Food Security in Africa

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on August 10, 2022 in Uncategorized

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”

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.

Permalink

Track, Trending and Trip 2022

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on August 3, 2022 in Uncategorized

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.

Permalink

Essential Summaries of Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on July 30, 2022 in Uncategorized

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

(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^thEdition 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.

Permalink

Happiness and Healthiness Projects 2022

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on July 20, 2022 in Uncategorized

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^thEdition 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.

Permalink

Impact Monitoring and Evaluation 2021-2022

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on July 13, 2022 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

13 July 2022

Post No. 256

• July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 1): Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2021-2022 Programmes, Projects and Activities

• Data Analytics of User-generated Content

• Coming this July 2022: Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions with a Focus on Infrastructure to Reduce Poverty

… And much more!

Key Messages

• July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 1): Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2021-2022 Programmes, Projects and Activities

Our Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review, Assurance and Analytics for July 2022 have already started with Impact Feedbacks. These feedbacks are about carrying out activities in order to get the early results or impacts of the programmes and projects we ran during the financial year 2021-2022.

They are part of the level one of our July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment. However, before going further in summarising this first key message, let us explain the concept of assurance, which is part of the Analytics Month.

• • Assurance for a Good Impact Assessment

Last week, in our presentation of the core concepts used in the Analytics Month, we did not mention assurance. Yet, assurance is part and parcel of CENFACS‘ July analytics work. What is assurance?

By assurance, we simply mean what Her Majesty Treasury (1) argues, which is

“Assurance is an objective examination of evidence for the purpose of providing an independent assessment on governance, risk management and control processes for the organisation. An assurance framework is a structured means of identifying and mapping the main sources of assurance in organisation, and co-ordinating them to best effect”.

Assurance can be internal and external. In our analytics work, we are conducting internal assurance. What does it mean?

It means what for example ‘anngravells.com’ (2) argues about internal quality assurance, which

“Seeks to ensure that assessment activities have been conducted in a consistent, safe and fair manner”.

This internal quality assurance, which took place since our programmes and projects started, will continue and be deepened this month as it is the Analytics Month. This will be done via impact feedbacks.

• • Impact Feedbacks

We are holding two types of feedback: one from individuals as project supporters and users; and another one from organisations, particularly Africa-based Sister Organisations.

1) Project Supporters’ and Users’ Experiences (Feedback I)

This week’s Say by Project Supporters and Users will continue our Analytics Month. Project Supporters and Users can start to tell us the experiences they have had with the programmes and projects we have selected to conduct monitoring, evaluation, review, assurance and analytics.

We are asking Project Supporters, Users and other stakeholders to provide their views using their own words rather than we asking them to respond to open or close questions.

To ease the feedback process, we have singled out 12 initiatives from which they can pick and choose to provide their feedback.

They can give us feedbacks (responses and reactions) in the form of rating (numbers), statement (words) and information graphics (infographics like charts, graphs, etc.). This Say is about how they perceived and interacted with the products and services we presented to them over the last 345 days.

2) Africa-based Sister Organisations’ Voices (Feedback II)

These are too initiatives that we ran in the last financial year; initiatives that directly or indirectly aimed at supporting Africa-based Organisations or just advancing poverty reduction and sustainable development agendas in Africa. These initiatives were in the form of humanitarian appeals, fundraising and COVID-19 campaigns, advocacy work, project planning and advice, responses to global crises (like the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the cost-of-living crisis), etc.

We would like to hear the voices of Africa-based Organisations so that we can know where things went well and where they did not. This will enable us to reflect their needs in future programmes and projects development, while improving the way in which we are working with them in general and tackling the poverty issue in Africa in particular.

Their voices are important to us since we can only help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development unless those who are concerned with these issues own the process by telling us what kind of help they need and how they perceive their own problems rather than we telling them what is good for them.

Like for individuals responding to our request, organisations do not need specific questions to provide their feelings about our work. They can freely give their feedback in numerical, textual and information graphic statements.

To facilitate this feedback process, we have selected 9 initiatives from which they can pick and choose to provide their feedback.

The selected 2021-2022 programmes and projects for the purpose of feedback making our Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review, Assurance and Analytics are given in the Main Development section of this post.

• Data Analytics of User-generated Content

This is about the analysis of raw and semi-structured data provided or generated by users and other vested parties involved in the delivery of 2021-202 programmes and projects. This type of analytics requires the use of data literacy and methodology as well as analytical skills. As scheduled, this analytics started on 11 July 2022. Before going any further in this presentation, let us briefly explain user-generated content, data analytics and what we are going to do or are doing in this respect.

• • Brief understanding of User-generated Content

To explain User-generated Content (UGC), we are going to refer to Jose Angelo Gallagos’ online article. Gallagos (3) argues that

“User-generated content is any content that has been created, published and/or submitted by users of a brand”.

The content that Gallagos is arguing about can be in the form of images, tweets, videos, text, audio, social media posts, reviews, comments, blog posts, testimonials, feedback, etc.

As far as CENFACS is concerned, we are going to carry out the analytics of user-generated content during their journey to poverty reduction with us. In this respect, we are going to analytically process the content provided by CENFACS’ users, fans, enthusiasts and audience to support CENFACS‘ brand or as they navigate the road to poverty reduction.

• • Meaning of data analytics

To make things easily understandable for our readers and supporters, we have selected the following definition from ‘Master’s in Data Science’ (4) which states that

“Data analytics is the process of analysing raw data to find trends and answer questions”.

According to ‘Master’s in Data Science’,

“A successful data analytics initiative will provide a clear picture of where you are, where you have been and where you should go”.

‘Master’s in Data Science’ also distinguishes four primary types of data analytics, which are: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive.

We are going to turn to the above mentioned definition, primary types and other notions read within the literature survey about the concept of ‘data analytics’ in order to conduct the analytics of data or content generated by users of our programmes, projects and activities.

• • Data analytics in practice and progress

We are going to combine information technology, statistics and the life of CENFACS over 2021-2022 to discover patterns in data. In doing so, this will help us to improve performance in terms of the kind of work we do in order to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

In our data analytics process, we are going to undertake the following tasks:

(a) Data mining: extraction of data from unstructured data sources

(b) Data management: creation and management of databases

(c) Statistical analysis: creation of insights from data

(d) Data presentation: sharing of insights with stakeholders through data visualisation.

Where necessary and possible, we may involve online affordable analytics programmes to help in this exercise.

For those users who did not yet respond to our previous requests regarding any of the projects or events they took part or came across, this is the opportunity to share their content and provide their SAY or content or even data so that they can fit it into our analytics work.

For example, the users of Triple Value Initiatives (or All Year Round Projects) can inform us about the progress they have made so far. They can as well share results of collaborations and synergies across these projects. This information or data can be fitted into our Data Analytics Dashboard.

To sum up user-generated content or data analytics will help to provide actionable insights and user trend analysis. It will help to review deliveries and analyse the end-of-financial year performance regarding work undertaken with users. The result of this analytics will feed and align with the contents of our annual review 2021-2022.

To give and share your SAY or content or even data to help us in this analytics, please contact CENFACS.

• Coming this July 2022: Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions with a Focus on Infrastructure to Reduce Poverty

To best serve the needs of the CENFACS Community, there is a necessity to have infrastructure. This is because the development of infrastructure is the basis for creating the conditions for poverty reduction and for enhancing sustainable development. But, what is infrastructure?

• • Understanding infrastructure to reduce poverty

There are many definitions of infrastructure. For the purpose of these preliminary notes about our festival, we have selected the ‘Market Business News’ (5) definition, which is

“Infrastructure refers to the basic systems and services that a country or organisation needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as the road and railway networks, utilities, sewage, water, telephone lines and cell towers, air control towers, bridges, etc.; plus services including law enforcement, emergency services, healthcare, education, etc. “.

Our perception of infrastructure will include Market Business News’ argument on the matter. It will also refer to what most infrastructure economists say about infrastructure. In particular, we shall focus on the post-Keynesian economic view of infrastructure as it goes beyond public assets to include private assets in the definition of infrastructure.

Because we are talking about poverty reduction in the charitable sector (sector where CENFACS belongs to), our definition of infrastructure will also consider charitable sector assets in order to produce poverty reduction. What do we mean by charitable assets?

• • Defining charitable assets

The online dictionary ‘lawinsider.com’ (6) defines charitable assets as

“Those tangible and intangible assets in the form of movable and immovable property and equipment, personnel, and services acquired by a hospital through the expenditure of direct and indirect state, federal and local funds, or funds retained by virtue of their non-taxable status, and through money paid through the patronage of members of the community the hospital serves”.

Although this definition puts emphasis on hospital, there are various elements in it that can be applicable to what will be thought during our Seven Days of Development in July 2022.

Briefly, to fight and reduce poverty critical infrastructures (like education, health services, telephone cables and mobile phone towers, energy-generating facilities, etc.) are required. This requirement concerns both hard infrastructure (such as bridges and roads) and soft infrastructure (like information systems and knowledge bases).

We need sustainable infrastructures; that is economic (e.g. capital stock that facilitates economic production), social (e.g. health, education and recreation) and environmental (e.g. channels, lakes, ponds, parks and green spaces) infrastructures. We do not only need them; we also have to maintain them.

As usual, they will be seven themes for thoughts for seven days, one theme per day, starting from the 22nd to the 28th of July 2022.

The seven days of development in July are the days of thoughts and actions against poverty; in this case thoughts and actions to develop infrastructure to reduce poverty. The seven themes will not be an end of themselves. Instead, they will be the entry points in order to stimulate thoughts and actions.

We shall soon publish the daily themes and supporting information regarding this year’s Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions.

Extra Messages

• Goal of the Month: Reduction of Data Poverty

Last week, we set up our goal for the Season, which is to reduce unhappiness. This week, we are establishing another goal, which is for this month of July. Our goal for this month is to reduce data poverty. This set-up implies that we need to understand data poverty and work toward achieving this goal.

• • What is data poverty?

The literature survey on data poverty provides a number of definitions. Amongst them is what Patricia J. Lucas et al. (7) argue about it, which is the following:

“The term data poverty is used to mean not being able to afford sufficient access to broadband or mobile data, but also to mean not having enough information on particular topics or populations. Digital poverty also means not having access to digital devices” (p. 8)

Indeed, not having enough information on particular topics or populations can make the reduction of poverty harder; in particular if this information is linked to the populations who need help. Without data or information, it could be difficult to measure the level and type of poverty experienced by these populations. This is let alone the kind of response that fits with their situation.

• • Working toward achieving the reduction of data poverty

Our goal for this month is to help reduce data poverty by understanding what causes data poverty while getting its dimensions and its impacts. The goal is also about overcoming barriers to having sufficient data about poverty.

This goal perfectly fits into our Knowledge Year/Project as data helps to learn, know and describe the needs of those people living in poverty. It also echoes with the Analytics Month, a month during which we are deep diving into data and listening to what these data are telling us about our work and the people we are trying to help.

So, working toward this goal can help to fill the gap in data available and known about people in need. Although this is a goal for July 2022 only, it can however be part of any efforts to reduce and or end poverty linked to the lack of available data about the conditions of people living in poverty; that is those having a pronounced deprivation in well-being, lacking opportunities and being powerless and vulnerable.

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

• Holiday with Relief –

In Focus for 2022 Issue: Energy and Food during Holiday

It is a wealth of contents as it provides tips, hints, tricks, fixes, enhancements, information, guidance and support in terms of passing holiday for multi-dimensional poor children, young people and families; especially at this time of the cost-of-living crisis. During this time, human happiness and freedom to take and enjoy holiday have been compromised by the rising costs of living. This is let alone the lingering effects of the coronavirus.

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 coming long Summer holiday).

The resource is free to order. However, CENFACS would not mind any voluntary donation to help the enormous amount of effort and cost put in by its volunteers to produce it. Your contribution will help to keep it running and update, as well as help the community in need.

To enquire about this resource, just contact CENFACS.

• Impact Monitoring and Evaluation from the Perspective of Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs)

This week, we are as well looking at the way in which our Africa-based Sister Organisations perceive impact monitoring and evaluation. It is pointless to mention that theories of monitoring and evaluation used can be the same. But, the context in which these theories can be applied and the perception of the impact monitoring and evaluation could be slightly different.

Because of these differences in perceptions and theory applications, it is a great idea to exchange views with our ASOs on impact monitoring and evaluation of programmes and projects in the African context. This is an enriched and technically valuable exercise which will enable both sides to align works, cement their partnership and continue to develop sustainable initiatives.

We are therefore inviting ASOs that have stories or case studies about their own impact monitoring and evaluation to share with us. Likewise, we are asking to those ASOs that need advisory support in the area of impact monitoring and evaluation to let us know. This is an opportunity to learn and develop best practices and policies in this area.

Need to share your work or experience in terms of impact monitoring and evaluation for the programmes and projects you are running, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

Message in French (Message en français)

Objectif du mois : Réduction de la pauvreté liée au manque de données

La semaine dernière, nous avons fixé notre objectif pour la saison, qui est de réduire le malheur. Cette semaine, nous nous établissons un autre objectif, qui est pour le mois. Notre objectif pour ce mois-ci est de réduire la pauvreté des données (quantitatives et qualitatives). Ce contexte implique que nous devons travailler à la réalisation de cet objectif.

Travailler à la réduction de la pauvreté liée au manque de données

Notre objectif pour ce mois-ci est d’aider à réduire la pauvreté des données en comprenant ce qui cause la pauvreté des données tout en ayant l’idée de ses dimensions et ses impacts. L’objectif est également de surmonter les obstacles à la disponibilité de données suffisantes sur la pauvreté.

Le cadre de l’objectif du mois de juillet

Cet objectif s’inscrit parfaitement dans notre Année et Projet de la Connaissance, car les données aident à apprendre, à connaître et à décrire les besoins des personnes vivant dans la pauvreté. Cela fait également écho au Mois Analytique, un mois au cours duquel nous plongeons profondément dans les données et écoutons ce que ces données nous disent.

Un objectif de tous les temps

Ainsi, travailler vers cet objectif peut aider à combler le manque de données disponibles et connues sur les personnes dans le besoin. Bien qu’il s’agisse d’un objectif pour juillet 2022 uniquement, il peut toutefois faire partie de tout effort de tous les temps visant à réduire et/ou à mettre fin à la pauvreté liée au manque de données disponibles sur les personnes vivant dans la pauvreté; c’est-à-dire celles qui ont une privation prononcée de bien-être, qui manquent d’opportunités et qui sont impuissantes et vulnérables.

Ce qui précède est notre objectif de réduction de la pauvreté pour ce mois-ci, que nous demandons à nos adhérents et à nos sympathisants d’aider ou de promouvoir.

Main Development

• July 2022 All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment (Level 1): Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2021-2022 Programmes, Projects and Activities

Last week, we said that the name of the July game at CENFACS is Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review and Analytics. In other words, July is the tracking month during which we conduct our Impact monitoring, evaluation, review and analytics of the projects and programmes we delivered during almost last 11 months and 2 weeks.

The following is what we have planned to cover this level 1 of our Analytics work:

Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review, Assurance and Analytics in progress

All-in-One Impact Feedbacks: Tell it in your own words, numbers and info-graphics!

Summer Selection and Collection of 12 Initiatives for Feedback One and 9 for Feedback Two.

Let us summarise each of these points of our Analytics work.

• • Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review, Assurance and Analytics in progress

We are still routinely gathering information on all aspects of these programmes and projects related to the above named period. Likewise, we are assessing what these programmes and projects have achieved in relation to the overall objectives we set up for them. Also, we are critically examining, reappraising or reconsidering our objectives and policies to achievements, and figuring out whether there is any progress or set back. Furthermore, we are making sure that the impact process is independently carried out and can help us to assess the health and viability of programmes and projects delivered.

Besides the above four activities (monitoring, evaluation, assurance and review), we are working to find out, interpret and communicate patterns in data in a meaningful way to the work of CENFACS, as part of the analytics activity.

Once we have completed the July Impact monitoring, evaluation, review and analytics; we shall communicate the findings to our respondents and any vested interested parties.

In meantime, we are inviting 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.).

• • All-in-One Impact Feedbacks: Tell it in your own words, numbers and info-graphics!

There are many types or models of feedback. In this exercise of feedback about the 2021-2022 programmes and projects, we are referring to impact feedback. The latter is about giving feedback from the perspectives of users and African organisations by describing the programmes and projects delivered by CENFACS from their points of view. It is an observation, but not an evaluation from their part. They could describe the impact these programmes and projects have on them and what they like to be different.

The exercise is meant to enable Supporters and Users (you might be one of them) as well as Africa-based Sister Organisations to share with us and others the outcomes and learning experiences resulting from the use or application of the projects we have chosen from our Programmes for feedback purpose.

Please seize this opportunity to provide your own lines of thought and observation for improvement, adjustment and development by sharing with us and others the outcomes and/or experiences resulting from the communications we have had with you and or your use/application or participation/support concerning the programmes and projects below.

We would like to know how helpful, effective and efficient did you find in these programmes and projects, and what lessons, experiences did you learn and development for the future of our poverty relief work in coming years.

• • Summer Selection and Collection of 12 Initiatives for Feedback One and 9 for Feedback Two

We would like to inform you that some of the projects selected may have the same title like the year before. However, the focus and contents for this year and each year are completely different. In other words, what matters is not the title of the project or programme, but what is inside them or their insight.

We have selected the following programmes and projects for Feedback I and II.

Feedback I: Projects and Programmes for Feedback from Individuals (Supporters and Users’ Experiences)

There are 12 selected initiatives for Feedback I as follows:

1) Summer 2021 Festival with a Focus on Coronavirus Debt and Deficit Management

2) August 2021 Trending Activities of Following the Direction of Poverty Reduction through Natural Capital Assets

3) Back-to-relief Programme and Service 2021

4) Leaves-based Advice

5) “A la une” Campaign with an Emphasis on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa

6) Foresight Skills Development

7) Climate Protection and State for African Children – Phase 3.1 with Glasgow Steps It Up

8) Build Forward Better Programme (Phases 1 & 2)

9) Energy Transition Support Services

10) Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2021-2022

11) Arts and Design-based Development Project 2021

12) African Children’s Climate & Sustainable Development Goals with a Focus on Generational Impact Analysis of the Coronavirus and Cyclical Impact Analysis of the Cost-of-living Crisis.

Feedback II: Projects and Programmes for Feedback from Organisations (Africa-based Sister Organisations’ Voices)

We have selected 9 initiatives for Feedback II as follows:

1) Appeal for Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu

2) African-focused Not-for-profit Investors’ Platform

3) Street Children in Africa: How to Bring Happiness and Healthiness for Children Living on the Street in Africa at this Time of Enduring COVID-19

4) Making Zero Hunger Grand Sud of Madagascar

5) Food Security Appeal for Central African Republic, Burundi, DR Congo, Djibouti & Cameroon

6) Appeal to End Food Insecurity in the Eastern Horn of Africa

7) Coronavirus-affected Children of Sub-Saharan Africa Desperately Need Your Help Right Now

8) The Children of Chad Need Your Support at the Moment

9) The Internally Displaced People of Rutshuru Need Help.

The above selected 2021-2022 programmes and projects may seem a lot for a feedback purpose. However, what we have done is to give to people and organisations the opportunity to choose or pick the one (s) they know or associate with to feedback.

For the effectiveness of the feedback, we suggest that people or organisations to pick only 1 or 2 initiatives to give their feedback. Also, it is better to be concise when making your feedback.

• • • How do you provide your feedback?

There are online feedback collection tools (such as survey monkey, visual feedback, type form, online review, etc.). For the simplicity of our Impact Feedback, we would very much appreciate if you could provide us your feedback…

(a) via e-mail, text, phone, web comments or reviews

(b) in your own words, numbers and information graphics (info-graphics).

Please do it by saying the way in which the above named programmes and projects have affected you or the people you recommended to use them or your organisation or sister organisation.

You could rate (by using numbers or percentages or ratios) these programmes and projects or provide a statement (by using words) or even give a chart or table (as information graphics). You can as well record your voice and run a video or short film. This is aptly up to you.

Please remember, we can only help reduce poverty and do the changes we all want if you tell us what you think; not us only telling you what we do.

Please consider our request for feedback and for your testimonial support.

• • • Need further information about the above programmes and projects before your feedback

Those who have been following the work CENFACS does will be familiar with the above mentioned projects and programmes. They may not need further details about them.

Those who want to provide feedback and would like to request the details or summaries of the above selected programmes and projects prior to their feedback, they are free to make their request to us.

Thank you for considering our request of feedback and for your testimonial support.

This feedback is due by the END OF JULY 2022.

_________

• References

(1) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270485/assurance_frameworks_191212.pdf (accessed in July 2022)

(2) https://www.anngravells.com/information/iqa (accessed in July 2022)

(3) Jose Angelo Gallegos (2016), What is User Generated Content: Complete Guide to UGC & Why you need it

https://www.tinup.com/blog/user-generated-content-definition (accessed July 2021)

(4) https://www.masterindatascience.org/learning/what-is-data-analytics/

(5) https://marketbusiness.com/financial-glossary/infrastructure-definition-means/ (accessed in July 2022)

(6) https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/charitable-assets (accessed in July 2022)

(7) Lucas, P. J., Robinson, R. & Treacy, L. (2020), What Is Data Poverty? at https://media.org.uk/documents/what_is_Data_Poverty.pdf (accessed in 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.

Permalink

Analytics Month 2022

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on July 6, 2022 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

06 July 2022

Post No. 255

The Week’s Contents

• Analytics Month 2022

• Activity/Task 7 of the Knowledge (K) Year/Project: Discover and Communicate Any Meaningful Patterns from Data about Those in Need

• The People of Lake Chad Basin Need Support

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Analytics Month 2022

July is CENFACS’ Analytics month as it is the time of the year during which we conduct the impact monitoring, evaluation, review and analytics of our programmes and projects. Through this exercise, we analyse what we did over the last 345 days, seize the outputs and, if possible, capture the early impacts made.

It is the time we review what worked well, what badly worked and what did not work at all. We do it by bringing all together the programmes and projects as well as activities that made the preceding financial year. This is what we usually call All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment.

It is a feedback because we ask all our stakeholders to give their opinions about our work. We expect them to provide us with their unbiased, independent, true and fair views and feelings about our work. From what they feedback and what we have collected as data, we can assess or judge our performance against aims, goals and targets of poverty reduction and sustainable development we set up at the beginning of the financial year.

It is also a time to deep dive into numbers and to listen to what these numbers (numerical data) are telling us; for example if we have been on track or running behind or even tracking ahead. This exercise helps us to discover patterns in numbers achieved and to spot trends.

The analytics activity further guides us to know if we hit targets or not, and to focus time and energy on our core mission while adjusting and redeveloping our programmes and projects in improved direction. In doing so, this gives us the opportunity to predict and plan future activities while reconnecting with stakeholders and stewarding new donors.

For more information about All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment or CENFACS’ Analytics Month, please read under the Main Development section of this post.

• Activity/Task 7 of the Knowledge (K) Year/Project: Discover and Communicate Any Meaningful Patterns from Data about Those in Need

This month’s activity/task of the Knowledge Year and Project is about analysing data from those in need by using mathematics, statistics and computer software. The outcome from this analysis is to discover and communicate meaningful patterns from their data.

After knowing these patterns and trends, one could better plan poverty reduction services and policies to meet the needs of poor people in terms of food, energy, education, shelter, transport, communication, etc.

Briefly speaking, during this month of July the Activity/Task 7 of our Knowledge Year and Project will consist of getting and knowing data about people in need, discovering and communicating any meaningful patterns emerging from these data; patterns which we will be studied and interpreted to see if they indicate what needs to done against poverty.

To work with us via this Activity/Task 7, please contact CENFACS.

• The People of Lake Chad Basin Still Need Support

Since CENFACS launched an appeal in 2018 to support the displaced people around the Lake Chad region, there is still much to be done for these suffering people living in that region in order to have peace, food, water and health they desperately need.

It emerges from the infographics about the Lake Chad Basin presented by ‘reliefweb.int’ (1) that as of 15 June 2022 and possibly until today, there are…

11 MILLION PEOPLE who need HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

5.5 MILLION PEOPLE who are expected to be SEVERELY FOOD INSECURE during the lean season

300,000 CHILDREN who are SEVERELY MALNOURISHED

1,038 SCHOOLS which are NON-FUNCTIONAL

THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN who have been DEPRIVED AN EDUCATION

2.8 MILLION PEOPLE who are INTERNALLY DISPLACED

277,000 who are REFUGEES

Almost 7.4 MILLION PEOPLE who are IN NEED.

CENFACS would like to appeal to you to address a long-neglected conflict which rose into violent extremism and dire insecurity within this region and which has led to these appalling figures.

• • The Misfortunes of Lake Chad Basin and the People Living nearby

The Lake Chad Basin includes the following countries: Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. The Lake Chad has been shrunk by nine-tenths as result of climate change, population growth and irrigation. In addition to this natural calamity or shrinkage, the Lake has been subject to other misfortunes related to high level of insecurity since the outbreak of warfare in the region. This has led to the displacement of around 10 million people since 2017 according local sources.

• • What CENFACS would like you to do

Whenever there is a general humanitarian relief appeal, there is always some concern about asking and giving money. In the contrary, whenever CENFACS appeal to do something about people and communities in desperate need, it is not always about asking people to donate money.

Money is not always a king to change deprived lives. Little or simple things can be the real BIG change makers.

There are simple things that one can do to influence the situation on the grounds where there is suffering. These things could include:

making a telephone call to someone who can change lives on the grounds, advocacy, lobbying, campaigning, raising your voice without fear about the issue in a gathering, making the issue top story of your communications, and exchanging views on the social media platforms about the issue.

It is all about communicating or talking with those who may have the powers to change lives and things on the grounds to do something, and making sure they act in the interest of those in need.

In fact, in today’s world of digital and online technologies, it has become even more easier than before to support whether through social media platforms or other networking outlets; to engage people in discussions, thoughts and actions to do something.

These little or small smart things can make BIG impacts on the lives of sufferers.

The above named things are the ones CENFACS would like you to do in order to bring a glimmer of hope to the displaced people around the Lake Chad Basin. One can think of those kids, displaced in this region, who may not have (even for ever) the opportunity to enjoy education in their life, let alone the fact of being homeless and have lost all your belongings including your family members as a result of continuing conflicts and environmental degradation in the region.

What supporting the Lake Chad Basin can achieve: Peace, Food and Water

Supporting this highly deserving cause of poverty relief and sustainable development will be a gift to be treasured by those who will receive it as it will help to achieve the following benefits:

√ Helping poor displaced families to make a living

√ Restoring agriculture, fishing and livestock which are dying with the shrinkage of the Lake and the conflict-driven region

√ Stopping children and young people for earlier becoming forced fighters and helping them to return to and gain education for peace and sustainable development

√ Enabling farmers to earn a living, to self-help and self-sustain

√ Feeding the hungry displaced persons and amongst them children and women

√ Reducing migration due to climate change, insecurity and financial challenges

Above all, addressing the root causes of the insecurity in the region.

Your support can help refill the Lake Chad with water and bring hope of peace, food, energy and water for the displaced peoples of the Lake Chad Basin, the poor from conflict-affected and climate change-stricken region.

Please support TODAY so that we can help the People of Lake Chad Basin who Still Need Support.

To discuss and get further details about this appeal, please contact CENFACS at http://cenfacs.org.uk/contact-us/

Thank you for considering delivering on this appeal.

Extra Messages

• CENFACS’ Charity e-Store

CENFACS e-Store is opened for your Summer goods donations and goods purchases.

At this time, many people have been affected by the cost of living crisis mostly driven by the hikes in prices of basic life-sustaining needs (e.g., energy, food, transport, housing, council tax, phone, etc.).

The impacted of the cost of living crisis needs help and support as prices and bills have astronomically gone up while incomes are still the same for many of those living in poverty.

Every season, every month is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships. This Summer too is a good and great season of the year to do it.

You can donate or recycle your unwanted and unneeded goods to CENFACS’ Charity e-Store, the shop built to help alleviate poverty, lift people out of poverty and prevent poverty and hardships.

You can as well buy second hand goods and bargain priced new items and much more.

CENFACS’ Charity e-Store needs your support for SHOPPING and GOODS DONATIONS.

You can do something different this Season of Goods Donations by SHOPPING or DONATING GOODS at CENFACS Charity e-Store.

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

√ DONATE unwanted GOODS, GIFTS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Charity e-Store this Summer.

√ SHOP at CENFACS Charity e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief this Summer.

Your SHOPPING and or GOODS DONATIONS will help to the Upkeep of the Nature and to reduce poverty and hardships exacerbated or brought by the cost of living crisis.

This is what the Season of Giving is all about.

Please do not hesitate to donate goods or purchase what is available at CENFACS e-Store.

Many lives have been threatened and destroyed by the cost of living crisis.

We need help to help them come out poverty and hardships caused by the cost of living crisis.

To donate or purchase goods, please go to: http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

• Goal of the Season: Reduction of Poverty Linked to the Lack of Happiness

Poverty has many forms and features. One of them is the lack of happiness or life satisfaction. What is poverty as a lack of happiness?

• • Poverty as a Lack of Happiness

Being happy can be subjective as happiness can be based on immaterial and or material things. However, the inability to meet basic life-sustaining needs (like food, energy, fuel, education, shelter, skills, communication, occupation, health, etc.) can make unable people unhappy and sometimes unwell. If this unhappiness continues, it can become a matter of poverty. This can necessitate action to deal with it.

• • Action to reduce poverty as a lack of happiness

During this Season of Happiness at CENFACS, we shall work with the community to explore together steps and ways of helping our members to find happiness and wellness. We are going to work with them through Happiness Projects and other Summer initiatives we have planned so that they can navigate their way to happiness.

There are many ways in which one can help our community members to find happiness. So, this season we are going to spend our time with the community by working together to reduce the lack of happiness as poverty.

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

• Zero Income Deficit Campaign:

How to pass your financial credibility test

The lingering effects of the coronavirus and the current cost-of-living crisis are causing a lot of pain to many low income households to the extent that some of them could be suffering from loss of financial credibility. Loosing financial credibility could mean that one could not be trusted or believed about finances. This could also impact the zero income deficit trajectory of those who have financial credibility problem. But, what is financial credibility and why it is so important as far as the Zero Income Deficit Campaign is concerned?

• • Understanding financial credibility and its relevancy for Zero Income Deficit Campaign

Using Chambers Combined Dictionary Thesaurus edited by Martin Manser and Megan Thomson (2), credibility is defined in this dictionary thesaurus as

“The quality of being credible [that is, capable of being believed, reliable or trustworthy]” (p. 299)

Referring to the Oxford Dictionary of Finance edited by Brian Butler and Alan Isaacs (3), finance is explained as

“The practice of manipulating and managing money” (p. 107)

If one assembles the two definitions, then financial credibility will mean the quality of being capable of being believed in the practice of manipulating and managing money. It is the extent to which one can be believed they will properly deal with money.

To have a comprehensive view of financial credibility, it could be better to add the following four cores of credibility as provided by ‘resources.franklincvey.com’ (4), which are: integrity, intent, capabilities and results.

The above definition of financial credibility will be used in our work with both our users and Africa-based Sister organisations.

• • Working with the community on financial credibility

Economic and financial hardships can push people, especially the income poor, to the verge of loosing or to loose their financial credibility. At this time of the cost-of-living crisis, those of our lower income community members, who cannot meet the current extremely high cost of the living, may find hard to be believed in matter relating to manipulating money. This places them in a very difficult position to pursue the policy of zero deficit income. They need support.

Using credibility theory and practice, we can work with the community on the following:

√ to help the members of our community to improve their history of holding financial promises

√ to keep track with the Zero Income Deficit Campaign

√ to reduce information asymmetry between the members of our community and those who could help them on financial matter

√ to assist these members to translate their financial policy announcements into reality

√ to mitigate adverse impact of financial reporting credibility

√ to undertake better financial reporting credibility

√ to keep members’ net worth in good shape and reputation

√ to prepare them to pass financial credibility test

Etc.

Those members of our community who may be interested in this support, they can contact CENFACS. Also, for those ones who have stories or problems to share about how they are coping in manipulating and managing money during this cost-of-living crisis, they can share them with us.

Message in French (Message en français)

Mois de l’analytique 2022

Juillet est le mois de l’analyse du CENFACS car c’est la période de l’année au cours de laquelle nous effectuons le suivi, l’évaluation, l’examen et l’analyse de l’impact de nos programmes et projets. Grâce à cet exercice, nous analysons ce que nous avons fait au cours des 345 derniers jours, saisissons les résultats et, si possible, capturons les premiers impacts réalisés.

Juillet, c’est le mois d’examen.

C’est le moment où nous examinons ce qui a bien fonctionné, ce qui a mal fonctionné et ce qui n’a pas fonctionné du tout. Nous le faisons en rassemblant tous les programmes et projets ainsi que les activités qui ont fait l’exercice financier précédent. C’est ce que nous appelons généralement la rétroaction et l’évaluation d’impact tout-en-un.

Juillet, c’est le mois de donner en retour.

C’est un retour d’information car nous demandons à toutes nos parties prenantes de donner leur avis sur notre travail. Nous nous attendons à ce qu’ils nous fournissent leurs points de vue et leurs sentiments impartiaux, indépendants, vrais et justes à l’égard de notre travail.

À partir de ce qu’ils ont fait savoir et de ce que nous avons recueilli en tant que données, nous pouvons évaluer ou juger notre performance par rapport aux buts, objectifs et cibles de réduction de la pauvreté et de développement durable que nous avons mis en place au début de l’exercice financier.

Juillet, c’est le mois de plonger dans les chiffres.

C’est aussi le moment de plonger profondément dans les chiffres et d’écouter ce que ces chiffres (données numériques) nous disent si nous avons été sur la bonne voie ou si nous avons couru derrière ou même suivi devant. Cet exercice nous aide à découvrir des modèles en nombre et réalisés et à repérer les tendances.

Juillet, c’est le mois de savoir si les objectifs ont été atteints.

L’activité d’analyse nous permet également de savoir si nous atteignons nos objectifs et de consacrer du temps et de l’énergie à notre mission principale tout en ajustant et en redéveloppant nos programmes et projets dans une meilleure direction. Ce faisant, cela nous donne l’occasion de prévoir et de planifier les activités futures tout en renouant avec les parties prenantes et en gérant les nouveaux donateurs.

Pour plus d’informations sur la rétroaction et l’évaluation d’impact tout-en-un ou le Mois de l’analytique du CENFACS, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

Main Development

• Analytics Month 2022

The name of the July game at CENFACS is Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review and Analytics. July is the month during which we conduct our impact monitoring, evaluation, review and analytics of the projects and programmes we delivered during almost last 11 months and 2 weeks.

The contents of the way we are organised to conduct the Analytics Month 2022 are summarised under the following sub-headlines:

Key Words for the Analytics Month

The analytical process within CENFACS

What is CENFACS Analytics Dashboard?

Analytics of Knowledge Year as an Example of Analytical Process within CENFACS

All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment for July 2022

Let us look at each of these sub-headlines.

• • Key Words for the Analytics Month

There are five key words we are using which are: impact, monitoring, evaluation, review and analytics.

1) Impact

Normally, it takes a considerable amount of time to get the real impact of any intervention, project and programme. However, because we are talking about finding out what projects and programmes have achieved, it makes sense to clarify what we mean by impact.

To do that, we are going to borrow the definition of impact from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD (5) differentiates ex ante impact from ex post impact. This is what it argues.

“Ex ante impact analysis is the needs analysis and planning activity of the policy cycle. It is a prospective analysis of what the impact of an intervention might be, so as to inform policy making”.

“Ex post impact assessment is the evaluation and management of the policy cycle. Evaluation aims to understand to what extent and how a policy intervention corrects the problem it was intended to address. Impact assessment focuses on the effects of the intervention, whereas evaluation is likely to cover a wider range of issues such as the appropriateness of the intervention design, the cost and the efficiency of the intervention, its unintended effects and how to use the experience from this intervention to improve the design of future generations”.

The above definitions help to understand the scope and scale of the impact of most interventions.

As far as CENFACS is concerned, we will be doing evaluation activities for some programmes and projects; and impact assessments for others. This is because impact assessment is mostly a theory-based activity and has a narrow and tightly-defined focus. Where we need to design evaluation questions and use evaluation techniques, we will do evaluation. Where there is a need for a tightly-defined focus, we will do impact assessment.

We are as well considering that the initiative for change comes from project users or beneficiaries not from CENFACS or CENFACS’ projects or programmes. This is because the impact analysis model of change we are using is a non-linear one. Despite this non-linearity of the theory of change used, our impact analysis will still be based on causality and attribution approach.

2 & 3) Monitoring and evaluation

We are going to use the definition of monitoring and evaluation as given by Kersty Hobson, Ruth Mayne and Jo Hamilton (6) in their “A Step by Step guide to Monitoring and Evaluation”. They define monitoring as

“the collection and analysis of information about a project or programme undertaken while the project or programme is on-going”. (p. 5)

They also define evaluation as

“the periodic, retrospective assessment of an organisation, project or programme that might be conducted internally or by external independent evaluators”. (p. 5)

From these two definitions, it is understood that monitoring is an on-going process whereas evaluation is a periodic or discrete one.

4) Review

We have referred to an online source from ‘method123.com’ (7) for the meaning of this fourth key word. This online source defines review as

“an assessment of the status of a project at a particular point in time”.

From this online perspective, we have been performing a project management review at the end of each phase of our projects and programmes. We have been verifying whether or not we have met the objectives. If so, then a decision needed to be approved to proceed to the next project or programme phase.

July is the month we put together all these project reviews conducted while doing the last reviews for those projects and programmes pending for a final review.

5) Analytics

There are many approaches to analytics. In the context of our July work, we have selected an explanation from ‘dictionary.com’ (8) which is as follows:

“the patterns and other meaningful information gathered from the analysis of data”.

This kind of analytics will help us to better deliver a user experience for our projects and programmes.

• • The analytical process within CENFACS

We have been continuously and at discrete points in time tracking what has been happening within our programmes and projects while using the data collected to inform programme and project implementation as well as day-to-day management and decisions during the above named period. However, in July this monitoring exercise becomes more intense.

Likewise, we have been periodically assessing objectives of our planned, on-going, or completed projects, programmes, or policies. During these evaluation processes, we have tried to selectively answer specific questions related to the design, implementation, and results of our programmes and projects.

In July, these evaluation activities become further pronounced as we assess what these programmes and projects have achieved in relation to the overall objectives we set up for them. The results of this evaluation are fed back to improve these programmes and projects, or alternatively to develop new ones.

Still in July, we critically examine, reappraise or reconsider our objectives and policies to achievements, and see if there is any progress or set back. This review enables us to improve as well.

Throughout the year, we work to finding out, interpret and communicate patterns in data in a meaningful way to the work of CENFACS. We apply those patterns in our decision making process. In July, we put extra emphasis on this analytics which becomes very profound.

Briefly, July is the time we do our Summer tracking by reconsidering the value and relevancy of our work, let one the overall state of our charitable work. It is in this period of the year that we carry out what we call All-in-One Impact Feedback and Assessment. In other words, we try to listen to our stakeholders while tracking or capturing the early impacts of our work by considering all the pieces together as one.

One of the key tools we use to do our impact analysis is CENFACS Analytics Dashboard.

• • What is CENFACS Analytics Dashboard?

CENFACS Analytics Dashboard is an information management tool that tracks, analyses and displays key performance indicators, poverty reduction diagnostics, poverty relief metrics/dashboards, results from CENFACS’ poverty relief league, etc.

• • • What else does CENFACS Analytics Dashboard offer?

√ It monitors the health of CENFACS in terms of the relationships of support received to outputs and outcomes generated.

√ It provides as well infographics and summaries about some of the campaigns conducted.

√ It enables to discover and identify poverty reduction problems from the examination of symptoms it helps find.

√ It assists in engineering analytical solutions to the problem of reducing poverty.

√ It finally helps to retrieve information from CENFACS repository about the resources to help users and supporters.

For example, during the early stage of the coronavirus pandemic, we used CENFACS Analytics Dashboard to check the health of CENFACS and state of running of CENFACS’ projects and programmes. This checking enabled us to know the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic affected the running of CENFACS and its services. Knowing the distributional effects of the coronavirus pandemic on our projects and programmes, this knowledge helped us to reorganise these projects and programmes differently.

For more on CENFACS Analytics Dashboard, please contact CENFACS.

• • Analytics of Knowledge Year as an Example of Analytical Process within CENFACS

• • • What is the analytics of CENFACS’ Knowledge Year?

The analytics or tracking of Knowledge Year is the 6-month analysis and turning of raw data insight for making better decisions in terms of helping to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. To make this possible, we have created a booklet or journal of creative activities or tasks carried out so far to mark 2022 as a Knowledge Year. This booklet/journal is also a record of data.

• • • Booklet/Journal of 2022 Activities as Knowledge Year: Better learning and knowing the needs of those in need

∝ January 2022

Activity/Task 1: Knowledge about the consumption needs of those in need

Selected analytics quantitative indicator: Number of food insecure having accessibility, availability, utilisation and stability to food stuffs

∝ February 2022

Activity/Task 2: Knowledge about how those in need are meeting sustainable development goals

Selected analytics quantitative indicator: Number of energy poor having access to affordable and clean energy

∝ March 2022

Activity/Task 3: Knowing climate actins that mitigate both adverse impact of climate change and poverty

Selected analytics quantitative indicator: Level of indoor pollution or greenhouse gas concentrations or number of households using polluting stoves

∝ April 2022

Activity/Task 4: Knowing the kind of protection that the impacted of the rising costs of living need

Selected analytics quantitative indicator: Relief payments or family allowances received by those in need

∝ May 2022

Activity/Task 5: Knowing the real stories of people in need

Selected analytics qualitative indicator: Homeless’ and street beggars’ stories

∝ June 2022

Activity/Task 6: Understanding the creative skills of those in need

Selected analytics quantitative and qualitative indicator: ideas produced or products created or existing ideas reorganised in some new way.

One can journal, quantify and gain insight of the meaning of the data about the last 6 months of Knowledge Year from this booklet/journal of creative activities and make good decision on how to better help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

• • All-in-one Impact Feedback and Assessment for July 2022

This month, we will be conducting three levels of Impact Assessment:

(a) Impact monitoring and evaluation of the programmes and projects we ran in the last financial year

(b) Impact assessment of CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer from the coronavirus

This Impact Assessment will be ex post. And the evaluation related to this exercise will aim to understand the extent to which and the way in which our projects and programmes corrected the problems of poverty and unsustainable development amongst our intended beneficiaries.

Let us briefly summarise the three levels of impact assessment to be conducted.

(a) Impact monitoring and evaluation of the programmes and projects we ran in the last financial year

As the title of impact indicates, it will about putting together in the form of one piece of work all the results of monitoring and evaluation activities we have conducted for programmes and projects we ran in the last financial year.

(b) Impact assessment of CENFACS’ Programme of Building Forward Better Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer from the coronavirus

We are going to seize the impact of Build Forward Better Together Cleaner, Greener and Safer, which is a two-year programme we set up to come out and move forward from the coronavirus. We shall look at the impact of this programme on our system of poverty reduction, particularly on CENFACS’ 2020s Poverty Reduction Tools and Programme, and Development Agenda.

(c) Impact feedback about our XX236.3F Programme

Like last year, this year’s All-in-One Impact Feedback and Assessment will be extended to include our XX236.3F programme as we are in the month of Monitoring and Evaluation.

XX236.3F is our 2020 to 2030 to 2063 Follow up Programme. We are following the implementation of the following:

∝ The International Climate Change Agreement (or the Paris Treaty)

∝ The Istanbul Declaration (the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women)

∝ The Maputo Protocol (the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa)

∝ The United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals

∝ Africa’s Agenda 2063.

The five of them make up our XX236.3F programme.

We need to acknowledge that the last three years of Covid-19 have not made and are not making easier to get the impact feedback about our XX236.3F Programme. Despite this difficulty, we are still conducting this impact feedback and assessment.

In brief, we shall conduct a follow-up and examination, look back and analyse data on the overall projects and programmes delivered during the above stated period, while keeping implementing our XX236.3F programme.

We shall soon publish the programmes and projects making this year’s Analytics. In meantime, for any enquiries about the Analytics Month 2022, please contact CENFACS.

_________

• References

(1) https://reliefweb.int/report/chad/lake-chad-basin-humanitarian-snapshot-15-june-2022 (accessed in July 2022)

(2) Chambers Combined Dictionary Thesaurus, Manser, M. and Thomson, (Eds.), Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 1999

(3) Oxford Dictionary of Finance, Butler B. and Isaacs, A. (Eds.), Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York, 1996

(4) https://resources.franklincvey.com/the-speed-of-trust/the-4-cores-of-credibility (accessed in July 2022)

(5) https://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/what-is-impact-assessment-OECDImpact.pdf (accessed in July 2022)

(6) https://www.geog.ox.ac.uk/research/technologies/projects/monitoringandevaluation.html (accessed in July 2022)

(7) https://www.method123.com/initiation-phase-review.php (accessed in July 2022)

(8) https://www.dictionary.com/browse/analytics (accessed in 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.

Permalink

Season of Happiness 2022

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on June 29, 2022 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

29 June 2022

Post No. 254

The Week’s Contents

• Season of Happiness 2022 in the Context of Rising Costs of Living

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 29/06/2022: Post-pandemic Clean, Green and Safe Creations and Innovations

• Reduction of Poverty Linked to Desertification and Drought in Africa

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Season of Happiness 2022 in the Context of Rising Costs of Living

2022 Season of Happiness or Life Satisfaction will be largely influenced by rising costs of living. Indeed, the current costs to make a living have dramatically increased in many countries, including in the UK. There are rises in the prices of food, energy, water, transport, accommodation, money, etc. Rising costs, prices and bills can only make people unhappy. In those circumstances, how can they, especially our users or beneficiaries, find happiness in the context of rising costs of living?

• • Working with users to find happiness during this Summer

During this Season of Happiness, we shall work with users to help them find out what can satisfy their lives during this challenging time of rising costs of living. Our work with them will be about implementing existing initiatives while developing new ones that can make them happy or satisfy their lives.

So, our Season of Happiness or Summer of Happiness will be about the following three items:

1) How the CENFACS Community can spread happiness between its members to narrow the gap in happiness inequalities

2) How best to help those most in need within the CENFACS Community to feel happy, to achieve successful outcomes despite the current cost-of-living crisis

3) How to create and innovate happiness-enhancing activities and projects to reduce poverty linked to the lack of happiness.

Although happiness is about the interplay between gene and environment, it is possible to help the members of CENFACS Community to become happy and feel well. It is possible to help them overcome inequalities in happiness and achieve well-being.

To do that, we are going to consider what the science of happiness tells us. We shall as well approach happiness as both an independent and interdependent concept. In other words, happiness could be a personal or subjective experience for any member of our community. Happiness can also be a collective participation for any of these members as belonging to a community, the CENFACS Community. It is in this interaction between happiness as individual practice and happiness as collective experience that they can find their true balance or harmony.

To sum up, during this 2022 Season of Happiness we are going to work with our users so they can have aspects of their life in balance and feel at peace with their life despite the seismic challenge brought by the rising costs of living.

The above is the way in which we would like to approach our 2022 Season of Happiness or Summer of Happiness. Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided further details including the projects and programmes making the 2022 Season of Happiness.

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 29/06/2022: Post-pandemic Clean, Green and Safe Creations and Innovations

Our delivery of the Creative Economic Development Month continues with the featuring of Post-pandemic Clean, Green and Safe Creations and Innovations. To feature them, we are going to try to understand their meanings and give some highlights about what our Africa-based Sister Organisations are doing in terms of them.

• • Understanding of Post-pandemic Clean, Green and Safe Creations and Innovations

The following summarises our apprehension of Post-pandemic Clean, Green and Safe Creations and Innovations

• • • Post-pandemic clean creations and innovations

Post-pandemic clean creations are about generating new and unique ideas on things that are free from harmful substances or effects to health, life and the nature after the coronavirus period.

Post-pandemic clean innovations are about executing the creative ideas into practice that does not cause harmful fallout or contamination to human life and the nature after the coronavirus period.

Thus, post-pandemic clean creations and innovations are those that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and negative environmental impacts through efficient use of natural and few non-renewable resources.

• • • Post-pandemic green creations and innovations

Post-pandemic green creations are processes or actions of bringing something into existence and do not or cause less harm to the environment after the coronavirus period.

Post-pandemic green innovations are about making changes in established things without or with less harm to the environment after the coronavirus period.

So, post-pandemic green creations and innovations are those which ensure that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environment services on which human and other beings rely upon.

• • • Post-pandemic safe creations and innovations

Post-pandemic safe creations are the makings, inventions and productions after the coronavirus period; creations that are based on good reasons and are secure from harm or danger.

Post-pandemic safe innovations are the changes, alterations and reforms introduced after the coronavirus period; innovations that are based on good reasons and are secure from harm or free from danger.

Briefly speaking, the interest in this week of the Creative Economic Development Month is on Post-pandemic Clean, Green and Safe Creations and Innovations that

√ Are environment-friendly (that is, they have a small or zero environmental impact) and reduce waste in the nature

√ Lower emissions of greenhouse gas, reduce climate-damaging carbon dioxide emissions, spearhead green energy solutions

√ Increase the share of renewables in the energy mix in the process of creating and innovating for life, work and future

√ Help our members to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

• • Africa-based Sister Organisations’ Clean, Green and Safe Creations and Innovations

There are many clean, green and safe creative and innovative initiatives carried out by our Africa-based Sister Organisations. Amongst them, we can mention the ecological site run by one of our African partners in Togo. The initiative included: education and training, growing of young seedlings in greenhouses (e.g. planting peppers in greenhouses and eggplant in new greenhouse), experiment, etc.

This ecological site is an experience of environment-friendly initiative that is aligned with greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets. It is a good example of how to grow plants without depleting natural resources.

For more information about this initiative and other similar works carried out by our Africa-based Sister organisations, please contact CENFACS.

• Reduction of Poverty Linked to Desertification and Drought in Africa

We are continuing the work on desertification and drought in Africa after the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought held on 17/06/2022 by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (1) under the theme of “Rising up from drought together”.

This week’s work on desertification and drought in Africa, which follows the second e-workshop about constructing and posting p- and e-cards as expressions or ways of dealing with drought, is about finding ways of Reducing Poverty Linked to Desertification and Drought in Africa.

Reducing Poverty Linked to Desertification and Drought in Africa is in itself part of CENFACS’ 2020s Development Agenda and Poverty Reduction Programme (2) whose one of the goals is Goal 7. Goal 7 is about reducing climate-induced poverty or situational (or transitory) poverty amongst the victims of natural disasters and destructive wars. Amongst natural conditions and events are desertification and drought in Africa, mostly in arid and semi-arid areas of Africa.

There are several initiatives taken by and on behalf of people suffering from desertification in Africa. These initiatives include: forest recovery, prevention of soil degradation, re-fertilisation of lands, replanting trees, afforestation, reduction of stress on food producing capacity, improvement in biodiversity, etc. There are also projects carried out to reduce drought such as reduction in deficits in rainfall, river flow, soil moisture and food.

Beyond these initiatives, we are as well going to look at projects set up and run by our Africa-based Sister Organisations to help their locals to come out poverty linked to desertification and drought in Africa. An example of these initiatives include irrigation project in Chad with one of CENFACS’ sister organisations working on the ground.

To discuss the reduction of poverty linked to desertification and drought in Africa, please contact CENFACS.

Extra Messages

• Thank-you Message before our Last Day (30/06/2022) of Thanksgiving to Supporters

We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our thoughts, expressions and feelings of gratitude to all our supporters.

CENFACS is so thankful to have you as supporters and for being with us on the side of those in need, especially during this challenging year of the lingering effects of the coronavirus and the enduring cost-of-living crisis.

Many thanks!

• Digital and Social Media Campaign (Levels 2 and 3) – In Focus: Threats from Online Fraudsters and Scammers to Poverty Reduction

In time of crises (like the cost-of-living crisis), there are always malevolent individuals who try to take advantage of the crisis by targeting and exploiting vulnerable and unaware people. Unfortunately, this sort of malicious practice is happening during the current cost-of-living crisis. This practice can jeopardize or weaken the building of poverty reduction.

Since the coronavirus pandemic erupted, it has transformed the way we run our lives particularly by forcing every body to embrace digital and online technologies and skills. Like anybody else, people in need have to rely on digital and online means and skills in order to meet their basic life-sustaining needs and to survive.

However, if one considers what is required to safely run digital and online means, they may find that most people in need cannot afford it. They do not have enough money to spend on the security requirements (such as anti-virus software, subscription to online insurance policy, adaptation to new technologies, security camera, etc.) to mitigate any digital, online and cyber-security issues. Fraudsters, scammers and spammers know that and are taking advantage of this gap in security inequalities.

• • The extent of cyber-security crimes and digital threats on the poor

Cyber criminals, online hackers, fraudsters and internet scammers are using the vulnerability and space left by the coronavirus pandemic and the seismic damages caused by the cost-of-living crisis to launch any sorts of attacks to vulnerable online accounts and poor people, especially those without adequate skills and resources to challenge them These crimes and malpractices existed before the pandemic; however the coronavirus pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis have exacerbated or widened a window of opportunities for this behaviour.

Just as there were pandemic malicious websites and scams, there are fraudsters and scammers who are trying to exploit poor people’s ignorance and lack of financial means, and who are engaged in all types of criminal activities such as identity theft, ransom ware, fake employment agencies/offers, dishonest credit card companies, copyright violations, fake funding programmes to support people against the cost-of-living crisis, online privacy breaches, cyber incidents, online interruptions, critical infrastructure blackouts and all sorts of fraud.

• • Advocating for the support of those in need of digital equipment, infrastructures and skills

These cyber criminals and online fraudsters are unfriendly to poverty reduction as they have complicated the work of poverty reduction. Digital threats and attacks are now a BIG ISSUE for both our users in the UK and in Africa. This is why we are re-activating the levels 2 and 3 of our Digital and Social Media Campaign. The level 2 is about IT and Online Security while level 3 deals with Digital Infrastructures, Security and Defence.

In this re-activation of the two areas of our campaign, we are asking to our users to extremely stay vigilant when operating online and digitally (e.g. during remote work, filling digital applications, shopping online, paying bills, etc.).

We are as well advocating for the support of those in need of digital equipment and infrastructures (such as anti-virus device or software, online cover policy, etc.) to be considered in any funding programme or policy.

This is because one can notice that some of the funding programmes toward those in need simply ignore this problem of lack digital equipment and security for those in need to express their needs and effectively communicate without cyber-security threats and fear in order to resolve the issue of poverty they are facing. In this respect, there is a need for cyber and online defences for the poor, those who cannot afford security items such as anti-virus, insurance cover against digital and cyber-security threats and attacks, etc.

The threat and crime levels we are talking about cannot be dealt with free or essential anti-virus software or device as such software or devices are limited in their scope to deal with the matter.

Also, providing online security skills to the poor could be also an option on the table. To feel comfortable in running a range of online activities and applications without interference by unknown intruder, it requires a good level of online security skills and know-how to challenge any online threats and attacks.

• • Extra help and support

There are both print and online resources regarding digital and cyber-security threats which can be accessed. For those who would like to further discuss cyber-security issues and digital defences, they can contact CENFACS.

For further information about CENFACS’ Digital and Social Media Campaign, please also contact CENFACS.

• Consume Less Energy to Reduce Poverty (CLERP)

The uncertainty surrounding rising prices of energy (e.g. electricity, gas and water) requires a bold action within the community. This action is required for two reasons, which are:

a) The UK energy regulator Ofgem (3) will increase the energy price cap from £1,971 to £2,800 in the autumn

b) Energy poor, and amongst them some of the CENFACS Community members, do not have enough income to match rising energy costs, prices and bills.

Because of these two reasons, there is a need to work with the energy poor making our community to find ways of dealing with the energy emergency situation. One of the ways of working with them is through our new campaign to Consume Less Energy to Reduce Poverty.

• • What is Consume Less Energy to Reduce Poverty?

CLERP is a six-month energy campaign which is part of CENFACS’ Consume to Reduce Poverty. CLERP does not replace or undermine the support that energy poor are receiving and will receive from statutory bodies (like the UK Government), energy agencies, energy suppliers, financial institutions, etc. It just adds value to the support they are receiving and will receive.

CLERP is based on the consumption approach rather than on price or income consideration. It helps to work with energy poor through advice, tips and hints so that they fairly consume energy they need to reduce poverty without wasting part of energy they do not need and cannot afford to pay for. CLERP as an energy-saving campaign helps as well in terms of saving energy resources in order to drive towards net zero trajectory.

• • Working with energy poor and vulnerable via CLERP

From the beginning of this Summer to the end of 2022, we shall work with energy poor and vulnerable via CLERP to find ways of reducing unneeded or non-essential energy consumption to reduce their energy bills. Although, the campaign is for six months, it can be extended if the need still exists within the community. Also, CLERP needs to be added to the other support or services (e.g. Energy Transition Support Services) we are already providing regarding energy consumption.

To access and or find out more about CLERP, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

Message in French (Message en français)

Mots de remerciement avant le dernier jour (30/06/2022) de remerciement aux supporters

Nous aimerions profiter de cette occasion pour réitérer nos pensées, nos expressions et nos sentiments de gratitude à tous nos suporters et soutiens.

Le CENFACS est très reconnaissant de vous avoir comme soutiens et d’être avec nous aux côtés de ceux ou celles qui sont dans le besoin, en particulier pendant cette année difficile des effets persistants du coronavirus et de la crise du coût de la vie.

Merci bien!

Main Development

• Season of Happiness 2022 in the Context of Rising Costs of Living

The following items will help to understand the way in which, together with our users, we would like to wish the 2022 Season of Happiness to happen:

Rebuilding Season to Happiness Season

What is Summer for CENFACS’ Users and Beneficiaries?

In focus for this Summer: Happiness in the Context of Rising Costs of Living

Preview of 2022 Summer of Happiness and Well-being Programmes.

Let us briefly explained these items.

• • Rebuilding Season to Happiness Season

Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Creative Initiatives) and Arts and Design Project are the projects that have made the last part of Spring 2022 programme. Both projects make our Creative Economic Development month.

In practice, Jmesci is the project that is ending our Rebuilding or Life Renewal Season to start Happiness Season or Summer of Happiness. After creating and innovating to build forward better together cleaner, greener and safer as well as to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development; we are now looking forward to enjoy the sunshine of Summer with Happiness. We would forward to Summer, although the warm weather has already started.

• • What is Summer for CENFACS’ Users and Beneficiaries?

Summer is a period of the warm sunny weather that we would like to associate with it at CENFACS. It is the time of happiness that we all expect, after a long period of full time work and education. We look forward to a break after such a long time of routine working life, especially as most of CENFACS’ projects and programmes are framed around the school timetable to suit and reflect the needs and living patterns of our users and beneficiaries. This is despite that the fact that during Summer people are still working to keep their households and the economy running.

• • In focus for this Summer: Happiness in the Context of Rising Costs of Living

As highlighted in the key messages, our Season of Happiness or Summer of Happiness will be about the following three elements:

1) Our capacity to spread happiness between the members of CENFACS Community to narrow the gap in happiness inequalities

2) The help we can provide to those who are in most need within the CENFACS Community to feel happy, to achieve successful outcomes despite the current cost-of-living crisis

3) Our ability to create and innovate happiness-enhancing activities and projects to reduce poverty linked to the lack of happiness.

It is possible to help CENFACS’ users overcome inequalities in happiness and achieve well-being.

Therefore, the key note of our theme for Summer of Happiness will be: how to create, enjoy and sustain happiness in the context of rising costs of living.

To support those struggling with the rising costs of living over Summer 2022, we shall work with them so that they can navigate their way to happiness and well-being. In practical terms, it means that we shall provide Happiness Tips and Hints in the context of rising costs of living. We will provide them through the following Summer initiatives.

• • Preview of 2022 Summer-of-Happiness and Well-being Programmes

Summer Programme at CENFACS is mainly made of two sets or broad areas of projects for and with Multi-dimensionally Poor Children, Young People and Families; which consists of:

(a) Happiness Projects (Part 1) and

(b) Appeal Projects or Humanitarian Relief to Africa (Part 2).

Besides this main Summer seasonal regular feature, we have also planned other initiatives as side menus. We shall gradually release the contents of these Summer projects as we progress during Summer 2022.

Our development calendar/planner already indicates what is planned for July and August 2022. However, should anybody want to find out more, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.

• • • Summer 2022 Programmes, Projects and Activities (Summer calendar/planner)

How to Make this Summer 2022 as of Happiness in the Context of Rising Costs of Living

July 2022

∞ Financial Updates: Financial Management of Crises

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

The 2022 Edition of Financial Updates (a CENFACS’ Individual Capacity Building and Development resource for Summer) will 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.

Besides that, the 2022 Financial Updates will update readers about the current financial and economic situation. The updates will go further in terms of financial and economic advice to build forward better together cleaner, greener and safer.

∞ All-in-one Impact Assessment

July, which is the Analytics month within CENFACS, is the month to be at CENFACS for those who are working on project and programme impacts.

We will be doing two levels of impact assessment as follows:

1) Our usual July Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review and Analytics for projects and programmes that we run in the preceding financial year

2) Impact assessment of the different activities linked to the cost-of-living crisis (e.g. activities to tackle rising prices of food, energy, etc.).

∞ Virtual Summer Festival with Seven Days of Development in July

In focus for our Summer 2022 Festival will be:

Infrastructures to Reduce Poverty

To reduce and possibly end poverty, it requires essential infrastructures. When the coronavirus erupted in 2019, the true scale of the lack of basic health infrastructures together with underinvestment on them was revealed in many parts of the world, including in Africa.

In Africa, the lack of critical infrastructures is even the most noticeable. The experience of wars and natural disasters in Africa shows that basic infrastructures have always been destroyed and threatened without being rebuilt in most cases. There is a huge lack of critical infrastructures upon which ordinary people, especially the poor ones, depend on for their daily life and livelihood.

Our Summer 2022 Festival will focus on the basic infrastructures that are necessary and even compulsory to help reduce and possible end poverty. Infrastructures will be approached from what charitable organisations (like CENFACS) and the people they serve need in order to better help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

July – August 2022

∞ Children, Young People and Families (CYPFs) Summer Programme (Part I): Appeal Projects

Summer humanitarian Appeal projects are a set of projects to help alleviate multi-dimensional poverty experienced by CYPFs during the Summertime. We normally launch one integrated appeal that brings under one roof these projects. This year, we are going to launch selected appeals for most of them with special emphasis on the cost of living.

One of the selected appeals will be about helping CYPFs to be free from distress caused by the cost-of-living crisis in Africa. The appeal – Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis for CYPFs in Africa (DfLECA) – is about helping poor CYPFs to mitigate the negative affects of the cost-of-living crisis in Africa.

Another appeal project that will have a particular attention and that is needed during this period of the cost-of-living crisis is the Iconic Young Carer Project (iYCP).

∞ Children, Young People and Families (CYPFs) Summer Programme (Part II): Happiness Projects

Happiness projects are another set of Summer projects making the second part of our Summer Programme. We shall release more details about Happiness projects in due course.

∞ Summer 2022 Run, Play and Vote to Reduce Poverty

Our Triple Value Initiatives (Run, Play and Vote) for this year have already kicked off. Through e-workshops, we have provided some guidance and help about them. And we are still available to talk to those who need some help. Those who started them should be half-way through with them.

These activities can be run in hybrid manner; that is in-person or virtual depending on the circumstances of participants.

Since we are already in the middle of the year, half-year actions and results about these activities will be sought from those who are practising them.

We shall ask those who undertook exercises relating Triple-value Initiatives such as e-workshops and recreational activities to report on their actions and results as well.

∞ Integration of Le Dernier Carré into Build Forward Better Programme

Our four step model of poverty relief (that is the Last Square of Poverty Relief or Le Dernier Carré) will be included in some of the elements of the Summer-of-Happiness Programme.

∞ Summer Track, Trip and Trending

Track and Trip activities will be run as usual since all the restrictions about the coronavirus have been lifted some months ago.

Regarding Trending activity, we are going to follow the direction of poverty reduction via ecosystem services provided by forests. In other words, we are going to find out how ecosystem services provided by forests are helping in lifting people out of poverty.

The above is just an indicative plan of work for our Summer of Happiness. This Summer work plan will be reviewed depending on the circumstances and events that may occur as we move throughout the summertime.

We hope you find a happy, helpful and hopeful relief from the above programmes and projects on offer at CENFACS over this Summer!

For details or clarification about the above programmes and projects, including ways of accessing them, please contact CENFACS.

Note: Although the above is scheduled for Summer 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. humanitarian and emergency situations), in which case we shall let you know as early as we can.

_________

• References

(1) https://www.unccd.int/events/ddd/2022-desertification-and-drought-day (accessed in June 2022)

(2) cenfacs.org.uk/2020/03/11/the-2020s-agenda-and-programme (accessed in June 2022)

(3) Brearly, J., “The price cap is expected to rise from £1,971 to £2,800 in the autumn”, Select Committees, 24 May 2022, UK Parliament, London

_________

• 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.

Permalink

Research and Development to Create and Innovate Solutions to the Cost-of-living Crisis

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on June 22, 2022 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

22 June 2022

Post No. 253

The Week’s Contents

• Research and Development to Create and Innovate Solutions to the Cost-of-living Crisis

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 22/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis

• Coming this Summer: Financial Updates – In Focus for this Year’s Edition: Financial Management of Crises

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Research and Development to Create and Innovate Solutions to the Cost-of-living Crisis

Without research it would difficult for us to create and innovate solutions or find possible answers to problems that face our users; problems exacerbated by the current challenge posed by the rising cost of living. Likewise, without the development of ideas to respond the cost-of-living crisis, it would be difficult to come out this crisis.

Research and development are at the heart of everything we do at CENFACS. We research into new ideas to better help reduce poverty amongst our users in the community and Africa-based Organisations making part of our area of operation in Africa. We investigate as well into new ways of applying new facts and information to better help reduce poverty and hardships amongst the same beneficiaries.

The two interlinked functions (that is, research and development) within CENFACS are vital in the process of reducing poverty and enhancing sustainable development. Although they are linked, they can also be looked at separately from the perspective of management.

Concerning the research function within CENFACS, we would like to let you know that we are currently researching into income elasticity within our community members’ demand for staple foods during this time of rising food prices. The research will enable us to find out if this elasticity is higher or low or moderate. We are as well study the share of food expenditure in total household expenditure of our community members. The two pieces of research work are applied ones.

Regarding the development function within CENFACS, we would like to inform you that this function helps us to develop existing products, services and activities. The function enables us to build model to check or test the feasibility of any products or services designed. Furthermore, the development function helps to initiate change of systems in CENFACS, to adapt and positively respond to changes in the poverty reduction market, to continue to develop poverty reduction model, to increase communication, etc.

So, the key message is Creative Economic Development Month is also about research and development. It is a month to invent or create new products and services while developing or improving existing ones to make helpful difference to our users and fill gaps in the poverty reduction market.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided further details about this first key message, and the focus on the current research and development trending, which is: Create and Innovate Solutions to the Cost-of-living Crisis.

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 22/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis

Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis are another trending activity we have planned for our Season of Rebuilding and Month of Creative Economic Development for this week. In this activity, we are interested in creations and innovations that develop long-lasting products and services to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations will be approached here as follows:

Understanding the Cost-of-living Crisis

Post-pandemic Creations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis

Post-pandemic Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis

How CENFACS Can Create and Innovate with the Community to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis.

Let us each of these items that make this approach.

• • Understanding the Cost-of-living Crisis

Our understanding of the cost-of-living crisis comes from the Institute for Government (1). The latter defines the cost of living crisis as

“The fall in real incomes (that is, adjusted for inflation and tax) that the UK has experienced since late 2021. It is being caused by a combination of high inflation outstripping wage increases and upcoming tax increases that have squeezed incomes for many households”.

If wages and other incomes (such as benefits and pensions) are failing to keep pace with rising prices or inflation; then there is a need to help and support those who are not able to meet the rise in the cost of living. Amongst those who are unable to meet this rise are CENFACS’ Community members.

To support and work with those members of the CENFACS’ Community who are failing to meet their cost of living, we have identified some key areas of response/work with them, as the following notes show.

• • Post-pandemic Creations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis

Post-pandemic creations are the makings, inventions and productions during and after the cost-of-living crisis; creations that help to respond to the cost-of-living crisis.

• • Post-pandemic Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis

Post-pandemic innovations are the changes, alterations and reforms introduced during and after the cost-of-living crisis; innovations that assist in responding to the cost-of-living crisis.

The creations and innovations in which we are interested in the context of CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development Month would be those that help our members to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

• • How CENFACS Can Create and Innovate with the Community to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis

Those in need like CENFACS‘ Community members may not avoid the cost-of-living crisis; but they can work with CENFACS so that together we can find way of responding to this crisis. Amongst the responses, we can mention the following ones which will depend on whether the emphasis is put on creations or innovations or both, as well as they will be contingent on the results of the distributional analysis of the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

• • • Working with the Community on Creations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis

Together with the community, we can create…

√ On the way to translate their needs into project proposals in order apply for financial support to finance these needs

√ To adapt and adjust behaviour and lifestyle within the community so that the members making our community can live within their means and budgets

√ To find new services and products to meet the needs relating to the cost-of-living crisis

√ To spend money differently to meet the cost-of-living crisis

√ To save and audit their accounts to avoid negative balances

√ To reduce debt and renegotiate it under the terms that match the situation of the cost-of-living crisis

Etc.

• • • Working with the community on innovations to respond to the cost-of-living crisis

Together with the community, we can innovate…

√ To factor higher prices in any household budget planning

√ Ways of better budgeting resources and expenses

√ To reduce digital exclusion that can exacerbate the distributional impacts of the cost-of-living crisis

√ To reduce the adverse impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on CENFACS beneficiaries

√ To empower digitally vulnerable users and develop their online skills (e.g. soft skills to deal with cash less or digitally enabled payment methods) that can enhance their chance to raise income

√ To guide CENFACS Community in order to stop fraudsters and scammers to target vulnerable members of this community

√ To cut back on non-essential spending

Etc.

The above mentioned creation and innovation activities will support the community, particularly the section of this community who needs most support. By working together through creations and innovations, we can bring CENFACS even more closer to the community its serves, the low-income users.

The above notes are about Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Respond to the Cost-of-living Crisis. For any further details about these notes and Creative Economic Development Month, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

• Coming this Summer: Financial Updates – In Focus for this Year’s 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 shall 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 will be about applying the general management principles to financial resources of our users’ households in order to reduce poverty, will also highlight 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. Through the 2022 Edition of SFU, we shall share with them these tools and how they can effectively and efficiently handle them in order to reduce poverty.

It is important to financially better manage households, especially at this time of the cost-of-living crisis.

For those members of our community who may interested in the 2022 Edition of SFU, they are welcome to enquire to CENFACS about it.

Extra Messages

• Thanksgiving Days: Supporters’ Days (27 to 30 June 2022)

The last week of June is a thanksgiving one in accordance to CENFACS development calendar. From 27 to 30 June 2022, we will be thanking all our supporters (current and past ones).

We would like to take the opportunity of the end of June to thank them (and you if you are one of them) for helping…

CENFACS IN ENHANCING AND SUSTAINING FREEDOMS AND CAPABILITIES BY WORKING IN ALLIANCE WITH LOCAL PEOPLE TO DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES.

• • What do mean by Thanking Days or Supporters’ Days?

These are Special Days of Thank You we would like to dedicate to all those who contributed to our work for any types of support they have given us over this financial year. This dedication is normally held in the last week of and by the end of June. For this year, Thank-you Days will be held from 27 to 30 June 2022 in order to keep our tradition.

As we are in CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development Month and Knowledge Year, we shall find all sorts of creative, innovative, knowledgeable and communicative ways of thanking our invaluable supporters and backers.

These thanking ways may include the following:

√ Conversing with our supporters over phones

√ Signing and sending thank-you prints or e-cards to them

√ Telling them the stories or outcomes about the people and communities they helped through their support

√ E-mailing, texting and tweeting them with messages of gratitude

√ Telling and sharing thank-you stories

√ Playing and listening with them music and songs of thank you

√ Making and playing thank-you videos and films

√ Giving back to them by volunteering our time to the cause they deeply care about

√ Undertaking a free translation service (French to English and vice versa)

√ Reading African poems and poetry

√ Sending to them digital and technologically animated thank-you messages

√ Doing creative and design works symbolising thank you

√ Sending designed and hand crafted made objects and crafts of acknowledgement

√ Making video calls if we cannot have in-person contact with them

Etc.

If you are one of the CENFACS’ supporters, please we would like to let you know the Thanking Days at CENFACS are your Days. Do not hesitate to get in touch, if you do not mistakenly hear from us.

We will welcome you, reconnect with you and thank you on the occasion for the helpful difference you made to our work and project beneficiaries, and for being with us on the side of those in need especially during this challenging year of the lingering effects of the coronavirus and the cost-of-living crisis.

Your invaluable support has meant a lot for our programme and project beneficiaries over this ending financial year.

We would like to express all our sincere gratitude to you for helping us to help reduce poverty, especially at these challenging times of the side effects of the coronavirus followed by the cost-of-living crisis.

For further details, please contact CENFACS’ Thanksgiving-End-of-June-2022 Team.

• Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis for Children, Young People and Families in Africa

Distress-free Life from the Cost-of-living Crisis for Children, Young People and Families in Africa is one of the Summer Appeal projects making the first part of our Summer Programme, which will be published soon. This appeal has been already launched.

The appeal is about supporting children, young people and families (CYPFs), in places in Africa where there is already high level of poverty, who cannot cope with the mounting pressure and damaging effects of the cost-of-living crisis. The cost-of-living crisis hits everybody and perhaps every part of the world, but its distributional effects are not the same, especially for those who are already living in poverty.

Supporting this appeal means helping CYPFs to minimise and mitigate the impacts of cost-of-living crisis on them. Your support will help to reduce the risks and impacts that the cost-of-living crisis can make in terms of tragedy, intergenerational poverty, etc. One can think of a child or young person without any dreams and expectations, what will be his/her future, especially in countries (like Burkina Faso or Mali) where there is deterioration of security conditions in conflict-affected areas.

Can you help this child? Yes or No!

If you say yes; then…

√ You can help that child to dream and expect for a better life and future.

√ You can help stop the cost-of-living crisis to become a structural constraint and handicap for that child.

√ You can help stop the cost-of-living crisis to create lifelong adverse impacts on children and young people.

√ You can help stop children’s and young people’s lives being reduced back below the poverty line.

√ You can stop the lost generation of the cost-of-living crisis to happen in Africa.

To make the above happen, support Distress-free Life from the cost-of-living crisis for Children, Young People and Families in Africa.

You can find further highlights of this appeal and ways of supporting at: cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

• Arts and Design Project –

In Focus: Unknown and Unnamed Artists and Designers of Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development with the example of Young Creators and Innovators

Artists and designers play an active role in helping to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. So, this week we are working on some of the works carried out by artists and designers especially those from small scale and charitable backgrounds, the local arts and design products and services undertaken by local people and communities sometimes to make ends meet.

These kinds of work can include the following:

√ Those carried out by poor families, children, young people and those who are left out of the economic growth or upturn

√ There are works undertaken by unknown and unnamed artists and designers who may be amateurs or not professionals or not just celebrities.

Every year, we try to find out unknown and unnamed artists and designers, as part of Arts and Design Project. This finding exercise helps to know and name them.

All these small pieces of art and design works can help relieve poverty and enhance the process of sustainable development. They can help to positively respond to the cost-of-living crisis.

• • Example of Unknown and Unnamed Artists and Designers: Young Creators and Innovators

Some Young Creators and Innovators can be classified as unknown and unnamed artists and designers.

Who are they?

They are of all sorts of talents and abilities who can create and innovate to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. They can as well help to build forward better together cleaner, greener and safer. Their works can help reduce poverty induced by the cost-of-living crisis while keeping the progress of the realisation of sustainable development goals. They could be the finders of the today’s solutions for tomorrow’s problems.

So, this week we are continuing our Arts and Design project by looking at the contribution that unknown and unnamed artists and designers, and amongst them are Young Creators and Innovators, who are helping in reducing poverty and hardships as well as in enhancing sustainable development.

If you are a young creator and/or innovator and has some feeling that you would probably fall under the category of unknown and unnamed artists and designers, CENFACS would like to hear from you as well as your creative or innovative work.

Message in French (Message en français)

Jours d’action de remerciements (du 27 au 30 juin 2022)

La dernière semaine de juin est une semaine d’action de grâces conformément au calendrier de développement du CENFACS. Ce faisant, du 27 au 30 juin 2022, nous remercierons tous nos supporters (actuels et passés).

Nous aimerions profiter de la fin du mois de juin pour les remercier (et vous si vous êtes l’un(e) d’entre eux/elles) d’avoir aidé le CENFACS À AMÉLIORER ET À MAINTENIR LES LIBERTÉS ET LES CAPACITÉS EN TRAVAILLANT EN ALLIANCE AVEC LES POPULATIONS LOCALES POUR DÉVELOPPER DES INITIATIVES DURABLES.

Qu’entendez-vous par Jours de remerciement ou Jours des supporters?

Ce sont des journées spéciales de remerciement que nous aimerions dédier à tous ceux ou celles qui ont contribué à notre travail pour tout type de soutien qu’ils (elles) nous ont apporté au cours de cet exercice financier. Cette consécration a normalement lieu la dernière semaine de et avant la fin du mois de juin.

Pour cette année, des Journées de remerciement auront lieu du 27 au 30 juin 2022 afin de maintenir notre tradition.

Alors que nous sommes dans le Mois du développement économique créatif et l’Année de la connaissance du CENFACS, nous trouverons toutes sortes de moyens créatifs, innovants et communicatifs de remercier nos précieux soutiens et bailleurs de fonds.

Ces moyens de remerciement peuvent inclure les éléments suivants:

√ Converser avec nos supporters par téléphone

√ Signer et leur envoyer des impressions de remerciement ou des cartes électroniques

√ Leur raconter les histoires ou les résultats sur les personnes et les communautés qu’ils ont aidées grâce à leur soutien

√ les envoyer des courriers électroniques, des SMS et tweeter avec des messages de gratitude

√ Raconter et partager des histoires de remerciement

√ Jouer et écouter avec eux de la musique et des chansons de remerciement

√ Création et lecture de vidéos et de films de remerciement

√ Redonner à eux en donnant de notre temps pour la cause qui leur tient à cœur

√ Entreprendre un service de traduction gratuit (le français vers l’anglais et vice versa)

√ Lire des poèmes et de la poésie africaine

√ Leur envoyer des messages de remerciement numériques et technologiquement animés

√ Faire des travaux créatifs et de dessin symbolisant le merci

√ Envoi d’objets conçus et fabriqués à la main et d’artisanat de reconnaissance

√ Passer des appels vidéo si nous ne pouvons pas avoir de contact en personne avec eux

Etc.

Si vous êtes l’un des soutiens du CENFACS, nous aimerions vous faire savoir que les Journées de remerciement au CENFACS sont vos journées. N’hésitez pas à nous contacter si vous n’avez pas de nouvelles de nous par erreur.

Nous vous accueillerons; nous allons renouer avec vous et vous remercier à cette occasion pour la différence utile que vous avez faite pour nos bénéficiaires de travail et de projets, et pour être avec nous aux côtés de ceux ou celles qui sont dans le besoin, en particulier pendant cette année difficile des effets continus du coronavirus et de la crise du coût de la vie.

Votre soutien inestimable a beaucoup compté pour les bénéficiaires de notre programme et de nos projets au cours de cet exercice financier.

Nous tenons à vous exprimer toute notre sincère gratitude pour nous avoir aidés à réduire la pauvreté, en particulier en ces temps difficiles des effets secondaires du coronavirus suivis de la crise du coût de la vie.

Pour plus de détails, contactez l’équipe ‘Jours d’action de grâce de fin juin 2022′ du CENFACS.

Main Development

• Research and Development to Create and Innovate Solutions to the Cost-of-living Crisis

To create and innovate solutions to the cost-of-living crisis, we need research and development. Research and development help to find ideas and tools to drive creation and innovation. But, what are research and development?

To understand research and development, we are going to consider the following items:

Understanding the concepts of research and development

Research and Development within CENFACS

Researching into income elasticity demand of food during this time of rising food prices

Study of the share of food expenditure in total household expenditure during this time of rising food prices

• • Understanding the concepts of research and development

There are many ways of conceptualising research and development. In the context of these notes, we have selected the following definitions.

Christopher Pass at al (2) define research and development as

“Any scientific investigation leading to the discovery of new techniques and products (INVENTION) and their commercial application (INNOVATION), together with the refinement and improvement of existing technologies and products” (p. 454)

Their definition, which is an economic one, focuses on the types of research and development conducted by business entities. It can be extended to include not for profit organisations.

Besides the above definition, we are appealing to what the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (3) states, which is

“Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge (p. 2)

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development argues that

“For an activity to be an R&D activity, it must satisfy five core criteria. The activity must be: novel, creative, uncertain, systematic and transferable and/or reproducible. All five criteria are to be met, at least in principle, every time an R&D activity is undertaken whether on a continuous or occasional basis”.

Alongside these five criteria, the kinds of R&D activities in which we are interested would be those that help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

• • Research and Development within CENFACS

The functions of research and development (R&D) are important one within CENFACS. This is because we can only help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development if we are able to undertake research and develop solutions together with local people to poverty reduction and to the enhancement of sustainable development. In this respect, the kinds of research and development work we do are related to the core activities of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

In the context of this year’s Creative Economic Development Month, we are undertaking two types of applied research projects, which are: income elasticity of demand for staple products and the share of food expenditure in total household expenditure for the members of the CENFACS Community. This is the general scope of our research and development work for this month.

Let us highlight these two research projects.

• • Income elasticity of demand for staple products during this time of rising food prices

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 is £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.

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

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 (4) puts it

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 1.25% and inflation at around 9% 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 and inflation. 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 Research and Development activities, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

_________

• References

(1) https://www.institutefor government.org.uk/explainers/cost-living-crisis (accessed in June 2022)

(2) Pass, C., Lowes, B. & Davies, L., (1988), Collins Dictionary of Economics, HarperCollins Publishers, London Glasgow

(3) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Frascati Manual 7.0, Chapter 2, The full Frascati Manual and current and upcoming online at http://oecd/frascati (accessed in June 2022)

(4) https://resources.vam.wfp.org/data-analysis/quantitative/food-security/food-expenditure-share (accessed in June 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.

Permalink

Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Tackle Food Price Increases

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on June 15, 2022 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

15 June 2022

Post No. 252

The Week’s Contents

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 15/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Tackle Food Price Increases

• The Internally Displaced People of Rutshuru Need Help: June 2022 Humanitarian Relief Appeal

• Coming this Summer: FACS Issue No. 76 to be entitled as Food Security in Africa: Africa-based Sister Organisations Can Make It Happen

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 15/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Tackle Food Price Increases

Our Season of Rebuilding and Month of Creative Economic Development continue with Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Tackle Food Price Increases.

A number of solutions to the current food crisis has been proposed by various people and organisations. Amongst these proposals are creations and innovations. Create and innovate to tackle increases in food prices or what some call ‘agflation’ could be one of the most effective and efficient ways of addressing food crisis not only for now but also for the future.

To understand the point we have just made, these notes about this week’s contents for Creative Economic Development Month provide some clues about the types of creations and innovations we may need to develop together with the community in order to tackle rising food prices.

The notes are mainly about what CENFACS and the community can do together in terms of creations and innovations in order to tackle rising food prices and avoid further food poverty or any other type of poverty that may be induced by rising food prices within our community.

Briefly, the key message here is let us create and innovate to tackle rising food prices. Under the Main Development section of this post, there is further explanation about this first key message.

• The Internally Displaced People of Rutshuru Need Help: June 2022 Humanitarian Relief Appeal

“With 5.6 million IDPs [Internally Displaced People], the Democratic Republic of Congo is home to the largest internal displacement situation in Africa” said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Canada (1).

The same UNHCR Canada argues that

“At least 170,000 civilians have been displaced, often repeatedly since an escalation of fighting in eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) [re-started] from November 2021“.

Likewise, the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (2) jointly argue that

“In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 25.9 million people are projected to face crisis or worse (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Phase 3 or above) levels of acute food insecurity, including 5.4 million people in Emergency (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Phase 4), between January and June 2022. The recent escalation in conflicts and population movements as well as increasing food prices, could increase the magnitude and severity of acute food insecurity especially in eastern provinces” (p. 14)

Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are now the BIG issue in North Kivu province of DRC, particularly in Rutshuru and Kiwanja Territories with high number of IDPs.

This displacement situation not only raises concern in terms of numbers, but also poses a threat or risk of humanitarian catastrophe if it derails. Amongst these IDPs are the People of Rutshuru who Need Help. They have been displaced and driven from their homes as they fleeing from violence as well as the fight between regular Congolese and irregular forces in their territories.

This is why CENFACS is making this Appeal, Peace Appeal for Rutshuru Territory of the North-eastern DRC.

It is an appeal to support internally displaced peoples (that is, women, men and children) who have driven from their homes and lands because of violence and deadly fight between regular Congolese and irregular forces in the Rutshuru Territory of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

• • What is happening in Rutshuru

Recently, there has been escalation in deadly conflicts and population movements in Rutshuru Territory in North Kivu, DRC. As a result of cycle of violence and displacement,

people are fleeing their homes

children have been separated from their families

women and girls have exposed to sexual violence

fields and shops have been looted and abandoned.

Homes, fields, livestock and other infrastructures have been destroyed as well as human rights have been violated as the crisis goes on. Many people have been displaced, made homeless and are seeking for refuges in neighbouring villages and towns such as Busanza, Jomba, Mungo, Musenzera, Bugusa, etc. This situation can only create further poverty for the victims of this violence.

• • Situational poverty data that speak for the peoples of Rutshuru

According to local sources and organisations,

√ Over 2,900 vulnerable people need assistance in the form of blankets, sleeping mats, soap and other household essentials

√ There are risks of cholera, malaria and other diseases among the IDPs

√ There is a lack of access to food and clean water

√ People have lost all their belongings as they have been fleeing to save their lives.

• • What CENFACS wants you to do: Provide a Peace-Giving Gift

CENFACS wants you to create a magic by providing Peace-Giving Gift to the IDPs and victims of this insecurity and violence without giving money. How?

We are appealing to you to try to do something different about what is happening in the Rutshuru Territory of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, so that the poor civilians can enjoy sustainable peace and internally displaced people can safely return to their homes and lands.

We often argue that there are always some little things one can do to create a BIG change or simply to try to change a very complex situation on the grounds without sometimes giving money, although there is a say that Money is King.

These little things include the following:

√ Talking to someone who has influence on what is happening on the ground can change life

√ Networking, campaigning, responding to a petition, and so on can make a life-saving impact

√ A phone/video call or a mobile phone text message or even a tweet or a video record can save millions of lives

√ Raising your voice without fear about the crisis in the Rutshuru Territory of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at a peace talks or rallies

√ Having online chat about possible ways out about this crisis

√ Spreading the news in your social networks and contacts about the issue

√ Having some thoughts about what is happening in Rutshuru Territory of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and on practical ways of helping

Etc.

CENFACS hopes you will act NOW NOT LATER upon this June 2022 humanitarian appeal and create the magic of Peace-Giving Gift without giving money so that the sufferers in Rutshuru Territory of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo can navigate their way to sustainable and inclusive peace.

• • Contacting CENFACS about this Appeal

You can contact CENFACS to discuss or talk about this appeal at http://cenfacs.org.uk/contact-us/

Please ACT NOW NOT LATER.

Thank you for considering delivering on this appeal.

• Coming this Summer: FACS Issue No. 76 to be entitled as Food Security in Africa: Africa-based Sister Organisations Can Make It Happen

Abstract

Food security continues to be a serious challenge for many people in Africa. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations et al. (3),

“The number of severely food insecure people rose from 203.6 millions to 283.7 millions between 2014/2016 and 2018/2020 in Sub-Saharan Africa (including Sudan)”.

At this time of food crisis exacerbated by the invasion of Russia in Ukraine which has increased food prices, the above mentioned number could have further increased. Africa has been challenged with its imports of cereals and fertilizers from Ukraine ports in the Black seas.

To address, create and innovate food security in Africa; it requires a multi-stakeholder perspective. Within this multi-stakeholder perspective, the 76th Issue will focus 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 gives attention to 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 shape their food systems. It refers as well to sustainability-oriented approach as its includes the three dimensions (i.e. economic, social and environmental) in food security.

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 (4), 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 read more about this Summer Issue, please keep checking on CENFACS incoming posts this Summer 2022. To reserve a paper copy of this 76th Issue of FACS, please contact CENFACS with your mailing details.

Extra Messages

• Spring Project of Building Forward Better from the Coronavirus (SPBFBC): Only One Week to Go!

You can help…

1) Rebuild resilient critical infrastructures, facilities and livelihoods required for the functioning of COVID-19 stricken people and communities in Africa

2) Restore basic life-sustaining health, economic and environmental assets, systems and activities of COVID-19 affected people and communities as well as align them to greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets.

You can DONATE, PLEDGE AND MAKE A GIFT AID DECLARATION for any amount as a way of supporting the SPBFBC.

To donate, gift aid and or support differently, please contact CENFACS.

For further information about project aim, objectives, beneficiaries and outcomes; please go to: cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

• Arts and Design Project

e-Workshop 2: Making and Sending a p-Card or e-Card to Support World Desertification and Drought Day 2022 on 17 June

We are continuing with our e-workshops 1 and 2 about Making and Sending a p-Card or e-Card Expressing ‘Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature’ or ‘Rising up from Drought Together’

The first e-workshop related to this project for this year has been to construct and post e-cards or e-objects expressing the theme of “Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature”. The construction would echo the World Environmental Day’s celebratory theme held on 05/06/2022.

The second e-workshop is about constructing and posting the similar cards as expressions or ways of dealing with drought to resonate the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on 17/06/2022. The theme of 2022 Desertification and Drought Day is “Rising up from drought together”.

One can seize this occasion to construct and post a p-card (paper card) and/or e-card (electronic card) as expressions or ways to feature the theme of “Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature” relating to World Environment Day, and/or the theme of “Rising up from drought together” linked to the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.

One can follow the card design criteria we published last week for Arts and Design e-workshop 1, and design their p-card or e-card.

So, those who wish and want can design and post an e-card or e-object to feature the theme and focus of Desertification and Drought Day 2022.

To support and or enquire about Art and Design for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development, please contact CENFACS.

To find out more about Desertification and Drought Day 2022, please go to: https://www.unccd.int/events/ddd/2022-desertification-and-drought-day (2022 Desertification and Drought Day | UNCCD)

• Zero Income Deficit Campaign: Activities Mid-year Review

We are almost at the middle of our Zero Income Deficit Campaign (ZIDC) for this year. As a result, we are conducting a mid-year review about the activities so far carried out regarding this campaign.

• • What this mid-year review is about

It is a discussion of the quality of activities organised as part of the campaign. It is also an opportunity for us to know where participants to the campaign stand in terms of the application of advice, tips and hints given and received through these activities. It is finally an occasion to know if anyone needs help and support.

• • What are these activities we are talking about?

They are:

√ Setting up the aim of the campaign, which is the reduction of inter-generational poverty

√ Owning the campaign aim (owned by users)

√ Reduction of excess of liabilities over assets

√ Budgeting income and expenses

√ Tracking your household incomings and outgoings

and √ Dealing with household accounts as implements for family management.

For those who have some information to feed regarding these activities or those who would like us go over any of these activities with them, they can let us know. Please feel free to get in touch with CENFACS if you want to know more about this mid-year review.

Message in French (Message en français)

Campagne sur le déficit de revenu zéro : L’évaluation de milieu d’année des activités

Nous sommes presqu’au milieu de notre campagne de déficit de revenu zéro pour cette année. En conséquence, nous procédons à un examen des activités menées jusqu’à présent dans le cadre de cette campagne.

De quoi parle cette évaluation?

Il s’agit d’une discussion sur la qualité des activités organisées dans le cadre de la campagne. C’est aussi l’occasion pour nous de savoir où se situent les participants à la campagne en termes de conseils, d’astuces et de tuyaux donnés à travers ces activités. C’est enfin savoir s’ils ont besoin d’aide et de soutien.

De quelles activités parle-t-on?

Ce sont les suivantes:

√ Mettre en place l’objectif de la campagne, qui est la réduction de la pauvreté intergénérationnelle

√ Appropriation de l’objectif de la campagne par les utilisateurs

√ Réduction de l’excédent de passif sur l’actif

√ Budgétisation des revenus et des dépenses

√ Suivi et contrôle des entrées et des sorties de vos comptes des ménages

√ Gestion de comptes des ménages en tant qu’outils de gestion familiale.

Pour ceux/celles qui ont des informations à nourrir concernant ces activités ou ceux/celles qui voudraient que nous passions en revue l’une de ces activités avec eux/elles, ils/elles peuvent nous le faire savoir. N’hésitez pas à contacter le CENFACS si vous souhaitez en savoir plus sur ce sujet.

Main Development

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 15/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Tackle Food Price Increases

To enable our users and supporters to understand how we are going to approach this week’s work focus on Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Tackle Food Price Increases, we have grouped our notes under the following headlines:

Key Concepts

Post-pandemic creations to tackle food prices increases

Post-pandemic innovations to tackle food price increases

How CENFACS can create and innovate with the community to tackle food price increases

Let us look at what is inside these headings.

• • Key Concepts

There are two concepts we would like to highlight before creating and innovating to tackle food price increases, conecpts which are: Food Price Index and Inflation-adjusted Food Price Index.

Our understanding of these two concepts come from their definitions as given by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

(a) Food Price Index

According to the FAO (5),

“Food price index consists of the average of 5 (meat, dairy, cereals, vegetable oils and sugar) commodity group price indices, weighted with the average export shares of each of the groups for 2014-2016: in total 95 price quotations considered by FAO commodity specialists as representing the international prices of the food commodities are included in the overall index. Each sub-index as weighted average of the price relative of the commodities included in the group with the base period price consisting of the averages for the years 2014-2016”.

The same FAO (op. cit. ) argues that

“The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) average 157.4 points in May 2022, down 0.9 points (0.6 percent) from April, making 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)

Briefly speaking, the FFPI is defined as

However, the FFPI is limited in its scope as it is not adjusted by inflation.

(b) Inflation-adjusted Food Price Index

The World Economic Forum (6) 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 the World Economic Forum (op. cit.),

“The index needs to be adjusted for inflation. When prices are adjusted for inflation, they are real”.

So, in the context of these notes, we will be interested in real prices which show the real impact or effects of rising food prices on income. To undertake creations and innovations, there could be a need to take into account these real prices.

• • Post-pandemic creations to tackle food prices increases

Post-pandemic creations are the makings, inventions and productions following the period after the coronavirus period; creations that help to tackle food prices increases.

Examples of such creations are many and could include the creation of new food products, new packaging, food convenience, new food delivery systems and so on. They could also be the making of safer and more nutritious products.

• • Post-pandemic innovations to tackle food price increases

Post-pandemic innovations are the changes, alterations and reforms introduced after the coronavirus period of disaster; innovations that assist in countering rising energy prices.

Examples of these types of innovations are made up of the following: Connecting people (CENFACS users) to affordable and cheap food markets and suppliers, explaining those in need existing food programmes and income transfer programmes for healthy food consumption and people’s entitlement to these programmes.

As we argued in our previous posts, the creations and innovations in which we are interested in the context of CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development Month would be those that help our members to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

• • How CENFACS can create and innovate with the community to tackle food price increases

CENFACS does not replace those who have the power to cut food prices and or provide financial support to its members of community who could become food poor or needy because of hikes in food prices. Besides this invaluable support given by other players, CENFACS can create and innovate together with its users and Africa-based Sister Organisations to also weaken the impact of food inflation or ‘agflation’.

In particular, CENFACS can work with them on the following matters:

√ Create a food budget adjusted for inflation

√ Create a new users’ consumption basket

√ Compare and contrast food real prices and stores as part of innovation process

√ Create new ways of reducting food waste at home and away

√ Review food spending and other expenses within household budgets to innovate in terms of share of food in total household expenditure

√ Innovate ways of shopping by embracing farmers’ markets and nature-based solutions to food poverty

√ Remake charitable food support (e.g. food banks, food vouchers, etc.) for the food poor

√ Innovate the way in which food information and news reach our users by keeping them aware of environmentally damaging food products

√ Creating with them new advice, tips and hints about ways of cutting food bills and costs without adversely affecting their healthy diets

√ Create and innovate ways of stopping food price increases that can lead to food poverty or intergenerational poverty within our community

Etc.

All these ways of creating and innovating with the community will help to protect them against food inflation. The more and better we create and innovate with the community, the more and better we can tackle and be resilient to food price increases.

It is all about working with users to improve the way in which they manage their income and life in order to overcome future upheavals of the financial and real economic markets, which have recently been overwhelmed with stories of rising food and energy prices.

The above is our notes about Post-pandemic innovations to tackle food price increases. For any further details about these notes and Creative Economic Development Month, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

_________

• References

(1) https://www.unhcr.ca/news/unhcr-deeply-concerned-by-renewed-violence-displacing-thousands-in-north-kivu-dr-congo/ (accessed in June 2022)

(2) WFP and FAO (2022), Hunger Hotspots: FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity, June to September 2022, Outlook, Rome

(3) 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 June 2022)

(4) FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO (idem)

(5) FAO (2022), Food Outlook – Biannual Report on Global Food Markets, Rome at https://doi.org/10-4060/cb9427en (accessed in June 2022)

(6) https://weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/global-food-prices-global-global-food-price-index (accessed in June 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.

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Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Deal with Rising Energy Prices

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on June 8, 2022 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

08 June 2022

Post No. 251

The Week’s Contents

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 08/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Deal with Rising Energy Prices

• World Anti-poverty System: Could Energy Crisis be a Ground to Create an International System for Poverty Reduction?

• Post-pandemic Rebuilding Activities

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 08/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Deal with Rising Energy Prices

Rising energy prices require responses. One of the responses is to create and innovate in order to counter rising energy prices. Creations and innovations to counter rising energy prices could be of many kinds and from various initiators (like the Government, energy regulator, energy service providers, financial institutions, energy community organisations, etc.). Most of these creations and innovations would be needful for energy consumers, including our own beneficiaries who are energy consumers.

However, to stick to the terms of our mission and vision, we are mostly interested in the types of creations and innovations (to counter rising energy prices) that help poor people (and amongst them the majority of our users) to come out of poverty induced by rising energy prices or simply not to get into further energy poverty. Our interest will be met by working together with the members of the CENFACS Community who are struggling to pay their energy bills because of rising energy prices; working with them to reduce energy poverty.

• • What our work with them will be about

Our work with the community is to develop creative and innovative initiatives to not only manage rising energy prices, but also to avoid that rising energy prices lead to long term or permanent or even intergenerational poverty.

Our creative and innovative work does not replace the support that our members are currently receiving or the work of other players (like the Government with its energy help to households, energy suppliers, banks, insurers, energy hubs and communities, etc.). Instead, our work recognizes their work and adds value to the community’s efforts to reduce energy poverty.

Our creative and innovative work will be customised to beneficiaries’ needs (as it will emerge from energy needs assessment with them) so that they can have control over their energy and avoid failing into energy poverty trap.

For those wo would like to deep into this second note of our Creative Economic Development Month, please be advised that there is more information about it under the Main Development section of this post.

• World Anti-poverty System: Could Food Crisis be a Ground to Create an International System for Poverty Reduction?

Every time there is a global crisis, it is also a reminder of the best possible global mechanism of dealing with the crisis. The coronavirus pandemic crisis was an opportunity to ask ourselves about the best system or set-up to deal with the crisis of magnitude of COVID-19. The current food crisis is yet a further occasion to raise the question of an international or global system to deal with energy crisis, food crisis, cost-of-living crisis, livelihood crisis, etc.

Energy and food crises could be a ground to create an International System for Poverty Reduction or to innovate the world’s institutions, if they exist, dealing with global poverty. Indeed, developing countries of Africa, Asia, Middle-East and Latin America are trapped by the consequences of the war in Ukraine. Particularly, if one considers the current food crisis in Africa, it is possible to argue that rising food prices are partly caused by the supply problem that Africa has with its imports of cereals and fertilizers from Ukraine ports in the Black seas. It is partly caused by what is happening in the Black seas.

The war in Ukraine does not explain the all story of Africa’s food crisis. The latter is also the consequence of poor weather, bad harvests, armed conflicts, and human insecurity in some parts of Africa (like in the western part of Africa).

However, if we had an International System for Poverty Reduction (that is a World Anti-poverty System comparable to the institutions of Bretton Woods System), would this system makes the world a better place for the poor?

Every time, there is a global crisis, this question comes back, time and time again. In particular, one could raise and answer the following questions:

If we had an International System for Poverty Reduction, could the invasion of Ukraine have been avoided?

Would the sanctions taken against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine be different?

Would food supplies to the poor be preserved from this invasion?

Would the current energy and food crises be minor?

If you think that an International System for Poverty Reduction could have protected the world’s poorest from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, please let us know your arguments. If you do not think so, still let us know what you think.

An International System for Poverty Reduction is a missing piece in the world’s institutional system. This is CENFACS‘ campaign point, which is the creation of an International System for Poverty Reduction.

You can support the campaign or movement for a World Anti-poverty System or International System for Poverty Reduction with your VOICE, by E-SIGNING petition, E-MOBILISING your energy, BRANDING EVENT, etc.

You can join CENFACS’ Campaign for an International System for Poverty Reduction. To join, please contact CENFACS.

• Post-pandemic Rebuilding Activities

Since the restrictions against the coronavirus have been lifted in many places, there are people who are able to cope with the new normal; that is living with the coronavirus in all aspects of life. On the contrary, there are others who are still struggling to get on with their life as its was before the coronavirus stroke out.

To work with those who are struggling to manage the post-pandemic era, we are organising three types of activities. These activities continue our Season of Rebuilding/Renewal. Let us highlight them, the circumstances under which users can access them and the invitation to participate.

• • Types of Rebuilding Activities

The three activities include the following:

a) Activities to manage transition (to turn endings to new beginnings)

b) Activities to manage new beginnings

c) Activities to manage plan for the future.

These activities are part of our campaign of Rebuilding and Renewing Lives, in particular Rebuilding Africa during Spring Relief season.

• • Accessing Rebuilding Activities

Depending on people’s circumstances of life (whether they are looking forward to managing transition or embarking on new beginnings or building the future), they will be supported accordingly in these activities.

For example, if the post-pandemic needs assessment indicates that a user needs transition management, then they will take part in activities to manage their transition from the remnants of the coronavirus crisis.

• • Need to Participate in Post-pandemic Rebuilding Activities?

To take part in the Post-pandemic Rebuilding Activities, please contact CENFACS.

Extra Messages

• Goal for the Month: Create and Innovate to Reduce Poverty

Since we are in the month of Creative Economic Development, our goal for this month is to Create and Innovate to Reduce Poverty. It is the month to create and innovate in order to support those who are struggling to pay their energy bills, who are in vulnerable circumstances or in energy debt, low income households making our community, and those who bear the brunt of the energy price spike within our community. It is indeed the month to address energy poverty through creations and innovations.

In practical terms, it means that one can undertake any of the following initiatives:

√ Create opportunities for people to reduce or end the cost of living crisis

√ Create equality to reduce poverty

√ Create community activities to change people’s lives

Etc.

Equally, people can innovate to reduce poverty. In practical sense, it could mean doing the following:

√ Innovate smarter technologies to reduce poverty

√ Innovate way of working together with the community to reduce poverty

√ Innovate metrics/tools to measure progress about poverty reduction

Etc.

There are many ways in which one can create and innovate to reduce poverty. So, this month we are going to spend our time with the community by working together to create and innovate to reduce poverty.

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

• Arts and Design Project and e-Workshop:

Making and Sending a p-Card or e-Card Expressing ‘Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature’ or ‘Rising up from Drought Together’

Participants to the e-workshop can Make and Send a p-Card or e-Card Expressing ‘Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature’ or ‘Rising up from Drought Together’.

For those who are trying to design and send this type of paper card (p-card) or an electronic card (e-card) as a way of participating in the Creative Economic Development month, please make sure that the poverty relief message you are conveying is without confusion. You can follow the criteria below.

• • Criteria for a good card design

When designing a card, it is better that your art or design work

√ contributes to inclusive and sustainable development goals

√ is a driver and enabler of sustainable development processes

√ is data or evidence-based as an expression of realities

√ is aligned with greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets

√ is capable of leading to new pathways for the creative economy

√ reflects on creative economic development

√ connects with the different sectors of the creative economy

√ adds value to nature-based solutions to design problems

√ is conducive to new opportunities for sustainable development

√ is supportive of learning and innovation for poverty relief and sustainable development

√ opens up a possibility of a model of working together

√ touches climate change issues (such as plastic pollution)

√ deals with sustainability issues (like conservation of the nature)

√ develops culture of poverty relief and sustainable development.

Although these criteria seem to be quite a lot, it would be enough to meet as many as one can in the design of their p-card or e-card.

To create and send your card or support CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development month, please contact CENFACS.

• Dematerialisation Awareness Raising: Promoting and spreading the news about dematerialisation within the community

This week, CENFACS will continue the work on dematerialisation where we left it. Dematerialisation is part of CENFACS‘ Poverty-Environment Programme.

• • What is dematerialisation?

According to the World Bank (1), dematerialisation refers to

“An absolute or relative reduction in the quantity of materials required to serve economic functions in society”

This definition will be used to work together with the community and explore non-conflicting ways of activating the process of dematerialisation in the economic functions of their households.

• • Raising awareness with the community about Dematerialisation

With reference to the above definition, CENFACS shall work with its community to help explore way of reducing the quantity of resources or materials from the ecosystem in order to meet their basic life-sustaining economic needs. This will be an opportunity to promote and spread the news about dematerialisation in the way the community produces, consumes and distributes products and services.

The work on dematerialisation is CENFACS’ way of supporting the ecosystem restoration.

Those who may be interested in raising awareness about dematerialisation, they can contact CENFACS.

Message in French (Message en français)

Projet Arts et Dessin

Atelier électronique sur la création et l’envoi d’une carte papier ou une carte électronique exprimant les thèmes suivants: « Vivre durablement en harmonie avec la nature » ou « Sortir ensemble de la sécheresse »

Pour ceux/celles qui essaient de concevoir et d’envoyer une carte papier (carte p) ou une carte électronique (carte é) comme moyen de participer au Mois du développement économique créatif, veuillez vous assurer que le message de lutte contre la pauvreté que vous transmettez est sans confusion. Vous pouvez suivre les critères ci-dessous.

Critères pour une bonne conception de carte

Lors de la conception d’une carte, il est préférable que votre travail d’art ou de dessin…

√ contribue à des objectifs de développement inclusif et durable

√ soit un moteur et un facilitateur des processus de développement durable

√ soit fondé sur des données ou des preuves probantes en tant qu’expression de réalités

√ soit aligné sur les objectifs et les cibles en matière de réduction d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre

√ soit capable de conduire à de nouvelles voies pour l’économie créative

√ réfléchit sur le développement économique créatif

√ se connecte avec les différents secteurs de l’économie créative

√ ajoute de la valeur aux solutions basées sur la nature aux problèmes de conception

√ soit propice à de nouvelles opportunités de développement durable

√ soutient l’apprentissage et l’innovation pour la lutte contre la pauvreté et l’amélioration du développement durable

√ ouvre la possibilité d’un modèle de collaboration

√ touche aux questions liées au changement climatique (telles que la pollution plastique)

√ traite des questions de durabilité (comme la conservation de la nature)

√ développe une culture de lutte contre la pauvreté et de développement durable.

Bien que ces critères semblent être assez nombreux, il suffirait d’en répondre au plus grand nombre possible dans la conception de votre carte papier ou électronique pour arriver au but.

Pour créer et envoyer votre carte ou soutenir le Mois du développement économique créatif du CENFACS, veuillez communiquer avec le CENFACS.

Main Development

• Creative Economic Development Month – In Focus from Wednesday 08/06/2022: Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Deal with Rising Energy Prices

To explain Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Deal with Rising Energy Prices, we have composed notes which are regrouped under the following headings:

What is the energy price cap?

How rising energy prices affect CENFACS Community members

Post-pandemic creations and innovations to counter rising energy prices

How CENFACS can create and innovate with the community to deal with rising energy prices

Let us look at one by one these items.

• • What is the energy price cap?

To define energy price cap, we are referring to its definition found on the website ‘simplyswitch,com’ (2), which states that

“The energy price cap [which was instituted by an act of the UK Parliament – the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act -] is a legally enforced upper ceiling on the amount energy suppliers can charge customers on standard variable and default energy tariffs”.

The price cap is updated twice a year.

From its publication dated 03 February 2022, Ofgem (3) stated the following:

“The energy price cap will increase from 1 April for approximately 22 million customers. Those on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 per year (difference due to rounding). Prepayment customers will see an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017”.

Jonathan Brearley (4), the chief of UK energy regulator Ofgem, said the price could rise from £1,971 to £2,800 in the autumn.

Understanding the energy price cap helps to have an idea about rising energy prices and how these rising prices could affect energy customers, including our community members.

• • How rising energy prices affect CENFACS Community members

Rising energy prices and higher energy bills can contribute to rising living costs (such as housing, food, transport costs, etc.), like it is at the moment. This is because rising energy prices and bills could have domino effect which can lead to the cutting back on the use of fuel like gas and electricity, spending less on non-essential items, using savings (for those who have them) to meet rising living costs, spending more on utility bills, etc.

For those on the lowest income like many of CENFACS Community members, rising energy prices could disproportionally affect them. Because of these ripple effects, creations and innovations are needed to counter rising energy prices.

• • Post-pandemic creations and innovations to counter rising energy prices

Creations and innovations are possibly the best answer to rising energy prices. Let us basically define these post-pandemic creations and innovations as well as exemplify them.

a) Post-pandemic creations

Post-pandemic creations are the makings, inventions and productions following the period after the coronavirus period; creations that help to counter rising energy prices.

Examples of such creations abound and could include:

√ Setting up a new energy activity to support energy poor to invest in greener future,

√ Creatively helping our users to make energy transition

√ Supporting them to access energy-efficient household items

√ Working with them to integrate renewables into their household energy system

Etc.

b) Post-pandemic innovations

Post-pandemic innovations are the changes, alterations and reforms introduced after the coronavirus period of disaster; innovations that assist in countering rising energy prices.

Examples of these types of innovations are made up of the following:

√ Replacing fossil gas to renewable gas (i.e. biomethane e-fuels or renewable hydrogen)

√ Saving on gas and electricity

√ Leaning toward hydropower, solar and wind energies

Etc.

As we argued in the previous post, the creations and innovations in which we are interested in the context of CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development Month would be those that help our members to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

• • How CENFACS can create and innovate together with the community to deal with rising energy prices

CENFACS does not provide lump-sum payments to deal with rising energy prices. CENFACS does not have the power to cut bills or to provide financial support towards energy bills. CENFACS can however create and innovate together with the community to deal with rising energy prices.

CENFACS can support the community on various creative and innovative grounds such as:

√ Support users to reclaim their energy consumer and protection rights

√ Help switch to energy-saving habits or measures at home

√ Explore ways of negotiating energy debt servicing to affordable plan

√ Provide one-to-one advice on energy relief needs and matters

√ Help understand what organisations are advising (e.g. Citizens Advice Bureau, Ombudsman services, Ofgem and others)

√ Find social safety nets for energy poor and most vulnerable

√ Help people understand energy literature (e.g. energy debt guide provided by Ofgem) and energy literacy statistics

√ Raise awareness of measures to lower energy use and carbon emissions at home

√ Help people and families in their alignment drive to green, clean and safe energy

√ Assist in reading energy comparison providers’ resources on energy prices, metrics and statistics

√ Provide information about energy support measures (e.g. energy grants, bills support, home insulation or retrofit, etc.)

√ Find nature-based solutions to energy poverty and problems

√ Signpost users to energy community services and hubs

√ Help people and families address energy poverty and precariousness

Etc.

From the above mentioned energy support services, we can help create and innovate as well as reduce pressure on energy budgets, in particular by advising how to reduce energy expenses while increasing incomes for energy and other household needs.

All these ways of working with the community will help to create and innovate to counter soaring prices of energy. The more informed they are, the more likely they will find and practise the tools, tips and hints they need in order to overcome energy poverty and hardships.

It is all about working with them to improve the way in which they manage their income and life spent on energy in order to overcome future upheavals of the energy markets, which have recently been impregnated with stories of rising prices, costs and bills.

The above notes deal with Rising Energy Prices. For any further details about Creative Economic Development Month and Post-pandemic Creations and Innovations to Deal with Rising Energy Prices, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

_________

• References

(1) https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/dematerialisation-degrowth-and-climate-change-agenda (accessed in June 2022)

(2) www.simplyswitch,com/energy/guides/energy-price-cap (Accessed in June 2022)

(3) https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/price-cap-increase-ps693-april (Accessed in June 2022)

(4) Brearly, J., “The price cap is expected to rise from £1,971 to £2,800 in the autumn”, Select Committees, 24 May 2022, UK Parliament, London

_________

• 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.

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