Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

21 September 2022

 

Post No. 266

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Autumn of Freshness to Cope with Crises

• Starting XI Campaign in 2022: Autumn Programme with Starting XI Projects to Cope with Crises

• Green Spaces-focused Note for Week Beginning 19/09/2022: Green Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development 

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Autumn of Freshness to Cope with Crises

 

• • What Autumn is about for us

 

Autumn is the time of natural recycling process of plants and trees.  Leaves change colour and fall.  Without reinventing the wheels, we can say that Autumn of Freshness at CENFACS is the season after the long sunny weather and break of Summer; season during which our body and mind naturally recycle and engage in renewed energy, strength and thoughts.

Autumn of Freshness is the season of

∝ making fresh start after returning back from Summer to resume our life routine, work, education and voluntary work, particularly poverty relief one

∝ restarting after having some life and/or work experience (e.g., voluntary work or experience over the Summer, project visits, holiday trips, tourism, travel/expeditions of all kinds, etc.)

∝ beginning to apply or introduce and share those new experiences, ideas and discoveries we had during the Summer break or holiday

∝ novelty, creativity and innovation to try to resolve the old, new, challenging and emerging issues of poverty and hardships.

Will this Autumn be same as the previous ones?

 

• • Autumn of Freshness 2022

 

This Autumn will be of Freshness or Fresh Start to Cope with Crisis.

In Autumn 2021, we accepted that change was inevitable as the 1960s theory of the five stages of grief or model of change curve by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross (1) told us.  Since then, we started to gradually return the nature of our Autumn, which is of Freshness or Fresh Start.  Yet, before we finished the return of our service from the coronavirus, another crisis which was already rampant stroke, the cost-of-living crisis.

Because of the interruption brought by the cost-of-living crisis, this Autumn would not be the same.  What will it be about?

Autumn 2022 at CENFACS will be about

∝ continuing the unfinished work of return while coping with the cost-of-living crisis

∝ how fresh we are to continue and finish the business of return from the coronavirus while coping with the cost-of-living crisis; that is freshness to simultaneously end one crisis (e.g., the coronavirus) while coping with another one (that is; the cost-of-living crisis)

∝ working together with our local people to positively cope with crises, particularly with the lingering effects of the coronavirus, changing climate and the current cost-of-living crisis.

We are going to work together to try to finish the unfinished business of returning our service, building forward from the coronavirus pandemic and cope with the reality of the cost-of-living crisis.

Therefore, the key words and phrases for our sharing and engaging contents over this Autumn are Freshness or Fresh Start to Positively Cope with Crises; words and phrases which will underpin all our work over this period.

 

 

• Starting XI Campaign in 2022: Autumn Programme with Starting XI Projects to Cope with Crises

 

Autumn of Freshness is about working together with our users and stakeholders through a helpful bundle of Fresh Start projects blended together to give a contemporary and targeted relief, thanks to a good knowledge of users’ needs and expectations.

These projects will implement new and improved ways of working with local people to meet changing needs mainly led by the lingering effects of the coronavirus and the cost-of-living crisis in the Year of Knowledge; a year of knowledge of poor people’s needs in a new era and landscape of poverty reduction and development policies.  These projects make up our Autumn 2022 Fresh Start Programme.

 

• • What is included in the Autumn 2022 Fresh Start Programme?

 

The Autumn 2022 Fresh Start Programme is made of

(a) Skills, tips, hints, tweaks and hacks to positively cope with crises

(b) Transformative experiences

(c) The Season’s appeal to stand up again against poverty and hardships

(d) A Slice of Africa’s history

(e) A Campaign to end the cost-of-living crisis

(f) Blue and green realignments of initiatives to the principles of greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets

(g) Thoughts and inspirations to finish the unfinished work of building forward from the coronavirus.

All this is flavoured with hopes, dreams and reasons to believe in the future; a poverty-free, sustainable, net zero and crisis-free world.

So, the line-up for CENFACS’ Starting XI Projects and Campaign to end the lingering effects of the coronavirus and cope with the cost-of-living crisis for this Autumn is as follows:

 

(1) Women, Children and Skills/Strategies to Respond to Crises – NEW

(2) Basic Data Skills to Run your Household – NEW

(3) 3-tier Security (i.e., Food, Energy and Financial Security) – NEW

(4) Making Memorable Difference by Managing and Maintaining Poverty-reduction Infrastructures in Africa  

(5) Save Flora and Fauna

(6) Leaves-based Advice

(7) “A la Une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) with a Focus on Critically Endangered Bird Species

(8) International Advice Service

(9) Autumn Help to Come out the Cost-of-living Crisis

(10) Campaign to End the Cost-of-living Poverty

(11) Autumn Humanitarian Relief Appeal.

 

For more on these projects, read below under the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

• Green Spaces-focused Note for Week Beginning 19/09/2022: Green Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development

 

In this third note of our Green Spaces theme, we would like to focus on these three elements: the meaning of green poverty reduction, the link between green poverty reduction and sustainable development, and how CENFACS can work with the community in order to keep the linkages between green poverty reduction and sustainable development.  Let us briefly explain each of these items.

 

• • Green Poverty Reduction

 

In order to reduce green poverty, one may need to understand it.  Our understanding of green poverty comes from two sources.

The first source of green poverty is from ‘headliners.org’ (2) which states that

“Green poverty is an unequal access to space relating to demographic and socio-economic factors”.

On the same ‘headliners.org’ website, it is said that

“The conversation on green space ignores unequal distribution and factors surrounding private gardens…, inequality in indoor and outdoor spaces”.

This definition approaches green poverty from the perspective of space and access to that space.  To reduce green poverty, poor people need to have access to indoor and outdoor spaces, green spaces.

The second source of green poverty is from the theory of a colour wheel for poverty.  The proponents of this theory define poverty according to colour.  For instance, ‘compassion.com’ (3) defines green as

“The colour of nature that represents balance and symbolises self-respect, growth and harmony.  It also symbolises freshness, like a fresh opportunity, a chance to success and break the cycle of poverty”.

From what ‘compassion.com’ has stated, one can argue that if you want to reduce poverty, you better go green.

 

• • Linkages between green poverty reduction and sustainable development

 

There could be links between the reduction of the inability to access green spaces and the development that allows both the current and future generations meet their needs without compromising the future ones to meet theirs.

In practical terms, if one wants to access green spaces in order to reduce poverty they are experiencing, this access should not deplete or overexploit natural resources that the generations to come will depend upon.  There are ways of working with the green poor so that natural depletion or overexploitation does not happen.

 

• • Working with the community for a better linkage between green poverty reduction and sustainable development

 

As we keep arguing, the purpose of these notes about green spaces is not to develop theories or make statements.  The real aim is to work with the members of our community so that they can find answers to the problems they are facing.  One of these problems is green poverty.  And we can work with them to deal with this issue by taking a sustainable development path.

With them, we can work on…

 

✔ dealing with the state of having little or no indoor or outdoor spaces

✔ having a small environmental impact when accessing green spaces

✔ finding alternative resources than having to rely on marginal spaces

✔ the causes of uneven distribution of both indoor and outdoor green spaces and how these causes relate to them

✔ the identification of possible solutions for them

✔ the relationship between space and demographic and socio-economic factors if it affects their households

✔ the fresh opportunity they may seize in the green economy in order to break the cycle of poverty

✔ the steps they need to take to embrace green development to reduce green poverty if they are not doing it

✔ meeting their needs of accessing green spaces without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

 

There could be limitations in what we could offer and what they can do since we are talking about poor people or green poor.  However, working together with them, we can achieve more outcomes together than not working together, outcomes in terms of the linkages between green poverty reduction and sustainable development.

The above is our second note for the Green Spaces.  To add your input and or enquire about this third note, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Starting or Renewing your Involvement with CENFACS’ Work this Autumn 2022

• Getting the Most of your Involvement with CENFACS into Poverty Reduction Work from Autumn 2022 and Beyond

• Back-to-school Project: Integrated Training Centre in Doutchi, County of Dosso in Niger

 

 

• Starting or Renewing your Involvement with CENFACS’ Work this Autumn 2022

 

The beginning of every season is an opportunity either to continue to do the things we always do as they work or to think of taking on new initiatives in the new season or to do both.  Likewise, in time of the cost-of-living crisis there are not only worries and stresses; there are as well opportunities and possibilities to do things differently.  One can use the opportunity of the cost-of-living crisis to review or change things.  One way of doing is to start or continue to look forward.  There are many ways in which one can look forward this Autumn.

For example, one can use the opportunity of the cost-of-living crisis and rethink on the types of organisations and projects they support.  One may find appropriate to start or increase or even reduce their support to a particular development cause.  One could also think of getting involved in CENFACS’ work or renewing their commitment to it if they have ever got involved in it before.  The decision is theirs.

We have spelled out below various ways in which one can enhance CENFACS’ noble cause and make a useful impact on poverty reduction with us.

 

 

• Getting the Most of your Involvement with CENFACS into Poverty Reduction Work from Autumn 2022 and Beyond

 

• • Where to start: Sign up!

✔ Register with us and or update us with your contact details

✔ Respond to our communications and communicate with us when occasion arises

• • Stay in touch with our…

✔ Newsletter and other paper and free-paper communication materials

✔ Regular updated and upgraded resources and supporting information

• • Involve us in raising awareness of the poverty relief issue

✔ Advertise with us for helpful good and deserving causes

✔ Pass our relief messages on to interested third parties  

• • Share your transformative experience

✔ Tell us what you think and or your development story

✔ Help us improve with your voices, comments, reports and feedbacks

• • Boost your support

✔ Support us according to your means and limits as every support counts

✔ Add value to your support, if you can, by improving your support to us to support you and or others 

• • Get noticed to go further with your involvement

✔ Register and keep up to date with information about your event, project, activity and so on

✔ Join up our network of poverty relief and development work

• • Stay ahead of the game with us

✔ Communicate with us before hands and when the needs arise

✔ Often read our news alerts, tweets and switch to our new developments  

• • Deliver on your promises 

✔ If you promise to do something for or with CENFACS and others, please do it

✔ If you can’t do it, please let us know.  Don’t just stay silent!

• • Make our communications with you to be a two-way process and multi-channel approach

✔ Talk to CENFACS and CENFACS will talk to you as well and vice versa

✔ Help us improve the flow of information on poverty relief and development using a variety of channels and platforms 

• • Be contactable and present via

✔ E-mail, (tele or mobile) phones, physical address and social media platforms

✔ Word-of-mouth recommendations, outreach and other means of contact (like video calls)

• • Get the word out on your communication channels

✔ Spread words about CENFACS’ work on your social media links

✔ Promote CENFACS’ work in what and where you think we can fit in

• • Keep your involvement with CENFACS digitally and on papers

✔ Up-to-date information on to your mobile by our free text alerts and messages

✔ Check CENFACS’ website and make enquiries online 24 hours 7 days a week

• • Act upon information received from us

✔ Don’t just read or hear them and do nothing about them.  Please react and be vocal!

✔ If they are irrelevant to you, please pass them onto an interested and committed party

• • Build and protect standards of trust in CENFACS

✔ Correct inaccuracies and misinformation, stop the spread of false information about CENFACS and its community/network

✔ Tackle with us disinformation and distrust about our poverty reduction work and initiatives

• • Continue the legacy of CENFACS’ work

✔ It is now 20 years and two months that CENFACS has been working on poverty relief and sustainable development since it was registered in 2002.  You can continue this legacy with us.

✔ You can be the face of CENFACS to those who are looking for a lifeline of support from us.

The above ways of getting involved in CENFACS’ work may not be exhaustive.  Should you have any other way, please let us know.

To get involved with CENFACS into poverty reduction work, just let us know.

 

 

• Back-to-school Project: Integrated Training Centre in Doutchi, County of Dosso in Niger

 

As part of our September 2022 work on back to school, we would like to highlight the above-mentioned project from one of CENFACS Africa-based Sister Organisations.

 

The project aims at harmoniously integrating young people in their rural area and fighting against poverty through local sustainable development.

 

The specific objectives of this project include:

✔ To create autonomy for young people

✔ To respond to the local need of lack of skilled and competent labour

✔ To win back local parents’ trust and help them to take part in the education and training of their children.

 

The performance of this project will be measured by the following indicators:

✔ The number of girls to be educated compared to boys

✔ The number of young people going back to school or returning to the educational system

✔ The schooling rate to be achieved in this rural area

✔ The illiterate and innumerate rate to be decreased

✔ The reduction of the percentage of migration flows towards urban areas

✔ The employment rate of school leavers.

 

This project, which is unfunded, has been selected and highlighted as part of CENFACS‘ back-to-school programme of work.  We know that at this current time of the cost-of-living crisis, things are difficult for many people including small individual donors.  However, for those who may be interested in this project, they can contact CENFACS for full project proposals and budget.

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

Commencer ou renouveler votre implication dans les travaux du CENFACS cet automne 2022

Le début de chaque saison est l’occasion soit de continuer à faire les choses que nous faisons toujours parce qu’elles marchent, soit de penser à prendre de nouvelles initiatives dans la nouvelle saison, ou de faire les deux.  De même, en période de crise du coût de la vie, il n’y a pas que des inquiétudes et du stress; il y a aussi des opportunités et des possibilités de faire les choses différemment.

On peut profiter de la crise du coût de la vie pour revoir ou changer les choses.  Une façon de le faire est de commencer ou de continuer à regarder vers l’avenir.  Il y a plusieurs façons d’envisager cet automne.

Par exemple, on peut profiter de l’opportunité de la crise du coût de la vie afin de repenser les types d’organisations et de projets qu’on soutient.  On peut trouver approprié de commencer ou d’augmenter ou même de réduire son soutien à une cause de développement particulière.

On pourrait aussi penser à s’impliquer dans le travail du CENFACS ou à renouveler son engagement si on s’y est déjà impliqué.  La décision vous appartient.

Ceux ou celles qui sont intéress(é)es à s’engager ou s’impliquer sont pri(é)es de contacter le CENFACS.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Starting XI Campaign in 2022: Autumn Programme with Starting XI Projects to Cope with Crises

 

The following two items provides the main idea of our Starting XI Campaign in 2022:

 

∝ What is Starting XI Campaign?

∝ Starting XI Projects to Cope with Crises

 

Before highlighting the projects making the Starting XI Campaign in 2022, let us explain this campaign.

 

• • What is Starting XI Campaign?

 

It is an organised series of actions and operations designed to help achieve the goal of poverty reduction during the autumnal season.  Normally, there are eleven projects that make this campaign and help work with the communities here in the UK and Africa to freshly start Autumn.  These projects are our Fresh Start ones which will help beneficiaries to cope with the lingering effects of the coronavirus and the current cost-of-living crisis.  What are these projects?

 

• • Starting XI Projects to Cope with Crises

 

The XI projects we are talking about will allow us to start our overall Autumn Season’s poverty reduction campaign.  This is why we call them as Starting XI Projects or Campaign.

 

11 PROJECTS TO COPE WITH CRISES: 11 WAYS OF HELPING TO REDUCE AND END POVERTY THIS AUTUMN 2022

 

Please find below key highlights of projects making CENFACS’ Autumn 2022 of Positively Coping with Crises, including the month each of these projects is supposed to start.

 

• • • Key Highlights of Starting XI Projects 

 

September 2022

 

(5) Save Flora and Fauna projects (including the Big Beasts sub-advocacy) will continue our advocacy work on the protection of plants and animals while we are carrying on to implementing new ways of working with local people and organisations in Africa to help save flora and fauna (Advocacy)

(6) Leaves-based Advice is a step forward within the framework of the advice service we provide to the community.  The leaves element within our local advice package, which marked CENFACS’ 2021 Year of Leaves, will continue to feature the advisory process of helping the community to reduce poverty.   (Advice)

(7) A la Une (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) will include our sub-advocacy work on nature, which is Sustainable Trajectories for the Nature.  This year, A la Une project will focus on Critically Endangered Bird Species.  We shall focus on saving endangered bird species through our new initiative called ‘Mbulu’. 

‘Mbulu’ (that is; Mobilising for Birds’ Useful Life for Us) is a new advocacy project planned by CENFACS to help protect critically endangered bird species in Africa.  Birds like African Grey Parrots, Congo Peafowl, African Green Broadhill, etc. are endangered species.  The ‘Mbulu’ project will help to advocate together for a safe life for birds. (Campaign)

 

October 2022

 

(11) Autumn Appeal to Support projects is a renewed engagement with supporters via an appeal to deal with the exacerbation of poverty by climate change, the cost-of-living crisis and the coronavirus in Africa. (Humanitarian appeal)

(4) Making Memorable Difference (MMD): The focus for this October History Month will be on the difference that was made in people’s and communities’ history in the way infrastructures (that is; basic and permanent structures, services and equipment) were managed and maintained.  Our work for this year’s MMD will be about identifying the historical figures of Africa who could be called Managers and Keepers of infrastructures to reduce poverty. (History project)

(10) Campaign to End the Cost-of-living Poverty: It is an organised series of actions to gain support for the cost-of-living poor so that something can be done for them.  These actions need to result in change, particularly the reduction and end of the cost-of-living crisis.  The latter is now a barrier for many poor.  In the coming days and weeks, we shall specify the kind of actions to be taken. (Poverty-relieving campaign)

 

November 2022

 

(9) Autumn Help to Come out the Cost-of-living Crisis: Those who cannot afford the cost of living because of soaring prices of goods and services do not match their levels of income, they need someone to contribute towards making their problems or pain less severe.  They require financial help to cover the difference between their income and inflation.

Autumn Help to Come out the Cost-of-living Crisis, which will be a resource, will contain new information, tips and hints to help the community lifted out of the cost-of-living crisis.  This initiative or resource could start or be published before November 2022.  (Resource)

(1) Women & Children FIRST Development Day: This year our Development Day will still be about skills that can be learnt and developed in order to freshly start Autumn 2022.  This year, it will be about skills to respond to crises and risks.

Every day, women and children respond to crises and risks they face.  The nature of crises and risks is changing, so do the responses to them.  Learning and developing new crisis-response skills for women and children could be one of the ways of approaching this Autumn season.

This year’s Development Day, which will be about Skills to Respond to Crises and Risks, will resonate with the November month of Skills Development within CENFACS. (Thoughts)

(8) International Advice Service: Our support to Africa-based Sister Organisations via advice will continue to operate to help these organisations to overcome many challenges they face such as changing climate, the coronavirus and the cost-of-living crisis.  Under this service, we have planned to conduct more activities this coming November 2022. 

(2) Basic Data Skills to Run your Household: We have amalgamated literacy and numeracy skills into data skills.  The latter aims at empowering users with skills to prepare, identify and visualise data (i.e., words and numbers) that run their life.  It will help them to have control over their data and life. (Data Advocacy & Skills)

(3) 3-tier Security (i.e., Food, Energy and Financial Security): The Three Tiers of Security against Poverty are designed to provide users with freedom from the possibility of future energy, food and financial worries and stresses.  3-tier Security is also a freedom from vulnerability to energy, food and financial poverty.  The initiative takes stock of the work we have done so far with users on energy, food and financial security. (Support and Resource) 

 

Note:

As said earlier, the above XI projects will allow us to start our overall Autumn Season’s poverty reduction campaign.  This is why we call them as Starting XI Projects or Campaign.

Although they are scheduled for Autumn 2022, we may slightly alter our initial plan and or introduce occasional initiatives to cope with the reality of the unpredictability and complexity of development situations (e.g., coronavirus uncertainty, side effects of the cost-of-living crisis, humanitarian and emergency situations), in which case we shall let you know as early as we can.

________

 

• References

 

(1) Kübler-Ross E., 1969: On Death and Dying, New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc.

(2) https://www.headliners.org/what-is-green-poverty (Accessed in September 2022)

(3) https://www.compassion.com/poverty/color-wheel-poverty.htm (Accessed in September 2022)

_________

 

• 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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

14 September 2022

 

Post No. 265

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Reduction of Back-to-school Poverty in 2022

• Green Spaces-focused Note for Week Beginning 12/09/2022: Green Spaces and Socio-economic Inequalities

• Coming in Autumn 2022: The 77th Issue of FACS Newsletter which will be titled as Financial Security for the Poor

 

… And much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Reduction of Back-to-school Poverty in 2022

 

Back to school is a challenging time for many families and parents especially for those on low-income brackets or just poor.  It is even controversial for many of them as they are trying to strike a delicate balance between building forward educational life for children and still dealing with the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic.  It is deeply demanding for them during this painful time of the cost-of-living crisis as the expenses of sending back their children to school are fiercely competing with soaring living costs.

Amongst these challenges, the greatest one for these families is back-to-school poverty.  Back-to-school poverty is what we are trying to help reduce or eradicate within our back-to-relief programme this Autumn 2022.  In our latest post, we explained what we mean by back-to-school poverty.  In this post, we shall expand further on it and the way of working with the community to reduce this type of poverty.  We are tackling it while carrying on back-to-relief programme and services.

For more on back-to-school poverty and its reduction, please read under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Green Spaces-focused Note for Week Beginning 12/09/2022: Green Spaces and Socio-economic Inequalities

 

Before presenting this second note of our Green Spaces theme, let us first try to understand the meaning of socio-economic inequality.  Then, we will deal with it and the way in which we can work with the community on socio-economic inequalities or injustices linked to green spaces.

 

• • What is a socio-economic inequality?

 

There are many ways of perceiving or defining socio-economic inequality.  One of these ways is the one provided by ‘eachother.org.uk’ (1) website which argues that

“Socio-economic inequality relates to disparities that individuals might have in both their economic and social resources that are linked to their social class.  These disparities include but aren’t limited to their earnings, education, and/or income”.

These disparities can prevent some individuals, particularly the socio-economically deprived ones to have access to quality green spaces; spaces that can have bearing on the reduction of poverty.

 

• • Green spaces can have bearing on the reduction of socio-economic inequalities

 

The distribution of and access to green spaces can have bearing on the reduction of socio-economic inequalities or they can reinforce these inequalities.   People living in deprived neighbourhoods with lack of access to green spaces may experience socio-economic inequalities and have the high price to pay for inequality.  In contrast, those dwelling in areas with equalitarian and good distribution of green spaces could live with less socio-economic inequality.

Having argued the above, the purpose of this note is not only to depict the link between green spaces and socio-economic inequalities.  This note is also about working with the community so that our members can mitigate the effects of socio-economic inequalities relating to the asymmetrical or uneven distribution of green spaces in an area.

 

• • Working with the community to tackle socio-economic inequalities or injustices linked to green spaces

 

There are ways of working with the socio-economically disadvantaged members of our community living in deprived neighbourhoods or wards to tackle various issues related to the access to green spaces.  One of these ways is to work on geographic accessibility to green spaces.

For example, we can work with them on the following matters:

∝ Check if they live in a socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhood since there could be correlation between this type of neighbourhood and lack of access to green spaces

∝ Look at the quality of green spaces they normally access compared to the centroid of their neighbourhoods

∝ Evaluate the benefits of accessing green spaces by these socio-economically deprived

∝ Work out their distance to local green spaces, the number of green spaces in their local area, the conditions and features of green spaces (like water, aesthetic, parks, threes, recreational activities, etc.).

The above examples illustrate some of the ways of working with the community.  For those members of our community who are socio-economically disadvantaged and would like to work on issues relating to green spaces, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.

To end this note on socio-economic inequalities relating to green spaces, we would like to quote what Joseph E. Stiglitz (2) says about the Price of Inequality for the Unted States of America (USA), which is:

“I believe it is not too late for this country to change course, and to recover the fundamental principles of fairness and opportunities on which it was founded” (pp. 362 & 363)

Although Stiglitz speaks about the USA, it is possible to refer to the argument he made in his book and apply it in order to help reduce socio-economic inequalities linked to the lack of fair and equal access to green spaces.

The above is our second note for the Green Spaces.  To add your input and or enquire about this second note, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Coming in Autumn 2022: The 77th Issue of FACS Newsletter which will be titled as Financial Security for the Poor

How to reduce financial worries and stresses for the income poor at this challenging time of the cost-of-living crisis

 

• • Abstract for the 77th Issue of FACS

 

The lingering effects of the coronavirus and the current cost-of-living crisis are making worried and stressed many ordinary and poor people and families.  They are making them worried and stressed as prices of goods and services keep rising while people’s incomes and financial support do not match the level and scale of soaring cost of living.  These people and families need some form of financial security if one needs to avoid the current crisis to become a humanitarian one.

The 77th Issue of FACS, CENFACS‘ bilingual newsletter, will help not only to understand their financial worries and stresses, but also to explore with them positive coping strategies to calm their mind and find peace of mind.  In this respect, the Issue could provide some tips and hints to avert the transformation of the cost-of-living they are experiencing into a humanitarian one.

Many of those making our community are looking for financial security in order to make ends meet or just to cover their basic life-sustaining needs.  There are income deficit and indebted amongst them; those having their amount of income falling short of their spending.  They all need financial security to avoid that the current crisis pushes them to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe or collapse.

The 77th Issue will explore ways of building financial security with and for these people and families.  Although the Issue will not list organisations and institutions that provide financial security cover, it will bundle a number of financial security fixes with and for them.  However, by arguing that they need financial security, what do we mean by that?

Financial security here has to be viewed from the perspective of what ‘quicken.com’ (3) argue about, which is:

“Financial security refers to the peace of mind you feel when you aren’t worried about your income being enough to cover your expenses.  It also means that you have enough money saved to cover emergencies and your future financial goals.  When you are financially secure your stress level goes down, leaving you free to focus on other issues”.

The above-mentioned definition will be the one we shall refer to in the 77th Issue of FACS.  Financial security here has to be differentiated from the financial instruments (like shares, bonds, stocks, gilts, bills of exchange, treasury bills, etc.) issued by firms, financial institutions (e.g., pension funds, investment funds, banks and insurance companies) and government.  We shall approach financial security from the perspective of ordinary and poor people and families, those who do not financially have.

At the current challenging time of the cost-of-living crisis, the 77th Issue of FACS will be a journey with those people and families on how they will raise the finances they need and erect the basic foundations of financial security.  Through the 77th Issue, we shall try to identify the levels of financial security they need, whether high or low or medium.

Financial security is not only about our closer community, CENFACS Community.  It is also about our extended community; that is the people with whom our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) work in Africa.  For these distant communities and people, financial security is about how they are trying to develop their coping financial strategies (for example, if they got any financial bailout) in order to mitigate the combined side effects of the coronavirus and other diseases, the cost-of-living crisis and changing climate.

The 77th Issue goes further mile in exploring how these ASOs are adjusting their not-for-profit or charitable model in order to continue to serve their communities in this context of spiralling prices of money, food, energy and other goods and services.  Likewise, it will contain an appeal for a portion of financial dividend created (e.g., from illicit financial flows in Africa) to be channelled to ASOs working with poor people and communities.  In appealing in this way, this could provide a starting point or a new development in connecting the above-mentioned poor people and families with financial niches that are supposed to help them, but they are not doing it at the moment.

Finally, the 77th Issue of FACS will provide some constituents or elements a foundation for a programme of work with our community on ways of building and developing financial security with these people and families.

The above gives a bit some flavour or general idea about the next issue of FACS, the 77th Issue of FACS Newsletter.

For any enquiries and or queries about this Issue, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Summer 2022 Humanitarian Appeal Projects: Only Week to Go!

 

All Poor, Poor Children, Young Carers and Families Need Your Support!

 

There is only one week to go before our Summer Humanitarian and Fundraising Campaign ends.

You can do something for poor children, young people and families in Africa, who are the potential beneficiaries of the following projects:

 

✔ CENFACS’ Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa

✔ All Gifts for All Poor 

✔ International Networking and Protection against the Cost-of-living Crisis

✔ Iconic Young Carer 

✔ ELCLASSICO International.

 

For more details about ways of supporting the above initiatives and other ones, please contact CENFACS.

Please remember, the fundraising campaign about the above-mentioned projects will end by 22 September 2022.

CENFACS will accept any support given during and beyond the duration of this campaign.

Please do not wait to donate as the needs are pressing and urgent NOW.

We look forward to your generous support to make helpful difference for the All Poor, Poor children, Young People and Families in Africa

Thank you for your generosity.

 

 

 

• Taking Climate Protection and Stake for African Children at the Implementation with Installation Sub-phase (Phase 3.2)

Taking forward what was discussed during Africa Climate Week 2022

 

Under CENFACS’ CPSAC (Climate Protection and Stake for African Children) and its sub-phase 3.2., we are continuing to make the case for our demand to give a climate stake to children.

We are as well carrying out our preparation for follow-up of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), which will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt) from Monday 07 November to Friday 18 November 2022 (4).

The slogan for this 2022 follow-up will be: Sharm El-Sheikh Makes Children’s Dreams Come True.

As part of this preparation, we followed Africa Climate Week 2022 (5) which was held from 29 August to 2 September in Libreville (Gabon).  At this platform, stakeholders discussed regional climate action solutions and forged regional partnerships.

We are considering the contents of this discussion and see how they can fit into CENFACS’ CPSAC and its sub-phase 3.2.  We are as well looking at how we can take forward what was discussed during Africa Climate Week 2022.

To support and or enquire about CENFACS’ CPSAC and its sub-phase 3.2, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Summer 2022 Reporting in Your Own Words, Numbers and Information Graphics

 

Last week, we started to unlock or unpack our Summer holiday data and to prepare to tell our Summer holiday stories.  This week, we are going further in putting into practice our unlocked or unpacked data in support of Summer experiences or stories.

 

• • Summer 2022 Experiences Reporting as an Additional Opportunity

 

From this week until Wednesday the 21^st of September 2022, we are simply asking to those who can, to share with us and others their Summer experiences; experiences about what they did during the Summer break and think that it is useful for sharing.

The 2022 Summer Experiences Reporting activity is a further opportunity for reporting, sharing, learning and development for those who have not yet informed us about the outcomes of projects; projects pending for reporting, personal experiences to be shared, lessons to learn and development trends to spot.

 

• • Sharing Development Experiences, Stories, Tales and Reports about Summer 2022

 

As we are nearly reaching the end of Summer 2022, we would like our users and supporters as well as those who sympathise with CENFACS’ cause to share with us and others their experiences, stories and reports about the initiatives mentioned below.

 

a) Run, Play and Vote projects (Triple Value Initiatives)

You can feedback the outcomes or Action-Results of your Run, Play and Vote projects.

b) Volunteering and Creation Stories

You can also share your volunteering stories with us and others if you did volunteer during the Summer break.

c) Summer programmes: Happiness, Healthiness and Appeal projects

You may prefer to report on your use of Happiness and Healthiness projects and your response to our Humanitarian Relief Appeal projects.

d) August 2022 Trending Activities

You can as well report on your experience of following the direction of poverty reduction through Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests.

e) Knowledge Year’s Activities/Tasks

As we are in CENFACS’ Knowledge Year, we would be more than happier to hear any uplifting stories related to this year’s dedication.

f) Journal of Happiness and Healthiness

You can share the contents of your happiness and healthiness journal relating to happy, healthy and trustful Summer 2022; as well as help build a better Summer holiday experience.

g) Other Experiences and Memorable Stories Reporting

You can feedback on any moving experience or transformative story you have had during Summer 2022.

 

You can report your experience via e-mail, over phone and through social media networks or channels of communication (e.g., Twitter).

Thank you for supporting us with your Summer 2022 experience, story and report In Your Own Words, Numbers and Information Graphics.

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

• Rapports de l’été 2022 dans vos propres mots, chiffres et graphiques d’information

La semaine dernière, nous avons commencé à déverrouiller ou à déballer nos données sur les vacances d’été et à nous préparer à raconter nos histoires de vacances d’été.  Cette semaine, nous allons plus loin dans la mise en pratique de nos données déverrouillées ou déballées à l’appui des expériences ou des histoires d’été.

• • Rapports sur les expériences de l’été 2022 en tant qu’opportunité supplémentaire

De cette semaine jusqu’au mercredi 21 septembre 2022, nous demandons simplement à ceux/celles qui le peuvent de partager avec nous et avec d’autres leurs expériences estivales; sur ce qu’ils/elles ont fait pendant les vacances d’été et pensent que c’est utile pour le partage.

L’activité de rapport sur les expériences d’été 2022 est une autre occasion de rendre compte, de partager, d’apprendre et de développer pour ceux/celles qui ne nous ont pas encore informés des résultats des projets; les projets en attente de rapports, les expériences personnelles à partager, les leçons à tirer et les tendances de développement à repérer.

• • Partager des expériences, des histoires, des contes et des rapports sur le développement de l’été 2022

Alors que nous approchons la fin de l’été 2022, nous aimerions que nos bénéficiaires et soutiens ainsi que ceux/celles qui sympathisent avec la cause du CENFACS partagent avec nous et d’autres leurs expériences, histoires et rapports sur les initiatives mentionnées ci-dessous.

a) Projets Courir, Jouer et Voter (Initiatives à triple valeur)

Vous pouvez commenter la différence que vous avez faite ou les résultats d’action de vos projets Courir, Jouer et Voter.

b) Histoires de bénévolat et de création

Vous pouvez également partager vos histoires de bénévolat avec nous et d’autres personnes si vous avez fait du bénévolat pendant les vacances d’été.

c) Programmes d’été: Projets de bonheur, de santé et d’appel

Vous préférerez peut-être rendre compte de votre utilisation des projets de bonheur et de santé et de votre réponse à nos projets d’appel à l’aide humanitaire.

d) Activités de tendance d’août 2022

Vous pouvez également rendre compte de votre expérience de la réduction de la pauvreté grâce aux services écosystémiques terrestres fournis par les forêts.

e) Activités/tâches de l’Année de la connaissance

Comme nous sommes dans l’Année de la connaissance du CENFACS, nous serions plus qu’heureux d’entendre des histoires édifiantes liées au dévouement de cette année.

f) Journal du bonheur et de la santé

Vous pouvez partager le contenu de votre journal du bonheur et de la santé relatif à l’été 2022 heureux, sain et confiant; ainsi que pour aider à construire une meilleure expérience de vacances d’été.

g) Reportage des autres expériences et histoires mémorables

Vous pouvez commenter toute expérience émouvante ou histoire transformatrice que vous avez eue au cours de l’été 2022.

Vous pouvez communiquer votre expérience par e-mail, par téléphone et via les réseaux sociaux ou les canaux de communication (par exemple, Twitter).

Merci de nous soutenir avec votre expérience, votre histoire et votre rapport de l’été 2022 dans vos propres mots, chiffres et graphiques d’information.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Reduction of Back-to-school Poverty in 2022

 

In order to approach back-to-school poverty, the following items will be considered:

 

∝ Back-to-school challenge

∝ Back-to-school poverty

∝ Back-to-school disrupted by the cost-of-living crisis

∝ Back-to-school support

∝ Back-to-school budget adjusted for inflation 

∝ Extra Investment Linked to Back-to-school Preparation and Children’s Education 

∝ Back to school is NOT a one-day event 

∝ Go net zero in your back-to-school approach.

 

Let us summarise each of these elements explaining our way of approaching back-to-school poverty.

 

• • Back-to-school time as a challenging period for a basic human right and a deserving cause

 

For some, back to school/college is a normal time to prepare and do normal purchase whether it is for school uniforms or books or even any other school items.  However, for those who are struggling to make ends meet, back-to-school time could be a very challenging moment as they may not always have enough financial resources or support to cope with the requirements of the start of the new school year.  Yet, education is a basic human right and a deserving need for children and all society.

Back to school/college for the poor is characterised by the following:

 

∝ The struggle to afford the educational costs linked to school/college

∝ The inability to meet basic life-sustaining needs (including of education, food, fuel, shelter, skills development, etc.)

∝ Deprivation of cleaning and disinfecting household items

∝ The lack of resources to deal with hygiene poverty

∝ The lack of or poor access to internet broadband

Etc.

 

This year’s back to school/college is still painful as the cost-of-living crisis is posing problems to many low-income or poor families and households.  Already, many of them have been struggling to come out of the legacies of the coronavirus.  Now, this struggle has increased with the cost-of-living crisis, which has even complicated and disrupted the back-to-school organisation as well as the start of academic year for most of these families and households.

 

• • Back to school disrupted by the cost-of-living crisis

 

The rise in the prices of food, energy, water, rent and other basic necessities of life can only bring a lot of pain for those who are already struggling to make ends meet.  Back-to-school preparation and delivery are not exempted by this pain.

Back to school has been disrupted in many aspects and respects because educational life is linked to the satisfaction of other life-sustaining needs.  This is because without food, energy, water, home, hygiene and health; all operation of back to school and even afterwards can be jeopardised.

If there is any help to cover some of the costs of back to school, it would be great if this help could make up the difference linked to the cost-of-living crisis.  Otherwise, the needs relating to back to school would not be met.  Failing to meet those needs could even be worse where there is a situation of back-to-school poverty.

 

• • Back-to-school poverty

 

As we defined it in our last post (6), Back-to-school poverty is the inability to afford the educational requirements of the start of the new school year.  But how do we measure it?

 

 

• • • Indicators of back-to-school poverty

 

The following cases can indicate that there could be a situation of back-to-school poverty and hardships:

 

∝ If parents or carers of children going back to school do not have enough money or support to cover the expenses linked to back to school

∝ If households spend more than a certain percentage (let say 40 to 50 percent) of their incomes in back-to-school preparation and delivery compared to other items in their budget

∝ If households borrow money to cover expenses relating to back-to-school preparation and delivery

∝ If back-to-school expenses fiercely competing against other living expenses in household budgets.

 

Not having enough money, spending more in back-to-school expenses compared to other household expenses and borrowing money to prepare back to school for children are all indicators of back-to-school poverty and hardships.  There could be more indicators than the above mentioned.

These indicators (like household expenditure on back-to-school preparations), if they are not good, can express the inability for parents and carers to meet the basic life-sustaining needs of education for their children in terms of purchasing school items (such as uniforms, clothes, books, electronics, etc.) and providing the basic infrastructures and necessities (whether it is at home or outside) to support the education of their children.

This incapacity can include other expenses that compete against or with educational materials; expenses that are school fees, living expenses to start a new school year, transport cost to travel to schools, food, a place to study at home, family relocation, adequate meal to study, a proper bed to sleep well, basic healthcare and hygiene at home, etc.

 

• • • Back to school for families and parents living in poverty

 

Families and parents living in poverty or on a tight family budget may not be able to afford these additional expenses budget.  They are forced to currently deal with two types of poverty: back-to-school poverty and hygiene poverty.

The first type of poverty is related to the start of the new school year whereas the second is caused by the lack of hygiene.

Since we have already considered back-to-school poverty, we are going to only explain hygiene poverty.

 

• • • • Explaining hygiene poverty

 

To elucidate hygiene poverty, we are referring to what ‘povertyimpactnetwork.com’ (7) argues about that which is:

“Hygiene poverty is an inability to afford everyday hygiene products, such as shampoo, toilet paper, grooming products, dish soap, etc.”

On the website ‘povertyimpactnetwork.com’, it is further stated that

“Children who grow up in hygiene poverty households can struggle to end the cycle of poverty through successful employment after starting life on rocky ground”.

There could be support for them for some of the vital educational and hygiene needs to be met; just as there is no support for others.

 

 

 

• • Back-to-school support at CENFACS

 

Any type of poverty needs response.  As far as CENFACS is concerned, we can support those falling into back-to-school poverty trap by providing advice through our advisory package under the back-to-relief programme.  This package includes activities such as advice, advocacy, information, guidance, signposting, etc.

During the coronavirus pandemic, we enhanced health and safety aspects in this programme.  To support the community during this challenging time of the cost-of-living crisis, we have included in this programme the advice service for the impacted of the cost-of-living crisis.

Although our support to fight both back-to-school poverty and the cost-of-living poverty is small and limited, it can nevertheless help beneficiaries to get something and keep moving towards of a BIG relief.

Our Back-to-school support can be accessed as follows:

 

√ Virtually and in-person on a one-to-one basis or as a group

√ Over phone 

√ Via e-mail 

√ and by filing the contact form on our website saying the type of support you need.

 

Where beneficiaries have access to video technology, we can arrange a meeting via a video scream.

Where in-person meeting with beneficiaries is the preferred or unavoidable option, an appointment needs to be made for this meeting to happen.  Also, extra precautionary health and safety measures will be taken before the advice can happen.

To seek advice or support regarding your back-to-school poverty or hardships, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • Back-to-school budget adjusted for inflation 

 

The 2022/2023 Back-to-school Budget would include the cost-of-living crisis for many parents and families as they have to cost and integrate the rise in the costs of living into the educational budget of their children.  They are forced to do so since many of them have been told that inflation will continue to rise in 2023.  It is also a budget of building forward from the coronavirus to deal with the lingering effects of the coronavirus.

For those parents and families who are struggling to write their back-to-school budget, we can help them to do that.  We can as well advise on some of the aspects related to the back-to-school budget preparation and delivery.  Furthermore, we can lead them to specific advice services related to back-to-school matters.

To seek advice or support regarding your back-to-school budget, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • Extra Investment Linked to Back-to-school Preparation and Children’s Education 

 

There are some levels of investment that parents and families may have to do to keep the education of their children to an internationally agreed standard.  They may have to proceed with the following initiatives:

∝ Invest in distance learning technologies (such as tablets, laptops, mobile phones, etc.)

∝ Improve their access to internet and broadband supplies

∝ Reorganise space at home to create an office-like desk environment for remote learning and video calling for the educational purpose of their children

∝ Improve or upgrade existing home infrastructures for e-education.

 

All these types of investment will create additional costs in the back-to-school plans, although some of these costs will not be at the start of the school.  Unfortunately, many poor families would struggle to meet this extra investment.

 

• • Back to school is NOT a one-day event 

 

Back to school is not a one-day event of the day children go back to school.  Back-to-school expenses and needs can last longer until parents and carers are able to complete the expenses relating to the return of their children to school and their stay at school.

For poor families and parents, it is even more difficult for them to keep the educational level of their children to a good standard unless they get financial support to their back-to-school budget.  Only a few of them are able to complete the requirements of back to school on time.  Many of them would not have other choice than to spread back-to-school expenses over months in order to complete the back-to-school plan.

 

• • Go net zero in your back-to-school approach

  

Back to school in 2022 is also subject to the requirements of greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets as well as clean environment.  It means that for parents and children whether well-off or less well-off, they need to make sure they take an eco-friendly path in the back-to-school preparation and delivery.

In climate terms, it connotes going net zero.  What is net zero?

The Institute for Government (8) argues that

“Net zero refers to achieving a balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. There are two different routes to achieving net zero, which work in tandem: reducing existing emissions and actively removing greenhouse gases”.

In practical terms, it signifies that in parents’ and carers’ preparation and delivery of back to school, there should be a zero-waste consumption, recycling items, following the principles of circular economic model, avoiding depleting the environment, etc.  Likewise, in their approach to reduce back-to-school poverty, it is better for them to adopt nature-based solutions to back-to-school poverty; solutions that do not adversely affect the nature and environment.

To support CENFACS’ back-to-school initiative, please also contact CENFACS.

_________

 

• References

 

(1) https://eachother.org.uk/tackling-socio-eoconomic-inequality-in-the-uk-is-an-urgent-human-rights-issue/ (Accessed in September 2022)

(2) Stiglitz, J. E. (2013), Price of Inequality, Penguin Books, London, England

(3) https://www.quicken.com/what-financial-security (Accessed in September 2022)

(4) https://unfccc.int/event/cop-27 (Accessed in September 2022)

(5) https://unfccc.int/ACW2022 (Accessed in September 2022)

(6) cenfacs.org.uk/blog/september7, 2022 (Accessed in September 2022)

(7) https://www.povertyimpactnetwork.com/blog/hygiene-poverty/what-is-hygiene-poverty# (Accessed in September 2022)

(8) https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/net-zero-target (Accessed in September 2022)

_________

 

• 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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

07 September 2022

 

Post No. 264

 

 

Welcome back Message

 

Before starting the contents of the blog and post of this first Wednesday of September 2022, we would like to welcome back all those who are returning this month.

We are welcoming back the following:

∝ Our users, supporters, audiences and other stakeholders who came back from Summer break and holiday

∝ Those who are or have been working during the Summertime

∝ Those who lost touch with us for various reasons and would like to come back again.

This welcoming back message also applies to those using or helping or supporting our UK and Africa Development programmes.

Welcome back to all of you for a happy and healthy return! 

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Back-to-relief Programme: Programme for Pre-autumn Season 2022

• September: Advice-giving Month

• Goal of the Month: Reduction of Back-to-school Poverty

 

… And much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

The key message from our weekly communication and menu, which is often made of three courses, is as follows.

 

• Back-to-relief Programme: Programme for Pre-autumn Season 2022

 

Back-to-relief Programme is a set of related activities and services with an aim of reducing poverty (particularly back-to-school poverty but not exclusively) amongst multi-dimensional poor children, young and families (MDPCYPFs) by working with them to meet their needs after summer break and/or holiday so that they can start September 2022 without or with less hardship.

The programme is made of a number of supportive elements like the following:

Capacity and skills development, advice, advocacy, translation, information, guidance, support to child educational needs in Africa, signposting, etc. 

The programme is generally run around September and can be extended to October depending on the needs in the community and available resources.

 

• • The particularity of this year’s programme

 

The Back-to-relief 2022 programme is designed to include the needs of these returnees.  It is also conceptualised to anticipate any changes of situation due to any potential hikes in the cost of living or any other events (like the lingering effects of the coronavirus, changing climate, etc.).

This year’s programme will be influenced by the current cost-of-living crisis which is causing many problems to many people, especially those in need.  The cost-of-living crisis has been throughout the all Summer 2022.

 

• • Types of returnees who may need this year’s programme

 

At the end of this Summer 2022 and during this September, we may have three types of returnees, who are:

✔ MDPCYPFs who already planned what they want to do and how they will continue to manage the cost-of-living crisis and their other aspects of life

✔ MDPCYPFs who already planned their start of September and the end of Summer 2022, but they may need some help to carry on with their plan or family project

✔ MDPCYPFs who could not plan because they could be overwhelmed by the impact of the cost-of-living crisis or poverty and may need advice in terms of coping strategies during this September.

 

• • What these returnees may need

 

Because we are dealing with MDPCYPFs, who are supposed to be poor or in need, they could ask for some support in the form of information, advice and guidance to cope or manage their problems.

They could even require further advisory support during this September as many of them would face the pressure linked to the end of Summer and the start of Autumn, in particular those families having to deal with the financial pressure of the start of the new academic year for their children.

They need advice to cope with poverty in which they are already, to deal with the on-going cost-of-living crisis and the financial pressure to send back to school their children for those having children at schooling age.  This is why we have assembled activities and services (that is; the Back-to-relief Programme) to work with them.

For more on CENFACS’ Back-to-relief Programme, please read the details under Main Development section of this post.

 

 

 

• September: Advice-giving Month

 

We run Advice service as part of our activities throughout the year.  However, Advice is CENFACS’ main theme in September.  Because that, it is more pronounced in September compared to other months of the year.  In other words, we invest more resources in advice in September than at any other times of the year.

We provide generalist advice to both individuals and organisations as mentioned above.  We also give specialist advice on matters relating to the fields of poverty reduction and international development.  We can as well signpost beneficiaries to other organisations/individuals providing specialist advice if beneficiaries’ request for advice is beyond or outside our advice capacity and resources.

Advice can be given in the context of Back-to-Relief Programme and outside this context.  When Advice is given in the context of Back-to-Relief Programme, it becomes constituent part of this programme like other elements making this programme.

Under the Main Development section of this post, there is much more information about this year’s advisory support.

 

 

 

• Goal of the Month: Reduction of Back-to-school Poverty

 

Our goal for the month of September 2022 is the reduction of back-to-school poverty.  To deliver this goal, we need to understand it and work with those who may likely experience back-to-school poverty.

 

• • What is back-to-school poverty?

 

Back-to-school poverty is the inability to afford the educational requirements of the start of the new school year.  It is the inability for parents and carers to meet the basic life-sustaining needs of education for their children in terms of purchasing school items (such as uniforms, clothes, books, electronics, etc.) and providing the basic infrastructures and necessities (whether it is at home or outside) to support the education of their children.

This incapacity can include other expenses that compete against or with educational materials; expenses that are school fees, living expenses to start a new school year, transport cost to travel to schools, food, a place to study at home, family relocation, adequate meal to study, a proper bed to sleep well, coronavirus costs, basic healthcare and hygiene at home, etc.

Back-to-school poverty can be tackled.  This is why during this September we will be working with those suffering or may suffer from back-to-school poverty so that they can find the tools and means to navigate their way out of this type of poverty.

 

• • Working with the community to tackle back-to-school poverty

 

CENFACS does not provide money to tackle back-to-school poverty; CENFACS can however work with the community through its advice service so that the members of its community can find their way out of this type of poverty.  Particularly and specifically, CENFACS can work with them on the following:

 

✔ Reducing the competition between living expenses and educational expenses within the household budget coverage

✔ Exploring potential supporters to help them with educational costs for their children education

✔ Budgeting with them their living expenses for a better start of the academic year

✔ Examining together any issues relating to transport cost to travel to schools or places of education while advising them on net zero CO2 emitting means of transport

✔ Discussing ways of saving on energy use, food and meals relating to educational purposes

✔ Looking into school catchment area for those looking for a place to study

✔ Work on a feasible and realistic plan when studying at home

✔ Supporting family relocation matters (e.g., accommodation in the vicinity of schools and working places for parents)

✔ Working with them to tackle hygiene poverty to keep children better engaged with their education and learning

Etc.

The above is our poverty reduction goal for this month, which we are asking to our audiences and supporters to help or promote.

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Activity/Task 9 of the Knowledge (‘K’) Year and Project: Give Opinions, Not Advice

 

The 9th Activity or Task of our ‘K’ Year and Project is about giving your opinions or saying what you know about the issue those in need are experiencing or would like to hear other people’s views.  It is about giving your opinions without advising (that is, without counselling or suggesting or recommending or offering) them what they can do to resolve the problems.  It is also about empowering people to lead their lives without telling them what to do.

Sometimes, people in need would like to listen to others so that they can find ways forward about their problems.  They do not necessarily need to be told what to do.  However, your knowledge of their problems and similar problems when expressed through your opinion can sometimes provide them some clues without necessarily advising them.

The above is the Activity or Task no. 9 for the ‘K’ Year/Project for those who are interested in carrying it out.  For those who want any clarification of any aspects of the activity or task, they can contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal –

It is time to share the contents of your creative activity

 

After six weeks of journaling, it is time to start sharing the contents of your journal.  Indeed, during the last six weeks of Summer, some of you have been journaling on one of the six predictors that explain happiness and healthiness, which are: income, social support, healthy life expectancy, generosity, freedom to choose and trust.

As previously said, the contents of these journals could be shared with the community at the end of Summer 2022 as a Summer memory.  Although Summer is not yet over, those who have created their Happiness and Healthiness Journal can start to share with the community.

Please share with the community your experience of happy and healthy Summer through the contents of your journal to help build a better Summer holiday experience and memory.

 

 

 

• Unlock your Summer Holiday Data and Tell your Story

 

Throughout our July and August 2022 communications, we have been asking everybody to store and keep their Summer data so that when we all return, we can report back or share parts of our Summer experiences that are shareable and spreadable.

Now some of you are back, we can try to feedback our poverty-reduction and development experiences of using Happiness and Healthiness projects and of any other similar activities over the Summer period.

One can also feedback any creations, any experiences with natural capital assets, any community practices and any volunteering stories, if they volunteered, they had over the last two months.

One can report back a personal Summer experience as well.

Likewise, one can combine their Summer journal (about predictors that explain happiness and healthiness) and this reporting back exercise into a single or all-in-one Summer report.

For those who managed to store their Summer data and who would like to share their experiences, this is the time to start unlocking their Summer data and preparing to tell their Summer story.

Sharing your experiences with us in this way helps to keep the CENFACS Community active, engaged, connected and grow together.  It also contributes in carrying out prescriptive analytics that enables to use smart data discovery capabilities to predict market developments and trends to help relieve or possibly end poverty and hardships within our community and beyond.

Please share your poverty-relieving and development experiences and contents with us; parts of your experiences and contents that you think are shareable.

Should anyone have any concern about data protection issues regarding the sharing of their information, please let CENFACS know.  We will be able to assist.

 

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

Déverrouillez vos données de vacances d’été et racontez votre histoire

Tout au long de nos communications de juillet et août 2022, nous avons demandé à tout le monde de stocker et de conserver ses données estivales afin que, lorsque nous reviendrons tous et toutes, nous puissions rendre compte ou partager des parties de nos expériences estivales qui sont partageables et diffusables.

Maintenant que certain(e)s d’entre vous sont de retour, nous pouvons essayer de faire part de nos expériences de réduction de la pauvreté et de développement de l’utilisation des projets ‘Bonheur et santé’ et de toute autre activité similaire au cours de la période estivale.

On peut également faire la rétroaction sur toutes les créations, toutes les expériences avec les actifs en capital naturel, toutes les pratiques communautaires et toutes les histoires de bénévolat, s’ils/elles ont fait du bénévolat, ils/elles ont eu au cours des deux derniers mois.  On peut également rapporter une expérience estivale personnelle.

Pour ceux/celles qui ont réussi à stocker leurs données d’été et qui souhaitent partager leurs expériences, c’est le moment de commencer à déverrouiller leurs données d’été et de se préparer à raconter leur histoire d’été.

Partager vos expériences avec nous de cette manière aide à garder la communauté CENFACS active, engagée, connectée et à grandir ensemble.

Il contribue également à la réalisation d’analyses prescriptives qui permettent d’utiliser des capacités de découverte de données intelligentes pour prédire les développements et les tendances du marché afin d’aider à soulager ou éventuellement à mettre fin à la pauvreté et aux difficultés au sein de notre communauté et au-delà.

S’il vous plaît, partagez avec nous vos expériences et vos contenus de lutte contre la pauvreté et de développement; des parties de vos expériences et contenus que vous pensez être partageables.

Si quelqu’un a des préoccupations concernant des questions de protection des données concernant le partage de ses informations, veuillez en informer le CENFACS.  Nous serons en mesure de vous aider.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Back-to-relief Programme: Programme for Pre-autumn Season 2022

 

The following covers our programme for this pre-autumnal season:

 

∝ Back-to-relief Projects

∝ Open Days under Back-to-Relief Programme

∝ Support for Crisis-impacted Children in Africa 

∝ Back to the Upkeep of the Nature this September 2022

∝ Back to Advisory Support this September 2022

∝ Back to the Upkeep of the Nature with the Theme of “Green Spaces”

∝ Green spaces-focused Note for Week Beginning 05/09/2022

 

 

• • Back-to-relief Projects 

 

As previously mentioned, most of our projects and programmes are organised to take into account the lives and needs of our beneficiaries, supporters as well.  Some of them will be back this week after Summer break.  They are back for the New Academic Year and New Relief, year for which we have prepared projects and programmes to work with them so that they can meet their existing, challenging, changing and emerging needs – the back-to-relief projects and programmes.

Amongst the back-to-relief projects and programmes, there are these two ones:  Open Days and Support to Children. 

 

• • Open Days under Back-to-Relief Programme

 

Since we set up hybrid way of delivering service as a legacy of the coronavirus, we continue to operate virtually/online and in-person.  There are reasons we operate both ways.

One of these reasons is that it is not always easy for people, especially those who have some physical handicaps and parents with small kids, to in-person move and meet service providers if this service provision cannot physically come to them even if the need is pressing.

Where we are in a position to in-person organise the service requested, users can in-person access the given service prior to arranging an appointment.

So, our open days will be both virtual and in-person.  They are virtual days to enable those in need but cannot move physically to access services.  They are in-person for those who prefer in-person open days.  For the latter ones, they need to book an appointment for in-person open day to happen.

 

• • • What are virtual and in-person open days?

 

Virtual and In-person Open Days (VIODs) are a back-to-relief initiative organised by CENFACS during this September 2022 to enable people in need to access our advice service and other similar services in order to reduce or end poverty linked to their situations or conditions of life.

 

• • • How VIODs work

 

Our Virtual Open Day, which will be every Fridays of September 2022, will be held from 10 am to 2 pm.

You can access VODs by contacting CENFACS.

You do not need to register with us.

Every Fridays, you can either email or phone or even text between 10 am and 2 pm.

Our In-person Open Day, which will also be every Fridays of September 2022, will be held from 10 am to 2 pm.   An appointment needs to be booked to have in-person open day.

For more on CENFACS’ Virtual and In-person Open Hours and Days as well as how they work, please contact us.

 

• • Support for Crisis-impacted Children in Africa 

 

Another back-to-relief initiative for this September 2022 is Support for Crisis-impacted Children in Africa, particularly the Children of Conflict-stricken and Climate Change-affected Areas of Africa in this September and beyond.  This initiative relates to the humanitarian appeals we launched this year, which are:

 

✔ Appeal to End Food Insecurity in the Eastern Horn of Africa

✔ The Children of Chad Need Your Support at the Moment

✔ The Internally Displaced People of Rutshuru Need Help

✔ The People of Lake Chad Still Need Support.

 

These appeals were launched under the Light projects.

The people on whose behalf these appeals were made include children. Children were amongst displaced persons, the victims of conflict and food insecure as part of appeal beneficiaries.

While one can still ask the progress made to save and rebuild these crisis-impacted lives, one can also question about the support that the children affected by these crises are receiving and/or received, especially at this challenging time of the cost-of-living crisis.

This questioning is relevant as we are in September when a new school or academic year starts in many parts of the world and of Africa.  This questioning is even founded at this time when many parents will struggle to provide school uniforms and equipment to send their children back to school.

Parents and children have another battle where school infrastructures and buildings were destroyed because of events like wars and natural disasters, or simply occupied as refuges by the war victims.

For example, in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (in Rutshuru), the return to school for children has been disrupted this September as school buildings have been occupied by those who fled or displaced by wars.  This is let alone the lingering effects of the coronavirus and the cost-of-living crisis on educational systems in many countries, including in those places relating to our appeals.

These negative effects are even greater for children from poor places in developing countries (like of Africa) where educational opportunities have been denied to many of them regardless of the current global cost-of-living crisis.

So, during this September we will be working on this back-to-relief initiative to explore ways of keeping education alive for these unfortunate children living in those parts of Africa in crisis.  Through this initiative, we will help get education and learning back on track for these children.

For further details about this initiative, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • Back to the Upkeep of the Nature this September 2022

 

September is also the month we resume our advocacy work on the upkeep of the nature.  Normally, this advocacy starts from the protection and care of animals in Africa from illegal killings, extinction and poaching.  In the last week of September 2022, we shall focus on saving endangered bird species through our new initiative called ‘Mbulu’. 

‘Mbulu’ (that is; Mobilising for Birds’ Useful Life for Us) is a new advocacy project planned by CENFACS to help protect critically endangered bird species in Africa.  Birds like African Grey Parrots, Congo Peafowl, African Green Broadhill, etc. are endangered species.  The ‘Mbulu’ project, which has already kicked off, will help us to advocate for a safe life for birds.

Another initiative featuring this September 2022 is our advocacy on lands which will be conducted under the theme of “Green Spaces“.  Green Spaces take stock of the advocacy on waters which we worked on since September 2019.

In September 2019, we worked on the Protection of the Oceans (particularly the waters surrounding Africa and the rivers and lakes in Africa).  In September 2020, we carried on with the advocacy on waters through the theme of “Blue Spaces”.  In September 2021, we had a 3-week work on sea level rise as notes for the “Blue Spaces”.

This September, we shall have three weeks and five days of advocacy work on safe, inclusive and accessible green spaces.  The notes for this advocacy which are on “Green Spaces” started from the 5^th of September 2022.

To conclude the month, we will have some e-discussions on circular economy.

Briefly, Back to the Upkeep of the Nature this September 2022 will include the “Mbulu” advocacy project, access to natural spaces with the theme of “Green Spaces” and an e-discussion on circular economy.

 

• • Back to Advisory Support this September 2022

 

As above mentioned, Advice is CENFACS’ main theme for September.  We provide advice to both individuals and organisations.

 

 

• • • Advice Service for Individuals

 

Some of you are aware that most of CENFACS services in the UK are designed to support multi-dimensional poor children, young people and families (CYPFs).  After the summer break, many of them will come back to start their life again.  From September onward, they will go back to school for CYPs and to work and training for parents and guardians. 

They may need or ask for support to restart or look for occupational opportunity or even just resume their routine activity in September.  Their needs could include the following:

 

∝ Finding a new school or a nursery for children

∝ Registration to health services

∝ Finding accommodation or relocating

∝ Accessing training opportunity or employment

∝ Looking for a new occupation to deal with the economic effects of the cost-of-living crisis

∝ Finding help to adjust their life after Summer break or any period of inactivity

∝ Looking for direction to overcome the cost-of-living crisis 

Etc.

 

We can provide advisory support to them. Where our capacity is limited, we can refer and/or signpost them to relevant specialist services and organisations to help them meet their needs.

We do it under CENFACS’ Capacity Advice Service which was established since 2003 (through CENFACS’ Capacity Advice and Development project for Croydon’s African and Minority Ethnic People) to help individuals gain various types of help.

 

The types of help we provide include:

 

✔ Translation (English to French and vice versa)

✔ Interpreting

✔ Generalist advice

✔ Guidance

✔ Signposting

✔ Referral

✔ Advocacy

Etc.

 

As we are in a digital era, we adapted the provision of the above listed help while still retaining its essence.  Last year, we introduced leaves in this service to make it Leaves-based Advice Service.

You can contact CENFACS for the range of issues included in this service and to find out if your problem can be dealt with.

Regarding Translation service, we would like to remind everybody that the 30th of September 2022 is the International Translation Day.  For those who need a translation service, they can contact us on the day for translation.  But they need to let us know at least three days before so that we can include their request in our plan.

 

 

• • • Advice Service for Organisations 

 

The same advice service applies to overseas and Africa-based Sister Organisations. 

Under our international advice service, we can advise them on the following matters:

 

✔ Capacity building and development

✔ Project planning and development

✔ Poverty reduction within the context of Africa Continental Free Trade Area

✔ Not-for-profit investment and development

✔ Absorption capacity development

✔ Fundraising and grant-seeking leads

✔ Income generation and streams

✔ Sustainable development

✔ Monitoring and evaluation

Etc. 

 

Again, where our capacity to advise is limited, we can refer and or signpost them to relevant international services and organisations. This advisory support for Africa-based Sister Organisations is throughout the year and constituent part of our work with them.  However, they can take advantage of our advice-giving month to seek further advice on any of the above matters.

To access advice services, please contact CENFACS.  To register for or enquire about advice services, go to www.cenfacs.org.uk/services-activities.

 

 

• • Back to the Upkeep of the Nature with the Theme of “Green Spaces”

  

The following will help deal with this theme: theme statement and key notes covering this theme.

 

• • • Theme statement 

 

The theme of “Green Spaces” under the back to the upkeep of the nature (which is part of our back-to-relief programme) is about making safe, inclusive and accessible green spaces to those in need; while using these spaces to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  There are two aspects in this statement. 

The first aspect of this statement is about access for all to green spaces.  The second aspect of this statement is what we called green poverty reduction and green sustainable development.

In labelling poverty reduction and sustainable development green, we are trying to look at the extent to which the “Green Spaces” together with the green economy are helping people in Africa and elsewhere to alleviate or escape from poverty.   This is what one can call “green poverty reduction “.

We are as well revisiting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (1), particularly Goal 11 and target 7 of this goal, by re-exploring the role and place that the “Green Spaces” are playing in capacitating poor people’s sustainable development.  This is what one can term as “green sustainable development “.

 

• • • Four key notes to work on Green Spaces

 

To materialise what we have said above, we have planned four key notes or topics (as shown on the above figure relating to green space theme) which include:

1) The impacts of Green Spaces on Health and Well-being

2) Green Spaces and Socio-economic Inequalities

3) Green Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development

4) Interaction between Green Spaces and Blue Spaces in the Process of Poverty Reduction

The notes or topics will be the vehicle by which we shall illustrate the central theme or message of Green Spaces.   Through these notes, we hope users in their journey with us to undergo change in the long term in the way they approach Green Spaces.

Let’s now summarise the first note or topic of our September 2022 work on Green Spaces; note which started from 05 September 2022.

 

 

• • Green Spaces-focused Note for Week beginning 05/09/2022: The impacts of Green Spaces on Health and Well-being

 

Before looking at this impact, let us first understand Green Spaces.

 

• • • Basic understanding of Green Spaces

 

According to Greenspace Scotland (2), greenspace is

“Any vegetated land or water within an urban area; this includes:

• parks, gardens, playing fields, children’s play areas, woods and other natural areas, grassed areas, cemeteries and allotments
• green corridors like paths, disused railway lines, rivers and canals
• derelict, vacant and contaminated land which has the potential to be transformed”.

Greenspace Scotland also argues that Greenspaces are often multi-functional and are used in many different ways.

Although we have given the definition of Green Spaces, this first note is not about writing theories about Green Spaces; theories that one can easily find within the literature review about them.  The above-mentioned definition is mostly a working tool to enable us to approach the theme of Green Spaces.

This note is about what Green Spaces can do for people, particularly for those in need like some of the members of CENFACS Community.  For example, through this note and the work with the community we can try to answer the following questions:

∝ Are our community members using enough Green Spaces to help them reduce poverty and enhance the quality of their life?

∝ Are Green Spaces safe, inclusive and accessible for them?

∝ Are Green Spaces adversely or beneficially impacting their health and well-being?  In other words, are Green Spaces are contributing to our users’ realisation of life satisfaction via six predictors that explain happiness and healthiness?  These predictors are income, social support, healthy life expectancy, generosity, freedom to choose and trust.

 

To be able to answer these questions, it could be better to assess the Impacts of Green Spaces on Health and Well-being.

 

• • • The Impact assessment of Green Spaces on health and well-being

 

Without elaborating too much on theories of impact assessment, let us refer to what the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) argues about impact assessment.  In its impact analysis, the OECD differentiates ex ante impact analysis from ex post impact assessment.  OECD (3) contends that

“An impact assessment, which is a theory-based activity, focuses on the effects of the intervention”.

In the context of this first note, our focus will be on the effects of Green Spaces on the poor.  One way to look at these effects could be through the opportunities that Green Spaces can create for them.

To explain these opportunities, ASEFEdu of ‘medium.com’ (4) argues that

“Open and green spaces offer opportunities to advance wellbeing and a sense of personal satisfaction for all individuals living in urban areas.  Improving our physical and mental wellbeing, fortifying our networks, and causing our urban areas and neighbourhoods to become progressively alluring spots to live in and work are some of the advantages”.

Because of the number of opportunities that Green Spaces offered, there could be a need to increase their number and quality to match needs.  It is not a surprise if the United Nations (5) argue that

“Increasing the number and quality of green spaces has the potential to mitigate short-lived climate pollutants that produce a strong global warming effect and contribute significantly to more than 7 million premature air-pollution related deaths annually”.

There is more to argue and prove about impacts of Green Spaces in Africa and elsewhere.  However, what we are interested here is how these spaces impact the health and well-being of our community members.  We are as well interested in the experience that our members had with Green Spaces in terms of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Through these interests, this note helps us to identify areas of unmet needs within our community and generate projects or activities to help satisfy those unmet needs.  This note will also help us to work together with the community on safe, inclusive and accessible Green Spaces.

For those of our members who would like to work with us on how they can integrate Green Spaces in their life, they are welcome to work with us. 

For those members whose Green Spaces are part of their life and would like to share their experience of them in terms of safety, inclusivity and accessibility; they are also invited to share it with us.

For those who would like to further discuss with us any other matters relating to Green Spaces, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

________

 

• References

 

(1) https://sdgs.un.org/goals (accessed in September 2022)

(2) https://www.greenspacescotlan.org.uk/what-is-greenspace (accessed in September 2022)

(3) https://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/what-is-impact-assessment-OECDimpact.pdf (Accessed in September 2022)

(4) https://medium.com/asefedu/sdg-11-inclusive-and-accessible-green-and-public-spaces-cfd491db7565 (Accessed in September 2022)

(5) https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/green-spaces-invaluable-resource-delivering-sustainable-urban-health (Accessed in September 2022)

_______

 

• 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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

31 August 2022

 

Post No. 263

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• CENFACS Annual Review 2021/2022

• Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction this Summer via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests – Trending Topic in Focus from 29 to 31/08/2022: Impact Monitoring and Evaluation

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal – Creative Activity No. 6: Create Your Journal of Freedom to Choose

 

… And much more!

 

 

Coming This September 2022:

 

 

 

Key Messages 

 

• CENFACS Annual Review 2021/2022

 

CENFACS Annual Review 2021/2022 is a snapshot of what we did between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022.  As it is stated, it is neither a statutory annual report nor an annual return.

It is a summary of the year 2021/2022 in the life of CENFACS that reports back to our supporters, users and other stakeholders the impact we have made; impact through stories, quantitative and qualitative data.

The review highlights accomplishments made and recollects milestones for the above stated year. It uncovers trends and insights about the changes that affected our noble cause of poverty reduction.

It outlines some highlights from our 2021 Year-in-review Report while including our achievements from 2022.

It is as well a performance review and annual review story of our finances. 

It is finally the impact story of building forward better together cleaner, greener and safer in the post-pandemic era.

For more on this review, please read under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction this Summer via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests – Trending Topic in Focus from 29 to 31/08/2022: Impact Monitoring and Evaluation

 

It is the impact monitoring and evaluation of August 2022 Trending Activities or Programme conducted.

Any activity or action to be successful needs monitoring and evaluation to know that it has been executed as planned and the changes that may happen over time as a result of this activity or action.

To monitor our Trending Activity, we have been routinely gathering information on all aspects when we have been following the Direction of Poverty Reduction via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests.  We are now examining what these follow-up actions have achieved or will achieve in relation to the aims and objectives we set up for them.  This monitoring has enabled us to keep an eye on the progress made so far.  In our approach to monitoring and evaluation, we included the four actions took in relation to Services provided by Forest Ecosystems; services which are: Provisioning, Regulating, Cultural and Supporting Services.

Besides this monitoring activity, we are as well conducting evaluation for learning purpose.  This evaluation will help us to learn something from these actions.  It will also assist to check the actual outcomes against the objectives we set up for trending activities.  When this evaluation for learning is completed, we shall carry out an impact evaluation to find out how working with the community would have some influences in the long term on them in using the above mentioned services in order to reduce poverty and or get more results on poverty reduction.

One of the monitoring and evaluation indicators/tools we are using is to collect the views from those who have been acting with us and/or those who have been following us.  In this respect, we would like to ask them to tell us their feelings about the four actions taken relating to the four services as highlighted in the following simple questions.  They can provide their feelings in the form of a review or feedback or testimony.  The results of their feelings will help to improve future trending activities.

 

 

Those participating to this survey can tick one box (ranging from 0 to 10) for each trending activity.  Ticking the box will indicate to us how satisfied they are with the delivery experience about each action taken.  All the completed survey forms should be sent to CENFACS by mid-September 2022.

Those who want to provide feelings and would like to request the details about these activities prior to their response, they are free to make their request to CENFACS.

Thank you for considering our demand of feelings and for your support.

It will be good that those who would like to provide their feelings to do them by mid-September 2022.

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal, Creative Activity No. 6: Create Your Journal of Freedom to Choose

 

The last episode of our Summer series of Journal of Happiness and Healthiness is about Freedom to Choose.

Indeed, the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic, extreme temperatures and the cost-of-living crisis have restricted or limited the choice one can make about their happiness and healthiness over Summer 2022.  To reflect these restrictions or limitations, one can create or write a journal of freedom or the lack of freedom for the things that have made them to feel happy, healthy and free during this Summer 2022.  Alternatively, one can consider journaling the things that have made them unhappy, unhealthy and confined this Summer 2022.

Since, the work of CENFACS is on poverty reduction, one can as well think of writing a journal that explains the freedom and ability they have to choose solutions to reduce or end poverty and hardships.  Such a journal can include things like being able to choose items within the basic necessities of life (e.g. kinds of food, shelter, education, information, health, etc.).

You can create your journal for any aspects of Summertime linked to freedom to choose.  You can explain your experiences, feelings and thoughts in terms of happiness and healthiness about freedom to choose over this Summer of the lingering effects of the coronavirus, changing climate and the cost-of-living crisis.

In short, you can create or write a journal of the following:

∝ Things that have made you to feel happy, healthy and free over this Summer 2022

∝ Things that have made you unhappy, unhealthy and confined over this Summer 2022

∝ Explaining the freedom and ability you have to choose solutions to reduce or end poverty and hardships over this Summer 2022.

You can share with the community your experience of happiness and healthiness regarding the freedom to choose.  This can be recorded in your journal and be shared by the end of Summer 2022.

To share the contents of your happiness and healthiness journal relating to happy, healthy and free livelihoods during this Summer 2022 as well as to help build a better Summer holiday experience, you can contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Combination of Goals of the Season and the Month –

Reduction of Poverty Linked to the Lack of Happiness and Reduction of Poverty as a State of Being in the Wrong Side of the Tracks

 

Our Goal of the Season (Summer Season of Happiness) can be combined with our Goal of the Month of August 2022.  They do not need to be separately treated.

Indeed, during this Season of Happiness at CENFACS, we have been trying to explore together steps and ways of helping our members to find happiness and wellness.  This has been done through Happiness Projects and other Summer initiatives we planned so that they could navigate their way to happiness.

During this month of August which is ending today, we have been helping to reduce the different types of hardship experienced by the members of our community where they live or if it happens that they are in the wrong side of the tracks.

The two works (for the season and this month) can be combined to help reduce a two-dimensional poverty.  It is possible to simultaneously reduce poverty linked to the Lack of Happiness and poverty as a State of Being in the Wrong Side of the Tracks.

The above is our combined poverty reduction goal for the season and this month, which we are asking to our audiences and supporters to help or promote.

 

 

• Support Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa

 

Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa, which is one of our Summer 2022 Humanitarian Appeal Projects,  is still trending.

You can help combat distress that many children, young people and families (CYPFs) in Africa are experiencing because of the legacies of the coronavirus pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis.

You can help these poor CYPFs who are struggling with rising prices of food, energy and other essential goods and services.

You can donate £7 or any other amount you can afford to help alleviate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis in Africa.  Your donation can relieve poverty and distress amongst these CYPFs.

Your £7 could help to buy learning, development and educational essentials such as books, educational toys, school uniforms, tuition, etc.  Any other amount donated could contribute to the access of water, fuel to cook food, and medicine to keep CYPFs healthy.

Your £7 or any other amount given will improve CYPFs’ social and emotional wellbeing while boosting children’s and youth’s educational engagement.

You can help stop the cost-of-living crisis to have a lifelong impact on CYPFs.

You can give chance to these CYPFs.

You can assist in avoiding the lost generation of the cost-of-living crisis to happen in Africa.

Please remember, this fundraising campaign will end by 22 September 2022.

CENFACS will accept any support given during and beyond the duration of this campaign.

Please do not wait to donate as the needs are pressing and urgent NOW.

We look forward to your generous support to make helpful difference to the Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa

Thank you for your generosity.

 

 

 

• Support for the Impacted of the Cost-of-living Crisis

How to avoid negative coping strategies during this time of cost-of-living crisis

 

There are positive and negative coping strategies to deal with stressful situations like the cost-of-living crisis.   Some of our users know this distinction between the two.  Others are not aware.

Those who are not aware and would like to work with CENFACS, we can support them so that they find the right coping strategies linked to their situation during this challenging time of the cost-of-living crisis.  Before going further about our work with users on coping strategies, let us re-explain these strategies.

 

• • Coping Strategies or Mechanisms

 

Coping strategies or mechanisms are defined by the World Health Organisation Department of Emergency and Humanitarian Action (1) as

“Remedial actions undertaken by people whose survival and livelihood are compromised or threatened”.

For example, during the current cost-of-living crisis, many people including CENFACS‘ users are resorting to remedial actions in order to mitigate the adverse effects of the cost-of-living crisis.  However, not all these actions or strategies could be positive.  Some of them could be negative.

 

• • Negative Coping Strategies or Mechanisms

 

They are negative activities that people can use to obtain the means of livelihood (e.g. income, food, energy, water, shelter, etc.) during the time of crisis, disruption or disturbance like the cost-of-living crisis.  These negative activities can temporarily enable them to access basic life-sustaining needs.

Examples of such negative activities could include: taking out loans from informal moneylenders, distress sale of household assets, child labour, contracting disproportional loans compared to earning capacity, gambling, secrecy of information on your financial hardship, etc.

Many users of these negative strategies do not realise that negative coping strategies can lead to further financial stress and possibly to further poverty in the long term.  They can make the crisis to settle in the longer term.  To avoid the settlement of the crisis in the long term, CENFACS  is offering a pre-autumn advisory service to those who would like to tackle the  cost-of-living crisis.

 

• • Pre-autumn Advisory Service for the Impacted of the Cost-of-living Crisis

 

The service designed to support and enable the community to deal with or withstand stressful situations like the current cost-of-living crisis.  Through this service, CENFACS will…

 

∝ Conduct a needs assessment of users’ needs to cover the cost of living

∝ Review any unsuccessful or negative coping strategy or mechanisms that users have taken so far to deal with the cost-of-living crisis

∝ Evaluate the results of these strategies

∝ Explore and identify the appropriate positive coping strategies for the applicants to the service

∝ Develop plan for a revised or new coping strategy

∝ Develop a monitoring and evaluation plan for the revised or new coping strategy

∝ Work with them and effectively help them to avoid negative coping strategies during this time of cost-of-living crisis.

 

For those members of our community who have been impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and who are struggling with their coping strategies or mechanisms relating to the cost-of-living crisis, they are welcome to contact CENFACS with their queries or enquiries.  Our service on this matter covers various aspects of cost (e.g. rising costs and prices of food, energy, fuel, accommodation, transport, etc.) forming the cost-of-living crisis.

If you are impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and needs support, CENFACS would be happy to work with you via its advisory service.

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

Revue annuelle 2021/2022 du CENFACS

L’examen annuel 2021/2022 du CENFACS est un instantané de ce que nous avons fait entre le 1er juillet 2021 et le 30 juin 2022.  Comme il est dit, il ne s’agit ni d’un rapport annuel prévu par la loi ni d’un compte rendu annuel.

Il s’agit d’un résumé de l’année 2021/2022 dans la vie du CENFACS qui rend compte à nos soutiens, usagers/bénéficiaires et autres parties prenantes de l’impact de notre travail; impact à travers des histoires, des données quantitatives et qualitatives.

L’examen met en évidence les réalisations accomplies et rappelle les jalons de l’année susmentionnée. Il révèle des tendances et des idées sur les changements qui ont affecté notre noble cause de réduction de la pauvreté.

Il présente quelques faits saillants de notre rapport d’examen de l’année 2021 tout en incluant nos réalisations de 2022.

Il s’agit également d’un examen du rendement et d’un récit de l’examen annuel de nos finances.

C’est enfin l’histoire de l’impact de construire mieux ensemble plus propre, plus vert et plus sûr dans l’ère post-pandémique.

Pour en savoir plus sur cette revue, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

 

Coming This Autumn 2022:

 

Main Development

 

• CENFACS Annual Review 2021/2022

 

This review aims at those who are interested in the work CENFACS does to get a glimpse of what happened during the financial year 2021/2022.  It is a summary of our activities, performance, achievements and accounts for the financial year 2021/2022.

However, before starting this review we would like to mention three factors which were at play during the above stated period and which made the context of our poverty relief work.

 

• • The Contexts of Poverty Reduction of the 2021/2022 Financial Year

 

The contexts in which we operated during the 2021/2022 financial year were of the lingering effects of the coronavirus, changing climate and the cost-of-living crisis.  Poverty reduction work was delivered under these three constraints or  factors.  Likewise, the theme of this review, which is building forward better together, has been contextualised by these events or factors as the following annual review summary shows.

 

• • Annual Review Summary 2021/2022

 

The summary of our annual review 2021/2022 is presented under the following three headings:

∝ Activities Review

∝ Achievements of the Year

∝ Financial Performance Review

 

Let us review the activities, achievements and financial performance of the year.

 

 

• • • Activities Review

 

The Activities Review highlights what we did via the following undertakings:

 

nature or natural capital accounting, debt sustainability for highly indebted poor households, counting the economic costs of building forward, net zero consumption, generational impact analysis of the coronavirus on children, humanitarian relief, urban poverty in Africa, and protection and security.

 

Let us look back each of these activities we did.

 

∝ 2021-2022 as another year of service to the community through nature or natural capital accounts

 

We started the year by looking at the relationship between humans and the nature, particularly how to keep harmony with the nature and the principles to build forward better together greener and cleaner from the side effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

To keep this harmony, it did require a better management of natural capital accounts at household level.  This management helped to ensure that natural assets could continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which households’ well-being relied upon.

Following the activity we conducted on capturing information relating to nature, it was interesting to hear from our users how many of them were trying to include information linked to natural resources into their household accounts or financial statements.

 

∝ 2021-2022 as a year of debt sustainability for highly indebted poor households

 

To build forward better together greener and cleaner from the side effects of the coronavirus meant dealing with the legacies of the coronavirus crisis.  One of these legacies was many ordinary families, including our users, became poorer and serious financial/income deficit.

So, how to reduce or cancel financial debts and deficits for the poor (e.g. COVID-19-indebted and income deficit families from our community) to make ends meet, clearly became a preoccupation to avoid intergenerational poverty among our users.  Many of them were not aware of the importance of keeping records of debt payments.

Thanks to the work we did together via worksheet we provided for debtor’s payment records keeping, they were able to restore track on their debt payments.

 

∝ 2021-2022 as a year of counting the economic costs of building forward

 

Building forward from the coronavirus also implied accounting for the cost of that building exercise; that is working out the economic costs of building forward from the coronavirus.  In this respect, the Cost Centre Project became the obvious idea for many of our Africa-based Sister Organisations, as part of our international advice service.

 

∝ 2021-2022 as a year of net zero consumption

 

Building forward from the coronavirus is as well about making sure that our trajectory in the process of building forward is net zero consumption; that is consumption that does not add extra greenhouse gas emissions to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

One of the ways to go net zero we thought was to smooth the way to energy transition.  Another way was to keep nature up via the safeguard of crop wild relatives.

As part of net zero consumption campaign, some of our beneficiaries used the example of CENFACS’ net zero consumption shopping bad as an idea for them to budget for net zero consumer goods and services in the context of the overall household budget.

 

∝ 2021-2022 as a year of generational impact analysis of the coronavirus on children

 

In the process of building forward, we further considered the fact that COVID-19 put or held back a generation of children for what they supposed to do.  We worked and analysed with users the generational impact of the coronavirus on children.  This work or analysis included, but was not limited to, their children and African children.

 

 

∝ 2021-2022 as another humanitarian relief year 

 

We could not stay silent or untouched as human life was endangered and in some circumstances destroyed as the events below were unfolding in the following places and regions:

≡ Civil insecurity in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu of the Republic Democratic of Congo

≡ Children living on the street in Africa

≡ Hunger and food insecurity in Grand Sud of Madagascar, Central African Republic, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Cameroon, Horn of Africa and Chad

≡ and Internal displacement of people of Rutshuru in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

With the support of the community in terms of data and stories from these places/regions of CENFACS‘ operation, we had to appeal so that lives could be saved from civil violence, attacks, gender-based violence, severe climate conditions, other life-threatening and destroying conditions (such as the coronavirus) and the cost-of-living crisis. 

In total, we launched eight humanitarian relief appeals.  As a result of these appeals, there have been some support to the sufferers of these events while there is still much to be done. 

 

∝ 2021-2022 as a year of tackling urban poverty in Africa

 

Besides humanitarian issues caused by events such as civil insecurity, armed conflicts, natural disaster, health crisis, etc.; there were economic difficulties experienced by urban poor due to rising urban population in Africa.  Many of our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) working in urban areas of Africa tried to address urban poverty.

As a result of their work together with our support, ASOs explained poor city-residents how the distribution of city-wide services work, provided them with digital support where these services could only be accessible digitally, informed them about their rights and obligations as city-residents in terms of these services, etc.

 

∝ 2021 -2022 as a year of keeping our network of protection and security alive

 

With rising bills and prices of goods and services which fed or transformed themselves into the cost-of-living crisis, the need for high level of security and protection against these rises became a priority.  So, working with the CENFACS community and Africa-based Sister Organisations through our support network and advice to find ways of tackle soaring prices of energy, food and money was a worthwhile engagement taken.

As a result of the advice given and of an discussion on bills and prices with users, one of the advisees was grateful by seeing the following:

“Your advisory support was a great relief as it helped me to avoid psychological and mental breakdown.  I have bills to pay, but I did not know what to do.  You helped me stop loosing income through high bills and prices to pay.  I feel now self confident and have hope for a new way of surviving.  Thank you very much!“

From what we did, there is something else which connects to CENFACS for this reviewing year.  It is what we produced or achieved.

 

 

• • • Produce or Achievements of the Year

 

We would be indebted if we end this review without mentioning or adding to the above summary of work carried out these three achievements: Guide for the Not-for-profit Investors in Africa, Leaves-based Advice Service and CENFACS’ All-in-Development Stories Library.

 

• • • • Guide for the Not-for-profit Investors in Africa

 

Many not-for-profit investors with whom we discussed the guide positively reacted about this project as it helped potential altruist investors to explore the options they could consider in terms of African not-for-profit organisations and asset classes. 

Many of them thought that it was a positive direction towards the definition of clear investment goals and objectives while supporting them to weigh both the risks and benefits of investing in Africa.

 

• • • • Leaves-based Advice Service

 

The introduction of leaves with some exciting features into our advice service enabled to improve advice and advisees’ feelings toward the goal they would like to achieve and made their goal became problems-solving and solvable. 

It helped address users’ problems in a creative and innovative way via the image of leaves and what leaves could bring and enhance life. 

Thanks to this feature, many advisees told us how happy they did feel in mind and body to deal with their problems.

 

• • • • CENFACS’ All-in-Development Stories Library

 

Most of those who volunteered their stories were not sure if they stories were properly kept or stored.  They were very happy to learn that their stories or tales donated or captured were deposited in our  Stories Library. 

The Stories Library inspired and motived them for spreading the news within the community for future story donations.

 

• • •  Financial Performance Review

 

The following is our summary of our receipts and payments for the year ending 30 June 2022.

After the drop of almost 89% of cash funds last financial year (2020/2021), they started to pick up in the first six months of this financial year.  The return to the road of growth in cash funds was mostly explained by the fact that we were in a position to make savings on payments accounts on items such as in-person networking and meetings, transport and travel, postage stamps, outreach, printing and photocopying, and overseas budget.

We continued to invest in online and virtual means of working to deliver efficiencies across CENFACS.  The additional investment made started to gradually and shyly appear, amid the enduring effects of the coronavirus.  However, since the start of energy and food crises, crises which spilled over into the cost-of-living crisis, we experienced a struggle in the running of our activities.  This was combined with the lingering effects of the coronavirus that appeared later than we thought.

On the receipts side, we were still facing a challenge to raise the funds needed to meet the level of needs in the community.  This could be partly explained by the cumulative effect of the lingering effects of the coronavirus and the cost-of-living crisis which drove uncertainty to many individual donors.  There is additional factor, which is: many of the coronavirus funding schemes and programmes were not adapted to the energy and food crises or simply their criteria did not match with our users’ needs and the need of CENFACS.  Our post-coronavirus restructuring and build forward better programmes, which we set up last year, were moving to slow pace.

Despite these hampering factors, our cash funds have regained their ascending trends.   They grew nearly 6 times.  In accounting terms, we managed to increase our receipts.  This increase and the savings made on payments resulted in a positive net balance of our receipts and payments account for the year.

We hope that the fruits of the above mentioned programmes will more appear in the new financial year (2022/2023) than they did last year (2021/2022).  We can also expect that the rebound of our cash funds will continue and be further pronounced in the financial year 2022/2023.

 

• • Thank you

 

The work of CENFACS is a collective endeavour that relies upon the voluntary contribution of others, a key to our success.  As such, there is a number of people and organisations who contributed to the realisation of our financial year 2021-2022.

We would like to indiscriminately acknowledge them.  Without their helpful and altruist support, we would not be able to achieve the above.  We are grateful to our volunteers, users, website/blog readers and supporters.

We would like to thank all of them for their unwavering commitment and impactful support for helping us to voice and bring once again our poverty reduction message into the world in development, especially at the very daunting time of the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

Many thanks for making 2021-2022 another deservingly memorable year at CENFACS.

More details about CENFACS Annual Review 2021/2022 can be requested.

_________

 

• Reference

 

(1) https://apps.who.int/disasters/repo/5517.pdf (accessed in August 2022)

 

________

 

• 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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

24 August 2022

 

Post No. 262

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• All Poor, Poor Children, Young Carers and Families Need Your Support!

• Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction this Summer via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests – Trending Topic in Focus from Week Beginning  22/08/2022: Supporting Services 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal – Creative Activity No. 5: Create Your Journal of Trust

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• All Poor, Poor Children, Young Carers and Families Need Your Support!

 

All poor, children who need networking to protect them, young carers and poor families with children trying to tackle poverty via sports in Africa need your donations and gifts.  Their requests are summarised inside the 2022 Edition of CENFACS’ Summer Humanitarian Appeal Projects.

The projects making this appeal include the following:

 

√ Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa

√ All Gifts for All Poor 

√ International Networking and Protection against the Cost-of-living Crisis

√ Iconic Young Carer 

√ ELCLASSICO International.

 

Except CENFACS’ Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa, the other four projects have been highlighted under the Main Development section of this post.  The highlight about CENFACS’ Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa can be found at cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

The above five projects require donation or funding.

The fundraising campaign for them will end by 22 September 2022.

To support and or enquire about these humanitarian appeal projects, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction this Summer via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests – Trending Topic in Focus from Week Beginning  22/08/2022: Supporting Services 

 

The last episode of our trending series in following the direction of poverty reduction via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests will be on Supporting Services. 

We are going to try to understand these supporting services and to explain the way by which we will be following the direction of poverty reduction via supporting services.

 

• • Understanding supporting ecosystem services

 

Supporting ecosystem services can be understood in a way in which one tries to define them.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (1) argues that

“Providing living spaces for plants or animals and maintaining a diversity of plants and animals are supporting services and the basis of all ecosystems and their services”.

The ‘biodiversitya-z.org’ (2) contends that

“Supporting ecosystem services are ecosystem services that are necessary for the maintenance of all other ecosystem services.  Some examples include biomass production, production of atmospheric oxygen, soil formation and retention, nutrient cycling, water cycling, and provisioning of habitat”.

Regardless of the way in which one tries to approach supporting ecosystem services, the commonality in these definitions is that supporting ecosystem services are services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services.  In other words, they underpin or support other services to function.

However, our understanding of supporting ecosystem services should not limit to the support they give to other ecosystem services.  Our understanding needs to go deeper in trying to explore what else they can, particularly what they can do for poverty reduction. 

We can go deeper by following the direction of poverty reduction with or via supporting ecosystem services.  It is our in-depth understanding of how supporting ecosystem services can contribute to poverty reduction.

 

• • Following the direction of poverty reduction via supporting ecosystem services

 

It is well knowing that supporting ecosystem services have indirect benefits to humans since humans benefit from them by way of the other types of ecosystem services.  For example, through primary production, humans can benefit from food production and products like timber, biofuels, fibre, etc.

Because we are interested in poverty reduction, one can use an ecosystem service-based approach or modelling to help reduce poverty.  For example, one can tackle local poverty by increasing agriculture productivity, strengthening community cohesion and building resilience of natural resource base.

The above is our way of following the direction of poverty reduction via supporting ecosystem services.

To conclude this Summer series of trending work, let us argue that Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests is about meeting three outcomes, which are:

(1) Exploring ways of improving the management of forest resource base to achieve more and better results in terms of poverty reduction  

(2) Reducing ecosystem disservices that can adversely affect poverty reduction

(3) Supporting the role of forests in reducing poverty and enhancing the quality of life for humans.

To enquire about this trending activity and/or to follow the direction of poverty reduction with us, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal – Creative Activity No. 5: Create Your Journal of Trust

 

The lingering effects of coronavirus, extreme weather and the cost-of-living crisis may have perhaps made some people to be sceptical or lose trust in poverty reduction.  Yet, there is a need or reason to keep faith in the reduction and end of poverty.

You can create your journal for any aspects of Summertime linked to trust.  You can explain your experiences, feelings and thoughts in terms of happiness and healthiness about trust over this Summer.

Your journal of trust can cover any of the following three areas: trust in poverty reduction, trust in people/communities and initiatives that build and sustain trust.  Let us give some examples of what one can include in each of these journals.

 

• • Journal of trust in poverty reduction

 

You can record your thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories about the following:

promoting trust where trust is lost, dealing with disinformation and distrust about poverty reduction, struggling to cope with trust in poverty reduction, etc.

 

• • Journal of trust in people and communities

 

You can record your thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories about the following:

correcting inaccuracies and misinformation, stopping the spread of false information/news within your community/network, building trust with people through transparency, speaking about the most trusted person in your community, etc.

 

• • Journal of initiatives to build trust

 

You can record your thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories about the following:

building and protecting standards of trust, rebuilding trust in each other, explaining interactive initiatives you have taken to protect trust, etc.

The above three areas are just an example of the many about trust and journals of trust.  If you have a different area of interest in trust that you would like to write for your Summer journal, please feel free to do it.

Briefly, you can share with the community your experience of happiness and healthiness with or through trust.  This can be recorded in your journal and be shared by the end of Summer 2022.

To share the contents of your happiness and healthiness journal relating to happy, healthy and trustful Summer 2022; as well as to help build a better Summer holiday experience, you can contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• All-in-one Impact Feedbacks: Report on Reports

 

Last month was our Analytics month.  As part of the Analytics month, we asked some of you to report or give some feedback in your words, numbers and infographics on the experiences you had about the projects and programmes we delivered in the last financial year.

We asked for two feedbacks: feedback from individuals as programme and project supporters and users, as well as feedback from organisations (Africa-based Sister Organisations).  Some of you responded and others did not.  We would like to thank those who responded.

For those who responded and gave us their mailing address, they will be contacted and will receive a copy of the above mentioned report.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank them again for their testimonial and experiential support.

 

 

• Survey, E-questionnaire and Focus Group about Food Security

 

We are continuing to work in details about some of matters we raised in the 76th Issue of FACS, in particular we are working on the survey, e-questionnaire and focus group on food security.  Any of these three matters will provide you the opportunity to communicate what you want to share as experience or story of food security.  Let us look at each of them.

 

• • Food Security Survey

 

This survey aims to support those who are struggling to have food security and avoid food poverty at this time of rising costs and prices of food.

As part of the survey, we are running a questionnaire.  One of the questions is:

How are you coping with food security (that is food availability, access, utilisation and stability) at this challenging time of rising costs and prices of food?

You can directly send your answer to CENFACS.

To help people respond, they can think of any coping strategies or mechanisms to achieve the aim of food security.  Coping strategies or mechanisms are defined by the World Health Organisation Department of Emergency and Humanitarian Action (3) as

“Remedial actions undertaken by people whose survival and livelihood are compromised or threatened”.

You can refer to this working definition and respond by explaining the remedial actions you are taking to mitigate food security crisis.  In your response, it could be good to share your experience of obtaining food, income and essential goods and services to overcome the disruption or disturbance caused by the rise in prices of food.  Your response can help motivate others and shape our campaign about Making Zero Hunger Africa.

 

• • E-questionnaire on Actionable Food Security Information

 

Do you have enough information on food security?

 

If your answer is NO, CENFACS can work with you via its Information and Guidance on Food Security to help you find the information you need on food security.

 

• • Focus Group on Food Insecurity

 

You can take part in our focus group on widening inequality in access to and consumption of healthy foods since the cost-of-living crisis began.  You could seize this opportunity to tell your experience with livelihood distress and asset depletion shortages which handicap you to have food security.

To take part in the focus group, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Support, Information and Guidance and Booster on Food Security Matters

 

CENFACS does not only ask you to share your experience.  CENFACS can as well support you, inform and guide you, provide you tools and work with you to boost your knowledge/skills about food security.

 

• • Ask CENFACS for Food Security Support

 

Under CENFACS’ Advisory Support for the Impacted of the Cost-of-Living Crisis, you can ask for support to deal with the struggle you are having to meet rising costs of food.

 

• •  Information and Guidance on Food Security

 

You can request from CENFACS a list of organisations and services providing help and support in the area of food security.  Likewise, we can inform and direct or guide you to find organisations that provide food at prices and conditions that match your food security level.

To make your request, please contact CENFACS with your name and contact details.

 

• • Mini-Workshops

 

You can boost your knowledge and skills about food security via CENFACS.

For example, you can take part in our Summer Food Security Enhancing Skills Activity on how to use food security risk index to work out your own household food security risk.

The index is a good tool to help you find out your risk-aversion and vulnerability to rising prices of food.

You can as well participate in our Summer Food Security Enhancing Skills Activity on the indicator that links livelihood coping strategies and food security.

The indicator will help you to know if you are using positive or negative coping strategies to respond to the lack of food or lack of money to buy food and overcome the challenges brought by rising prices of food and the cost-of-living crisis.

To take part in any of these activities or enquire about the boost, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

Don/financement nécessaire pour les projets d’appel humanitaire de l’été 2022!

L’édition 2022 de notre Appel humanitaire d’été continue d’être disponible pour obtenir de l’aide.

Les projets faisant l’objet de cet appel sont les suivants :

√ Une vie sans détresse face à la crise du coût de la vie en Afrique

√ Tous les dons pour tous les pauvres

√ Réseau international et protection contre la crise du coût de la vie

√ Jeune soignant emblématique 

√ ELCLASSICO International.

Les cinq projets ci-dessus nécessitent un don ou un financement.

La campagne de collecte de fonds pour les cinq projets prendra fin d’ici le 22 septembre 2022.

Pour soutenir et/ou vous renseigner sur ces projets d’appel, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• All Poor, Poor Children, Young Carers and Families Need Your Support!

 

The following Summer 2022 Humanitarian Appeal Projects summarise the needs of All Poor, Poor Children, Young Carers and Families who Need your donation or funding:

 

∝ All Gifts for All Poor 

∝ International Networking and Protection against the Cost-of-living Crisis

∝ Iconic Young Carer 

∝ ELCLASSICO International.

 

Let us briefly summarise these projects and the request of each potential beneficiaries relating to them.

 

• • Summer 2022 Humanitarian Appeal Projects

 

They are as highlighted below.

 

• • • All Gifts for All Poor  (AG4AP)

 

AG4AP, which stands for All Gifts for All Poor, is the holiday makers’ and travellers’ free and voluntary contribution to poverty relief in Africa via CENFACS.  It is an appeal to indiscriminately give a gift to the poor people in Africa, who are currently affected by the lingering effects of the coronavirus, changing climate and the cost-of-living crisis.

Donors/funders can support this project by giving a ‘COVID-19 secure’ gift in kind or money to support those poor people suffering from the lingering effects of the coronavirus, changing climate and the cost-of-living crisis.  The feature of this project is that donations or funding are done without making any distinctions between the poor.

For example, a donor/funder can donate £7 or any amount of money they can afford to help provide water and sanitation services.  This amount can contribute to safe water for drinking and cooking for a poor family.  

Their gift will enable this poor family to reduce the probability of catching waterborne diseases; in doing so the family will improve its health and hygiene while surviving against the above mentioned effects.

 

• • • International Networking and Protection against the Cost-of-living Crisis (INPCC)

 

INPCC is designed to help and support vulnerably poor children to escape from HARMS, THREATS, ATTACKS, EXTREMISM, RADICALISATION and RISKS of any forms of exploitation, neglect and abuse in Africa.  At this time of the cost-of-living crisis, the threats and risks are higher than ever before.

To win the fight against the forces of exploitation and destruction of children and over the dangers children in Africa and elsewhere are facing, it requires winning the battle of communication via a reliable flow of information and connections.

Likewise, the fight against the cost-of-living crisis requires an international collaboration and exchange of information between all those who are working on poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Furthermore, if defence against harms, danger and threats from COVID-19 was done globally; the fight against the cost-of-living crisis can also be conducted internationally.

You can support this appeal by helping in networking and protection equipment or gift of communication to enable Africa-based Sister Organisations to speak loud and better access information about the cost-of-living crisis to protect people and communities. particularly vulnerably poor and unprotected children.

For example, a donor/funder can give £10 to contribute to the cost of running internet to work remotely and collaborate with Africa-based Sister Organisations as way of exchange information on child protection. 

Your support will help to raise awareness and take action against the forces of exploitation and destruction of children and young generation.

 

• • • Iconic Young Carer  (IYC)

 

IYC, which is a deserving cause that supports poor children and young people who prematurely become Africa caregivers and labourers because of poverty, aims at improving the quality of life of young caregivers and labourers by responding to their basic needs and human rights.

In times of lingering effects of the coronavirus, extreme weather and the cost-of-living crisis; young carers have been forced to take caregiving and labouring role side by side with adults.  They are often doing it for free and without any financial help.  These young carers deserve support as well.

So, supporting these young carers could mean mitigating the lingering effects of the coronavirus, changing climate and cost-of-living crisis on them.  Your support can help preserve the lives of future generations.

You can donate whatever you can to support these iconic young carers to end these effects.

For example, a donor/funder can provide material or £5 to buy distance learning materials to help these young carers to access e-reading and digital books or to buy new books (including the cost of shipping) to support these young carers in need and suffering from digital divide.

Your donation will help to pay for the educational and development costs of these poor children who prematurely become young caregivers and labourers.

 

• • • ELCLASSICO International (EI)

 

EI is a CENFACS combined Sports Development, Child Protection and Sustainable Development initiative that aims at reducing child and youth poverty, while protecting children and bringing a better change to impoverished people, communities, children, young people and future generations in Africa.

To organise any sports development activity and sustainability activity for children, these activities must be safe and child protected.  It means that in the preparation of these activities, some health (e.g. COVID-19 secure) and child protection tests must be conducted.  They also need to be sustainable, that is meeting the three dimensions of sustainable development (that is economic, social and environmental).  So, integrating health and safety rules as well as the three dimensions of sustainable development will help to protect these activities and everybody involves in them.

You can support this project to reduce poverty for families whose children would like to engage with sports and sustainable development.  You support will enable the three aspects of this project to stick together; aspects which are: child protection, physical and sustainability aspects.

For example, a donor/funder can give less than £10 to help provide food packages to feed a family of five to seven.  The food package will enable any of children benefiting from it to take part in sports development as ELCLASSICO International helps to tackle child poverty through sports development, child protection and sustainable development activities.

Your giving will have a triple effect:

√ Protection of children, young people and their families

√ Sensitisation about climate change and environmental issues

√ Support of their development through sporting activities and other events.

 

• • Donation or Giving in Kind regarding these four Summer 2022 Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects

 

Those who would like to support the above mentioned beneficiaries can donate money and / or give in kind.

 

• • • Money donation

 

At this challenging time of the cost-of-living crisis, we know that it is difficult for some people to donate.  For those who are in position to donate, there is no limit in terms of minimum and maximum amount to donate, despite the examples of amount we have given above.

You can donate and or support the way it suits you and your affordability.

CENFACS will accept any amount to be given or donated.

 

• • • Giving in kind

 

For those who would like to make a donation in kind, it will be a good idea to check with us that what they are giving will help to meet the above stated needs.  This will help to save time, money and the environment for both sides.  Also, any donation in kind must be COVID-19 secure and health proof.

Thank you in anticipation for your willingness to make helpful difference to All Poor, Poor children, Young People and Families at this difficult time of the lingering effects of COVID-19, changing climate and the cost-of-living crisis.

For more details about ways of supporting the above initiatives and other ones, please contact CENFACS.

Please remember, the fundraising campaign about the above mentioned projects will end by 22 September 2022.

CENFACS will accept any support given during and beyond the duration of this campaign.

Please do not wait to donate as the needs are pressing and urgent NOW.

We look forward to your generous support to make helpful difference for the All Poor, Poor children, Young People and Families  in Africa

Thank you for your generosity.

 

__________

 

• References

 

(1) https://www.fao.org/ecosystem-services-biodiversity/background/supporting-services/en/ (accessed in August 2022)

(2) https://www.biodiversitya-z.org/content/supporting-ecosystem-services (accessed in August 2022)

(3) https://apps.who.int/disasters/repo/5517.pdf (accessed in August 2022)

_________

 

• 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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

17 August 2022

 

Post No. 261

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Financial Updates – In Focus for 2022 Edition: Financial Management of Crises

• Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction this Summer via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests – Trending Topic in Focus from Week Beginning 015/08/2022: Cultural Services 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal – Creative Activity No. 4: Create Your Journal of Income

 

... And much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages 

 

• Financial Updates – In Focus for 2022 Edition: Financial Management of Crises

How to financially manage crises (e.g. cost-of-living crisis) using your household financial accounts

 

In this year’s edition of Summer Financial Updates (SFU), we provide advice, tips and hints about the processes of planning, organising, directing and monitoring the financial activities and resources of households with a view to working with them to achieve the goal of poverty reduction.

The 2022 Edition of SFU, which is about applying the general management principles to financial resources of our users’ households in order to reduce poverty, also highlights ways of handling the cost-of-living crisis using the financial tools that are at households’ disposal.

Many of our users do not know these tools exist for them.  The 2022 Edition of SFU provides  us an opportunity to share with them these tools and how they can effectively and efficiently handle them in order to reduce poverty, the cost-of-living poverty.

It is important to financially better manage households, especially at this time of the cost-of-living crisis.  At this challenging time, the prices of many goods (e.g. food) and services (e.g. utilities) are rising while incomes are falling because of the rise in inflation.  In this kind of tough economic situation, being able to better manage the cost-of-living crisis via a skilful use of financial accounts can help to reduce the harmful impact of the crisis.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided key highlights making the contents of the 2022 Edition of SFU.  For those members of our community who may be interested in the 2022 Edition of SFU and who have any queries to raise, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction this Summer via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests – Trending Topic in Focus from Week Beginning 015/08/2022: Cultural Services 

 

Following the direction of poverty reduction via cultural ecosystem services provided by forests is this week’s episode of our Summer series of trending activity.  In this week’s episode, let us try to understand cultural ecosystem services and briefly explain the way in which we shall follow the direction of poverty reduction with or via these services.

 

• • What are cultural ecosystem services?

 

From the literature review of cultural ecosystem services, we have retained the following two definitions which respectively come from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Forest Research.

According to the FAO (1),

“Cultural services are non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems.  They include aesthetic inspiration, cultural identity, sense of home, and spiritual experience related to the natural environment”.

As to the definition given by Forest Research (2), it states that

“Cultural ecosystem services are identified as the benefits people gain from their interactions with different environmental spaces, such as woods or parks, and the activities, such as walking and cycling, they undertake in these spaces. Those interactions give rise to a variety of wellbeing benefits that are wide ranging and can be valued in numerous ways, via monetary, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods.  Cultural ecosystem services and benefits can include health, learning, social connections, sensory experiences, cultural and symbolic importance and identity”.

These two definitions share in common what people gain as benefits via cultural benefits.

Besides the above stated benefits, there is also the benefit of poverty reduction via cultural ecosystem services.  This is the kind of benefit we are looking at in our Summer series of trending activity.

 

• • Following the direction of poverty reduction via Cultural Services

 

One thing is to interact with the environmental space or to undertake activities (such as running or walking or even cycling in this space or park) for fun or as leisure without any poverty reduction goal or need.  Another thing is to do it as a way of reducing poverty linked to poor health, the lack of social connections, deprivation in learning, the absence of contact with nature, etc.

If poor health, lack of social connections, deprivation in learning and the absence of contact with nature are the kinds of poverty people are experiencing and cultural services can succeed in reducing or ending these types of poverty; then it makes sense to follow the direction of poverty reduction via cultural ecosystem services provided by forests.

By following the direction of poverty reduction via cultural services, it is possible to identify cases that can be considered as compelling evidences on how terrestrial ecosystem services like the cultural ones are providing poverty reduction benefits besides other wellbeing advantages.

The above is CENFACS‘ way of following the direction of poverty reduction via cultural services provided by forests.  To follow this direction with us, just contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal – Creative Activity No. 4: Create Your Journal of Income

 

With the lingering effects of the coronavirus and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis many people’s incomes and income-generating capacity and opportunities have been changed or simply destroyed.  Despite that one can create a journal that explains their experiences, feelings and thoughts in terms of happiness and healthiness about income over this Summer 2022.

For example, one can explain how with restricted or limited income they have been able to meet Summer 2022 holiday expenses or simply do the things they wanted or planned to do with happiness and healthiness.  They can as well include in their journal the effort they undertook to make extra income to meet their Summer living costs.  They could finally share their story if they received or given any financial help.

They can record their thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories in relation to income and income-generating capacity or opportunities.  They can share with the community their experience of happiness and healthiness with income.  This can be recorded in their journal and be shared by the end of Summer 2022.

To share the contents of their happiness and healthiness journal relating to income and income-generation, to happy and healthy financial life via income, and help build a better Summer holiday experience; they can contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Summer 2022 Activities, Projects and Programmes: Help and Advice are AVAILABLE!

 

We believe that everybody is enjoying their Summer break wherever they are and whatever they are doing, despite the lingering effects of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the cost-of-living crisis.

We also hope that those who are working over this Summer are getting on well with their work while finding some space to accommodate and enjoy the good weather of Summer.

We finally trust that Summer 2022 Happiness and Healthiness Projects, including other Summer activities and programmes we have offered so far, are helping the community to happily and healthily pass this Summer.

For those who need any help or advice regarding any of the aspects of the Happiness and Healthiness Projects or any other Summer activities or programmes which are on offer, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

We would like to reiterate our wish to all multi-dimensional Poor Children, Young People and Families of Happy, Healthy, Vulnerability-free, Peaceful, Safe and Sustainable Summer Days.

 

 

 

 

• Summer Triple Pack is Still Running

 

Our Summer Triple Pack made of Track, Trip and Trending continues this week.  The key message we would like to get across this Triple Pack is to try to help reduce poverty by undertaking any of these three activities: running, visiting projects and analysing trends.  Let us make some reminding points about each of them.

 

• • COVID-19 Secure track to help reduce the cost-of-living poverty

 

This activity (Activity 8.1) of the pack is about COVID-19 Secure Run 2.5 miles (nearly 4 km) with people in need to create user-generated information opportunity and to learn about their problems.

For those who have completed their 2.5 miles of running with people, please do not hesitate to share with us your experience.  This activity is also performed under August 2022 Knowledge Year/Project (Activity 8.1).

For those who are deprived to physically run, they can virtually run to help reduce poverty with CENFACS.  Among them are people who may be experiencing handicap to do physical activity of running to help reduce poverty.  One could include the following in their list:

People or parents caring for very young children, pregnant women, elderly people, disable people, those who are not physically fit or mobile to run, those who do not have opportunity to physically run, etc. 

If you are organising this kind of virtual activity or event, let us know.  It is also better to advise us that the people participating in the virtual run are the physically deprived ones we have listed above or they have a serious handicap prohibiting them from undertaking any physical engagement.

 

• • Virtual or In-person Trips to Hybrid Running Projects and Local People

 

As part of Knowledge Year’s/Project Activities of the month and Activity 8.2, we have suggested to Undertake Virtual or In-person Visits or Tours of 3 knowledge-based projects or activities; projects or activities based on facts, information and skills acquired through experience or education, and which support people during this time of rising costs of living.

These virtual visits are not only online recreational activities.  They are also a learning and development opportunity in terms of understanding the following:

√ The way in which people or communities living with the lingering effects of the coronavirus, particularly those who are undertaking coping and survival strategies, are dealing with these effects as well as poverty and vulnerability induced by the cost-of-living crisis

√ What is needed to help them overcome the problems they have

√ What lessons that can be learnt and shared from their sensory experiences and knowledge-based projects to improve future actions, planning and decision-making processes

√ The demand in terms of policy development and response to meet similar needs in the future.

Furthermore, Virtual Trip as part of our Summer Triple Pack includes field work research in Africa and anywhere else in the context of poverty relief and sustainable development projects.

For those who are having or have had these experiences and results of field work research, please do not hesitate to share them.

 

• • Online Trending Activity by following the direction of poverty reduction via terrestrial ecosystem services provided by forests

 

As part of CENFACS’ Knowledge Year and Project and Activity 8.3, we have asked to those who can to Carry out online search to find 6 Trends in poverty reduction for projects that are based on the knowledge or practical understanding of needs; projects that use knowledge-based economy to support people to navigate their way out of poverty.

The above mentioned Summer Triple Pack  can be contextualised by considering the lingering effects of the coronavirus, changing climate (particularly but not exclusively extreme temperatures/weather) and the cost-of-living crisis.

 

 

 

• Food Security and Vulnerability Analyses of the Week: 

Effects of Rising Prices of Food on Daily Intake of Calories by CENFACS Members

 

We are continuing to work on matters raised in the 76th Issue of FACS, which is about Food Security in Africa.  As part of this continuity, we are trying to analyse the extent to which rising prices of food is affecting food consumption and the quantity of calories taken by the members of our community.

According to the National Health Service (3),

“An ideal daily intake of calories varies depending on age, metabolism and levels of physical activity, among other things.  Generally, the recommended daily calorie intake is 2,000 calories a day for women and 2,500 for men”.

The findings of our analysis will help to determine whether the effects of rising prices of food are averagely or insignificantly or significantly impacting the daily intake of calories of the members of our community.  In other words, it will help to find out how food insecure and vulnerable some of our members are in terms of the consumption of daily calories.  The findings can also indicate how happy and healthy are our members.

To conduct and complete such analysis, it requires data.  Therefore, we need data.  For those of our members who would like to contribute to the analysis, they can provide us with information about their consumption of daily calories as well as their food availability, access, utilisation and stability over this period of rising prices of food.

To participate or donate data about your consumption of daily calories, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

Le Triple Paquet Estival est toujours en cours d’exécution

Notre triple paquet d’été composé de Piste, Voyage et Tendances se poursuit cette semaine.  Le message clé que nous aimerions faire passer à travers ce triple paquet est d’essayer d’aider à réduire la pauvreté en entreprenant l’une de ces trois activités: courir, visiter des projets et analyser les tendances.  Résumons chacune de ces activités.

∝ Piste sécurisée contre le COVID-19 pour aider à réduire la pauvreté liée au coût de la vie

Cette activité (activité 8.1) du paquet consiste  à courir 2,5 miles (près de 4 km) sur une Piste sécurisée contre le COVID-19 avec des personnes dans le besoin afin de créer des opportunités d’information générées par ces personnes et d’en apprendre davantage sur leurs problèmes.  Cette activité est également réalisée dans le cadre de l’Année/Projet de Connaissances 2022.

∝ Voyages virtuels ou en personne vers des projets hybrides en cours d’exécution et des populations locales

Dans le cadre des activités du mois de l’Année/Projet de Connaissances et de l’Activité 8.2, nous avons suggéré d’entreprendre des visites virtuelles ou en personne de 3 projets ou activités fondés sur le savoir; des projets ou des activités basés sur des faits, des informations et des compétences acquises par l’expérience ou l’éducation, et qui soutiennent les gens pendant cette période de hausse du coût de la vie.

∝ Tendances en ligne permettant de suivre la direction de la réduction de la pauvreté à travers les services écosystémiques terrestres fournis par les forêts

Dans le cadre de l’Année/Projet de Connaissances et de l’activité 8.3 du CENFACS, nous avons demandé à ceux/celles qui le peuvent d’effectuer une recherche en ligne pour trouver 6 tendances en matière de réduction de la pauvreté pour les projets basés sur la connaissance ou la compréhension pratique des besoins; des projets qui utilisent l’économie du savoir pour aider les gens à sortir de la pauvreté.

Le triple paquet d’été mentionné ci-dessus peut être contextualisé en tenant compte des effets persistants du coronavirus, du changement climatique (en particulier, mais pas exclusivement, des températures / conditions météorologiques extrêmes) et de la crise du coût de la vie.

Pour ceux/celles qui ont des problèmes dans la réalisation de ces activités, ils/elles peuvent contacter le CENFACS pour qu’ensemble nous trouvons une solution à ces problèmes.

 

 

 

Main Development 

 

• Financial Updates – In Focus for 2022 Edition: Financial Management of Crises

How to financially manage crises (e.g. cost-of-living crisis) using your household financial accounts

 

Any households, including those making the CENFACS Community, can earn income, receive transfer payments if their income is not enough to cover their expenses, hold assets, have liabilities, etc.  They try to save and invest if they can. They also spend on the basic necessities of life such as accommodation, food, education, health, transport and travel, communication, etc. in order to maintain their life.

They earn and spend in normal time and in time of crisis; just as they manage their finances in normal and crisis times.  However, in times of crisis they may need to use their financial accounts in a different way in order to financially  manage crises.  It is the use of their financial accounts in the way that respond to the challenge that crises can bring which is about in this year’s SFU and which has been highlighted below.

 

• • Key Highlights of this Summer Financial Updates

 

The following headings contain the main points highlighted in this Year’s SFU:

 

∝ What is crisis management?

∝ Financial management applying to household users’ financial resources

∝ How to financially manage crises using your household financial accounts

∝ Crisis management through household financial assets and liabilities

∝ Advice, tips and hints about households’ financial management

∝ Working with users/CENFACS Community via financial management tools to manage crises and achieve the goal of poverty reduction.

 

Let us unpack the above headings.

 

• • What is crisis management?

 

Many of our users manage crises (like the coronavirus crisis, the climate change crisis, the current cost-of-living crisis, etc.) without sometimes realising they are doing it.  Perhaps, if one understands crisis management this understanding can help them in better managing future crises.

Our understanding of crisis and crisis management come from what ‘managementstudyhq.com’ (4) argues, which is the following:

“Crisis refers to an unexpected unplanned situation or rather threat that suddenly dawns upon from a business out of nowhere. It means an event that threatens the very stability of a business. The process by which such events or threats are effectively managed and dealt with is known as Crisis Management”.

“Crisis management is the process through which an organisation tackles an unfavourable event that negatively affects organisation’s its stakeholders, or the general public”.

This definition of crisis management will be used whether it is about proactive or responsive or recovery crisis management.

Although these definitions relate to a business organisation, they can however be used for other types of organisation like households.  In this year’s SFU, we are referring to these two definitions in order to work with our users to help them manage crises (like economic crisis, energy crisis, food crisis, cost-of-living crisis, climate change or natural crisis, etc.).

 

• • Financial management applying to household users’ financial resources 

 

It will make easy for any of our users who would like to financially manage any crises to have some basic understanding of financial management and its principles that govern the use of financial resources and assets.

 

• • • What is financial management?

 

To define financial management, let us first explain the word management.

In their Collins Dictionary of Business, Christopher Pass et al. (5) define management as

“The process of organising and directing human and physical resources within an organisation so as to meet defined objectives.  The key management roles are: planning, control, coordination and motivation” (p. 350)

From this definition, one can then find out what is financial management.  In the website ‘Pfh-university.com’ (6), financial management is defined as

“Strategic planning, organising, directing, and controlling of financial undertakings in an organisation or an institute.  It also includes applying management principles of the financial assets of an organisation, while also playing an important part in fiscal management”.

So, financial managers in any of households of our users (e.g. parents or household heads) will proceed with the following:

 

√ Calculate the amount of capital their given household needs

√ Form the capital structure of that household

√ Invest the capital where there are opportunities to invest

√ Make decisions about savings the household needs

√ Allocate or distribute the capital to given needs/wants within the household

√ Effectively manage the money that household possesses and earns

√ and Control household’s finances.

 

To achieve their role as financial managers, household heads or parents (if there are children involved) need to work with or follow some basic principles.

 

• • • Principles that govern the use of financial resources and assets

 

There are many principles of financial management.  To make matter easy, we are going to refer to the 10 basic principles of financial management written by Kathryn Bergeron on the ‘quicken.com’ (7) website.  These principles are:

 

1) Organise your finances

2) Spend less than you earn

3) Put your money to work

4) Limit debt to income-producing assets

5) Continuously educate yourself

6) Understand risk

7) Diversification is not just for investments

8) Maximise your employment benefits

9) Pay attention to taxes

10) Plan for the unexpected.

 

From the above mentioned principles, Kathryn Bergeron’s 10th principle (i.e. Plan for the unexpected) advises anyone “to make sure unexpected financial exposure does not derail your [their] long-term goals and your [their] family’s financial security“.

Crises (like the coronavirus and the cost-of-living ones) can derail long-term goals and financial security.  This is why they need to be financially managed in better and sustainable way.

Financially managing crises in a better and sustainable way imply the application of financial management principles that govern the use of financial resources and assets.  In other words, the process of organising and directing resources can be applied to financial resources and to non business entities like households.  It is this theory of management that we are trying to apply within this year’s SFU.

In practical terms, it means that most of our sensible users would like to organise and direct their incomes and expenses.  They would like to strategically plan, control, coordinate and motivate their financial matters.   In times of crises (like the coronavirus disaster and the cost-of-living crisis), they would like very much to do it.  But, how can they effectively do it using their household financial accounts?

 

 

 

• • How to financially manage crises using your household financial accounts

 

Although there is not a such guideline documents to follow on aspects of the accounting treatment of household finances, household financial accounts will be regrouped under the following financial statements: household balance sheet, budget, surplus and loss account, cash flow projections, etc.  The accounts making these statements can help to financially and strategically manage crises.

For example, being able to better manage your accounts linked to utilities can help to reduce the detrimental effects of rising costs of energy, water and fuel on household finances and wellbeing.  This is concerned both joint and separate financial management of household finances.

It is not a surprise if Kendra Kinnison (8) argues that

“To live a happy and peaceful life with financial freedom, it’s very important to manage family finances properly”.

At this time of the cost-of-living crisis, it is even more relevant to wisely  manage household finances in order to sustain and come out of this crisis bold.  A better handling of household financial accounts can be a contributing factor.

 

• • Crisis management through household financial assets and liabilities

 

The wealth of households consists of many items.  One line of items is household financial assets which could be saving deposits, investments in equity, shares and bonds.  Besides that, it would be a major error to forget that households may also have liabilities.  Therefore, in their approach to managing crises, they need to include any liabilities they may have.  

Although most of users may not be having the kinds of assets described above, those who may have any little financial assets they can use them to manage crisis like the cost-of-living one or any other one.  They can as well convert their physical assets, if they have any at market value, into financial ones and use the finances generated to manage the crisis.  Of course, this is without ignoring any liabilities they may have.

 

• • Advice, tips and hints about households’ financial management

 

Not all user households making the CENFACS Community have the skills and capacity to financially manage crises using with confidence their financial accounts.  Some of them need advice, tips and hints to plan, organise, direct and monitor their financial activities and resources.

The good news for them is that this year’s SFU provides advice, tips and hints on financial management.  For example, there is a tip on how to adjust the food inflation into the food budget.  For those who would like to access the advice, tips and hints on financial management of crises, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• • Working with users via financial management tools to manage crises and achieve the goal of poverty reduction

 

The all purpose of SFU is not to provide theories or descriptions.  Instead, SFU as a resource is designed to capacitate the CENFACS Community to address challenging issues they face.  In this case the challenging issue is about how to financially manage crises (like the current cost-of-living crisis) via a good handling of financial accounts making any of our members’ household.

In this exercise of addressing challenges, our members are not let alone.  CENFACS can work with them.  CENFACS can work with them to accomplish the following tasks:

 

√ To develop a realistic crisis financial management plan or strategy

√ To improve their skills (financial literacy and numeracy skills) and techniques to financially manage crises like the cost-of-living crisis

√ To preserve their financial credibility and credit scores during crisis period and after crisis

√ To make financial management easier for them in time of crisis

√ To optimize their financial health using technology available on the market

√ To calculate their net worth even during the crisis time

Etc.

 

CENFACS can work with users via financial management tools to manage crises and help them achieve the goal of poverty reduction, particularly the reduction of the cost-of-living poverty during this Summer 2022.

In this respect, SFU provides some financial management tools to share, such as web-based financial services software for those who able to use them, shared spreadsheets, web apps, in brief the appropriate tools for managing household finances, etc.

Many of these financial management tools for household can be found online.  To help find them easily, SFU lists a number of websites and addresses that could be relevant to our users’ needs and that contain the following tools: household budget calculator and spreadsheets, budget worksheet printable, household budget planner, etc.

In brief, they include calculators, trackers, indicators, dashboards, estimators and planners to help households to financially manage their resources in normal and crisis times.

However, because crises can be of different types and various nature; therefore responses or ways of managing them could be distinct.  As a result, the pitch would be to customise financial management tools in order to meet the features of crisis and the need of users.

CENFACS can work with them to choose or select the appropriate financial management tools to manage crises they want to tackle.  This model of working together will help them not only to manage crises, but also to build a success story of crisis management and of poverty reduction.

The above highlights are just a selection of some of matters raised in this year’s SFU.  For those who would like to dive deep into how to financially manage crises using their household financial accounts, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.  Likewise, those who want to read this year’s resource of SFU beyond the aforementioned highlights, they can as well contact CENFACS.

_________

 

• References

 

(1) https://www.fao.org/ecosystem-services-biodiversity/background/cultural-services/en (accessed in August 2022)

(2) https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/research/cultural-ecosystem-services-values-and-benefits/ (accessed in August 2022)

(3) https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/what-should-my-daily-intake-of-caloriess-be/ (accessed in August 2022)

(4) https://www.managementstudyhq.com/what-is-crisis-and-different-types-of-crisis.html (accessed in August 2022)

(5) Pass, C., Lowes, B., Pendleton, A. & Chadwick, L., (1991), Collins Dictionary of Business, HarperCollins Manufacturing, Glasgow

(6) https://www.pfh-university.com/blog/financial-management-what-is-it-and-what-is-it-important.html (accessed in August in 2022)

(7) https://www.quicken.com/10-basic-principles-financial-management#(accessed in August 2022)

(8) Kinnison, K., How to Manage Family Finances at https://wikihow.com/Manage-Family-Finances (accessed in August 2022)

 

_________

 

• 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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

10 August 2022

 

Post No. 260

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• FACS, Issue No. 76, Summer 2022: Food Security in Africa – Africa-based Sister Organisations Can Make It Happen

• Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction this Summer via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests, Trending Topic in Focus from Week Beginning 08/08/2022: Regulating Services 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal 2022, Creative Activity No. 3: Create Your Journal of Happy and Healthy Life Expectancy

 

… And much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• FACS, Issue No. 76, Summer 2022: Food Security in Africa – Africa-based Sister Organisations Can Make It Happen

 

The continuous rise in food prices means increased threat level and risk to food security for people, especially for those who are already food poor.  Where there is threat, there could be opportunity as well.  It is the opportunity that Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) have to help bring food security to their users and communities which makes the essential substance of the 76th Issue of FACS.

Indeed, the 76th Issue focuses on the contribution that CENFACS‘ Africa-based Sister Organisations can make for food security to happen in Africa, at least in their areas of operation.   In this respect, the 76th Issue puts emphasis on efforts deployed by CENFACS‘ Africa-based Sister Organisations in helping to bring food security in those areas.

In the above said focus, the 76th Issue uses agency-led approach as it considers individuals’ inputs in the process that shapes their food systems.  It refers as well to sustainability-oriented approach as its includes these three dimensions (i.e. economic, social and environmental) in food security.

The 76th Issue also considers food security analysis and monitoring as provided by World Food Programme (1), which uses food consumption measured by kilocalories.

The 76th Issue, which looks at the effects of food crisis on food security, deals with the four dimensions of food security as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (2), which are: food availability, food access, food utilisation and stability.  Far from being a simple description of these dimensions, the 76th Issue puts them in the context of those in need, the food insecure.

To make food security a matter of reality rather than a dream only, the 76th Issue combines theories and data relating to the problem of food security faced by those in most need of food.  The Issue then goes on from food coping strategies to exploring ways through which the food poor can navigate in order to achieve the goal of food security.

Food security can be created and innovated.  To put this into perspective, the 76th Issue leads its readers by showing ways of creating and innovating food security, especially at this challenging time of the cost-of-living crisis.

Finally, since one cannot speak about food security without talking about food poverty, the 76th Issue provides some good insights into the relationship between security and poverty around the concept of food.

To get a glimpse of the way in which ASOs are trying to make food security happen, please read the summaries presented under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction this Summer via Terrestrial Ecosystem Services provided by Forests, Trending Topic in Focus from Week beginning 08/08/2022: Regulating Services 

 

The 2^nd trending topic of our activity in following the direction of poverty reduction via terrestrial ecosystem services provided by forests  is Regulating Services.

In this 2nd trending topic, we would like to look at the meaning of Regulating Services and the way in which we are going to follow the direction of poverty reduction via these services.

 

• • Basic meaning of Regulating Services

 

Before looking at the definition of regulating services, it is worth mentioning that within the literature regarding regulating services some writers speak about regulating services while others prefer the expression regulation services.  However, by looking at the two expressions, they both mean the same thing.

For instance, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (3) ague that

“Maintaining the quality of air and soil, providing flood and disease control, or pollinating crops are some of the ‘regulating services‘… They are often invisible and therefore taken for granted. When they are damaged, the resulting losses can be substantial and difficult to restore”.

Among those talking about regulation services, we can mention Climate Woodlands (4) which contend that

“Forests provide the following natural process regulation services: air quality regulation, macro-climate regulation, micro-climate regulation, water filtration, erosion control, improvement of human health, post regulation, pollination and natural disaster mitigation.

Whether one talk about regulating or regulation services, these are the services we would like to look at in terms of our journey with them to poverty reduction.

 

• • Following the direction of poverty reduction via Regulating Services

 

What is important here is how the above mentioned services help humans to reduce poverty or how they are accompanying humans in their journey of poverty reduction.  To find out how these services are contributing to poverty reduction, one may need to follow the direction of poverty reduction via these regulating services.  In other words, one needs to take a journey through or with these services and find out how they are helping to reduce poverty.

For example, if one considers what Climate Woodlands (op. cit.) argue about improvements of human as one of the regulation services; then it is possible to notice via the follow up exercise this:

~ Forest trees can help reduce health poverty or issue, particularly stress and mental health

~ The role of forests in water filtration can assist in disease prevention as well as in the reduction of poverty linked or created by the lack of forests’ role in water filtration

~ Forests contribute to the reduction of the likelihood of disease-related organisms to be caught by humans, and amongst them are the poor ones.

The above examples show that by following the direction of poverty reduction via regulating services, it is possible to find more cases that can provide hard evidence on how terrestrial ecosystem services like the regulating ones are contributing to poverty reduction.

To follow the direction of poverty reduction via regulating services with us, just contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal, Creative Activity No. 3: Create Your Journal of Happy and Healthy Life Expectancy

 

COVID-19 has challenged, threatened and in some situations destroyed many lives and livelihoods.  Life expectancy (that is the statistical measure of the average time someone is expected to live) has also been tested as many people got ill from the coronavirus pandemic or had to get a double or treble jab or tested against COVID-19 germs.  This can make people unhappy while feeling unhealthy.

Likewise, the cost-of-living crisis can create some doubt about happy and healthy life expectancy.  This is because those who cannot afford the cost of living would worry about their life and the future.  This worry and the lack of means, particularly financial and psychological means to handle the cost of living, could mean their living has no purpose, no meaning and no expectation.

Furthermore, extreme temperatures that are the result of changing climate can only affect the way we live, eat, dress, shelter, travel, etc.  They can challenge set habits, cultures and values.  Changing climate can bring some concern for those who cannot cope and do not have support to deal with rising temperatures, drought, etc.  This can affect life expectancy or their expectation to live longer as well.

So, as part of Summer of Happiness and Healthiness, one can create a journal for the things that and people who are bringing or have brought expectation of living a happy and healthy life during this Summer of rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus.

They can record their thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories in relation to their life expectancy or the expectation of it.  They can share with the community their experience of happy and healthy life expectancy.  This can be recorded in their journal and be shared by the end of Summer 2022.

To share the contents of their happiness and healthiness journal relating to happy and healthy life expectancy, and help build a better Summer holiday experience, they can contact CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Online TRACK to CENFACS e-charity Summer Shop for Summer Goods Donations and Buys

 

Every season is an opportunity to do something about the environment and poverty. 

You can recycle or donate your unwanted or unused goods and presents to do something about the environment and or poverty. 

You can also buy goods to meet the same ends.

This Summer you can online track CENFACS e-charity shop to help the environment and poverty relief. 

If you are a fun of online tracking and shopping, you can take an online course of action or online path or even course of travel to save the environment and reduce poverty with CENFACS.

Instead of you in-person going to physically shop or donate your goods, you can from the comfort of your home buy or donate goods to CENFACS e-charity shop to help the deserving and noble cause of poverty relief and sustainable development.

To support us either by shopping or supplying us with products or goods you no longer want or use so that we can sell and raise the money for the good cause of poverty relief, please go http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

 

 

• Virtual and In-person Trips for Field Research

 

Trips to the local need this week include as well those travels made or to be made to conduct fieldwork research in Africa and anywhere else in the context of poverty relief and sustainable development projects.

Because of the lingering effects of the coronavirus, we recommend to those who want do trips for field research to only do them virtually.  Where these effects are nullified or minor people can in-person visit local projects and those running them.

When in-person visiting projects and people, it is in the interest of everybody that they should take care of the following:

√ They have to be fully vaccinated and or negatively tested against the coronavirus

√ They should wear appropriate personal protective equipment to protect themselves and others against the COVID-19 if the latter is still a major threat to health

√ They should follow local, national and international rules related to the protection against COVID-19.

These fieldwork researches or practical experiences to gain knowledge and skills could be of varying forms such as observation and collection of raw data, interviews, focus group discussions, practical activities to support overseas development projects, etc.

If you are a researcher and did or are doing some fieldwork research on sustainable development and poverty reduction, and think that your work can enhance CENFACS’ work, you could share with us your experience, research findings or outcomes.

To share the experiences and results of your fieldwork research, just contact CENFACS and CENFACS will get back to you.

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Enhancing Initiatives

 

There are initiatives that help to stay happy and healthy over Summer or at any time.  What are they?

 

• • Types of Happiness and Healthiness Enhancing Initiatives

 

They could be truly engaging happiness- and healthiness-boosting activities catering for groups, families, kids and individuals or people of different abilities and various needs.

They include games, apps spiritual and physical activities.

These activities could be from and within or outside CENFACS.

 

• • Looking for Activities to Stay Happy and Healthy

 

For those who are looking for activities to stay happy and healthy but do not know where to start, they can contact CENFACS so that we can together discuss their needs and source any suitable activity for them.

To help us help them, they need to have some ideas or suggestions of the things or activities they would like to undertake.

Need help and support to find happiness and healthiness enhancing activities, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

Vient de paraître pour vous accompagner pendant cette période estivale: le 76e numéro de FACS

 

 

FACS, numéro 76, été 2022 : Sécurité alimentaire en Afrique – Les organisations sœurs basées en Afrique peuvent y arriver

La flambée des prix des denrées alimentaires qui continue signifie un niveau de menace accru pour la sécurité alimentaire des populations, en particulier pour celles qui sont déjà pauvres en nourriture.  Là où il y a une menace, il pourrait aussi y avoir des opportunités.  C’est cette opportunité que les organisations sœurs basées en Afrique tentent de prendre afin d’aider à apporter la sécurité alimentaire à leurs utilisateurs et à leurs communautés; ce qui fait la substance essentielle du 76e numéro de FACS.

En effet, le 76e numéro se concentre sur la contribution que les organisations sœurs du CENFACS basées en Afrique peuvent apporter à la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique, au moins dans leurs zones d’opération.   À cet égard, le 76e numéro met l’accent sur les efforts déployés par les organisations sœurs du CENFACS basées en Afrique pour aider à apporter la sécurité alimentaire dans ces zones.

Dans l’objectif susmentionné, le 76e numéro utilise une approche dirigée par l’agence car il prend en compte les contributions des individus dans le processus qui façonne leurs systèmes alimentaires.  Il se réfère également à une approche axée sur la durabilité car elle inclut les trois dimensions (c’est-à-dire économique, sociale et environnementale) de la sécurité alimentaire.

Le 76e numéro examine également l’analyse et le suivi de la sécurité alimentaire fournis par le Programme Alimentaire Mondial qui utilise la consommation alimentaire mesurée en kilocalories.

Le 76e numéro, qui examine les effets de la crise alimentaire sur la sécurité alimentaire, traite des quatre dimensions de la sécurité alimentaire telles que définies par l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’Alimentation et l’Agriculture (2), à savoir: la disponibilité alimentaire, l’accès aux aliments, l’utilisation des aliments et la stabilité.  Loin d’être une simple description de ces dimensions, le 76e numéro les replace dans le contexte de ceux ou celles qui sont dans le besoin, de l’insécurité alimentaire.

Pour faire de la sécurité alimentaire une question de réalité plutôt qu’un rêve, le 76e numéro combine des théories et des données relatives au problème de la sécurité alimentaire auquel sont confrontés ceux ou celles qui en ont le plus besoin.  Le numéro passe ensuite des stratégies d’adaptation alimentaire à l’exploration des moyens par lesquels les pauvres en alimentation peuvent naviguer afin d’atteindre l’objectif de la sécurité alimentaire.

La sécurité alimentaire peut être créée et innovée.  Pour mettre cela en perspective, le 76e numéro guide ses lecteurs en montrant des moyens de créer et d’innover en matière de sécurité alimentaire, en particulier en cette période difficile de crise du coût de la vie.

Enfin, puisqu’on ne peut pas parler de sécurité alimentaire sans parler de pauvreté alimentaire, le 76e numéro donne un bon aperçu de la relation entre la sécurité et la pauvreté autour du concept d’alimentation.

Pour avoir un aperçu de ce 76e numéro et de la façon dont les organisations sœurs basées en Afrique tentent de faire en sorte que la sécurité alimentaire se produise, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• FACS, Issue No. 76, Summer 2022: Food Security in Africa – Africa-based Sister Organisations Can Make It Happen

 

The contents and key summaries of the 76^th Issue of FACS are given below.

 

• • Contents and Pages

 

∝ Key Concepts Relating to Food Security (Page 2)

∝ Income Elasticity of Demand for Staple Products During this Time of Rising Food Prices (Page 3)

∝ Share of Food Expenditure in Total Household Expenditure During this Time of Rising Food Prices (Page 3)

∝ ASOs’ Response to Food and Nutrition Problems Posed by Rapid Urbanisation in Africa’s Mega Cities (Page 4)

∝ ASOs, Food Insecurity and Children (Page 4)

∝ Créations et innovations sur la sécurité alimentaire pour atténuer la crise du coût de la vie en Afrique (Page 5)

∝ Organisations sœurs basées en Afrique face à la double insécurité civile et alimentaire (Page 5)

∝ Les Organisations sœurs basées en Afrique et la protection de leurs utilisateurs contre l’insécurité alimentaire  (Page 6)

∝ Comment les Organisations sœurs basées en Afrique travaillent avec les pauvres en alimentation pour se frayer un chemin vers l’objectif de sécurité alimentaire (Page 6)

∝ Survey, E-questionnaire and E-discussion on Food Security (Page 7)

∝ Support, Top Tool, Information and Guidance on Food Security Matters (Page 8)

∝ Workshop, Focus Group and Enhancement Activity about Food Security (Page 9)

∝ Giving and Project (Page 10)

 

• • Key Summaries

 

Please find below the key summaries of the 76^th Issue of FACS from page 2 to page 10.

 

• • • Key Concepts Relating to Food Security (Page 2)

 

There are four concepts that will help the readers of FACS to better understand the contents of the 76th Issue.  These concepts are:  food security, acute food insecurity, inflation-adjusted food price index and food poverty line.  These concepts also shape the 76th Issue of FACS.

Let us briefly explain them.

 

• • • • Food security 

 

The explanation of food security comes from the glossary of Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations et al (5) which argue that

“Food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that
meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Based on this definition, four food security dimensions can be identified: food availability, economic and physical access to food, food utilization and
stability over time. The concept of food security is evolving to recognize the centrality of agency and sustainability” (p.202)

 

• • • • Acute food insecurity

 

Acute food insecurity is  “any manifestation of food deprivation that threatens lives or livelihoods regardless of the causes, context or duration”, according to the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (6).

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations et al (op. cit.) also argue that

“Acute food insecurity is food insecurity found in a specified area at a specific point in time and of a severity that threatens lives or livelihoods, or both, regardless of the causes, context or duration. Has relevance in providing strategic guidance to actions that focus on short-term objectives to prevent,
mitigate or decrease severe food insecurity” (p. 200)

 

• • • • Inflation-adjusted food price index

 

The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) (7) provides its own index, which is called FAO Food Price Index (FFPI).  The FFPI is defined  as

“A measure of the monthly change in international prices of basket of food commodities.  It consists of the average of five commodity group price indices weighted by the average export shares of each of the groups over [a period, for example] 2014-2016”.

According to the FAO (8),

” The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 157.4 points in May 2022, down 0.9 points (0.6 percent) from April, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, though still 29.2 points (22.8 percent) above its value in the corresponding month last year.  The drop in May was led by declines in the vegetable oil and dairy price indices while the sugar price index also fell to a lesser extent.  Meanwhile, cereal and meat price indices increased” (p.158)

Likewise, the World Economic Forum (9) states that

“The Food Price Index is designed to capture the combined outcome of changes in a range of food commodities, including vegetable, oils, cereals, meat and sugar; and compare them month to month”.

According to this World Economic Forum (op. cit.), the index needs to be adjusted for inflation.  When prices are adjusted for inflation, they are real.

 

 

• • • •  Food poverty line

 

As to food poverty line, it is defined by ‘devinit.org’ (10) as

“the cost of a basket of food with minimum recommended nutritional intake.  This metrics can be used to quantify consumption poverty”.

The above mentioned concepts will be used in understanding the way in which ASOs (like African Food Security Urban Network) are trying to make food security happen to their users and communities.  They would as well be put in practice to assess the vulnerability of those of our members in most need to the upheavals of the global and local food markets, and work with them to overcome this vulnerability.

 

 

• • • Income Elasticity of Demand for Staple Products During this Time of Rising Food Prices (Page 3)

 

Income elasticity of demand for staple products is part of an applied research project within CENFACS.  The aim of this applied research project is to find out if the fall in real income of CENFACS Community members (as result of the hike in the cost of living) is leading these members to spend more or less on staple products or basic foodstuffs (e.g. bread, sunflower oil, potatoes, etc.).

For example, because of the Ukraine war the price of 1 litre of Vita D’or sunflower oil has dramatically increased.  It was £1.65 in Lidl at the time of composing these notes.  Bearing in mind that Lidl is a budget food store, it could cost even more in other food stores or supermarkets.

This aim of our applied research project can be translated into economic terms as the income elasticity of demand for staple products.  This elasticity is a measure of the degree of responsiveness of demand for any staple products to a given change in income.

The findings from this applied research project will enable us to quantify if their demand is income elastic or inelastic or neutral as well as to know how the rising food prices are affecting them.

 

 

• • • Share of Food Expenditure in Total Household Expenditure During this Time of Rising Food Prices (Page 3)

 

Share of food expenditure in total household expenditure is another study we are conducting.  The aim of this study is to find out economic vulnerability and resilience from the members of our community concerning their ability to have a basket of food with minimum recommended nutritional intake.

As the World Food Programme (11) puts it

“The food expenditure share (FES) is an indicator used to measure households economic vulnerability.  The higher the share of households’ expenditure on good out the total expenditure, the more vulnerable the households are to food insecurity”

Depending on households, food expenditure can be flexible whereas other household expenses could be fixed for a period.  For example, rent, utility bills, council tax, etc. could be fixed for the duration of rental agreement. 

However, at the time of the cost of living crisis characterised by interest rate at 1.75% and inflation at around 9.4% and expected to hit 13% in Autumn in the UK; most of the prices and bills, including those of food, have gone up.

Rising food prices may affect the share of food expenditure in total household expenditure for many households, including our users.  The study will help to know how vulnerable and resilient our members of the community are in face of rising commodity prices, inflation and interest rate.  The findings of this study will as well enable to create and innovate ways of working with the community following the emerging needs that the study will generate.

For further details and or enquiries about these two Research and Development activities, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• • • ASOs’ Response to Food and Nutrition Problems Posed by Rapid Urbanisation in Africa’s Mega Cities (Page 4)

 

Rapid urbanisation in Africa’s mega cities (like Lagos, Cairo, Kinshasa, etc.) means more demand for food and other nutritional stuffs.  At this time of the cost-of-living crisis, it is even challenging to feed extra mouths, especially in Africa’s mega cities where there is already a high level of food poverty and other forms of urban poverty.

ASOs operating in those cities are working with those in need of food and other life-sustaining goods and services to try to address the issue of food insecurity amongst city poor inhabitants.  But, they need help and support to deal with the gigantic task of making food security to happen since food security can collude with urban poverty and food poverty.

 

 

• • • ASOs, Food Insecurity and Children (Page 4)

 

Food insecurity is prevalent in many areas of operation of our ASOs in Africa, especially in areas strongly affected by armed conflicts, climate change and the cost-of-living crisis.  The situation in those areas of Africa is that many children live on a very limited diet and without variety quite often.  This can widen inequality in food security as there is no access to and consumption of a healthy diet for these children.

ASOs working on programmes and projects to address food insecurity for children living in deprived areas are undertaking some food security initiatives in order to reach these children and address food insecurity amongst them.

 

• • • Créations et innovations sur la sécurité alimentaire pour atténuer la crise du coût de la vie en Afrique (Page 5)

 

La crise de sécurité alimentaire fait que les populations locales ou les bénéficiaires de projets avec leurs organisations créent et innovent sur la route de l’alimentation pour lutter contre le coût élevé de la vie en Afrique.

Ces créations et innovations concernent aussi bien la manière dont les nouveaux aliments sont produits que le système d’approvisionnement alimentaire.  Parmi ceux-ci, on peut citer des produits tels que l’huile de palme et d’arachide produite localement.  En utilisant des noix de palme, les bénéficiaires de projets peuvent produire de l’huile pour répondre à leurs besoins en matière de préparation des aliments.

Il existe plusieurs exemples qui montrent la montée en puissance des initiatives locales pour surmonter le problème de l’insécurité alimentaire.  Pour ceux ou celles qui s’intéressent à ces initiatives et au travail des organisations africaines pour avancer sur la voie de la sécurité alimentaire individuelle et communautaire, ils/elles peuvent contacter le CENFACS.

 

• • • Organisations sœurs basées en Afrique face à la double insécurité civile et alimentaire (Page 5)

 

Les zones touchées par le conflit et l’accès sont également des endroits où de nombreuses personnes ont besoin de nourriture.  Dans ces zones, il y a des personnes touchées par des crises dans des pays tels que le Burkina Faso, la République Centrafricaine, la République Démocratique du Congo, le Mali, le Niger, le Tchad, etc.

Dans ce climat délétère d’insécurité civile, des Organisations sœurs basées en Afrique opérant dans des zones d’insécurité civile essaient d’assurer l’accès à la nourriture et à d’autres biens de première nécessité.  Elles tentent d’empêcher l’insécurité civile de se heurter à l’insécurité alimentaire.

Elles fournissent un soutien qui sauve et maintient des vies des personnes déplacées de force, qui sont généralement touchées par une crise alimentaire croissante en raison de l’insécurité civile.

 

• • • Les Organisations sœurs basées en Afrique et la protection de leurs bénéficiaires de projet contre l’insécurité alimentaire  (Page 6)

 

En général, les Organisations sœurs basées en Afrique fournissent les services suivants dans leur zone d’opération:

√ Aider à éviter les conflits entre les communautés agricoles et les communautés pastorales sur les questions d’alimentation et d’eau

√ Soutenir les familles qui ont été forcées de quitter leur maison ou leur terre pour chercher de la nourriture et de l’eau

√ Essayer de rendre les besoins et les capacités alimentaires disponibles sur le terrain, en particulier en cette période difficile de crise du coût de la vie.

Il y a plus de services et d’activités qu’elles fournissent. Pour ceux ou celles qui veulent en savoir plus sur ce sujet, ils/elles peuvent contacter le CENFACS.

 

• • • Comment les Organisations sœurs basées en Afrique travaillent avec les pauvres en alimentation pour se frayer un chemin vers l’objectif de sécurité alimentaire (Page 6)

 

L’objectif de la sécurité alimentaire est celui de la disponibilité, l’accès, l’utilisation et la stabilité des aliments dans le temps.

Pour atteindre cet objectif, les gens ne devraient pas compter entièrement sur le marché.  Le marché ne peut pas satisfaire tout le monde, en particulier ceux ou celles qui ont peu de revenus ou sans revenu.

Les gens peuvent prendre toutes sortes d’initiatives comme celles-ci: cultiver leur propre nourriture, acheter de la nourriture en vrac, mieux planifier le stock alimentaire (par exemple en achetant un sac de manioc, de riz, de maïs, de sucre, de sel, etc. lorsque les prix sont bas), s’entraider au sein de la communauté et ainsi de suite.

Les gens utilisent toutes sortes de stratégies d’adaptation pour répondre aux besoins alimentaires de leur ménage.  Ceux qui ont un jardin peuvent planter et récolter certains types de légumes (comme les épinards) et de fruits (comme les tomates, les arachides, etc.).  D’autres peuvent même exploiter une petite ferme avicole pour répondre aux besoins de consommation de leur ménage.

Ce qui précède est l’une des nombreuses façons de marcher vers l’objectif de la sécurité alimentaire.

Pour ceux ou celles qui voudraient aller plus loin dans cet objectif, ils/elles peuvent contacter le CENFACS.

 

• • • Survey, E-questionnaire and E-discussion on Food Security (Page 7)

 

• • • • Food Security Survey

 

This survey aims to support those who are struggling to have food security and avoid food poverty at this time of rising costs and prices of food.

As part of the survey, we are running a questionnaire.  One of the questions is:

How are you coping with food security (that is food availability, access, utilisation and stability) at this challenging time of rising costs and prices of food?

You can directly send your answer to CENFACS.

To help people respond, they can think of any coping strategies to achieve the aim of food security.  Coping strategies are defined by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations et al as

“Activities to which people resort in order to obtain food, income and/or other essential goods or services when their normal means of livelihood have been disrupted or other shocks/hazards affect their access to basic needs”.

You can refer to this definition and respond.  Your response can help shape our campaign about Making Zero Hunger Africa.

 

• • • • E-questionnaire on Actionable Food Security Information

 

Do you have enough information on food security?

 

If your answer is NO, CENFACS can work with you via its Information and Guidance on Food Security to help you find the information you need on food security.

 

 

 

• • • • E-discussion on Reduce For Quick Sale (RFQS) Items and Food Poverty Reduction

 

RFQS are those items or products past their best goods found in the bargain bins placed discretely around stores.  Many consumers or shoppers, especially those on low income brackets, who are goods price hunters, will look for RFQS to make their consumption ends meet.

If you are one of the RFQS hunters living on a tiny budget have the opportunity to buy these bargain goods; RFQS can make a great deal by helping you to reduce poverty.  And if you are food poor or in need of food, RFQS can assist you to reduce food poverty or at least to save money on your food purchase.

For those who had this experience on how RFQS has helped them to reduce consumption poverty or save on food purchase, they can join our e-discussion to exchange their views with others.

To e-discuss your RFQS experience, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• • • Support, Top Tool, Information and Guidance on Food Security Matters (Page 8)

 

• • • • Ask CENFACS for Food Security Support

 

Under CENFACS’ Advisory Support for the Impacted of the Cost-of-Living Crisis, you can ask for support to deal with the struggle you are having to meet rising costs of food.

 

• • • •  Top Tool of the 76th Issue: Global Food Security Index 

 

According to the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) (12),

“Food security is defined as the state in which people at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for a healthy and active life”.

The same UNCCD argues that

“The Global Food Security Index considers the core issues of affordability, availability, and quality across a set of 113 countries. The index is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative scoring model, constructed from 28 unique indicators, that measures these drivers of food security across both developing and developed countries. The overall goal of the study is to assess which countries are most and least vulnerable to food insecurity through the categories of Affordability, Availability, and Quality and Safety”.

This tool can be customised and brought to individual level to assess how for example any of our members is vulnerable to food insecurity and what areas of vulnerability we can work together with them so that they navigate their way to food security.

To discuss the relevancy of this tool for our community, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • • •  Information and Guidance on Food Security

 

You can request from CENFACS a list of organisations and services providing help and support in the area of food security.  Likewise, we can inform and direct or guide you to find organisations that provide food at prices and conditions that match your food security level.

To make your request, just contact CENFACS with your name and contact details.

 

• • • Workshop, Focus Group and Enhancement Activity about Food Security (Page 9)

 

• • • •  Mini Workshop

 

Boost your knowledge and skills about food security via CENFACS.

To enquire about the boost, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• • • •  Focus Group on Food Insecurity

 

You can take part in our focus group on widening inequality in access to and consumption of healthy foods since the cost-of-living crisis began.

To take part in the focus group, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • • •  Summer Food Security Enhancing Activity

How to use Food Security Risk Index to work out your own household food security risk

 

The index will help you find out your risk-aversion and vulnerability to rising prices of food.

To take part in this activity, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • • Giving and Project (Page 10)

 

• • • •  Readers’ Giving

 

You can support FACS, CENFACS‘ bilingual newsletter, which explains what is happening within and around CENFACS.

FACS also provides a wealth of information, tips, tricks and hacks on how to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

You can help to continue its publication and to reward efforts made in producing it.

To support, just contact CENFACS on this site.

 

• • • •  Food Security Project (FSP)

 

With rising costs and prices of food, food insecurity has now become a common currency especially for those who always struggle to make ends meet.  To address the level of insecurity and threat posed by food insecurity to these struggling people there is a need to develop appropriate response.

FSP, which may not be a panacea, can help to work with food insecure people so that they can progressively navigate their way towards food availability, access, utilisation and stability.  In doing so, they can potentially avoid food poverty.  FSP will help to level up those who are looking for sustainable solutions to food crisis.

To support or contribute to FSP, please contact CENFACS.

For further details including full project proposals and budget about the Food Security Project, please contact CENFACS.

The full copy of the 76^th Issue of FACS is available on request.  For any queries and comments about this Issue, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

_________

 

• References

 

(1) https://www.wfp.org/food-security-analysis (accessed in August 2022)

(2) FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO (2021), The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021: Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all, Rome at https://doi.org/10.4060/cb4474en (accessed in August 2022)

(3) https://www.fao.org/ecosystem-services-biodiversity/background/regulating-services/en (accessed in August 2022)

(4) https://climate-woodland.extension.org/natural-process-regulation-ecosystem-services/ (accessed in August 2022) 

(5) FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO (2022), The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022: Repurposing food and agricultural policies to make healthy diets more affordable, Rome, FAO (https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0639en) (accessed in August 2022)

(6) WFP and FAO (2022), Hunger Hotspots, FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity, February to May 2022 Outlook, Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb8376en 

(7) https://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/ (accessed in April 2022)

(8) FAO (2022), Food Outlook – Biannual Report on Global Food Markets, Rome (https://doi.org/10.4060/cb9427en (accessed in August 2022)

(9) https://weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/global-food-prices-global-global-food-price-index (accessed in April 2022)

(10) https://www.devinit.org/org/resources/food-poverty-global-regional-and-national/# (accessed in February 2022)

(11) https://resources.vam.wfp.org/data-analysis/quantitative/food-security/food-expenditure-share (accessed in June 2022)

(12) https://www.unccd.int/resources/konwledge-sharing-system/global-food-security-index (accessed in August 2022)

 

__________

 

• 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.

Also, we would like to inform you that planned gifting is always an option for giving at CENFACS.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

03 August 2022

 

Post No. 259

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Track, Trending and Trip in a Summer of Rising Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus

• Activity/Task 8 of the Knowledge (‘K’) Year and Project: Run/Walk with or Visit the People in Need to Discover their Problems

• Goal of the Month: Reduction of Poverty as a State of Being in the Wrong Side of the Tracks

 

… And much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Track, Trending and Trip in a Summer of Rising Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus

 

August is CENFACS’ Track, Trending and Trip month.  What do we mean by that?  We mean that we are on the track of poverty reduction, we walk to meet those in need and we follow the direction of poverty reduction.  Let us briefly explain these key words or activities of the month (i.e., track, trending and trip).

 

• • On the Track of poverty reduction

 

We do Track at CENFACS as we think that every one of us can undertake basic physical activity of running or racing to help reduce poverty.  To basically run or race, one does not need to be part of field event.  For those who cannot in-person run, they can do it virtually or online.  Our project known as Run to Reduce Poverty is designed to meet that end.

This Summer, we are going to do Tracking while taking into account the treble context of rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus.

 

• • Trips or Walks to CENFACS’ projects

 

August is also the month during which we carry out some Trips to our projects.  We visit our projects all over the year, but August is the time we highlight this.  We do a short journey to one of the places in need.  It is the month of the year we walk again and reach out to the need, to the people, communities, organisations and livelihoods in need.

This Summer, we are going to undertake both Virtual or In-person Trips depending on the circumstances prone to the rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus.

 

• • Trendy development

 

We thirdly deal with Trending in August as we spend time looking at what is popular at CENFACS in the context of poverty reduction as well as what is the current general movement or tendency in poverty reduction.  This is what what we can call Trendy Development; that is a development process following the latest fashions in terms of poverty reduction.

Trending in Poverty Reduction helps us to follow the direction of poverty reduction work. This August we are going to follow this direction or tendency of poverty (or poverty reduction) via terrestrial ecosystem services provided by forests.

Forest ecosystem services can help reduce poverty, particularly through food, pollution control, tourism, shelter, etc. Forests contribute or enhance climate aspects of sustainable development.  We are therefore interested in the specific benefits of forests to poverty reduction.

We are going to follow this direction in-person.  Where we have problem to follow it in-person, we shall do it via online, video, phone, screen and digital technological means of communication and on papers (print).

 

• • Track, Trending and Trips in a Summer of Rising Costs of Living,  Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus

 

The contexts of this summer are of rising costs of living, changing climate and the lingering effects of the coronavirus.  We are going to integrate these factors into the theme of Summer when carrying out these three activities of August 2022: Track, Trending and Trip.

More details about CENFACS’ Track, Trending and Trips month for this year is given under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Activity/Task 8 of the Knowledge (‘K’) Year and Project: Run/Walk with or Visit the People in Need to Discover their Problems

 

As part of CENFACS’ Knowledge Year and Project, the activity or task to be carried out for this month is to undertake the physical activity of running or walking with the people in need.  In the process of running and/or walking, one can try to discover their problems and possibly think of the solutions to them. 

Alternatively, one can in-person visit the people in need and try to find out through their visit the kind of problems they are experiencing and discuss with them the types of solutions they would like to see.  The following examples can help illustrate these activities.

 

• • Examples of August 2022 Innovative Knowledge-based Sharing Activities

 

To put into practice CENFACS’ Knowledge Year and Project and of the month of Track, Trip and Trending; one can proceed with either of the following Knowledge-based Sharing Activities:

 

Activity 8.1: COVID-19 Secure Run 2.5 miles (nearly 4 km) with people in need to create user-generated information opportunity and to learn about their problems

Activity 8.2: Undertake Virtual or In-person Visits or Tours of 3 knowledge-based projects or activities; projects or activities based on facts, information and skills acquired through experience or education, and which support people during this time of rising costs of living

Activity 8.3: Carry out online search to find 6 Trends in poverty reduction for projects that are based on the knowledge or practical understanding of needs; projects that use knowledge-based economy to support people to navigate their way out of poverty.

 

The above three examples of Knowledge-based Activities are our way of linking our ‘K’ Year/Project and the month of Track, Trip and Trending together.

These run, walk and visit can also be done virtually if there are problems to conduct them in-person.  For virtual run, walk and visit; it is expected that the two parties (that is, CENFACS or those acting on behalf of CENFACS and the people in need) will have the means to effectively communicate in order to discover the problems that these people face and the solutions they expect.

The above if the activity or task for the ‘K’ Year/Project for those who are interested in carrying it out.  For those who want any clarification of any aspects of the activity or task, they can contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Goal of the Month: Reduction of Poverty as a State of Being in the Wrong Side of the Tracks

 

In order to deal with with this goal, we are going to try to understand the type of poverty is trying to tackle and work with the community on the goal itself.

 

• • Understanding poverty as a state of being in the wrong side of the tracks

 

The area where people live can create or exacerbate the condition of being poor or disadvantaged.  People can be poor because they live in a poor or disadvantaged urban or rural area.  Likewise, poverty can be exacerbated because someone lives in a poor or disadvantaged ward.

 

• • • What is a disadvantaged area?

 

A disadvantaged area could be an area without infrastructures, amenities, technologies and facilities to help to stop poverty to happen or to reduce poverty if it happens.

 

• • Working with the community to reduce poverty as a state of being in the wrong side of the tracks

 

During this month of August 2022, CENFACS shall be working with the community to help tackle poverty as a state or condition of being in the wrong side of the tracks.

So, working toward this goal can help to reduce the different types of hardship experienced by the members of our community where they live or if it happens that they are in the wrong side of the tracks.

Although this is a goal for August 2022 only, it can however be part of any efforts to reduce and or end poverty linked to a state or condition of being in the wrong side of the tracks.

 

• • Who are those in the wrong side of the tracks?

 

They could be those powerless, disadvantaged and vulnerable living in a ward of pronounced deprivation in well-being, lacking opportunities and infrastructures. They could also be those who are bearing the brunt of the rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus.

The above is our poverty reduction goal for this month, which we are asking to our audiences and supporters to help or promote.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal, Creative Activity No. 2: Create Your Journal of Summer Generosity

 

Generosity is one of the six predictors of happiness and healthiness.  One can create a journal about what they are giving (or gave) or are receiving (or received) unselfishly.

Like last Summer, this Summer is tough for many ordinary people and families since the cost-of-living crisis can only make things difficult for them.  Many of these poor people and families are looking for unselfish help and support.

For those who would manage to give or receive this generous support; they can create a journal for the things, organisations and people who have been unselfishly supportive to their happiness and healthiness during this Summer 2022.

They can record their thoughts, feelings and experiences in relation to the generous support they have received or given.  They can share with the community their experience of happy and healthy generous support.  This can be recorded in their journal and be shared by the end of Summer 2022.

To share the contents of their happiness and healthiness journal relating to generous support, and help build a better Summer holiday experience; they can contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Record your Summer Telling Moments to Report Back

 

Whether one has a Summer break or is working over this Summer, it is always a good idea to record your memorable moments or just what you are doing.

After Summer, we often ask people or the community to report their Summer experience back.  If you record what you are doing this Summer, after Summer it will be easier to share what you may judge is a shareable part of your Summer experience or story.

If you decide to record your Summer activities or experiences, please do not forget to take photos and pictures, make a video, record your voice, podcast, etc.    It is also useful to write down dates, places and names of people involved in your projects or experiences.  You can plan the way you want to report back whether you want to use words or numbers or information graphics (e.g. tables or graphs, figures, etc.).

Before including people around you in your recorded experience, please take care of Data Protection Regulations.  This extra care will help to protect yourself and others.  If necessary, please check the policy on handling people’s information and data.

Reporting back your experiences can sometimes inspire others, especially if your experiences contain poverty-relieving elements.  Sometimes what you may think is not important in your life experience could be very useful or even life-saving for others in the community.

We hope you will seriously take our message of recording to report back.

Thank you!

 

 

 

• Summer 2022 Humanitarian Appeal Projects

 

The 2022 Edition of our Summer Humanitarian Appeal has now been completed and is ready for support.  We have added to CENFACS’ Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa the other four remaining projects making this appeal. The addition includes:

 

√ All Gifts for All Poor 

√ International Networking and Protection against the Cost-of-living Crisis

√ Iconic Young Carer 

√ ELCLASSICO International.

 

To support and or enquire about these appeal projects, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

Objectif du mois : Réduction de la pauvreté en tant qu’état d’être du mauvais côté des pistes

Afin de faire face à cet objectif, nous allons essayer de comprendre ce type de pauvreté et de travailler avec la communauté à ce sujet.

Comprendre la pauvreté comme un état d’être du mauvais côté des pistes

La région où vivent les gens peut créer ou exacerber la situation de pauvreté ou de désavantage.  Les gens peuvent être pauvres parce qu’ils vivent dans une zone urbaine ou rurale pauvre ou défavorisée.  De même, la pauvreté peut être exacerbée parce qu’une personne vit dans une zone pauvre ou défavorisée.

Qu’est-ce qu’une zone défavorisée ?

Une zone défavorisée pourrait être une zone dépourvue d’infrastructures, d’équipements, de technologies et d’installations pour aider à mettre fin à la pauvreté ou à réduire la pauvreté si elle se produisait.

Travailler avec la communauté pour réduire la pauvreté en tant qu’état d’être du mauvais côté des pistes

Au cours de ce mois d’août 2022, le CENFACS travaillera avec la communauté pour aider à lutter contre la pauvreté en tant qu’état ou condition d’être du mauvais côté des pistes.

Ainsi, travailler vers cet objectif peut aider à réduire les différents types de difficultés vécues par les membres de notre communauté où ils vivent ou s’il arrive qu’ils soient du mauvais côté des pistes.

Bien qu’il s’agisse d’un objectif pour août 2022 seulement, il peut toutefois faire partie de tout effort visant à réduire et/ou à mettre fin à la pauvreté liée à un état ou à une condition d’être du mauvais côté des pistes.

Qui sont ceux ou celles qui se trouvent du mauvais côté des pistes?

Il peut s’agir de personnes impuissantes, défavorisées et vulnérables vivant dans un quartier de privation prononcée de bien-être, manquant d’opportunités et d’infrastructures.

Ce qui précède est notre objectif de réduction de la pauvreté pour ce mois-ci, que nous demandons à nos audiences et à nos sympathisants d’aider ou de promouvoir.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Track, Trending and Trip in a Summer of Rising Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus

 

Our thematic and working model of Summer of Happiness and Healthiness in a Summer of Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus will continue this month through the three activities of…

1) TRACK to help reduce poverty

2) Virtual or In-person TRIPS to Projects and locals

3) TRENDING in poverty reduction by following the direction of poverty reduction via forest ecosystem services.

 

The following headings contain the elements making this model:

 

∝ Track, Trip and Trending 2022 Activities

∝ August 2022 Trending Activities/Programme

∝ What is in focus from week beginning 01/08/2022: Provisioning Services Provided by Forest Ecosystems.

 

Let us uncover what is inside these headings.

 

• • Track, Trip and Trending 2022 Activities

 

• • • Track to help reduce poverty in a Summer of Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus

 

This is delivered through the project Run to Reduce Poverty, Gaming to Reduce Poverty and Vote your African Manager of Poverty Reduction. These are All-year Round Projects or Triple Value Initiatives.

However, because of the weather conditions (sunshine) and nature of August (holiday time for many of our supporters) we put a particular emphasis on the Run aspects of these all-year round projects, over this month.  One can do physical run out and indoor while bearing in mind the lingering effects of the coronavirus and rising temperatures.

We expect those who sign up to the Run element to take actions and run it by themselves while following to letter any health and safety rules (e.g. Protection against the lingering effects of the coronavirus) relating to this element.  After summer or at any convenient time before the end of the year, they can report back to us.

 

• • • Virtual or In-person TRIPS to Projects and Locals in a Summer of Rising Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus

 

This is the second aspect or part of work over the month of August at CENFACS.  We expect and advise our supporters to visit some of our projects and initiatives whether in the UK or in Africa during and around the month of August.

For those who cannot in-person or physically visit projects on the grounds, arrangements can be made between the prospective visitors and the organisations to be visited so that they can organise a virtual trip, tour or viewing.

This requires that the visitors and visiting organisations have the technology that enables this virtual tour to happen.  If this is possible we expect and advise our supporters to virtually visit some of projects and initiatives whether in the UK or in Africa during and around the month of August.

Because we are also talking about Trip to the needs in a changing climate, our Trip this year will be to see how climate change affects local people and local needs as well.

Trip to the need and project includes some of the experiences undertaken by CENFACS All in Development Volunteers through field work involvements and project visits, to reach out to unreached, underserved and unserved people and communities, particularly those living in remote areas of Africa.  It is the kind of experiences that we recommend to future invertebrate and vertebrate volunteers to have and report back in September or after.

These trips also help us to check if we are on the right track at helping to reduce poverty and at tracking our records for the work on the ground.

Because the theme of trending for this Summer is about Forest Ecosystem Services, we are going to link Trip to the need on the ground in terms of what services terrestrial forest ecosystem provides to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

 

• • • TRENDING in poverty reduction by following the direction of poverty reduction via forest ecosystem services

 

Sustainable development does not need to be trendy, but we can follow the latest fashions in sustainable development and poverty reduction.

This August, we are dealing with Trending in poverty reduction by following the direction of poverty reduction via forest ecosystem services and their capacity in lifting people out poverty. We mean by that we are following the direction of poverty reduction via terrestrial ecosystem services provided by forests.

In order to make sense of our trending activity, let us briefly explain forest ecosystem services and their relationship with poverty reduction.

 

• • • • Basic understanding of Forest Ecosystem Services

 

Before understanding forest ecosystem services, let us first try to define forest ecosystems.

Our definition forest ecosystems come from the website ‘sincereforests.eu’ (1), which states that

“A forest ecosystem can be defined at a range of scales.  It is a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their abiotic environment interacting as a functional unit, where trees are a key component of the system.  Humans, with their cultural, economic and environmental needs are an integral part of many forest ecosystems”.

On the same website, one can find the following explanation of forest ecosystem services:

“Forest ecosystem services (FES) are forests’ contribution to people: forest goods and services that bring direct or indirect economic, materialistic, physiological, psychological, emotional or social advantage to the human population”.

Indeed, forests contribute a lot to human lives. According to the World Bank (2),

“They [forests] are home to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people… Forests are an important safety net for rural populations in times of economic or agricultural stress”.

In the context of our activity of looking at FES, we are specifically interested in how these services are helping people to reduce and possibly end poverty.  This does not mean that the other contributions or benefits of FES are irrelevant.  It just means that we are going to focus on what FES are doing to people in need in order for them to escape from poverty and hardships.  And if FES can do something about poverty, this could suggest that there could be relationship between FES and poverty reduction.

 

• • • • Possible relationships between FES and poverty reduction

 

There are various relations between FES and poverty reduction if one considers each service making the FES as well as the whole FES.  It is possible to identify these relationships if one takes into account the well known classification of FES in terms of provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services.  Let us look at these probable relationships via this classification.

 

• • • • • The relationship between the provisioning service of forest ecosystems and poverty reduction

 

The provisioning service that forest ecosystems provide via food, water, medicine and raw materials can help people to come out poverty.  Historically, many people came out of poverty thanks to food, water and medicine from forest ecosystems.   According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (3),

“Water, food, wood and other goods are some of the material benefits people obtain from ecosystems called provisioning services”.

 

• • • • • The relationship between the regulating service of forest ecosystems and poverty reduction

 

The regulating service that includes the treatment of waste water and the control of pollution and flood for example can help to reduce sanitation poverty and health poverty.  It can help as well improve the quality of air and safe drinking water.

 

• • • • • The relationship between the cultural service of forest ecosystems and poverty reduction

 

There are many cultural benefits that stem from forest ecosystems that contribute to the reduction of poverty.  Among them, recreational, educational and tourist activities coming from forest ecosystems provide opportunities to reduce poverty if these activities involved the poor or include poverty reduction in their objectives or goals or even strategies.

 

• • • • • The relationship between the supporting service of forest ecosystems and poverty reduction

 

Forest ecosystems support poor people in many ways.  One of the ways of supporting them is they provide home or shelter to homeless people.  Forest dwellers who are homeless or without shelter can use forests as dwellings.  Forest ecosystems can as well help to meet their spiritual, hygienic and toiletry needs.

The above indicates that there are areas whereby there could a link between FES and poverty reduction.  In fact, where there is no forest and there is poverty, poverty could be hard to beat.

From what has being argued about the above mentioned relationships, we will be observing how FES are doing to hep reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  We will be looking at the extent to which FES can be poverty reducer and sustainability enhancer.

So, we will be following the direction of poverty reduction via terrestrial ecosystem services provided by forests in a Summer of Rising Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus.  This is what will be trending at CENFACS, as given below.

 

• • August 2022 Trending Activities/Programme

 

August 2022 Trending Activities or Programme will focus on commonly known four types of FES and how they can help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  These FES are: provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services.  To follow them, we need a plan.

 

• • • August 2022 working plan about forest ecosystem services

 

The following is our August 2022 plan of work.

 

∝ Week Beginning Monday 01/08/2022; Trending: Provisioning Services provided by Forest Ecosystems

∝  Week Beginning Monday 08/08/2022; Trending: Regulating Services provided by Forest Ecosystems

∝  Week Beginning Monday 15/08/2022; Trending: Cultural Services provided by Forest Ecosystems

∝  Week Beginning Monday 22/08/2022; Trending: Supporting Services provided by Forest Ecosystems.

 

The rest of the days of the month (that is; from 29 to 31 August 2022) will be dedicated to monitoring and evaluation of August 2022 Trending Activities or Programme.

If you are interested in this trending programme, please share with us your experience or comments about it.

Further explanation about this August month’s activities can be obtained from CENFACS.

 

 

• • In Focus from Week Beginning 01/08/2022: Provisioning Services provided by Forest Ecosystems

 

Before explaining how we are going to follow the direction of poverty reduction here, let us first understand the provisioning services provided by forest ecosystems.

 

• • • Provisioning services provided by forest ecosystems

 

• • • • What are provisioning services?

 

There are many definitions about provisioning services provided by forest ecosystems.  Most of these definitions tend to be similar.  One of them comes from the website ‘biodiversity.fi’ (4) that states

“Provisioning services are tangible products that people obtain from ecosystems.  These include food, water, raw materials, energy and genetic resources…Provisioning services are vital in the human economy and have often well-developed markets and valuation systems”.

Indeed, forest ecosystems furnish trees, other wood plants and natural resources.  Forest ecosystems contain forest products such as wood, fruits, nuts, medicine, gums, etc.  These products supply service to animals, birds and humans.

Concerning the provisioning services provided to humans, the latter feed themselves with food and freshwater given by forest ecosystems.  What is important is not the question whether or not forest ecosystems supply services to humans.  What is at stake here is about how these products can help to reduce poverty for those living in poverty. In order to know that these products are helping to reduce poverty, it is better to follow the direction of poverty via provisioning services provided by forest ecosystems.

 

• • • Following the direction of poverty reduction via provisioning services provided by forest ecosystems

 

Provisioning services provided by forest ecosystems do help to reduce poverty.  Those who are gifted enough and live in the vicinity of forests, they have the opportunity, if they have permitted access, to have forest products to feed themselves, cure themselves from disease, to maintain their lifestyle, to have fresh water, etc.  Those who live beyond the perimeter of forests can as well enjoy the provisioning services provided by forest ecosystems as long as transport of forest products allowed it or if they can afford to buy provisioning services traded in markets.

If that is the case, then it is possible to observe or following the journey of forest products and check how they are helping to reduce poverty.  In this observation and journey, it is better to consider forest products as they come from forests.  This way, one can better seize their impact on poverty reduction and on poor people.

The above is our trending work for this week; work which has already started.

To follow with us the direction of poverty reduction via terrestrial ecosystem services provided by forests, please contact CENFACS.

_________

 

• References

 

(1) https://sincereforests.eu/forests/glossary/ (accessed in August 2022)

(2) https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/forests/brief/forests-poverty-reduction (accessed in August 2022)

(3) https://www.fao.org/ecosystem-services-biodiversity/background/provisioning-services/en/ (accessed in August 2022)

(4) https://www.biodiversity.fi/ecosystemservices/services/provisioning/ (accessed in August 2022)

_________

 

• Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year

 

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.

One could also consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

27 July 2022

 

Post No. 258

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal: Creative Activity No. 1: Create Your Journal of Happy and Healthy Social Support

• July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 3):  Impact Feedback of XX236.3 F Programme

 

… And much more! 

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022

 

Our summer 2022 campaign about finding health relief and happy fulfilment continues this week with some brief accounts about Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022.  These summaries are about projects to keep children, young people and families happy and healthy over Summer in the treble context of rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus.

These essential summaries can be found under the Main Development section of this post.  The full details of these projects are also available on request from CENFACS, including ways of accessing and using them.

To access and or support them, just contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Journal: Creative Activity No. 1: Create Your Journal of Happy and Healthy Social Support

 

Social support is one of the six predictors of happiness and healthiness.  One can create a journal for having someone to count on in time of trouble like of the cost-of-living crisis or any other personal matter over this Summer.  They can do more within this first creative activity.

 

• • What else they can do as part of this creative activity no.1

 

They can create a journal for the things and people who have been socially supportive to their enjoyment and good conditions of life during this Summer 2022.

They can record their thoughts, feelings and experiences in relation to the social support they have received or given.

They can share with the community their experience of happy and healthy social support as recorded in their journal by the end of Summer 2022.

 

• • Sharing the content of your journal

 

One of the objectives of this journal is to share one’s Summer holiday experience.  Thus, sharing your Summer holiday experience via the records from your journal could be helpful and useful for others who are looking for social support and inspiration.  You can share the content of your journal via CENFACS by submitting it.

To submit the contents of their happiness and healthiness journal relating to social support, and help build a better Summer holiday experience within the community, please contact CENFACS.  When submitting the content of your journal to us, please do not forget to give us permission to share it.

 

 

• July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 3):  Impact Feedback of XX236.3 F Programme

 

Our 3-tier impact feedback has reached its third level or tier.  Unlike Impact Feedback of our 2020-2022 Programmes and Projects given by Users and Stakeholders, Impact Feedback of XX236.3 F Programme is provided by CENFACS to inform its audience (including users and stakeholders) about the progress it is making in terms of this programme.

 

• • What is this Impact Feedback from CENFACS about?

 

CENFACS’ Impact Feedback of XX236.3 F (2020 to 2030 to 2063 Follow up) Programme is about the observation on the following five key components of this follow-up programme:

 

(a) The Paris Treaty

(b) The Istanbul Declaration and the Maputo Treaty

(c) The United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals

(d) Africa’s Agenda 2063.

 

This feedback also provides our feelings and what we would like (if we could) to be different regarding these five pieces frameworks of work.

Our observation, feelings and need of difference will be in terms of progress made so far concerning these frameworks.  Our observation, feelings and need of difference are indeed in relation to the kind of work of poverty reduction we do since these global and international frameworks/initiatives greatly impact us.  Our feedback is not an evaluation of these frameworks of work.

For those who would like to know more about our observation, feelings and need of difference regarding these pieces of framework of work, they can contact CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• All-in-one Impact Feedback: Only Four Days to Go!

 

Supporters’ and Users’ Experiences, and Africa-based Sister Organisations’ Voices

 

Our Analytics Month of bringing light to what worked, what did not work and of measuring what we achieved in our last financial year is coming to an end in four days.  We are therefore appealing again to you to tell us in your own words, numbers and info-graphics your perceptions, feelings and experiences about the programmes and projects we ran in the last 345 days preceding the beginning of July 2022.

Although we have selected 12 initiatives for Impact Feedback One and 9 ones for Impact Feedback Two for monitoring and evaluation purposes, we are not expecting people to provide feedback on all of them.  People can only feedback on the project(s) and programme(s) they benefited from, supported, recommended users to us or interacted within.  We again suggest picking up ONLY 1 or 2 initiatives for feedback.

Please feel free to say what you experienced.

Again, thank you for your experiential support!

 

 

 

• Feedback on Summer Festival 2022 (the Seven Days of Development in July 2022 Festival): with a Focus on Infrastructures to Reduce Poverty

 

The 14^th Edition of our Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions is officially ended.

Any contribution in the form of thoughts and comments to be provided need to be done by the 7^th of August 2022.  Please mail them to CENFACS at facs@cenfacs.org.uk and or by completing the comment form on our website by 07/08/2022.

Thank you for your support.

 

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Budgets 2022 – Holiday Budget Deficit

How to Sustainably Manage Budget Deficit in in the Treble Context of Rising Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus

 

We are continuing our hacks, hints and tips to help Budget Happiness and Healthiness by looking at holiday budget deficit.

 

• • What is a budget deficit and why does it matter for poor people?

 

A deficit is generally defined as the amount by which expenditure is greater than real income.  In terms of holiday budget deficit, it simply means that one’s holiday expenditure is more than holiday income.  It is a negative balance which could suggest that there could be a need to finance it (here holiday budget deficit).

Yet, speaking about holiday budget deficit could seem bizarre since we are talking about poor people or those in need.  These are the people who often struggle to make ends meet.   They are the ones who often are short of money to tie the knots of the two ends of the month.  Despite that any sensible humans should do some budgeting, here holiday budgeting.

 

• • What is budgeting for a household?

 

Budgeting is forward thinking process that can help to coordinate the different areas of household life while defining responsibility and delegating powers within the same household.  It is indeed an instrument for household control as well as a basis for decision making process and changing plans where there is a need to do so.

For those households making our community who are familiar with budgeting process, they know they need to budget their holiday incomings and outgoings.  For those ones who are unfamiliar with this process, CENFACS is available for help and support.

 

• • Working with the community on holiday budget

 

We are available to work on the budgeting process with those who are struggling to make ends meet and those who are interested in budgeting their holiday expenses and incomes.  We will be working on how to avoid and sustainably manage holiday budget in a Summer of Rising Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus.

For those who are familiar with online tools, they can find countless examples of family or household budgets sometimes in the form of Microsoft Application Spread sheets.  For those who are not familiar with these free available online resources, they can use CENFACS’ line of financial advisory support.

In the construction of this Summer Happiness and Healthiness Budget, it is better to include numbers relating to Rising Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus.

So, we will be checking with them on which part of this deficit is attributable or not attributable to the above mentioned contexts or factors.  This exercise enables to take into consideration these factors are affecting their holiday budget in what they eat, drink, cover or uncover their body, entertain, shelter, etc.

To learn or seek support on how to avoid and sustainably manage holiday budget deficit or negative budget balance in Summer of Rising Costs of Living, Changing Climate and Lingering Effects of the Coronavirus; please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

Journal du Bonheur et de la Salubrité

Activité créative n ° 1: Créez votre journal de soutien social heureux et sain

Le soutien social est l’un des six prédicteurs du bonheur et de la santé.  On peut créer un journal pour avoir quelqu’un sur qui compter en période de troubles, comme celle de la crise du coût de la vie ou toute autre affaire personnelle au cours de cet été.

Que pouvez-vous faire d’autre dans le cadre de cette activité créative n°1?

Vous pouvez créer un journal pour les choses et les personnes qui ont été socialement favorables à votre plaisir et à vos bonnes conditions de vie au cours de cet été 2022.

Vous pouvez enregistrer vos pensées, vos sentiments et vos expériences par rapport au soutien social que vous avez reçu ou donné.

Vous pouvez partager avec la communauté votre expérience de soutien social heureux et sain, tel qu’il est consigné dans votre journal d’ici la fin de l’été 2022.

Partager le contenu de votre journal

Pour soumettre le contenu de votre journal du bonheur et de la santé relatif au soutien social et aider à construire une meilleure expérience de vacances d’été au sein de la communauté, vous pouvez contacter le CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Essential Summaries about Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022

 

The following headings will help to summarise Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022:

 

∝ 2022 Edition of Summer of Happiness, Healthiness, Peace, Vulnerability-free, Protection and Sustainability

∝ Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects.

 

Let us briefly uncover these headings.

 

• • 2022 Edition of Summer of Happiness, Healthiness, Peace, Vulnerability-free, Protection and Sustainability

 

This 2022 Edition is out now and trending.  It covers the main initiatives and activities planned for this summer.  In this edition, the 2022 Happiness and Healthiness Projects may have kept the same names for some of these projects like in the previous Summers, but their contents reflect this year’s themes of happiness and healthiness in the treble context of rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus.

These projects are as follows:

 

1) ‘Holiday with Relief’ Resource (this year’s focus is on Food and Energy for Holiday)

2) Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities

3) Summer Harmony with Nature

4) True Balance in Happiness and Healthiness

5) Networking for Protection and Safeguarding at the Time of Cost-of-living Crisis

6) Community Care and Health Responsibility Enhancing Activities.

 

They are the combination of skills, knowledge, resources, tools, fixers, enhancements, boosters and tasters for poverty relief.  They consist of:

 

√ Two resource projects (Family Happiness and Healthiness Mini-Guide, and Holiday Information Manager)

√ One communication-protection project (Networking Platform for Happiness and Healthiness)

√ One climate and environmental campaign (Summer Harmony with Nature)

√ One interactive (interaction between people and their community) project (True Balance in Happiness and Healthiness)

√ One set of initiatives to stay happy  (Happiness Enhancing Activities).

 

They are the projects to build forward together better summer holiday in cleaner, greener and safer way.

In their design, we have considered the effects of climate change all over our Summer 2022 Programme.  In other words, all the six Happiness and Healthiness Projects will have green, sustainable and climate changing contents.  They will be aligned with greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets.  The consideration of the effects of climate change all across is what makes Summer 2022 of a zero or neutral carbon one.

This is done to help improve life evaluation while taking actions to enhance the same life in a changing climate.  In this way, Summer can be a season of Happiness and Healthiness NOT of Misery for un-served and under-served children, young people and families who are at the same time the victims of the adverse effects of climate change, particularly but not exclusively extreme temperatures.

They are the victims of adverse effects of climate change because climate change affects the way they dress, eat, house, educate, entertain, care for their health, and above all the way they pass Summer holiday.

We can briefly present these projects one by one as follows.

 

• • Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022

  

Here are the essential summaries of the Happiness and Healthiness Projects making the 2022 Summer Programme Part II.  As said previously, these projects can help in achieving some happy, helpful, healthful and hopeful Summer plans, goals and outcomes. 

 

••• 1) ‘Holiday with Relief’ Resource with a focus on Food and Energy for Holiday

 

Holiday with Relief is one of CENFACS useful and helpful ICDP (individual Capacity Development Programme) resources for holiday makers and travellers.  The resource, which is published during Spring of every year, can also be used during Summer holiday or any holiday.

This year’s Holiday with Relief with its theme of Energy and Food during Holiday is designed to help those in need by having happy and healthy holiday (e.g. Summer holiday).  It provides wealthy advice, tips and hints linked to energy and food during holiday.  Within this wealth of information contained in this Issue, there are tips and hints that can be used to tackle energy poverty and food poverty.

These tips and hints are meant to support those of our users and non-users who are struggling to make energy and food ends meet during holiday (that is; this Summer holiday).

To build forward happy and healthy Summer break, and or get this Family Happiness and Healthiness Mini-Guide, please contact CENFACS.

 

••• 2) Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities 

 

Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities (‘NAGAHAIN’) Project is our Information Manager for this year’s summer.  The goal of the ‘NAGAHAIN’ Project is to help make the distribution of subjective well-being even or equal within the community.  What is really about?

It is about…

√ Improving the psychological equality or happiness quality or even subjective well-being

√ Enhancing happiness levels amongst the members of CENFACS Community to avoid high levels of happiness differences

√ Increasing the community trust, that is the belief in the integrity of other members of our community.

 

One of the concerns for many people and families is how to pass this Summer happy and healthy under the constraints of rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus.

The NAGAHAIN Project/Resource as Holiday Information Manager is the awareness, preparedness and solutions-focused Resource to Manage Information to turn summer of constraints and worries into that of happiness and healthiness.  It contains a set of tips and tricks to help and enable vulnerable unaware people to plan their holiday or break with confidence to achieve the goal of increasing happiness.

For further details about this Holiday Information Manager or Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities, please contact CENFACS.

 

••• 3) Summer Harmony with Nature 

 

Summer of Happiness and Healthiness is also of accord with nature with its creatures.  Keeping a harmonious relationship with leaves, plants, animals, landscapes and surrounding natural species (like trees, plants, waters, parks, etc.) and resources adds a great value to our happiness and healthiness. In other words, it is about equating our needs of happiness and healthiness to those of the nature.

Living in harmony with nature means that to pass a good summer we do not need to upset the nature with its creatures.  Humans can pre-emptively take the lead by keeping their relationships as harmonious as possible to avoid the degradation and depletion of nature.

Need to keep harmony with nature, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS’ Summer Campaign over Nature.

 

••• 4) True Balance in Happiness and Healthiness

 

Through this initiative, we shall work with users to address some forms of imbalance in happiness; imbalance between happiness as an individual experience and happiness as a collective endeavour.  In other words, we shall support the community members to achieve their own happiness without compromising the ability of the other members of the community they belong to to have their own happiness.

It is in the interaction in happiness of each of our members and the CENFACS Community that the true balance in happiness can be found.

To find out further about this Happiness and Healthiness Project, please contact CENFACS.

 

••• 5) Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against the Cost-of-living Crisis 

 

Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against the Cost-of-living Crisis is a CENFACS Social Media Platform to facilitate the flows of information and communication in order to keep local children, young people and families (CYPFs) out of the threats, troubles, attacks and challenges of everyday life and during the Summertime of changing climate, rising costs of living and lingering effects of the coronavirus.

Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against the Cost-of-living Crisis is about improving the Flow of Information over the Summertime amongst us and other stakeholders by gaining access to mutual support, facilities, services and resources in order to protect and safeguard multi-dimensional deprived CYPFs.

It is not enough to carry out our individual actions against the cost-of-living crisis unless we sum up them by coming together in the form of social connections as human chains.  Such connections or network will help to exchange information and data for the mutual interest and collective defence or security.

Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against the Cost-of-living Crisis or Summer Social Media Platform is a means to access and facilitate the flows of information about the protection and safeguarding against the cost-of-living crisis.  Through this means, one can receive and pass on protective and safeguarding information about any threats and risks from the rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus within a networked community.

To network for protection and safeguarding against the cost-of-living crisis, please let CENFACS know.

 

••• 6) Community Care and Health Responsibility Enhancing Activities

  

Community Care and Health Responsibility Enhancing Activities are a combination of the support to people to live with care and dignity in our community on the one hand, and our shared responsibility for the public health on the other.

Through this Personal/Family Healthcare Plan, we will try to reduce lifestyle-induced diseases for ourselves and others while promoting our own health without adversely impacting the health of others and future generations.  Community care and responsibility imply as well whatever we do we must comply with the rule of the community, society in which we live.

We can use this Happiness and Healthiness initiative to create a COVID-19 Proof Wellness or Healthcare Plan.  Such a plan will include the following: health vision and goals, lifestyles habits, follow-up tips and checks.

For further details about Community Care and Health Responsibility Enhancing Activities, please contact CENFACS.

The above six interlinked themed ways/projects of creating and sustaining Happiness and Healthiness in a Summer of rising costs of living, changing climate and lingering effects of the coronavirus do not replace any good advice and practice (like the ones produced by statutory bodies on the cost-of-living crisis).  They just add value to what it is already in place.  They are to be used in conjunction with the existing other measures to bring happiness as well as health and safety measures.

For further details about any of these projects, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

We would like to wish all multi-dimensionally Poor Children, Young People and Families Happy, Healthy, Vulnerability-free, Peaceful, Safe and Sustainable Summer Days.

_________

 

• Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year

 

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.

One could also consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

20 July 2022

 

Post No. 257

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Projects in the Context of Rising Costs of Living

• July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 2): Impact Assessment of ‘Build Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer’ Programme 

• Impact Analytics of ‘Build Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer’ Programme (from to 18 to 31/07/2022) 

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Projects in the Context of Rising Costs of Living

 

The lingering effects of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the rising costs of living continue to pose an enormous challenge to the plan of many poor children, young people and families (CYPFs) to have a decent, happy and healthy Summer holiday.  Despite this challenge, there is still space to work together with these poor CYPFs  so that they can navigate their way to have a happy and healthy Summer break.

CENFACS’ Happiness and Healthiness Projects may not be the panacea  for their problems; however they could be a step forward to pulling together with these CYPFs and support them to enjoy some forms of happiness and healthiness during this Summer season.  The projects can help alleviate poverty linked to the lack of happiness and healthiness.

The Happiness and Healthiness Projects, which make the second part of our Summer Programme 2022,  are made of six Summer initiatives.  The list of these projects or initiatives is given under the Main Development section of this post.  Their contents will be unveiled as we move on and implement them during this Summertime.

For those who would like to have detailed information about each of the projects, they can contact CENFACS.

For any further information about the full 2022 version of the second part of our Summer Programme (that is Happiness and Healthiness Projects), please read under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 2): Impact Assessment of ‘Build Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer’ Programme 

 

Our work on this year’s All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment has moved to level 2.  The latter is about assessing the changes that may have occurred as result of the Programme of Building Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer.  Before going any further, let us re-explain what this programme is about.

 

• • What is Build-Forward-Better Programme?

 

Build Forward Better Programme (BFBP) is a set of projects and activities designed with the aim to ensure that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic sits on sound and sustainable foundations that build back better the poverty reduction gains hard-won before the pandemic erupted, and help beneficiaries to move forward better cleaner, greener and safer. 

The programme has been scheduled for two years (2020 to 2022) depending on the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, with a possibility of roll out.

Through this programme, it was thought the following three ideas:

1) Beneficiaries would make steady progress in their journey

2) The work of reconstruction from the asymmetrical and distributional impacts of COVID-19 would be undertaken

3) There would be preparation to stay resilient to future similar shocks and crisis.

These three ideas are the ones we are assessing in terms of their impact.

BFBP, which takes stock of CENFACS’ version of Build Back Better Programme, is indeed about correcting the asymmetrical legacies of these measures since many of our community members have been unevenly hurt during the COVID-19 crisis compared to other economic crises (such as the global recession of 2008-2009).

The programme has two parts, which are: Build Forward Better with the CENFACS Community and Build Forward Better with Africa-based Sister Organisations.

This is the programme we are trying to assess.  To assess it, we are going to refer to what theories say about impact assessment, and to apply or experiment these theories in the context of this programme.

 

• • What do theories say about impact assessment?

 

Intrac (1) summarises some of the positions around impact assessment by giving two definitions (from the OECD and Roche) of impact within social development, which are as follows: an impact is

 

“The positive and negative, primary and secondary, long-term effects produced by a development intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended” (OECD, 2010)

“Lasting or significant change – positive or negative, intended or not – in people’s lives brought about by an action or a series of actions” (Roche, 1999)

 

• • How we are going to apply these definitions

 

We are going to use both definitions in these ways:

(a) Roche’s definition will help to capture short-term and meaningful changes in terms of life-changing benefits such as saved lives from the health and humanitarian appeals we made (e.g. The Coronavirus-affected Children of Sub-Saharan Africa Desperately Need Your Help Right Now).

(b) The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) definition will enable to include long-term changes in CENFACS’ capacity and system of poverty reduction (e.g. the e-advice that we set up as a result of lockdown will continue in the future, particularly during this time of the cost-of-living crisis).

To conclude, we are still carrying out impact assessment or assessing change on an on-going basis (or impact monitoring) while doing another impact assessment or assessing actual change for some of our 2021-2022 programmes and projects affected by COVID-19 that have reached the end of their lives.  This impact assessment will be carried out until the 31st of July 2022. 

The results of these impact assessments will be published in our end-of-year 2021-2022 accounts and other financial statements in due course.

 

 

• Impact Analytics of ‘Build Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer’ Programme (from to 18 to 31/07/2022)

 

From 18 to 31 July 2022, we will be looking at the patterns and other meaningful information gathered from the analysis of data from the programme of Building Forward Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer Programme; while we are conducting an impact assessment of the same programme.  In other words, we are working to find out, interpret and communicate patterns in data in a meaningful way to the work of CENFACS relating to this programme.  This exercise will help to know what data found will be telling us.

 

• • Engaging with the Analytics Activity

 

We are continuing to ask supporters and users as well as Africa-based Sister Organisations to engage with us in responding and reacting to our poverty relief work in their own words and numbers.  They can rate and or provide a statement about these programmes and projects.  Where possible, they can provide information graphics (such as charts, graphs, images, etc.).  The data collected via their response will be processed and analysed to see if there is a meaningful pattern in them.

If anyone has data or information regarding the advice service we provided via for example the advice sessions we ran or resource we produced to help the community to build forward together cleaner, greener and safer; this is the opportunity to share these data or information with us.

To share data with us and or engage with this analytics activity, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Summer 2022 Festival of Thoughts and Actions with a Focus on Infrastructures to Reduce Poverty

 

The 14^th Edition of our Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions will start from Friday the 22^nd of July 2022 as scheduled.

Our thoughts and actions on Infrastructures to Reduce Poverty will be not only about building infrastructures, but also on planning to better maintain and manage these infrastructures.  This is because infrastructures are more than just immobile buildings. What are they?

They are the homes to contain people, institutions, cultures, history, livelihoods, etc.  Therefore, they need to be looked after.

They are as well the places that can help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  In this respect, the infrastructures upon which we shall reflect would be those poor people depend on for their every day life.   This is because there are sometimes infrastructures that are built and that do not have anything to do with poverty reduction and poor people.   This is what kind of contributions we are expecting; contributions relating to infrastructures helping to reduce poverty.

To help anyone who wants to participate to the Festival, we have put together supporting festival information under the following headings:

 

∝ Making any contributions in the form of thoughts and/or comments

∝ Event Guide and Programme

∝ Supporting the 7DDJ2022 event

 

Let us explain what the above named headings contain.

 

• • Making any contributions in the form of thoughts and/or comments

 

For those who will be making any contributions in the form of thoughts and/or comments, it will be good to stick to the daily themes as planned.  Likewise, it makes easy for the good running of the festival to be short and precise in making thoughts or comments.

This will allow capture the impact they are making.   In this way, this will as well enable us to meet the Festival’s aim and get the difference that it will make to the lives of those who are deprived from the infrastructures they badly need.

THINK • ACT • SHARE • ADD VALUE  •  SPREAD

 

• • Event Guide and Programme

 

The following is the make-up of Summer 2022 Festival.

 

• • • 7DDJ Registration: FREE!

 

The entry to the 7DDJ2022 is FREE.

For those who are busy and who can remotely, directly respond to the daily themes from their technological devices (e.g. laptop, desktop PC, tablet, phone, etc.) without having to attend any online sessions, there is no need to register.

For those who will have the opportunity to join our online sessions (or video conference), they may be notified about the days and times these sessions may happen.  They will need to sign into their Google accounts to join if everything remains the same.

 

• • • Daily Themes

 

Daily Themes (DTs) provide a daily opening thought or starting point of the broad topic/issue of Infrastructures to Reduce Poverty.  Each DT will last all day and the only day it is planned.

 

• • • Responses to 7DDJ Contributors

 

Each respondent will receive a reply to their contribution in the form of either an acknowledgement of their participation or a reaction expressed as an argument to their responses or even both.  Also, they will be entitled to receive the summary report on this annual event.

 

• • • Lead Thoughts

 

Lead thoughts, which will be introduced on the day of festival, are a general idea on the thought of the day.  There are designed to lead to or generate more thoughts, potential research paths or investigative grounds that can be further explored to shade some lights to our Summer Thoughts and Actions.  They are not an end for themselves.

MAKE YOUR IDEAS AND COMMENTS COUNT!

 

• • • 7 Daily Themes

 

Day 1: Relationships between infrastructure and poverty reduction

Day 2: Investing in infrastructure to reduce poverty 

Day 3: Infrastructure for poverty reduction impact

Day 4: Climate and war impacts on infrastructure  

Day 5: Funding infrastructures to reduce poverty

Day 6: Maintaining and managing infrastructures

Day 7: Centre staging people’s needs in the development of infrastructures

 

• • Supporting the 7DDJ2022 event

 

• • • 7 Ways of Supporting 7DDJ2022

 

You could…

 

√ Post your thoughts, comments and views on any themes and topics of the event directly to CENFACS

√ Pass the message onto interested persons

√ Feedback on previous 7DDJF events

√ Promote the event around you and/or by using other means available to you and at your convenience

√ Help us re-cover the expenses of the event specifically and/or the running cost of CENFACS’ work generally

√ Support CENFACS on a regular basis to enable us to continue our work

√ Support our new initiative about Infrastructure for Those in Need.

 

• • • 7 Ways of Proceeding with your Wish

 

Please choose below the kind of support you want to provide and let us know

 

√ Promote the event

√ Feedback CENFACS on previous events

√ Circulate the news about the event

√ Help in the recovery of 7DDJ 2022 expenses

√ Fund CENFACS for its deserving work and causes

√ Provide helpful and supportive comments/views

√ Support CENFACS in your own way.

 

Please mail your intent to support and or support to CENFACS

Closing date for reply: 07/08/2022 

Please read the above event supporting information and mail us your comments and views (on the themes of your interest) to facs@cenfacs.org.uk

Thank you for your continued support.

With best wishes and full of inspiration and creativity throughout our dedicated days of Festival of Thoughts and Actions on: Infrastructure to Reduce Poverty.

The 7DDJ2022 Events Team,

Thank you.

 

 

 

• Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa

 

This Summer 2022 Humanitarian Appeal, which is one of the Summer Appeal projects making the first part of our Summer Programme, is still running.

There is a need to support Children Young People Families (CYPFs) who have not got any means to choose distress-free ways of life.

The impact of the war in Ukraine on the international food, fuel and fertilizer markets has exacerbated high levels of food prices in Africa.  It has also deepened the cost-of-living crisis there.

It is possible to stop the cost-of-living crisis to have a lifelong impact on CYPFs. 

It is possible to avoid the lost generation of the cost-of-living crisis to happen in Africa.

CENFACS’ Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa can bring hopes and aspirations.

CENFACS’ Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis in Africa will help to reduce distress and hardship by bringing hopes and aspirations during this seismic time of the cost-of-living crisis and beyond to these distressed CYPFs in dire need of help and support.

CENFACS would be very grateful if you could be one of its supporters in transforming CYPF lives in Africa for a better one.

Please do not wait to donate as the needs are pressing and urgent NOW.

We look forward to your support to make helpful difference for the poor, vulnerable, neediest and distressed CYPFs in Africa.

To support, just contact CENFACS on this website.

Thank you for your generosity.

 

 

• Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2021-2022 Programmes, Projects and Activities: Only 11 Days to Go!

 

We have eleven days left for our Analytics month.  We are again appealing to you to tell us (in your own words, numbers and info-graphics) your perceptions, feelings and experiences about the programmes and projects we ran in the last 345 days preceding the beginning of July 2022.

Although we have selected 12 initiatives for Impact Feedback and Assessment One and 9 ones for Impact Feedback and Assessment Two for monitoring and evaluation purposes, we are not expecting people to provide feedback on all of them. 

People can only feedback on the project(s) and programme(s) they benefited from, supported, recommended users to us or interacted within. 

We again suggest picking up ONLY 1 or 2 initiatives for feedback.

Please feel free to say what you experienced.

Again, thank you for your experiential support!

 

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

Festival de pensées et d’actions de l’été 2022 axé sur les infrastructures pour réduire la pauvreté

La 14e édition de notre Festival d’été des pensées et des actions débutera le vendredi 22 juillet 2022 comme prévu.

Nos réflexions et nos actions sur les infrastructures pour réduire la pauvreté porteront non seulement sur la construction d’infrastructures, mais aussi sur la planification pour mieux entretenir et gérer ces infrastructures. 

En effet, les infrastructures sont plus que de simples bâtiments immobiles.  Ce sont les lieux où contenir les gens, les institutions, les cultures, l’histoire, les moyens de subsistance, etc.  Il faut s’en occuper.

Ce sont aussi les endroits qui peuvent contribuer à réduire la pauvreté et à améliorer le développement durable.  À cet égard, les infrastructures sur lesquelles nous réfléchirons seraient celles dont dépendent les pauvres pour leur vie quotidienne.   C’est parce qu’il y a parfois des infrastructures qui sont construites et qui n’ont rien à voir avec la réduction de la pauvreté et les pauvres.

7 Thèmes (un thème par jour) pendant 7 jours

Jour 1 : Relations entre l’infrastructure et la réduction de la pauvreté

Jour 2 : Investir dans les infrastructures pour réduire la pauvreté

Jour 3 : Infrastructure pour l’impact sur la réduction de la pauvreté

Jour 4 : Impacts climatiques et de la guerre sur les infrastructures

Jour 5 : Financer les infrastructures pour réduire la pauvreté

Jour 6 : Maintenance et gestion de l’infrastructure

Jour 7 : Mettre en avant le besoin des pauvres dans le développement des infrastructures

Vous pouvez soutenir le festival en publiant vos pensées, commentaires et points de vue sur un des thèmes et sujets de l’événement directement au CENFACS.

Pour soutenir le festival, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Projects in the Context of Rising Costs of Living

 

To approach Happiness and Healthiness Projects, it is better to understand them, to know the different factors that determine happiness and healthiness, and to deliver them.  Thus, the following headings will ease our approach:

∝ Understanding CENFACS’ Happiness and Healthiness Projects

∝ Determining Factors or Indicators of Happiness and Healthiness

∝ Delivering Healthiness and Healthiness with 6 Projects for 3 Beneficiaries.

Let us now look at what is inside these headings.

 

• • Understanding CENFACS’ Happiness and Healthiness Projects

 

As said in the first key message, the lingering effects of the coronavirus, extreme temperatures and the rising costs of living continue to pose an enormous challenge to the plan of many poor children, young people and families (CYPFs) to have a decent, happy and healthy Summer holiday.  In these conditions and circumstances, happiness and healthiness may not mean anything for them.

Despite that, it is possible to find health relief and happy fulfilment while still dealing with the lingering effects of COVID-19 factor and the cost-of-living crisis, this Summer 2022.  It is possible to make the conditions of being physically, mentally and socially sound better this Summer.

To make these conditions sound better, we have planned six happiness and healthiness enhancing initiatives.  This Summer, we are going to focus on ways or activities of finding this health relief and happy fulfilment in the context of lingering effects of COVID-19, rising costs of living and climate change.  In other words, our centre of interest is on what will keep children, young people and families happy (or unhappy) and healthy (or unhealthy) over Summer under the debilitating conditions of COVID-19, seismic rise in the cost of living and changing climate.

In order to keep them happy and healthy, there is a need to budget and deliver Happiness and Healthiness Projects.

 

 

• • • What are Happiness and Healthiness Projects?

 

CENFACS’ Happiness Projects are poverty-relieving responses to bring joy while reducing misery for poor children, young people and families over the summer period and beyond it.

CENFACS’ Healthiness Projects are poverty-relieving responses to bring freedoms from diseases (including epidemics, virus like COVID-19) while reducing misery for poor children, young people and families over the summer period and beyond it.

 

• • Determining Factors or Indicators of Happiness and Healthiness

 

The underlying principles or philosophy behind these life evaluation projects are in line with the main factors or indicators that define happiness as both a social and personal concept as explained in successive World Happiness Reports edited by Helliwell et al. (2).

 

• • • Happiness as both a social and personal concept

 

Helliwell et al. (op. cit.) distinguish the social foundations of happiness from personal happiness, although the two are complementary.  They argue that the science of measuring and understanding subjective well-being and happiness indicates that to be happy, one needs to meet the following six key variables or predictors that explain happiness differences among countries, which include:

income (Gross Domestic Product per capita), healthy life expectancy at birth, social support (having someone to count on in times of trouble), generosity, freedom to make life choices and trust (perceptions of corruption). 

For example, Helliwell et al. (3) argued in their 2020 World Happiness Report that

“Sub-Saharan Africa is not only the areas in the world with low happiness scores, but also a region in which happiness differences between the city and countryside are most pronounced in favour of city life” (p. 40)

The report went on in explaining that African countries with most pronounced urban-rural differences in life evaluation include: Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Central African Republic, South Africa, Gambia, Niger, Liberia and Egypt.

In their World Happiness Report 2021, Helliwell at al. (4) note that

“Life expectancy has much improved in Sub-Saharan Africa… Life expectancy has become much more equal, and has increased in Sub-Saharan Africa for seven years” (p. 194)

When talking about key determinants of happiness and misery, they again argue that happiness is caused by factors such as income, employment, health and family life.

 

• • • Happiness is about ending poverty and misery

 

CENFACS Happiness Projects address the issues encapsulated inside the above variables and factors while keeping in mind first the needs of the CENFACS Community.  This is because we think the way to keep people happier is to reduce as much as possible poverty and misery among them.   Happiness is about ending poverty and misery.

At this time of record-high costs of living, to be happy could mean having the means and resources to meet these high costs of food, energy, fuel, transport, accommodation, etc.  Those who are unable to meet these high costs, prices and bills will obviously be unhappy.

As we have brought in the concept of changing climate into our happiness projects, happiness is finally about ending poverty and misery amongst children, young people and families in an era of changing climate.  Soaring temperatures during this Summer can only mean more fresh water, foods with higher water content, Summer diet/food, air-conditioned environment and other resources to deal with the heat.  They could also signify a possibility of high threats and damages to health.

Those who would not have the means to manage these temperatures would not be happy and/or healthy.  To get happiness, they need to find ways of keeping themselves cool while carrying on their life as a normal in a heatwave.

 

• • • Healthiness is about ending poor health conditions

 

CENFACS Healthiness Projects address the issues enclosed in the above variables and factors, particularly healthy life expectancy in this Summer 2022.  These projects will help to keep in mind the needs of the CENFACS Community in terms of healthiness.

Keeping people healthier is about  reducing as much as possible health and climate poverty and misery among them.   Healthiness is about ending health poverty and misery.   Healthiness is finally about ending poor health and poor living environment amongst children, young people and families in an era of the post-coronavirus pandemic.

 

 

• • Delivering Happiness and Healthiness with 6 Projects for 3 Beneficiaries

 

6 Projects to bring Happiness and Healthiness to 3 beneficiaries: Poor Children, Young People and Families

 

After the last school term, Summer is a holiday season of the year during which most of the schools are closed and families with small children and young people in much needed help are forced to stay with them and or use this time of the year to take holiday.  The usual routine of educational/academic establishments with their recreational activities is scaled down.

This Summer is even dearer as many CYPFs have to face up skyrocketing prices of food, energy, transport, accommodation, etc.  The cost of running Summer will be excessively high for many CYPFs.  This is let alone the fact that many of them who are poor may not afford to travel, even inside the country, and to go for holiday.  Yet, these CYPFs are in need of seasonal and recreational activities and programmes for improving their well-being, healthiness and happiness.

There are ways of ensuring that summer stays an interesting and enjoyable period for Multi-dimensionally Poor Children, Young People and Families.  There are things that can be done to make summertime a season of Happiness, Peace, Vulnerability-free, Healthiness, Protection and Sustainability. 

There should be projects that can help them to adapt and mitigate the adverse effects of the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.  There should be projects that can help them to adapt and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

 

• • • Summer 2022 Happiness and Healthiness Projects

 

The following CENFACS suite of summer 2022 initiatives can help in achieving some joyful, healthful and helpful summer plans, goals and outcomes in the context of rising costs of living.

CENFACS Happiness and Healthiness Projects include:

 

1) ‘Holiday with Relief’ Resource (this year’s focus is on Food and Energy for Holiday)

2) Narrowing Gaps in Happiness Inequalities

3) Summer Harmony with Nature

4) True Balance in Happiness and Healthiness

5) Networking for Protection and Safeguarding at the Time of Cost-of-living Crisis

6) Community Care and Health Responsibility Enhancing Activities.

 

There is a link between these six initiatives.  For example, knowing the food and energy that one needs during the Summertime can help to narrow gap in inequalities relating to happiness and healthiness.  Likewise, the way in which one consumes food and energy can help build harmonious relationships with the nature, network for protection and safeguarding, and act in a responsible way in the interest of their own happiness and public healthiness.

These projects are the combination of skills, knowledge, resources, tools, tactics, fixers, enhancements, boosters and tasters for the relief from poverty induced by the cost-of-living and poverty due to the lack of happiness. 

In the preparation of our Summer 2022 programme for CYPFs, we have considered the continuing happiness and healthiness issues from the lingering asymmetrical effects of COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis and climate change.

All the six Happiness and Healthiness Projects will be COVID-19 Secure and Compliant; just as they take into account the happiness and healthiness effects in relation to changing climate and the cost-of-living crisis. 

They will be delivered to help improve life evaluation while taking actions to enhance the same life in the context and under the constraint of the lingering effects of COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis and changing climate.

In this way, Summer can be a season of Happiness and Healthiness NOT of Misery for un-served and under-served children, young people and families who are at the same time victims of the adverse and far-reaching lingering effects of COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis and changing climate.

They are the victims of adverse and far-reaching lingering effects of COVID-19 because COVID-19, which is an economic and health threat, is still coming back under different forms or variants.

They are also trapped in the cost-of-living crisis.  The latter has taken them economically and healthily in hostage by affecting the way they dress, eat, house, educate, eat, warm their home, entertain, enjoy, care for their health and body, look after their homes, and above all the way they pass their Summer holiday.

They are finally suffering from the consequences of changing climate, which is transforming the way they consume, produce and entertain themselves.

For details about CENFACS Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022 and to access them, please contact CENFACS.

 

_________

 

• References

 

(1) https://www.intrac.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Impact-Assessment.pdf (accessed July 2022)

 (2) Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J. (2017, 2018 & 2019), World Happiness Reports (2017, 2018 & 2019), New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network

(3) Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J. & De Neve J. E. (2020), World Happiness Report (2020), New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network

(4) Helliwell, John F., Richard Layard, Jeffrey Sachs, and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, eds. 2021, World Happiness Report 2021, New York, Sustainable Development Solutions Network

http://worldhappiness.report/ (accessed July 2022)

 

_________

 

• Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year

 

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.

One could also consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO :Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.