Lomami Landscape where there is also forest elephant conservation with an estimated population of around 500.
There are armed groups that set up their bases in the vicinity of parks like the park Virunga, which is sanctuary of very rare mountain gorillas. These groups threatened protected ecosystems by exploiting natural resources (such as woods and animals) via poaching, illegal fishing, smuggling, kidnappings of animals, etc. Specimen and trophies from elephant ivory, charcoal and illicit fishing are traded by these groups to finance their supply of arms and to engage in armed conflicts.
According to the Director of Parks, Estates and Reserves of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (16),
“The park Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo has lost 50% of its animal population due to the rebellion in North-Kivu province”.
The second action is about making sure that Marasmodes Genus (particularly but not exclusively the species Marasmodes undulata which has seen a drastic decline due to habitat loss and illegal harvesting) can regain, restore, rebuild and thrive their lives while humans are trying to deal with the cost-of-living crisis. In other words, the action is about to ensure that the cost-of-living crisis does not lead to flora and fauna crises since we depend on them in order to come out of the cost-of-living crisis.
The third action is about lowering the risk of extinction facing Afrothismia Fungiformis since its habitat is under continual threat from small-holder farming, agro-industry plantations, and logging.
5) Rescuing Children’s Education (Educational Hardship Reduction Project)
There are two aspects in this project which are maintaining school momentum in places where there is no crisis and rescuing education in crises-stricken places.
a) Maintaining school momentum
One thing is for a child to go back to school; another thing is for the same child to stay in the school/educational system. Rescuing Children’s Education Project is an educational support to poor children facing poverty barriers to go back to schools, to stay in the school system and cope with the pressure of the educational requirements.
To maintain school momentum, the project will help these children to keep school engagement process, to meet their educational goal setting, to be motivated toward learning, to improve their schooling habits, to get organisational tools they need for their schooling and maintain excitement during the school year.
b) Educational rescue or Protection of children’s education from attack
This second aspect is about rescuing the education of children whose curriculum has been disrupted because of the consequences of conflicts and natural disasters.
To rescue education for children victims of conflicts and natural disasters, support can be given to help them learn and engage with school by distance if their school is closed because of the consequences of wars and / or natural disasters. For those children where schools have been reopen after conflicts and natural disasters, they need support too.
In total, 5 projects to donate £7 to create 3 reliefs as you wish per project
Note: Further details about the above projects are available on request from CENFACS.
• • • The request
The beneficiaries of the above-mentioned projects are
σ Digitally unskilled or under-skilled poor people
σ Sufferers from inequality
σ Poor children and young people
σ African forest elephant, Marasmodes, and Afrothismia fungiformis under extinction threats
σ Africa-based Organisations that CENFACS works with.
They all need help to reduce the following types of poverty and hardships:
σ Poor or lack of digital creation skills because financial hardship limits access to devices, reliable internet, and training, while the resulting lack of digital skills hinders opportunities for education, employment, and economic advancement
σ Lack of animal protection and care due to threats to extinction or killings, trafficking and poaching of endangered animals (like the African Forest Elephant), plant species (such as Marasmodes genus), and fungi species (e.g., Afrothismia fungiformis)
σ Poverty linked to wildlife crime or lack of alternative livelihoods that drive people to poaching and trafficking of animals for survival and financial gain
σ Poverty related to the asymmetrical effects of natural disasters because poor people often live in vulnerable areas, have less resilient housing, and lack the resources for recovery and preparedness
σ Poverty linked to the lack of social equality for young people as a result of uneven distribution of resources, power, and opportunities for young people in Africa
σ Income poverty or Shortage of income and or enough earnings by poor families to send their children back to school and/or for these children to keep school momentum
σ No supply of support in places where school infrastructures and educational premises have been destroyed by wars and natural events.
• • • The beneficiaries
This Autumn 2025 humanitarian relief appeal will help…
√ The real and direct beneficiaries and end users who are poor people (amongst them the youth, young girls and children)
√ The endangered African Forest Elephant, Marasmodes Genus and Afrothismia Fungiformis
√ The indirect beneficiaries made of African organisations based in Africa and working on the issues/causes of these poor people and species.
• • • The asks
The above needy people, flora, fauna, funga, communities and organisations need your support.
CENFACS is appealing to you to donate £7 to create 3 reliefs:
a) 1 Relief for humans: Human relief will help humans in Africa on their journey to recover from poverty
b) 1 Relief for nature: Nature relief will provide healthier natural environment (in particular for Elephants, Marasmodes and Afrothismia fungiformis) which will benefit all living environments
c) 1 Shared relief for both humans and nature (Human-Nature Connection): By supporting our work on the protection and restoration of natural spaces, you will contribute to the well-being of both humans and the environment as well as build harmony between the two in Africa. In other words, donating for shared relief or benefit will help improve human-nature relationships while avoiding human-wildlife conflicts.
You can donate as you wish to achieve penultimate relief.
• • • What your donation can achieve
If you donate £7 to create 3 reliefs, we can anticipate the following use and relief impacts that these amounts can help
⇒ To implement Digital Creation Skills by…
√ identifying gaps/divide in digital creation capability and enhancing beneficiaries’ knowledge and ability to use digital tools and technology to design, develop, and produce new digital content
√ better targeting humanitarian responses to the needs of beneficiaries, improving access to information and services, and ensuring aid is delivered responsibly and securely .
For example, £7 can help create and utilise digital tools to enhance the speed, efficiency, and effectiveness of humanitarian operations and responses. The digitalisation of humanitarian action can make aid faster and more efficient, and the use of digital technologies can help alleviate the suffering of populations affected by conflicts and natural disasters.
⇒ To deliver ‘Save African Forest Elephant, Marasmodes Genus and Afrothismia Fungiformis sub-projects’ by…
√ running wildlife protection awareness campaign to address illicit trafficking in wildlife and to keep advocacy on wild animals’, birds’, fishes’, plants’ and fungi’s rights and welfare in general, and African Forest Elephant, Marasmodes Genus and Afrothismia Fungiformis in particular
√ buying or developing software or apps on protection and care of animal, bird, fish, plant and fungus species in general, and African Forest Elephant, Marasmodes Genus and Afrothismia Fungiformis in particular in Africa.
For example, £7 can help stop the extinction threats to African forest elephants to be served as providers of specimen and trophies because their ivory, or farmers to use retaliatory killings led by crop raiding, or the expansion of human settlements that reduce available habitat for the African forest elephant.
⇒ To execute Symmetry Poverty Reduction Projects Relating to Natural Disasters by…
√ running online and virtual equality workshops on the reduction of asymmetrical adverse effects of the natural disasters between people and ethnic groups
√ training people to tackle inequalities of poverty reduction or treatment induced by the adverse impacts of natural disasters within their communities.
For example, £7 can help the vulnerable and disproportionally natural disaster-impacted to reduce recovery time, to access adequate infrastructure and services, to coordinate disaster response efforts, and to reduce other impacts (like food insecurity, hunger, health problems, etc.) .
⇒ To address Social Inequalities for Young People in Africa by…
√ ensuring that young people in Africa have access to quality education, employment, healthcare, and other essential services
√ supporting African voluntary organisations to advocate for further support for youths in terms of investing youth’s human capital and promoting gender equality, as well as help deploy empowerment services and products towards them.
For example, £7 can help pay for childcare and other care services so that young girls can study and expand their participation in the workforce and educational opportunities in Africa in a gender-aware and inclusive way.
⇒ To realise back-to-school support, maintain school momentum and rescue needy children’s education by…
√ supporting the recovery of learning losses, teacher training and extra health service for the children traumatised by the effects of conflicts and natural disasters on their education and well-being
√ purchasing school e-books and e-materials through African voluntary organisations to help educationally needy children to add distance learning opportunities to their education in order to mitigate the adverse effects of the cost-of-living crisis on children’s learning and abilities.
For example, £7 can enable poor families to buy organisational tools and to access motivational programmes for children to stay engaged with the schooling process and educational system.
To realise a total of 5 lasting reliefs, it may require a donation of £10 to £20 or even more.
To smooth the process of supporting the above-mentioned beneficiaries, CENFACS is ready to post to you and or to any other potential supporters the project proposals or an information pack about them for consideration to support. Likewise, CENFACS is ready to talk to you or to potential funders about them if they want us to do so.
To donate, gift aid and or support differently, please contact CENFACS.
• • • How to send you support
You can donate
* over phone
* via email
* through text
* by filling the contact form on this website.
On receipt of your intent to donate or donation, CENFACS will contact you. However, should you wish your support to remain anonymous; we will respect your wish.
We look forward to your support with helpful difference for the Poor People, Organisations and Wildlife Species in Africa.
Thank you in anticipation for your willingness to give and help change the lives of these poor people, organisations and wild species.
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• References
(1) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/fact/togo-slippery-frog (accessed in October 2025)
(2) https://mronline.org/2010/06/09/the-dictatorship-of-the-market-interview-withcolin-leys/ (accessed in October 2025)
(3) https://droit.cairn.into/revue-pouvoirs-2012-3-page-71?lang=en (accessed in October 2025)
(4) Patton, A., 2021, Micro-volunteering, Making a Difference in Minutes, (Originally published Dec. 2017) at https://www.missionbox.com/article/183/micro-volunteering-making-a-difference-in-minutes (accessed October 2023)
(5) https://socialprescribingacademy.org.uk/about-us/what-is-socialpresscribing/ (accessed in October 2023)
(6) https://icdl.org/africas-digital-leap-why-skills-not-just-access-will-define-the-future/ (accessed in October 2025)
(7) https://Csea.africa.org/images/posts/38597826.pdf#:~text=… (accessed in October 2025)
(8) United Nations Children’s Fund, The State of Africa Children: The future of childhood in a changing world – Statistical Compendium, African Overview, UNICEF, New York, 2025, <https://data.unicef.org/resources/soac-2025/> (accessed in October 2025)
(9) https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/document/global-report-document/hdr2023-2024reporten.pdf (accessed in October 2024)
(10) https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2024/10/03/youth-and-women-are-shaping-africa-future/ (accessed in October 2024)
(11) https://www.reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/west-and-central-africa-alarming-rise-school-closures (accessed in October 2024)
(12) https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-forest-elephant (accessed in October 2025)
(13) https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-025-00231-0 (accessed in October 2025)
(14) https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/09/sudan-humanitarian-crisis-has-catastrophic-impact-for-women-and-girls-with-two-fold-increase-of-gender-based-violence (accessed in October 2024)
(15) https://www.sci-tech-today.com/stats/natural-disaster-statistics-updated/ (accessed in October 2025)
(16) https://actualite.cd/2024/10/15/rdc-le-parc-des-virunga-perdu-plus-de-50-de-la-population-animale-suite-aux-activities-du (accessed in October 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 until the end of 2025 and beyond.
With many thanks.
