Economics of Education and Skill Formation 2021

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on November 3, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

03 November 2021

Post No. 220

The Week’s Contents

• The Month of the Economics of Education and Skill Formation (Skills Development Month) 2021

• Skills Data Bank

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign, Themed Activity and Note No. 4 from Week beginning 01/11/2021: Use of Herbicides and Pesticides on Plants

… And much more!

Key Messages

• The Month of the Economics of Education and Skill Formation (Skills Development Month) 2021

November is the Month of the Economics of Education and Skill Formation (or in short Skills Development Month) within CENFACS. It is the month that we recognise the economic value of education as well as of the non-economic benefits from education even if there could a dispute about these values or benefits. It is also the month we pay particular attention to the technology of skill formation; month in which we try to find out how skills are formed and how technologies relating to them can help us to further reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

So, our November work on economic issues relating to education has just started this week. This work will first be about the link between education economics and poverty reduction, then between education economics and sustainable development. This work will include the identification of causal relationships between African organisations’ work and outcomes in educational projects.

In this identification, we shall refer to the human capital theory which will be the theoretical and working paradigm to be used this month. In other words, all along this month we shall work on this assumption: the importance and capacity of education and training (skills development) to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

Skills formation and development will be about forming new skills (that is any abilities to perform an activity in a competent way) to continue to fight poverty, for example coronavirus-induced poverty. Skills formation and development will indeed include skills to build forward. In other words, as we are working within the framework of Build Forward Better Programme, the skills we will be dealing with are those that will help us to build forward from the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. This variety of abilities or skills will make our human capital.

When we say us we mean CENFACS Community, individual users and Africa-based Sister Organisations in the process of building forward better together from the economic and health threats and consequences brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the Main Development section of this post, you will find further information about this first key message.

• Skills Data Bank

As part of our Skills Development Month, we would like to let you know that you can register your skills to our data bank; which is repository containing information about CENFACS and the data of the CENFACS’ Community. The register is free. Skills and information are stored on it in accordance with the latest regulations on data protection.

Knowing the skills that one possesses, it makes easy when opportunity arises to match them with registered skills. It also helps to point those in need of support to the right and relevant a skilful person and direction.

To register your skills to make up the CENFACS’ Community of skilled people, please contact CENFACS.

The fourth action to take in order to Safeguard Crop Wild Relatives is to do with the use of pesticides, particularly herbicides. Before dealing with the sub-actions relating to this action, the use of pesticides; let us briefly clarify some concepts.

• • Brief understanding of pesticides and herbicides

In the Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation by Chris Park (1), pesticide is defined as

“A chemical (such as an *insecticide, *fungicide, *rodenticide, *herbicide, or *germicide) that is used to kill or control *pests, such as *insects, *weeds, or *micro-organisms” (p. 336)

The same dictionary tells us that herbicide is

“A chemical *pesticide that is used to control or kill specific unwanted plants, particularly *weeds” (p. 210)

Often, herbicide and or any other types of pesticides are used on plants for various reasons. There are benefits in using pesticides (like herbicides); benefits which include the following: improvement in productivity, protection of crop losses and yield reduction, vector disease control, quality of food quality, increased production of food and fibre, etc.

Besides these benefits, there are negative impacts from their use on humans, animals and plants themselves. It is the negative impacts of their use on plants that we are concerned with in the context of the theme of “A la une” Campaign and the sub-theme of Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives. What are these negative impacts?

• • Negative effects from the use of pesticides, particularly herbicides, on plants

Dr Elaine Ingham quoted by Aktar et al. (2) argues that

“Overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides has effects on the soil organisms that are similar to human overuse of antibiotics. Indiscriminate use of chemicals might work for a few years, but after a while, there aren’t enough beneficial soil organisms to hold onto the nutrients”

Many other studies document negative effects such as pesticide contamination in the food stuffs (e.g. lettuce, apples, tomatoes, etc.) with high residue levels exceeding the maximum residue limit (that is the highest level of a pesticide residue that is legally tolerated in or on food or feed). Also, the incorrect use of pesticides can contaminate soil, vegetation, water and other ground water. Knowing that these effects or impacts can happen, what is mostly important is to take actions.

• • Actions for the upkeep of plants from bad use of pesticides and herbicides

Aktar et al. (op. cit.) argue in their conclusion that

“The best way to reduce pesticide contamination (and the harm it causes) in our environment is for all of us to do our part to use safer, non-chemical pest control (including weed control) methods”.

Doing our part to use safer, non-pest control needs to be translated into concrete actions such as the following:

√ Stop the contamination of air, soil and non-target vegetation or plants

√ Investigate outbreaks and accidental exposure to pesticides by plants

√ Conduct correlation studies between health plant and pesticides

√ Develop cohort analyses

√ Conduct randomised trials of intervention procedures

√ Collect valuable information by monitoring the minimum residue level on plants

To the above mentioned actions relating to the use pesticides, one may need add other actions that specifically focus on the use of herbicides on plants. For example, Tu et al. (3) in their guidelines for herbicides when arguing about the Nature Conservancy, they speak about it. It is possible to pick up from these guidelines these three actions:

√ Use herbicides only if they are safe

√ Use herbicides only to do more conservation good than harm

√ Develop safety protocols for storing, mixing, transporting, handling spills, and disposing unused herbicides and containers before obtaining herbicides.

Briefly, the message conveys via this fourth action about the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives is to only use herbicides if they do not threaten the health and wealth of Crop Wild Relatives in the short and long term time.

To support this Fourth Action relating to the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives and to the “A la une” Campaign, please contact CENFACS.

Extra Messages

• Go Relief with CENFACS’ Charity e-Store!

CENFACS Charity e-Store has been still opened since the lifting of the rules on wearing face coverings in England in July along with most other COVID-19 restrictions.

Under the current COVID-19 approach of enabling personal risk-based judgements, we are nevertheless following the strict restrictions and guidance regarding the control and surveillance of COVID-19 as well as the protection and saving of lives.

For the health and safety of everybody, all goods donations will be quarantined for at least 72 hours.

We have enhanced our sanitation and cleaning methods and practices.

We hope you are doing the same in the interest of public health and safety.

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

Many lives have been threatened and destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic. Those who managed to survive need help. We need help as well to help them come out poverty and hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

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

• Be.Africa debates the imperative need for the use of pesticides in Africa

There are those people who argue that it is imperative to use pesticides to increase the quantity of food available in order to tackle hunger and famine in Africa. Against this view, there are those who do not believe that famine and communicable diseases in Africa will be resolved via pesticides on plants.

CENFACS’ be.Africa would like to hear your opinion on this.

To tell and share your view on this debate, please contact CENFACS.

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3 (CPSAC-P.3): Glasgow Steps It Up

Our process of advocating better climate deals for children, particularly but not exclusively African children, in the context of global climate talks continues this week as we are following what is happening during the climate talks which are now in progress in Glasgow.

After hearing and listening to what everybody has said so far, we would like to highlight what Sir David Attenborough (4) said on 01 November 2021. It is great to hear and listen to him reminding the world at the opening World Leaders Summit of COP26 in Glasgow the following:

“No nation has completed development, because no industrial nation is yet sustainable. We all have a journey to complete. Nature is a key ally. Whenever we restore the wild, it will recapture carbon and help us bring back balance to our planet”.

If no nation has completed development and nature is a (our) key ally, then there is a need to ensure that we should not only leave to children and future generations to complete development. Likewise, we should not hand over to them unfriendly world to the nature. Therefore, giving a climate protection and stake to these children and future generations is not only a necessity but it is imperative. This should not be empty words. Instead, this should be materialised by concrete actions in our time.

Having said that one can hope that 28 Climate Campaigning Points made in our Compendia of Climate Advocacy will be considered at COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow. One can also expect that Glasgow could step it up and make it happen for children and the generations to come.

To support CPSAC-P.3 and the sub-theme of ‘Glasgow Steps It Up’ as well as any of the 28 Climate Campaigning Points of CENFACS’ Compendia of Climate Advocacy, please contact CENFACS.

Novembre, c’est le mois de Développement des Compétences au sein du CENFACS

Nous profitons de cette occasion pour vous inviter à enregistrer vos habiletés, qualifications et expériences avec la banque de données de CENFACS.

Avec vos habiletés, qualifications et expériences ainsi enregistrées et connues, nous pouvons vous informer sur les offres et demandes du marché de réduction de la pauvreté.

En plus, nous pouvons directement adresser nos usagers à vous ou à vos services ou activités.

Pour enregistrer vos habiletés, qualifications et expériences; veuillez contacter le CENFACS à l’adresse suivante:

www.cenfacs.org.uk

N’oubliez pas ceci: la communauté CENFACS, c’est aussi une communauté d’habiletés.

Merci

Main Development

• The Month of the Economics of Education and Skill Formation (Skills Development Month) 2021

• • Month of November within CENFACS

November month has two features within CENFACS which are: Skills evaluation and training implementation.

• • • November as a month of skills evaluation

November at CENFACS is the month of education and training; which revolves around the development of skills for life, for work, for poverty relief and sustainable development. It is the month during which we look into ourselves and try to assess, explore and learn the skills we need in order to further help reduce poverty in a sustainable way amongst ourselves and re-engage with the business of sustainable development.

• • • November as a training implementation month

November is also the training implementation month during which we pay attention to the following: educationally related projects or projects that involve training, skills development and acquisition of new knowledge to help users and our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) to empower themselves with the educational tools and training resources they need to further help reduce poverty.

For example, one of the skills development project to support ASOs is skills to work from home or distance learning and working skills during and after the pandemic and lockdown times as well as when there is handicap for people to meet in-person and work.

• • Poverty as a lack of skills and knowledge

It is known that poverty is not only material or the lack of monetary income; it is even more the lack of knowledge, skills, knowhow and technologies than anything else. Therefore, knowing and learning a skill can help to further reduce poverty, particularly but not exclusively COVID-19-induced poverty, and can set one on the right course of the development process. In this respect, there could relationships between economics of education and poverty reduction, between skill formation and poverty reduction.

• • • Relationship between the economics of education and poverty reduction

The economics of education is generally defined as the study of economic issues relating to education. The paradigm used in the economics of education is human capital theory. This theory suggests that investment in education and training lead people to become productive.

However, education and training do not only lead to the improvement of productivity. They can also pave the way for poverty reduction. As people get more educated and trained, these further education and training can provide them with the means to overcome poverty. As a result of this, there could be relationship between the economics of education and poverty reduction.

There could disagreement about this link between the two. However, despite this disagreement we are working on the assumption that education and training can lead to poverty reduction.

• • • Link between skill formation and poverty reduction

Let us briefly try to understand skill formation by highlighting its definitions. One of its definitions comes from an online dictionary at the website igi—global.com (5), which explains the following

“Skill formation is the process by which individuals achieve and develop innate or acquired skills to cope with everyday life challenges. Besides heredity, it includes formal and informal training activities and life experience”.

From this definition, it is possible to deduct that individuals who are poor can use their innate or acquired skills to cope with the challenge of poverty by developing survival and coping strategies. If they continue to use their skills and those strategies, they can navigate their way out of poverty. When they reach the point at which their skills and strategies effectively enable them to reduce poverty, then one could argue about the link between skill formation and poverty reduction.

• • CENFACS and its work on skills development

As far as CENFACS is concerned, we strive to support those who want to learn a skill while we at CENFACS as an organisation plan our own training, learning and development programme from time to time when we can access both funding and training.

The focus for this November 2021 will be on enhancing skills to build forward better from the continuing side effects of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns.

• • Skills to build forward better

There are models of building forward from any major crises (like the coronavirus or other ones). Depending on the model chosen, one may have a set of skills matching this model in order to deliver their project or programme (here build forward projects/programme).

After surveying the different existing models of building forward, we come to the conclusion that we shall approach the skills to build forward by following this sketch: planning – implementation – data analytics – monitoring and evaluation.

However, build forward projects and programme are not only about CENFACS, they are also about CENFACS users. Because of that, we are going to include the creation/generation of ideas to create extra income to meet the financial pressure towards the end of the year.

Therefore, we shall have the following skills focus:

skills to plan your build forward projects/programme, skills to implement them/it, skills to collect and analyse data from projects/programme and skills to generate little extra income.

The following table summarises our plan (Wednesdays’ Skills Focus) for approaching skills this month. It highlights a skills set to focus on from every Wednesday of each week of November 2021 starting from 03/11/2021.

Wednesdays’ Skills Focus

Wednesday Skills Focus

03/11/2021: Skills to prepare a plan to build forward (Planning Skills)

10/11/2021: Skills to execute a build-forward plan (Implementation Skills)

17/11/2021: Skills to analyse your build-forward data (Analytical Skills)

24/11/2021: Skills to create income (Income-generating Skills)

The above skills will be built and developed in such way…

∝ To ensure that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic sits on sound and sustainable foundations

∝ To help project beneficiaries to make steady progress in their journey and work of reconstruction from the COVID-19 impacts while preparing them to stay resilient to future similar shocks and crises

∝ To correct the asymmetrical and disproportional legacies of COVID-19 containment measures and lockdown restrictions since many of our community members have been unevenly and unjustifiably hurt by these measures and restrictions

∝ To adopt green and clean pathways for poverty reduction and low carbon emissions development

• In Focus from Wednesday 03/11/2021: Skills to Prepare a Plan to Build Forward

To build forward, one needs a plan of action. Planning is about setting up objectives, organising activities that will contribute to these objectives, finding and allocating resources or inputs to these activities, and measuring the outputs or outcomes to be achieved.

From the above elements of planning process, one can have the following types of skills:

(a) Skills to set up objectives

(b) Skills to organise activities

(d) Skills to measure or count outputs or outcomes

All these planning skills will help one to build forward better. Let us briefly look at them.

• • Planning Skills to build forward better

• • • Skills to set up objectives

To build forward, one needs to have some statements on how they are going to achieve their aims or have something they are aiming at or wishing for to happen. These things constitute objectives. It means one should have naturally acquired or developed through training the dexterity or talent to form aims or goals to be achieved in their plan of building forward. For example, one can have brainstorming skills.

• • • Skills to organise activities

Objectives require people to do something about them to be achieved or to materialise. In other words, one may require skills to organise time, things and people in order to meet these objectives. An example of these skills could be organisational skills.

• • • Skills to acquire and allocate resources or inputs

To organise any activities, resources or inputs must be available to achieve build forward better projects/programme. These resources could be acquired or existing. Because they are available, the issue is then how to allocate or distribute them between competing ends or uses in the process of building forward better without wasting them. To do that, it requires skills. Amongst the required skills are economic skills which will enable you to allocate scarce resources between competing uses.

• • • Skills to measure or count outputs and outcomes

It is not enough to allocate resources unless one is able to spell out the outputs (or services) and facilities they are delivering, and these are the outcomes or the changes and effects that arise from their work. To deliver services and facilities, they may need sales skills or user care skills. To show the changes and effects of their build forward better projects and programme, they could use statistical literacy skills and presentation skills.

To summarise, the above skills are just few of the planning skills available. If any of our community members and or Africa-based Sister Organisations are working on their build forward better projects and need some support, they can let know. CENFACS will be willing to work with them and help them meet their aims of their build forward projects.

To get further insight into Skills Development Month at CENFACS, please continue to read our weekly posts.

For those who would like to register their skills on CENFACS Skills Data Bank, they are welcome to do so. This registration will help in matching the support in terms of skills and the needs in the community.

_________

• References

(1) Park C., (2010), Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York

(2) Aktar M. W., Sengupta D. and Chowdhury A., (2009), Impact of pesticides use in agriculture: their benefits and hazards at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984095/#CIT0139 (accessed in November 2021)

(3) Tu et al. at https://www.invasive.org/gist/products/handbook/07.HerbicideGuidelines.pdf (accessed in November 2021)

(4) Sir David Attenborough (2021), Extract from a speech made at the opening World Leaders Summit and Ceremony of COP26 in Glasgow on 01/11/2021

(5) https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/is-entrepreneurship-a-bio–social-phenomenon/92105 (accessed in November 2021)

_________

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 consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, 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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

The Economic Costs of Building Forward from the Coronavirus

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on October 27, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

27 October 2021

Post No. 219

The Week’s Contents

• FACS, Issue No. 73, Autumn 2021: The Economic Costs of Building Forward from the Coronavirus

• 2021 “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Themed Activity and Action No.3 from Week Beginning 25/10/2021: Threats to Plant Biodiversity and Implications for Livelihoods

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3: The Last 8 Campaigning Points (CENFACS’ Compendium 3 of Climate Advocacy)

… And much more!

Key Messages

• FACS, Issue No. 73, Autumn 2021: The Economic Costs of Building Forward from the Coronavirus

The 73^rd Issue of FACS, CENFACS’ bilingual newsletter, focuses on the Economic Costs of Building Forward from the Coronavirus. It deals with economic costs rather than the other costs (such as human, health, environmental, social, etc.).

Although we know that it is difficult to separate economic costs from other ones, the focus in the 73^rd Issue is economic; that is, on how to allocate scarce resources between competing uses in order to build forward from the damages caused by the coronavirus. Being able to do that will help to figure out the margin of manoeuvre one has in order to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

This treatment of economic costs will cover costs relating to CENFACS, its Africa-based Sister Organisations and the community in the process of building forward. This process has already started since we launched CENFACS’ Build Forward Better Programme. The Issue will pick up those economic costs linked to this programme.

So, the key message here is that in order to build forward better from the painful legacies of the coronavirus one (be it CENFACS or Africa-based Sister Organisations or even project beneficiaries) needs to have a better control of the economic costs (or payments) to be incurred in this process.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided the key summaries making this Issue.

We would like to start this 3^rd themed activity or action to Safeguard Crop Wild Relatives with what Richard T. Corlett (1) said; which is:

“The conservation of plants has not generated the sense of urgency – or the funding – that drives the conservation of animals, although plants are far more important for us”.

Perhaps, it is now time for anyone to understand the above say and mostly take action by giving the sense of urgency and funding that plants need and deserve in order to Safeguard Crop Wild Relatives threatened by extinctions.

• • Threats to plant biodiversity

Plants are still at risk of both in situ and ex situ extinctions. According to Corlett (op. cit.), the major threats to plant biodiversity (that is, the number of genetic strains or differences within plant species) include: habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, over-exploitation, invasive species, pollution and anthropogenic climate change.

In order to achieve the goal of zero global plant extinctions and Safeguard Crop Wild Relatives, actions need to be taken. These actions could include the following:

√ Develop the sense of urgency for threatened plants

√ End extinctions of not recorded plant species

√ Protect the natural ecosystems that plants play or act for as well as services plants provide

√ Take urgent actions to save threatened plants

√ Fund projects relating to the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives

√ Stop habitat loss, fragmentation, degradation,

√ Reduce or control over-exploitation

√ Prevent invasive species to destroy plants

√ Stop air pollution to plants

√ Reverse the adverse effects of anthropogenic climate change

√ Conserve the botanical inventories and improve plant inventory

√ Often reassess the conservation status of plant species

The above actions are important to reduce and possibly stop threats to plant biodiversity, threats which have some implications for livelihoods.

• • Implications for livelihoods

Threats to plant biodiversity have some consequences for the way in which humans and animals live their lives. They also impact the health and wealth of plants. These threats have some connotations as well for the poor and vulnerable people in their capabilities, assets and activities they require for a meaningful life now and in the future. If these threats continue, this could mean worsening of the quality of life for all the three beings (humans, animals and plants). That is why one needs to take the above mentioned decisive actions.

To support and campaign with us to reduce and or stop threats to plant biodiversity, please contact CENFACS.

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3: The Last 8 Campaigning Points (CENFACS’ Compendium 3 of Climate Advocacy)

Our process of advocating better climate deals for children, particularly but not exclusively African children, in the context of global climate talks continues this week with the last eight Campaigning Points of CENFACS’ Compendia of Climate Advocacy (2).

• • Compendium 3: The last 8 Climate Campaigning Points on the Way to COP26

The eight points we are dealing with this week in the lead up to the COP26 include the following:

(21) The political economy of negotiations for child protection against climate-induced poverty

(22) Green and climate capacity building and education for child protection

(23) Climate-friendly and children-friendly technologies for poverty relief

(24) Climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes for children and future generations

(25) Making clean technology fund (CTF) work for poor children from poor nations

(26) The equity resulting from converted CTF debt to benefit children from poor nations as well

(27) The new pledges, if any, for adaptation fund and Least Developed Countries Fund to be mobilised to give a stake to poor children’s needs

(28) Mobilisation of the climate finance system and architecture to be designed so as to support poor children of poor countries

Our work regarding the above mentioned campaigning points in the run up to the COP26 is to find ways of making sure that these points could be included in the deliberations that will take place in Glasgow without stealing the purpose and process of the global climate talks. It is also about having some insurance that the outcomes to be reached in Glasgow will positively reflect the points made above. One can hope that Glasgow could step it up and make it for children and the generations to come.

Extra Messages

• Happening this Week: Making Memorable Difference Project

In Focus: The Congolese Rumba

The 13^th Event of Making Memorable Difference Project is in progress as scheduled. It is the celebration of African Abilities, Talents, Skills, Legacies and Gifts to Africa and the world.

For those who would like to make contribution to our Virtual Two Days of African History, they are welcome to do so. They can contribute to the understanding of the Congolese Rumba as Culture, Art and Patrimony; and or to its Legacies and Gifts in terms of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

• • How to engage and or contribute

You can tell and share with us what they know about the Congolese Rumba as Culture, Art, Patrimony, Legacy and Gift. Your telling or sharing could be in the form of:

texts, documents, references, relics, audio and visual materials, art objects and any other historical resources.

For those who can, they could support CENFACS’ Two History Days and Making Memorable Difference Project with a donation to acknowledge our efforts, to help us recover costs of organising such eventful days and to build forward better African History.

To engage with this year’s Making Memorable Difference theme and or support this project, please contact CENFACS on this site.

• Poverty Reduction Goals Project – Goals No. 2 and 3: Simultaneous Reduction of Consumption Poverty and Energy Poverty

Last month when we dealt with the reduction of energy poverty, we argued that the seven goals making CENFACS’ 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme and Development Agenda (3) do not have to be treated and implemented separately. Any of these goals should not be studied and implemented in isolation. There are and could be relationships between them.

To highlight what we have just said we are revisiting Poverty Reduction Goal 2 and Poverty Reduction Goal 3; that is Reduction of Consumption Poverty and Reduction of Energy Poverty respectively. The current work on these goals is about what is happening now with the increases of energy price and of consumer demand.

• • The current state of consumption poverty and energy poverty

With the current increases in the prices of gas and electricity, electronics, wood and plastic; there could be increase in both consumption poverty and energy poverty.

The consumption poverty could increase because there is a shortage of the supply of commodities (food stuff) and goods to meet high level of post-COVID-19 awakening demand. Obviously, when the supply of commodities and food stuff is lower than their demand, the most sufferers are those who are already poor or the consumption poor.

The same is happening with the rise of energy price which is likely to increase energy poverty. In these circumstances, what can one do to help simultaneously reduce consumption poverty and energy poverty, which already exist?

• • Helping to simultaneously reduce consumption poverty and energy poverty

Our work is to continue to campaign so that every effort could be deployed to help simultaneously reduce consumption poverty and energy poverty within the community we serve, at this moment of commodities and food stuff shortages, strong demand of raw materials and soaring prices of energy.

We are as well asking purchasing managers of poverty reduction goods to share with us their experience in dealing with the supply and stock of these goods in order to help meet poverty reduction goals, particularly the reduction of consumption poverty.

If you are a purchasing manager for the poverty reduction goods, CENFACS would be interested in hearing your experience/story on how you are supporting the community to overcome consumption poverty at this time.

Likewise, we are asking the community itself to share their experience about the sensitivity of the energy share to their household income.

To share your experience and knowledge, please contact CENFACS.

• Activity of the Week: Leaving behind the Monetary Threshold of US $1.90 a Day

Is it a sign of building forward from the COVID-19 damages?

This week, we are also building on the activity about the line of extreme poverty like we did in October 2020. We are doing it since the adverse effects of coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns in terms of extreme poverty are still lingering within the community. Now, we have as well the negative effects of increased energy price on the extremely poor.

However, in all this picture there could be some positive stories from those who have managed to leave behind them the international poverty line of $1.90 a day. For those ones, leaving it behind could be regarded for some as a sign of starting to build forward from the painful legacies of COVID-19 and its ramifications, whereas for others it is not the case.

If you did leave the monetary threshold of US $1.90 a day behind and being in the direction of going out of extreme poverty, we would like to hear your experience/story.

To share your experience/story of leaving the international poverty line behind, please contact CENFACS.

Le 73e numéro de FACS vient de paraître. Ceux ou celles qui sont intéressés à lire ce nouveau numéro en détail peuvent contacter le CENFACS à notre adresse habituelle sur ce site internet.

Main Development

• FACS, Issue No. 73, Autumn 2021: The Economic Costs of Building Forward from the Coronavirus

The contents and key summaries of the 73^rd Issue of FACS are given below.

• • Contents and Pages

∝ Accounting for the cost of building forward from COVID-19 (Page 2)

∝ Basic financial planning and forecasting in the process of building forward (Page 2)

∝ The price of curating damaged and destroyed activities (Page 3)

∝ The cost of building forward that considers net zero emissions by 2050 (Page 3)

∝ The cost of building forward that takes into account nature-based solutions (Page 4)

∝ Africa-based Sister Organisations and the cost of building forward from the coronavirus (Page 4)

∝ Que sait-on du coût de reconstruction à partir du COVID-19 pour des organisations africaines? (Page 5)

∝ Combler l’asymétrie dans l’effort ou le coût de construction vers l’avant: Ce que le COVID-19 a entraîné pour les pauvres (Page 5)

∝ Le coût associé à l’inactivité économique non-essentielle découlant des confinements prolongés des usagers de CENFACS (Page 6)

∝ Le coût d’une reconstruction meilleure ensemble plus verte et plus propre (Page 6)

∝ The cost of eradicating vaccine inequity and inequality (Page 7)

∝ The cost of building forward that attracts financial innovations (Page 7)

∝ The cost of building forward that responds to the economic absorption capacity (Page 8)

∝ The cost of building forward that is smart (Page 8)

∝ Community research and development about economic costs to build forward (Page 9)

∝ Survey about the cost of building forward (Page 9)

∝ E-focus group discussions on the cost of building forward (Page 9)

∝ Cost Centre Project (Page 10)

• • Key Summaries

Please find below the key summaries of the 73^rd Issue of FACS from page 2 to page 10.

Accounting for the cost of building forward from COVID-19 (Page 2)

In order to build forward from the economic and health crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic, one needs to do accounting for COVID-19 accounts or the share of COVID-19 accounts in their households or African organisational accounts. This could mean the given household or African organisation will record the transactions or amounts of cost linked to COVID-19 payments and other costs. This will enable to have an accounting picture or photo for the spending relating to COVID-19 and other accounts.

In practical terms, most of households and persons making our community should be able to do basic accounting to record how much they spend. Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) can do the same.

Briefly, accounting for the cost of payments made could be a starting point in the process of working out the economic costs of building forward from the damaging legacies of COVID-19.

Basic cost planning and forecasting in the process of building forward (Page 2)

The accounting for the cost of building forward from COVID-19 does only give us the history of our accounts or where we are coming from. But, it does not tell us where we want to go. To build forward, one needs to go beyond the state of costs incurred. In other words, one (household or ASO) has to financially plan and/or forecast costs or payments.

Financial planning deals with preparations or arrangements for finances while forecasting is about making predictions about future general economic and market conditions. Because we are concerned with costs, one can make cost planning and forecasting.

In practical terms, it means that the given household or ASO needs to estimate costs and develop hypotheses regarding the evolution of some key indicators or variables (such as inflation, interest rate, exchange rate, etc.).

For example, CENFACS household users can ask themselves if the price of gas goes up, how this increase will affect their household energy budget or cost and the rest of the bills they pay. By doing so, these households can integrate the responses to these questions in their decision making process on costs and write their cost plan and forecast to build forward from the COVID-19.

Those households who handle financial statements (such as cash flow projections, balance sheets, profit and loss accounts for their family) may be familiar with the above. For those who are unfamiliar with them, they can always ask CENFACS for any help on the matter.

The price of curating damaged and destroyed activities (Page 3)

There is always a price to be paid or a cost to bear when curating activities and or services as a result of damages or destruction caused a major crisis like the coronavirus pandemic. Our users and ASOs may find themselves that they need first to cost activities or things to be cured before moving onto the phase of building forward or while they are in this phase.

If they are able to do it they can do it themselves. Alternatively, they can use available tools on the market such as cost calculator. They can as well ask support to CENFACS to help them determine the price or cost of curating what they were doing and which the COVID-19 has destroyed or damaged.

To ask for support about working out the price or cost of curating your activities, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

The cost of building forward that considers net zero emissions by 2050 (Page 3)

It is possible to work out the cost of building forward in such way that does not add to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It means when considering the different payments, one may need to budget and record any costs linked to CO2 emissions they would emit. This includes greenhouse gas emissions from their households.

For example, if one wants to cost the price of kitchen appliances they may need in order to build forward, they could consider non-polluting appliances for cooking as well as any carbon-free installation they need.

In short, when accounting the cost of building forward one may think of considering the cost of taking green and clean paths.

The cost of building forward that takes into account nature-based solutions (Page 4)

The construction for the cost of building forward can include nature-based solutions to poverty. Such costs need to consider actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural and modified ecosystems.

These costs will as well include solutions to poverty that enhance the wealth and health of nature. For example, planting trees, restoring biodiversity of plants and animals and other nature-based solutions can be factorised in the cost of building forward so that when searching for ways of reducing and or ending poverty people can make choices that conserve and protect the nature.

In all, the cost of building forward can be worked out in such way as to bring in nature-based solutions.

Africa-based Sister Organisations and the cost of building forward from the coronavirus (Page 4)

COVID-19 has affected the way in which ASOs deliver their programmes, projects, activities and services. It has affected them from within and outside. COVID-19 is an adjusting factor for them as it has impacted the ability to raise funds and to continue to help in reducing poverty and hardships amongst their users.

In these circumstances, the cost of building forward for them may include in their cash flows the cost of adjusting their way of finding their finances in order to meet the needs of their users and community. This is because searching for and finding finances are not always free for many of these organisations.

In brief, if ASOs need to raise up to the challenge of delivering post-COVID -19 poverty reduction services that lift more of their people out of poverty and hardships, they have to be prepared to properly cost their sources of finance in order to build forward.

Que sait-on du coût de reconstruction à partir du COVID-19 pour des organisations africaines? (Page 5)

Les organisations africaines avec lesquelles le CENFACS travaille sont dans des situations différentes qui sont les suivantes:

∗ Il y a des organisations qui continuent de faire face aux coûts sanitaires et financiers de combat contre le COVID-19 là où le COVID-19 continues de grimper parmi leurs adhérents

∗ Il y en a d’autres qui ont commencé d’élaborer le coût de guérison de leurs activités, car elles ont entamé le travail de guérison de leurs systèmes et services de réduction de la pauvreté endommagés

∗ Il y a une troisième catégorie d’organisations qui ont débuté le travail de reconstruction proprement dit.

Selon les differences dans les phases de reconstruction, les coûts varieront et l’approche de reconstruction peut aussi être différente. Par exemple, pour celles qui continuent de lutter contre le COVID-19, les coûts sanitaires et hygiéniques seront présents et élevés, tandis que pour celles qui entreprennent le travail de guérison, elles seront plus concernées par des coûts de réparation. Enfin, pour celles qui ont, à juste titre, commencé le travail de réhabilitation, les coûts relatifs à la reconstruction seront dominants.

En gros, le coût de reconstruction pour des organisations dépendra de la situation dans laquelle elles se situent.

Combler l’asymétrie dans l’effort ou le coût de construction vers l’avant: Ce que le COVID-19 a entraîné pour les pauvres (Page 5)

Pendant la période du COVID-19, on a assisté à une répartition asymétrique et disproportionnelle des moyens et ressources sous forme d’aide au combat contre le COVID-19 dans une partie du monde. Certaines couches sociales ont reçu plus d’aide par rapport aux autres. D’autres couches se sont vues mêmes abandonnées pour elles-mêmes.

Pour aider à combler cette asymétrie ou disproportion, il serait mieux que des organisations africaines continuent à réhausser le ton et travailler avec leurs usagers qui ont été victimes de cette répartition inégale des moyens; répartition qui peut influencer l’effort ou le coût de construction vers l’avant. En travaillant avec ces sections ou couches défavorisées ou les laissé(e)s-pour-contre de la répartition des moyens de combat contre le COVID-19, il y aura une lueur d’espoir pour faire disparaître les disparités crées.

Pour conclure, il y a lieu de noter qu’il serait mieux de corriger l’asymétrie du coût de construction vers l’avant pour que les pauvres voient leur situation s’améliorer.

Le coût associé à l’inactivité économique non-essentielle découlant des confinements prolongés des usagers de CENFACS (Page 6)

Il y a des coûts à comptabiliser pour nos usagers et leurs membres de famille oeuvrant dans le secteur non-essentiel et qui ont été incapables de travailler à cause de COVID-19 et ses ramifications.

Ces coûts incluent des dépenses de développement des compétences, de formation et d’éradication de la pauvreté. A cause de la longueur des confinements, certains de nos usagers ont vu certaines de leurs compétences réduites ou perdues. Pour construire vers l’avant les compétences réduites et perdues, cela demande de stages de formation et d’éducation pour leur permettre de rejoindre le marché de travail. Pour ceux ou celles qui ont acquis des compétences nouvelles relatives au travail à distance ou distanciel, il y a aussi des coûts à calculer pour qu’ils (elles) continuent d’avancer.

Brièvement parlant, des économiquement inactifs à cause des confinements et de manque d’activité économique ont des coûts à comptabiliser que ça soient pour des compétences à acquérir ou celles déjà acquises.

Le coût d’une construction meilleure ensemble plus verte et plus propre (Page 6)

Pour construire vers l’avant, il faut tenir compte des exigences liées à la conservation de la nature et de l’évitement du dérèglement climatique. Pour cela, il y a lieu de d’adopter un chemin vert et propre.

Par exemple, de plus en plus des voies s’élèvent contre l’usage des ressources non-renouvelables ou combustibles fossiles (tels que le pétrole, le gaz et le charbon).

Cela demande une transition vers des énergies ou ressources renouvelables (telles que l’eau fraîche, la forêt, etc.). Pour assumer cette transition énergétique, cela demande un calcul des coûts de la transition et celui pour assurer une construction vers l’avant verte et propre.

Grosso modo, le coût de la cause verte et propre peut être intégrée dans la reconstruction à partir du COVID-19.

The cost of eradicating vaccine inequity and inequality (Page 7)

In the process of working out the monetary value of building forward, the cost of local people accessing vaccine needs to be taken into account. Particularly, for those who live in remote areas who may not always have the means to travel to access vaccine.

Therefore, working out the costs of travelling to reach out to them, of running vaccine administration hubs is important. It is important if one wants to eradicate vaccine inequity and inequality.

In a few words, the full cost of eradicating vaccine inequality and inequality has to be taken on board.

The cost of building forward that attracts financial innovations (Page 7)

To build forward, it requires funding. Since everybody, especially those in need, is looking for funding to deal with the unprecedented costs of COVID-19 crisis, traditional funding schemes have become oversubscribed and in some cases obsolete. Therefore, innovations in new financial instruments and sources of funding to cover the cost of building forward become unavoidable.

However, to attract these new innovations to one’s building forward projects and or programmes, the cost of these projects and programmes have to be attractive to them. In the process of setting up costs to build forward, it is advisable to undertake an intelligent combination of the ability to attract these new financial innovations and the capability to meet the needs of potential users.

In short, the design of cost to build forward needs to take into account the financial instruments on the market if one wants to access them.

The cost of building forward that responds to the economic absorption capacity (Page 8)

Any organisation whether it is small or medium or even big needs to have the absorption capacity required for any amount of investment received or to be received. They may need it to be able to smoothly absorb or channel the incoming build forward funds into their systems. It is not enough for organisations to say for example “this is our cost or this is how it costs”. So, having in mind an idea of absorption capacity or absorptive plan of any funds needed when costing your plan to build forward will help.

In concrete terms, let say an organisation costs its work of building forward at £50,000. The question is: do they have the infrastructures, structures, capacities, skills and knowledge to efficiently consume this seize of money to build forward? If not, wouldn’t be better for that organisation to re-work the costs and perhaps cut or increase them depending on their absorption capacity?

Briefly, it will make easier for the organisation to cost their work on building forward without ignoring their absorption capacity of any potential funds or investments to acquire.

The cost of building forward that is smart (Page 8)

The cost of building forward needs to be smart; that is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. It is a cost based on needs assessment of the individual or organisation; cost that does not to be general but that can be measured, achieved, realistic and for a defined time.

The above features about the cost of building forward are relevant for project users and organisations. For users or project beneficiaries, smart cost will be approached in the context of working with them so that they can navigate their way out of poverty. For ASOs, smart cost will be about the way in which they perceive it and apply it. However, whichever way they take it, the fundamentals of smart method of dealing with their problem of building forward will remain the same.

To sum up, keeping the cost of building forward smart can help to better deliver the objective of poverty reduction for both users and beneficiary organisations.

Community research and development about economic costs to build forward (Page 9)

CENFACS has two research projects about economic costs to which people can participate, which are the following:

a) Economic modelling and evaluation of economic costs

b) Testing the sensitivity of net benefits to poverty reduction changes.

a) Economic modelling and evaluation of economic costs

This is a project through which participants can develop a simple economic model and carry out economic evaluation on the economic costs of building forward as well as about generating some evidence that can be utilised to support the process of building forward better. The model could be a basic visual, mathematical, simulation, empirical, static, dynamic, etc.

b) Testing the sensitivity of net benefits to poverty reduction changes

To build forward and keep the work of poverty reduction on track at the same time could be challenging. To enable us to know in the setting of economic costs that poverty reduction changes will be preserved during the process of building forward, one can undertake some community research in testing the sensitivity of net benefits of the cost of building forward to poverty reduction changes.

To participate to either of the research projects, please contact CENFACS.

Survey about the cost of building forward (Page 9)

Please rate your experience of the cost of building forward

E-focus group discussions on the cost of building forward (Page 9)

As part of getting people’s activities and lives back on track and move forward during November 2021, we would like to e-discuss with those who are interested in the economic cost of building forward. This is because we all are likely to cost our build-forward projects from the damages caused by the coronavirus.

The e-discussion will be on the following:

1) How to recoup all the economic costs of building forward

2) Is it the cost of building forward bigger or smaller or average than what one would expect?

3) How to cover the cost of building forward

Those who would like to participate they can contact CENFACS so that we can plan this e-discussion session.

Cost Centre Project (Page 10)

This is a project designed to work with Africa-based Sister Organisations in order to help them alleviate poverty due to the lack of systematic and analytic method and system to set up and collect costs needed to build forward.

Through this project, these organisations will better plan, organise, coordinate, control and monitor their cost of building forward from the economic and health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic at a cost centre. The setting up of costs via this project will be aligned with poverty reduction budgets and goals of those organisations.

To support or contribute to this project, please contact CENFACS.

For further details including full project proposals and budget about the Cost Centre Project for Africa-based Sister Organisations, please contact CENFACS.

The full copy of the 73^rd Issue of FACS is available on request. For any queries and comments about this Issue, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

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References

(1) Richard T. Corlett (2016), Plant diversity in a changing world: Status, trends and conservation needs at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdf.2016.01.001 (accessed October 2021)

(2) CENFACS (2019), CENFACS’ Compendia of Climate Advocacy at Festive Guide – (cenfacs.org.uk)

(3) CENFACS (2020), CENFACS’ 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme and Development Agenda at The 2020s Development Agenda and Poverty Reduction Programme – (cenfacs.org.uk)

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Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis. Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, 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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

Online Micro-volunteering Activities

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on October 20, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

20 October 2021

Post No. 218

The Week’s Contents

• Online Micro-volunteering Activities

• 2021 “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Themed Activity and Action No. 2 from Week beginning 18/10/2021: Impacts of Agricultural Mechanisation on Plants

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3: Additional 10 Campaigning Points (CENFACS’ Compendium 2 of Climate Advocacy)

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Online Micro-volunteering Activities

Our crusade about ways of getting involved with CENFACS in this Autumn continues its course as we are dealing with micro-volunteering action this week.

Indeed, as well as supporting CENFACS and its good causes with no direct cash donations, people can add up or think of alternative ways of involving with CENFACS. For example, they can micro-volunteer with us either online or offline or both.

Micro-volunteering with CENFACS is about undertaking or completing small tasks, that can be online or offline or both, to make up one of our main projects. While we recognise the importance of both online and offline tasks in our volunteering scheme (All in Development Volunteers), our focus on micro-volunteering in the context of this post will be on the online part of it.

Under the Main Development section of this post we have provided more information about online micro-volunteering activities.

The second action of the sub-theme of “A la une” Campaign, which is Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives, deals with the Impacts of Agricultural Mechanisation on Plant Species.

Indeed, mechanisation (that is the replacement of manual labour with mechanical power or animal traction) can have positive and negative impacts on plant species. Thomas Daum et al. (1), who conducted a study on the impacts of agricultural mechanisation in four African countries (Benin, Kenya, Mali and Nigeria) by working with focus group discussions and by using the participatory impact diagrams, speak about these impacts while warning the danger of narrowing these impacts to yield and labour. They argue the need to go beyond the narrow view on yields and labour to consider other effects such as crop diversity, food prices, nutrition security, etc.

As far as “A la une” Campaign is concerned, the focus will be on negative impacts. We are interested in the causal chains of negative impacts or negative outcomes of mechanisation. As in the examples provided by Daum et al. (op. cit.), these negative impacts include the following:

conflicts between farmers and pastoralists; soil erosion; shorter useful life of land; soil fertility decline in the long term; deforestation; low yields in the long term; more herbicides; destruction of soil structures; soil vulnerability to rain and wind erosion; water logging and flooding; food shortages; indebtedness and distress sales of livestock, machinery and land for tractor owners in the long term; etc.

Many studies in Africa document the above named negative impacts of mechanisation. As “A la une” Campaign is about action not words only, we are working so that these negative impacts can be tackled if one wants to take the upkeep of the nature in existence seriously.

To support and campaign with us against the negative impacts of agricultural mechanisation on plants, please contact CENFACS.

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3: Additional 10 Campaigning Points (CENFACS’ Compendium 2 of Climate Advocacy)

Last week, we dealt with 10 Climate Campaigning Points of CENFACS’ First Compendium of Climate Advocacy. This was part of the process of preparing ourselves on the way to COP26. This week, we are taking another challenge by working on additional 10 climate campaigning points of the second compendium. This is all part of a process of advocating better climate deals for children, particularly but not exclusively African children, in the context of global climate talks. We have listed below these ten additional points.

• • Compendium 2: Additional 10 Climate Campaigning Points of the Week on the Way to COP26

The ten points we are dealing with this week in the lead up to the COP26 include the following:

11) Mapping out of Climate Change Actions (i.e. activity that helped in identifying good actions for children taken locally and rating them)

12) The need for an increase of climate protection for children

13) The way in which an international credit system for carbon emission certificates will work for child protection

14) The position of the international climate community on finance climate protection for children abroad (e.g. African children)

15) The issue of financial and technical assistance to children affected by climate change

16) The percentage of fund that finances climate educational needs of children

17) The setting up of climate finance plans that are children friendly

18) The way in which clean air fund is helping children’s health

19) Climate protection matters related to children of least developed countries (amongst them some African countries)

20) Better climate governance that works for and benefits children’s welfare and well-being

Extra Messages

• Triple Value Initiatives for Santa: Raising Funds while Playing, Running and Voting for Poverty Reduction over the Long Festive Period

You can help CENFACS raise life-saving funds it needs for its good causes by making participants or interested parties to Triple Value Initiatives (or All-year Round Projects) to dress like Santa.

Participants and vested parties can then donate or sponsor your Triple Value Initiatives of Playing, Running and Voting for poverty reduction.

The income to be raised on these occasions can be donated to CENFACS. It will help to support those in most need so that they can navigate their way out poverty and hardships.

However, to raise funds via Triple Value Initiatives for Santa, one needs to first discuss the matter, their plan/idea with CENFACS. Together with CENFACS, we can better plan their/our fundraising drive and help deliver it in a smooth and hassle-free way while following the rules of the game.

To raise funds for Triple Value Initiatives for Santa to help CENFACS and its good causes, please contact CENFACS.

Just remember, do not forget to record and report your scores, results and fixtures about your Triple Value Initiatives (or All year-round Projects). At the end of the process of All year-round Projects and by the end of the year, one should be ready to announce the 2021 Action-Results for either of the project: Run or Play or Vote.

The final Action-Results will consist of finding out and revealing the following for this COVID-19 vaccination year:

√ The Best African Countries of 2021 which best reduce poverty

√ The Best African Global Games Runners of 2021

√ The Best African Development and Poverty Relief Managers of 2021

If you have not yet thought about this finding or revelation, please start thinking right now and have your say about it!

• Sustainable Trajectories for the Nature with…

Actions to Reduce and or Stop Rising Temperatures during the Post-coronavirus Recovery Period

Sustainable Trajectories for the Nature (STN), which is part of the “A la une” Campaign, is also an environmental campaign on its own. This is because its contents are intertwined with some of the aspects of the “A la une” Campaign.

Under the STN, we are looking at Sustainable Trajectories in terms of the following trajectories:

∝ Temperature

∝ Sea levels

∝ Wildlife population

∝ Greenhouse gas emissions during the post-coronavirus recovery period

During COVID-19 lockdowns, there were some good results and news about the reduction of air pollution, electricity, transport use, industrial activity and noise in some big cities of the world including London and Kinshasa. Many confined places (in countries such as China) recorded low levels of energy demand and CO2 emissions.

However, do these good results suggest the decreasing pattern of temperatures in relation to the climate goal of reducing the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius or it was just an exception due to the COVID-19 confinement? Are we moving towards the net zero emissions by 2050 (that is, not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere)?

Indeed, the Paris Agreement central aim is about strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Our work under STN is about searching on actions taken so far to reduce rising temperatures by checking if we are moving towards a net-zero carbon emissions world in the post-coronavirus recovery period and beyond. In this respect, we are looking at the above trajectories (that is temperature, sea level, wildlife population and greenhouse gas emissions trajectories in terms of rising temperature) if they are moving in the way of the Upkeep of the Nature.

The above is the key message about the campaign for Sustainable Trajectories for the Nature. To enquire about it and or to add your input, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

• African Organisations and Reduction of COVID-19-induced Poverty in Africa

End COVID-19-induced Poverty, which is part of COVID-19 Rehabilitation Strategies or Phase 3 of COVID-19 Campaign, is also about working with Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) so that they can get the means and support they need in order to continue to work with their locals. By working together between the three of us (CENFACS, ASOs and African locals), the following can be achieved:

√ Working with African locals so that the level of coverage of COVID-19 vaccine and tests can be increased within these locals

√ Sensitising those locals who are still sceptical about COVID-19 vaccine and tests as they believe in African mystique, so that they can value the soundness of COVID-19 vaccine and testing programme

√ Supporting African locals who are still suffering from the multiple adverse effects of COVID-19-induced poverty

Through this campaign, we hope to work with ASOs and help reduce health poverty (i.e. lack of physical and emotional health) and other forms of poverty (like educational, environmental, economic, and social poverty) within these African locals.

To support this End COVID-19-induced Poverty Campaign, please contact CENFACS.

Tous les chemins mènent à Rome. Mais, toutes les lignes de consommation et production ne nous amènent pas à la préservation de la nature.

Pour conserver la nature, et ce réaliser les objectifs du développement durable d’ici à l’an 2030; s’il vous plaît créons, innovons et utilisons des trajectoires durables.

Le CENFACS plaide pour l’utilisation des trajectoires durables pour la nature (TDN).

TDN est un plaidoyer de CENFACS en faveur des droits de la nature.

Pour en savoir plus, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

Main Development

• Online Micro-volunteering Activities

The coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent impacts have pushed us to go out of our way to innovate in increasingly using distance working technologies and means as physical or in-person activities were banned in order to protect the public health and keep the fight against the coronavirus in control. In this process of innovating, we found ourselves a niche in undertaking online micro-volunteering activities. Some aspects of online micro-volunteering activities already existed in the pre-pandemic era. The coronavirus has just increased the intensity and frequency of these activities.

However, what is online micro-volunteering and what does it involve for CENFACS? To explain it, we are going to deal with our understanding of it, the tasks that an online micro-volunteer can perform, the tools that he/she may use and the kind of poverty relief generated by online micro-volunteering activities.

• • Understanding online micro-volunteering

To understand it, let us refer to what Anna Patton said. Anna Patton (2) wrote on the Mission Box’s web page that

“Conscious actions for a good cause can also happen offline”.

One would think that she meant that conscious actions can be both online and offline. From what she argued, it is possible to deduct from her writing that online micro-volunteering is

“the use of online tools both to match volunteers to actions and to enable the completion of tasks from anywhere in the world”.

Online micro-volunteering is thus described within the literature as a situation in which a volunteer or team of volunteers is completing online small tasks or micro-actions that are part of a big project or programme. These internet-connected device tasks can be undertaken remotely, online, virtually, in the cloud, etc. They can be done in groups, individually, as one-off or regularly.

From this perspective, doing online micro-volunteering via CENFACS is about undertaking smart tasks with smart tools in order to produce smart relief from poverty and hardships.

• • Online micro-volunteering doing small smart tasks

Small tasks are micro-actions. From what Anna Patton said (op. cit.), these tasks need to be easy, no-commitment, cost-free, to take less than 30 minutes to complete, little or no formal agreement needed before a volunteer can get started, and no expectation that the volunteer will return, no long term commitment for the volunteer.

These tasks could be smart, that is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound; as well as capable of generating and increasing support towards CENFACS’ good and deserving causes, especially at the time of COVID-19 post-vaccine and post-testing programmes.

These tasks briefly include any of the following:

√ Prospecting potential supporters

√ Running questionnaires

√ Recruiting new supporters

√ Engaging with supporters

√ Sending and receiving messages from supporter

√ Following the leads

√ Setting up an event online

√ Online sponsorship

√ Online crowd funding

√ Writing a blog post

√ Re-tweeting a message

Etc.

• • Online micro-volunteering done via smart communication tools

It is the use of internet connected devices or tools (such as smart phones, tablets, video calling devices, notebooks, laptops, cameras, drones, etc.) to re-engage with CENFACS audience and supporters as well as to recruit new supporters.

Smart communication tools include as well other devices designed to run or complete actions carried out by smart phones, tablets, notebooks, etc. These extra tools could be wireless printers, broad bands, messenger apps and so on.

Additionally, online micro-volunteering by using distance working and online technologies in our campaigns can help us to reach out to our supporters and Africa-based Organisations.

We understand that not every volunteer can afford to have them. This is why we often ask support with smart communication tools so that our volunteers (All in Development Volunteers) could be able to micro-volunteer smarter and deliver smart poverty relief.

• • Online micro-volunteering to achieve smart poverty relief

This additional way of working and engaging with our audience and supporters via online micro-volunteering has brought some opportunities. Amongst these opportunities or openings is that of creating smart relief, of reducing poverty symptoms for temporary relief which could lead to permanent relief.

In this respect, smart poverty relief is about prioritising resources and making sure that CENFACS’ poverty reduction system is helping to meet the needs of those in need as we undertake online micro-volunteering activities. In other words, when volunteers carry out micro-actions, they are not doing them for the sake of entertaining themselves or just passing their time with and for CENFACS.

Through their small online tasks, they are bringing their contribution, however little it can be, to the larger project or programme or picture of CENFACS. By adding up their small pieces of work/relief, one can get the sum of poverty relief, a big poverty relief. Online micro-volunteering could be smart when it contributes to the big picture of poverty reduction.

To enable us to continue our voluntary work, we are asking to those who can, both individuals and organisations, to support us with smart communication tools to enhance our online micro-volunteering action.

To support CENFACS with Smart Communication Tools to micro-volunteer doing Smart Tasks to deliver Smart Poverty Relief, please contact CENFACS.

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References

(1) Daum, T., Adegbola, Y.P., Kamau, G., Kergna, O.A., Dandu, C., Zossou, R.C., Crinot, G.F., Houssou, P., Mose, L., Ndirpaya, Y., Wahab A.A., Kirui, O., A. Oluwole, F.A., Impacts of agricultural mechanisation evidence from four African countries, Hohenheim Working Papers on Social and Institutional Change in Agricultural Development, 003-2020, University of Hohenheim

https://490c.uni-hohenheim.de/en/75736 (accessed October 2021)

(2) Anna Patton (2021), Micro-volunteering, Making a Difference in Minutes, (Originally published Dec. 2017) at https://www.missionbox.com/article/183/micro-volunteering-making-a-difference-in-minutes (accessed October 2021)

_________

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 consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, 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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

Upkeep of the Nature in 2021

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on October 13, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

13 October 2021

Post No. 217

The Week’s Contents

• 2021 “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Themed Activities with the sub-theme of Safeguarding Crop Wild Relatives

• Giving No Direct Cash Donations

• Climate Protection and Stake Action: On the Way to COP26

… And much more!

Key Messages

• 2021 “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Themed Activities with the sub-theme of Safeguarding Crop Wild Relatives

Our environmental campaign known as “A la une” has already started and is going to last for seven weeks. The main theme of this campaign is still the same, which is Upkeep of the Nature; the sub-theme for this year’s campaign being Safeguard of Crop Relatives.

This year’s campaign is about the upkeep of plant taxa closely related to crops and source of high genetic diversity. It is an action to reduce and stop extinction risk and threat that some species (such as maize, potato, bean, avocado and cotton crops) are subject in Africa and elsewhere.

The selected composed notes or themed areas of work that would work together to shape the central topic or theme of “A la une” Campaign this Autumn have been given under the Main Development section of this post. We have as well provided the time frame and titles of these composed notes or themed areas of work.

The first themed area of work is Plant Health and Food Security; themed area which kicked off from the 11^th of October 2021.

For further information about this first note, please read under the Main Development section of this post.

• Ten No Direct Cash Donations

How to support CENFACS without directly giving cash

Last month, we highlighted ways of supporting CENFACS and of boosting your support. This week, we are adding ways of supporting us without you having to directly give cash to CENFACS and its good causes. This is all part of improving the way in which you can make impact on what CENFACS is doing to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

Indeed, there are many ways that one can use to support CENFACS without directly given cash. One can unlock barriers to no direct cash donations for CENFACS. Those who would like to support CENFACS by using other means than directly giving cash, they can consider the following.

Ten ways of donating to consider this Autumn and in the lead up to the end of the year:

1) Giving unwanted goods and items to CENFACS e-charity store at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

2) Sign up for a Gift Aid Declaration from which CENFACS can earn an extra 25p for every £1 you give

3) Nominate CENFACS for a donation at charity fundraising and donation events

4) Select CENFACS as your preferred charity for donation from advertising revenue

5) Raise free funds for CENFACS with your online shopping or choose CENFACS as a donation recipient of some of the profits raised from online shopping

6) Donate your unwanted and unused points and cashback to CENFACS as your chosen charity from your loyalty shopping rewards or good causes’ gift cards

7) Name CENFACS as your favourite deserving cause if it happens that you have the opportunity to click the online option “donate cashback to charities”

8) Donate any unwanted excess points of your loyalty card from apps that may give support to good causes

9) Give away to CENFACS any vouchers received or earned that you do not need or want

10) Hand out to CENFACS any proceeds from unwanted or unneeded prize draw or award you prefer to get rid of.

The above ten-themed ways of not directly donating cash are just the few examples of ways of helping that one can think over or come across with to support CENFACS without having to directly give cash. However, this does not mean one cannot donate cash. They can and if you choose to donate cash, CENFACS will happily accept your cash donations.

To support CENFACS without directly giving cash and or by directly donating cash, just contact CENFACS.

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3: On the Way to COP26

We have not stopped to prepare our initiative about Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3 (CPSAC – P.3) with the sub-theme of ‘Glasgow Steps It Up’ since the beginning of this year, despite the postponement of the Global Climate Talks under COP26 from last year to this year. Besides this preparation, we have explored ways of improving the measures against COVID-19 we so far integrated into our climate protection campaign.

• • COP26

COP26 is the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties. The UK will host this 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow between 31 October and 12 November 2021.

On the way to COP26, we are dealing this week with 10 points of CENFACS’ Compendium of Climate Advocacy. The total number of campaigning points that we would like to see implemented in the final make-up of climate proposals is twenty eight.

• • 10 Climate Campaigning Points of the Week on the Way to COP26

The ten points we are dealing with this week in the lead up to the COP26 include the following:

1) Climate decisions need to be supportive of the protection and stake of children, especially those from poor nations

2) The children-friendliness of the package of the climate contents

3) The degree of integration of children’s needs and involvement of child protectors and advocates in the facilitating dialogue to support the implementation process

4) Climate friendly modern solutions to child protection against the impacts of climate change

5) Support of children especially those from poor nations to transition to a circular economy

6) Support to climate neutral projects that are children-friendly

7) The fit of finance and insurance packages available on the market for the needs of children from developing countries like those of Africa

8) Effective ways of distributing these packages amongst children in need

9) Financial need assessment of the costs of climate protection for children to meet children’s climate protection needs (from the basic to the more complex ones); needs including those to reduce poverty and hardships, financial and insurance requests to meet and address the adverse impacts and effects of climate change

10) Climate Change Action plans in the context of local climate action (i.e. activities that look at the gaps between plans and achievements, between what has worked and what was not working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions)

To support CPSAC-P.3 and the sub-theme of ‘Glasgow Steps It Up’ as well as any of the 28 Climate Campaigning Points of CENFACS’ Compendium of Climate Advocacy, please contact CENFACS.

Extra Messages

• End of COVID-19-induced Poverty: a COVID-19 Post-vaccine and Post-testing Campaign

This campaign, which is part of the Phase 3 of COVID-19 Campaign or COVID-19 Rehabilitation Strategies, is designed to help reduce and mostly end poverty and hardships brought by the coronavirus pandemic and its associated effects.

The Campaign on COVID-19 Post-vaccine and Post-testing Programme is about:

√ Ensuring that all the members of our community receive and access COVID-19 vaccine and keep regularly testing for COVID-19 symptoms when and where there is the highest likelihood of COVID-19 infection cases

√ Staying extremely careful and vigilant about the COVID-19 infection spread despite the incoming lift of the requirement for social distancing in hospitality from 31 October 2021 in England

√ Holding proofs of COVID-19 vaccination and negative tests to avoid exclusion from services and activities for which participation could be subject to COVID-19 vaccine certificates and negative testing proofs

√ Encouraging and working with those members of our community who are sceptical about the vaccination and tests so that they can appreciate the validity and benefits of these vaccination and tests while acting in the interest of everybody’s health and their own health.

Through this campaign, we hope to help reduce health poverty (i.e. lack of physical and emotional health) and other forms of poverty (like educational, environmental, economic, and social poverty) within and beyond the community.

To support this End of COVID-19-induced Poverty or COVID-19 Post-vaccine and Post-testing Campaign, please contact CENFACS.

• Making Memorable History with a Focus on the Congolese Rumba

Our preparation to have a slice of African history of the month continues. We are collecting several pieces of Rumba dance to enable us build an interesting and understandable picture of Rumba. We are as well looking at creative materials (including writings and practices) about Rumba dance as a legacy and gift for poverty reduction and sustainable development, while searching on Rumba dancers of the history.

The two history days (27 and 28 October 2021) align with Black History Month and Africa Union’s Declaration of 2021 as Africa’s Year of Art, Culture and Heritage.

To enquire and or add value to our slice of African history about Rumba dance, please contact CENFACS.

• Numeracy and Statistical Literacy Skills to Manage Debts and Deficits

Understanding how maths is used and applying it to make the best possible informed decisions when it comes to manage household debts and deficits is important. It is equally necessary to know and reason with basic life-saving statistics and data to prevent and manage debts and deficits at the level of household.

As part of our Individual Capacity Development Programme and Autumn XI Starting Campaign, we are going to work with those families who would like to prevent and manage debts and deficits. Indeed, the coronavirus and various pre- and post-coronavirus circumstances of life may have pushed many people and families within our community into debts and deficits. They are in debt because they owe money or goods or services. They are in deficit as there is an excess of expenses over incomes or liabilities over assets in their budgets.

To help them navigate their way to reduce asset poverty (i.e. the lack of wealth assets to survive for three months or more) and any other types of poverty (i.e. economic, income, energy, etc.), we will be looking at the areas of numeracy and statistical literacy knowledge and skills they need to deal with debts and deficits. We shall as well give them extra support and help in terms of online and in print resources and professionals they can tap into.

To enquire and or query about Numeracy and Statistical Literacy Skills, which is a new initiative and part of our Autumn XI Starting Projects, please contact CENFACS.

Notes de la campagne “A la une” 2021

Notre campagne automnale (intitulée “A la une“, c’est-à -dire Automne en Liasse d’Actions Utiles pour une Nature en Existence) sur la conservation et la préservation de la nature a débuté cette semaine.

Ci-dessous se trouvent les sept notes ou champs d’actions variés composant le sous-thème de la Sauvegarde des Parents de Cultures Sauvages; sous-thème faisant partie du thème global du Maintien de la Nature en Existence.

Sept notes ou actions pour le maintien de la nature du 11 octobre au 30 novembre 2021:

1) Santé des végétaux et sécurité alimentaire

2) Impacts de la mécanisation agricole sur les espèces végétales

3) Menaces sur les plantes sauvages et implications pour les moyens de subsistance

4) Utilisation d’herbicides, de pestices et d’engrais sur des espèces végétales

5) Cultures génétiquement modifiées

6) Espèces envahissantes, nuisibles et maladies

7) Effets de l’exploitation forestière sur les plantes sauvages

Pour plus d’information, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

Main Development

• 2021 “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Themed Activities with the sub-theme of Safeguarding Crop Wild Relatives

• • Seven Weeks of Campaign for the Upkeep of the Nature

As announced earlier, we have started our 7-week campaign work for the Upkeep of the Nature. It is our well-known household campaign for nature in the autumnal season; a campaign which is happening against the background of the continuing economic and health threats from the coronavirus pandemic.

The campaign will help in promoting healthy relationships between humans and nature by taking actions to reduce and end extinction risks and threats to Crop Wild Relatives. It will also help in the fight against the adverse impacts of climate change.

As outlined earlier, the sub-theme of “A la une” for this year is the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives while the “A la une” theme remains the same which is: Upkeep of the Nature. Within these theme and sub-theme, we have composed seven notes excluding monitoring and evaluation of the “A la une” Campaign. These notes, which can be found below are in fact actions that can be taken to Safeguard Crop Wild Relatives.

• • “A la une” Composed Notes or Themed Areas for Action

During the following periods within this Autumn and “A la une” season, CENFACS’ advocacy on environment will focus on the following areas from the beginning of every Mondays (starting from 11 October 2021 to the end of November 2021).

Periods Titles of notes or themed areas of work

11/10 to 17/10/2021 Plant Health and Food Security

18/10 to 24/10/2021 Impacts of Agricultural Mechanisation on Plants

25/10 to 31/10/2021 Threats to Plants & Implications for Livelihoods

01/11 to 07/11/2021 Use of Herbicides and Pesticides on Plants

08/11 to 14/11/2021 Genetically-modified or -engineered Crops

15/11 to 21/11/2021 Invasive Species, Pests and Diseases

22/11 to 28/11/2021 Effects of Logging on Plants

29/11 to 30/11/2021 “A la une” monitoring and evaluation

In total, there are seven themed areas of work and action starting from the 11^th of October 2021 and thereafter every Mondays until the end of November. These activities will help us to re-communicate our environmental message for the upkeep of the nature in existence as well as triggering better changes with our leaves of action. The notes are supposed to guide our action since “A la une” is about actions, not words. At the end of these notes and actions, we shall carry out monitoring and evaluation.

To engage with “A la une” themed areas and to act for healthy and wealthy nature, please contact CENFACS.

• • In Focus for Week Beginning 11/10/2021: Plant Health and Food Security

We have started with Plant Health and Food Security as plants continue to experience health problems and food is also having security issues. Yet, plants and food coming from plants are important for human and animal consumption. As the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (1) put it:

“Plants account for over 80% of the human diet. As such, they are essential for food security or the on-going access to sufficient, affordable, safe and nutritious food for us all to live active and healthy lives. Plant pests and diseases pose a threat to food security because they can damage crops, thus reducing the availability and access to food, increasing the cost of food”

There are more actions that can be taken to keep plants healthy and food secure.

• • • What one can do to keep plants healthy and food secure

One can take actions with CENFACS via “A la une” Campaign on the following:

√ RAISE AWARENESS about the possibility of spreading plant pests or diseases by travelling with plants, fruits and vegetables picked up from somewhere else

√ PREVENT outbreaks of plant pests and diseases

√ Help to KEEP plants healthy and food secure

√ BUILD forward better plant health and food security for future generations

The above actions will help to reduce extinction risks and threats to Crop Wild Relatives, particularly to endangered plants in Africa.

Briefly, this is our first note of the “A la une” Campaign for this year.

To find out more about this first note and/or the entire “A la une” campaign, please contact CENFACS.

_________

• Reference

(1) Plant health and food security (fao.org)

https://www.ippc.in

_______

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 consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, 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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

The Congolese Rumba

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on October 6, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

06 October 2021

Post No. 216

The Week’s Contents

• History Month with Making Memorable Difference Project – In Focus: The Congolese Rumba

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) Campaign with an Emphasis on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa

• Leafy Year and the History of Leaves with CENFACS

… And much more!

Key Messages

• History Month with Making Memorable Difference Project – In Focus: The Congolese Rumba

This week, the lead story line of poverty relief and sustainable development at CENFACS is about Making Memorable Difference in October. October is the history month in CENFACS development calendar. We normally remember the African history through Making Memorable Difference (MMD) project.

This year’s MMD, which is the 13^thone, is about the Congolese Rumba. The 13^th MMD or MMD 2021 will be about learning and finding the heritage of rumba dance as a legacy and gift for poverty reduction and sustainable development, since it was introduced in the two Congos (Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville) in the late 1930s.

Rumba will be looked at in two ways:

(a) As a culture, art and patrimony

(b) As a legacy and gift for poverty reduction and sustainable development

For further information on this acknowledgement of the Congolese Rumba, read under the Main Development section of this post.

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) Campaign with an Emphasis on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa

“A la une” campaign has already started with our work on the Great Beasts and the “Blue Spaces” theme. During these October and November 2021, we shall continue these two areas of advocacy while dealing with our work on Sustainable Trajectories for the Nature where we left it. In the campaign about the upkeep of the nature, we shall focus on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa. Before going any further step, let us try to understand the meaning of crop wild relatives.

• • Understanding Crop Wild Relatives

According to the New Phytologist Foundation (1), Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) are …

“Plant taxa closely related to crops and are a source of high genetic diversity that can help adapt crops to the impacts of global change, particularly to meet increasing consumer demand in the face of the climate crisis. CWR provide vital ecosystem services and are increasingly important for food and nutrition security and sustainable and resilient agriculture. They therefore are of major biological, social, cultural and economic importance. Assessing the extinction risk of CWR is essential to prioritise in situ and ex situ conservation strategies in Mesoamerica to guarantee the long-term survival and availability of these resources of present and future generations worldwide”.

The same New Phytologist Foundation argues that 35% of species (like maize, potato bean, squash, chilli pepper, vanilla, avocado, husk tomato and cotton crops) are threatened with extinction.

• • Focusing on the safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa

This year’s “A la une” campaign will be about the upkeep of these plants and crops threatened with extinction. An outline of the contents of our planned work on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives that will make this year’s “A la une” campaign will be given in our future communication.

For any more information about this year’s “A la une” campaign, please contact CENFACS and or continue to read our posts over this Autumn season.

• Leafy Year and the History of Leaves with CENFACS

Our dedication of year 2021 as a Leafy Year continues in this history month. After dealing with leaf activities and advice based on leaves, we are exploring the link between the Year of Leaves and the History of Leaves in the making of CENFACS.

Indeed, the history of leaves with CENFACS dates since CENFACS was set up in 1994 when we chose a bunch of leaves to make up our logo and symbol of poverty relief. Since then, our leaves of poverty relief have been instrumental in helping us to accomplish CENFACS’ mission and charitable objects. The leaves of poverty relief have helped us to find communicative, meaningful and powerful way to work together with those in need in the UK and Africa, to help them navigate their way to a sustainable relief from poverty and hardships, and to enhance the quality of their lives in the long term.

The history and story of leaves with CENFACS are of making leaves to be an instrument to perform the following tasks:

√ To inspire us to develop ideas, thoughts and resources to better carry out our poverty reduction work

√ To give something to the community here in the UK and in Africa

√ To effectively communicate our poverty reduction message to a broad audience

√ To network for poverty reduction and sustainable development

√ To deal with eminent crises, risks and threats (like the global economic recession in 2008)

√ To manage the current coronavirus crisis and associated impacts

√ To work with users through advice service

√ To run our activities, projects and programmes

√ To enhance and sustain freedoms and capabilities of our users

√ Above all, to engage and work in partnership with local people to develop sustainable initiatives

Briefly, leaves have been supportive to us at all stages of development and milestones of CENFACS since the beginning. So, this month is the history month. It is also the month of the history and tradition of CENFACS with leaves since we are in a Year of Leaves or Leafy Year at CENFACS.

To support and or enquire about CENFACS’ 2021 as a Year of Leaves and Leaves of Poverty Reduction, please contact CENFACS.

Extra Messages

• October 2021 Food Security Appeal

This is an appeal to raise awareness and provide support to severely food insecure people in Africa. This appeal, which is a part of CENFACS’ Making Zero Hunger Africa Campaign, is also about joining in the World Food Day initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations on 16 October 2021.

Through this appeal, one could support those who are severely food insecure, particularly but not exclusively in those African countries subject of this appeal. These African countries include: Burundi, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisations of the United Nations (2), the numbers of severely food insecure people were in the above named countries as follows:

♦ 2.3 millions in the Central African Republic between April and August 2021

♦ 1 million in Burundi between June and September 2021

♦ 27.3 millions in the Democratic Republic of Congo between February and July 2021

♦ 194,000 in Djibouti between January and August 2021

♦ 2.6 millions in Cameroon between March and May 2021. (pp. 2 & 3)

With the difficulties that these countries are experiencing to manage the coronavirus, these numbers could increase or at best be stationary.

If one wants to build a zero hunger generation and act against hunger (as a way of backing World Food Day 2021), then supporting this appeal makes sense.

This appeal runs from now until the 16 October 2021; day on which we shall join others across the world to act against hunger.

You can support this appeal via CENFACS or directly help the severely food insecure in the above mentioned African countries.

To support via CENFACS, please contact us now.

• Triple Value Initiatives (or All-year Round Projects) as Social Prescribing Activities

As CENFACS is preparing the State of Play, Run and Vote for Triple Value Initiatives that users have conducted so far, CENFACS is looking into the possibility of considering these initiatives as social prescribing ones.

Social prescribing nature-based activities are known as those ones that support the health and well-being of the community. These activities can be land-based (green prescribing) and water-based (blue prescribing). The National Academy for Social Prescribing (3) describes social prescribing as

“Being about helping people getting more control over their healthcare to manage their needs in a way that suits them”.

For those who have been using the Triple Value Initiatives, it would be a good idea to share with us their experience in terms of health and well-being so that we know how social prescribing these initiatives can be. The more people respond, the more we would know about the health and well-being outcomes from these initiatives, the more we could be recommending people or socially prescribing them to use these initiatives.

To support CENFACS’ State of Play, Run and Vote as well as our work on social prescribing, please let us know your personal experience on Triple Value Initiatives in terms of health and well-being results.

• Fuel/Energy Budget for Families: Numeracy and Statistical Literacy Skills

Our work on the reduction of energy poverty continues this week by looking at energy or fuel budget for families.

Energy or fuel budgeting is our support to the community in the context of and the implementation of CENFACS’ 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme and Development Agenda. We are trying to support them to develop basic skills in numeracy and statistical literacy to understand energy or fuel budget and the implications for their entire family budgets. Through this process, one can hope they will be able to navigate their way to reduce energy poverty and other types of poverty.

Last week, we argued that it was known that those who spend more than 10% of their income in energy could be considered as energy poor. Also, through our energy poverty talks, we spoke about the sensitivity of energy share to household income. This week, we would like to share some views on the energy share to household income by looking at fuel/energy budget for families.

If you are a member of our community and would like to know more or exchange ideas about the right balance between your energy expenses budget and the other budgets for your household, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

Le 73e numéro du FACS traitera …

∝ du prix pour organiser des activités endommagées et détruites par le coronavirus

∝ du coût associé à l’inactivité économique non-essentielle découlant des confinements prolongés

∝ des coûts financiers et non-financiers du COVID-19

Le 73e numéro donnera l’occasion aux lecteurs de…

∝ naviguer dans les processus et jargon comptables et financiers de base

∝ comprendre le pocessus de construction en cours entrepris par les usagers et organisations bénéficiaires de CENFACS

Dans ce 73e numéro, il s’agira également de…

∝ faire des prévisions comptables et financiers de besoins futurs de la communauté

∝ fournir un aperçu non financier du coût de la construction sous forme d’une autre lecture de la pauvreté et de sa réduction

∝ intégrer le coût d’une construction meilleure ensemble plus verte et plus propre.

Pour passer votre commande et vous renseigner sur ce numéro, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

Main Development

• History Month with Making Memorable Difference Project – In Focus: The Congolese Rumba

• • What is MMD?

MMD is

∝ a two-day event of Awareness, Thought and Recognition set up by CENFACS in 2009 to celebrate the Black History Month in our own way and feeling while preserving the tradition linked to this remembrance and standing on the shoulders of similar celebrations

∝ a historic project of collective memory about works carried out, heritage and legacies left by Africans

∝ all about collectively telling, acknowledging, studying and learning that every day Africans wherever they are (in Africa) or elsewhere (in the UK-Croydon and the world) are striving to improve the quality of their lives and of others. Through their historically valuable works, they are making memorable difference and the world a better place for everybody, including the generations to come.

∝ a celebration of African Abilities, Talents, Skills, Gifts and Legacies to Africa and the world.

This year’s dedicated two days (27 and 28 October 2021) are virtual days of historical study, analysis and skill recognition and celebration of the legacies left by Africans in dance, particularly the Congolese Rumba.

• • The Congolese Rumba

The history of Congolese Rumba dates from late 1930s and early 1940s in the Congos (Kinshasa and Brazzaville) when the Afro-cuban son groups (such as Septeto Habanero, rio Matamoros and Los Guaracheros de Oriente) were played over Radio Congo Belge in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). However, what does rumba mean?

• • • Etymological source of Rumba

The word rumba comes from the Spanish verb “rumbear”. In Collins Spanish Dictionary by Colin Smith (4), “rumbear” is defined in Spanish spoken in Latin America as

“to dance rumba, to follow a direction, to find one’s way, to get one’s bearings” (p. 636)

Rumba means a party, celebration from the same dictionary (p. 636).

• • • Two Virtual Days of the history of Congolese Dance, Rumba:

∝ One Day of Rumba as Culture, Art and Patrimony

∝ One Day of Rumba as a Legacy and Gift for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development

• • • • Understanding Day (27 October 2021): Rumba as Culture, Art and Patrimony

In the first day of MMD, we shall work on how Rumba as an art, culture and patrimony helped many African people (particularly Congolese) to find their way, to express their feelings and thoughts through dance.

Rumba will be looked at as a creative skill expressed by the body language supported by music and language. It is a storytelling found in body language.

It is also a cultural expression; that is customs of those engaged in dancing Rumba.

It is finally a heritage or property inherited from those who started it in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and passed it to following generations.

During this virtual day, we shall look at some of the key historical figures who brought Rumba to the Congos in the late 1930s and early 1940s, as well as the dancers of the time without forgetting their messages to the Congolese and African societies. It will be about decoding the message that Rumba sent and dealing with the transcendental aspect of Rumba between different generations.

• • • • Legacies and Gifts Day (28 October 2021): Rumba as a Legacy and Gift for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development

During the Legacies and Gifts Day of MMD, we shall go beyond the choreographic aspect and artship of Rumba to carry out an historical examination on how it contributed to poverty reduction and the enhancement of sustainable development.

For example, talking about the employment through language, music and dance; Alhassan Abubakar Musa et al. (5) argue that

“The social relevance of language, music and dance is profound. It is not only an abstract art, but as a force which affects the lives of the people who acquire it. Such experiences help the acquirers to live and contribute positively towards the progress and development of the society. This is an attitudinal, structural and cultural process whereby young and old people gain the ability, authority and agency to make decisions and implement changes in their own lives and the lives of other people in the society.

Through language, music and dance the youths have been gainfully employed” (pp. 4 & 5)

On the legacy and gift day, we are going to historically investigate how Rumba has enabled poverty reduction and sustainable development within the Congolese and African societies.

Briefly, the overall purpose of the MMD materials from the Congolese Rumba will be to extirpate the historical legacies and foundations in terms of poverty reduction and sustainable development in Africa, particularly in the Congos. They will be about finding out dancing messages about how Rumba has helped to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development since the late 1930s and early 1940s.

To engage with this year’s MMD theme and or support this project, please contact CENFACS on this site.

• • Making Memorable Difference Timeline

MMD has a history and timeline. The following is the timeline of MMD since its inception.

2009: CENFACS recognised environmental sustainability.

2010: We acknowledged and honoured sports contributions and history in relieving collective poverty and improving community lives beyond fitness and beyond individualistic achievements.

2011: We recollected, remembered and revered caregiving talents and legacies of young carers in enhancing human development (their own development and other people’s development) by reducing the burden of poverty.

2012: We dedicated our historical recognition to Africa’s Global Game Runners and the Science of Running.

2013: Our two days were about the Memorable Difference Made and brought by Working Poor (Miners & Factory Workers) in relieving poverty. We consecrated them to the historical study of The Role of Working Poor Miners and Factory Workers of Natural Resources and Extractive Industries in the Poverty Relief in Africa since the Berlin Conference (1884-5).

2014: We celebrated the place of the African Music and Dance in the pre– and post-colonial eras, the late 1950s and the early 1960s. This celebration focused on the African History of Singing and Dancing and their Impacts on Liberation and Freedoms.

2015: Making Memorable Difference focused on African Negotiators of the History.

2016: We remembered the Protectors and Guardians of the African History and Heritage.

2017: We acknowledged the Communicators of the African History

2018: We learnt about African Communications and Oral History

2019: We searched on the African Health History

2020: We celebrated African Sculpture and Representation of African Historical Figures of the Pre-independence Era (i.e. Period before the 1960s)

For further details about these past MMD events, please contact CENFACS.

_________

• References

(1) FAO (2021), Crop Prospects and Food Situation, Quarterly Global Report No.2, July 2021

(2) New Phytologist Foundation (2021), Extinction risk of Mesoamerican crop wild relatives, Paper first published 6 September 2021

https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10225 (accessed September 2021)

(3) https://socialprescribingacademy.org.uk/about-us/what-is-socialpresscribing/ (accessed October 2021)

(4) Colin Smith (1997), Collins Spanish Dictionary, 5^th Ed., HarperCollins Publishers, Glasgow & New York

(5) Alhassan Abubakar Musa, Omada Margaret Onyekunin, Friday Encojo Ikani and Sadiq Muhammad (2019), Language, Music and Dance as Tools for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development among the Igala Peopleof Kogi State, Nigeria, British Journal of English Linguistics, Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 1-6, Nov. 2019, Published by ECRTD-UK

________

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 consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, 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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

Reduction of Energy Poverty

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on September 29, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

29 September 2021

Post No. 215

The Week’s Contents

• Reduction of Energy Poverty

• Advice based on Leaves

• Autumn 2021 Humanitarian Relief Appeal

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Reduction of Energy Poverty

Our study and implementation of CENFACS’ 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme and Development Agenda continue via this week’s work on the Reduction of Energy Poverty, which is Goal No. 3 of this programme and agenda.

Dealing with the reduction of energy poverty at this time makes sense since some parts of the world, including Africa, are currently experiencing energy crisis. And when there is this kind of crisis, often it is those who are in most need who usually suffer the most from it. The energy crisis will not make any exception to this trend. The energy crisis can only affect or weaken efforts so far made to reduce energy poverty.

In this post no. 215, we shall look at the various ways of helping to reduce energy and what else can be done to end this form of poverty for the current and future generations.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have spelled out these ways of reducing energy poverty.

• Advice based on Leaves

CENFACS’ Advice Service is gone an amazing transformation as we have introduced leaves with some exciting features. This is all done to reflect the needs of the community and the Year of Leaves for CENFACS. This introduction has been done at the levels of different steps of advice giving and various advisory services we provide.

For example, we have incorporated leaves in the following ways:

∝ to improve advice users’ feelings toward the goal advisees would like to achieve

∝ to change the situation in which advisees are in

∝ to help make their goal become problems-solving and solvable

∝ to reduce the trajectory to reach their desire future

∝ to develop a workable plan of action and implementation

The above leafy features are implemented whether we conduct face-to-face advisory sessions or deliver remote advice solutions. They are meant to address users’ problems in a creative and innovative way via the image of leaves and what leaves can bring and enhance life, particularly by keeping our minds and bodies healthy and happy.

To find out more about how CENFACS’ Leaves-based Advice can enhance your life and help you better reduce poverty, please contact us.

• Autumn 2021 Humanitarian Relief Appeal

Our humanitarian appeal for Autumn 2021 has been launched and is live on the Support Us page of this website at Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

This appeal is about supporting needy people, flora, fauna, communities and organisations in Africa. It includes the following five selected projects:

1) Skills for Building Forward Better

2) Symmetry Project

3) Gender into post-COVID-19 Economic and Social Recovery in Africa

4) Back-to-School Support

5) Save Flora and Fauna projects

A brief summary of these projects can be found on the same page Support Us at Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk) of this website.

The full project proposals of each project making this appeal is available should any of the potential donor or funder makes a request.

Donors and funders can directly and respectively donate or fund these projects.

A message about this appeal can also be passed on to a person who is in a position and willing to support. Many thanks to those who will be passing this message!

We understand that the world is still experiencing an extremely difficult time with the coronavirus pandemic which continues to enormously disrupt the functioning of many economies, including the ability of people to support good and deserving causes.

The effects of this health crisis are even stronger in place where there is a high level of poverty like in Africa. This is why we have launched this seasonal appeal to help not only to reduce poverty but also to save lives from the coronavirus disaster.

Therefore, we are inviting those who can to donate £2 to create 2 benefits (1 benefit for humans and 1 benefit for other natural livings) or any amount starting from £2 or more as you wish.

You can gift aid your donation as well as support these projects in a way that is the most suitable and related to your situation, budget, capacity and willingness.

To donate, gift aid and support otherwise; please contact CENFACS.

Extra Messages

• Blue Spaces-focused Note for Week beginning 27/09/2021: Blue and Coastal Sustainable Development in Africa

This note, which is the last one of our Blue Spaces theme, is about how the aspects of sustainable development relating to the blue and coastal areas/zones can be improved in Africa for the commons as well as to help improve the lives of the current generations without depleting blue and coastal resources for future generations.

In order to write this note, we have composed the following elements: the application of the definition of sustainable development to the blue and coastal spaces, the implications of this definition for the blue and coastal poor, and the work carried out by Africa-based Sister Organisations in helping the blue and coastal sustainable development in Africa. Let us at these elements.

• • The application of the general understanding of sustainable development to blue and coastal spaces

The common understanding of the sustainable development, which is given by the World Commission on Environment and Development (1), is that it is

“a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

This definition has some implications, particularly for the blue and coastal poor.

• • Implications of this definition for the blue and coastal poor

From the above definition, one can argue that it is possible to have a development that uses blue and coastal resources without depleting them for the generations to come. The blue and coastal sustainable development can help to drive a low carbon emissions way of living and to enhance lives whether in the UK or in Africa or elsewhere. This type of development can enhance the lives of the blue and coastal poor as long as it responds to their needs of poverty reduction.

• • Africa-based Sister Organisations and the blue and coastal sustainable development in Africa

The blue and coastal spaces in Africa are facing the same challenge like everywhere. Part of this challenge is to meet the needs of sustainable development. One of these challenges is sea level rise. And Africa-based Sister Organisations working on blue and coastal areas are striving to make those ends meet for their users.

For example, in the last three months, the rising level of Lake Tanganyika has displaced a considerable number of people around the area, particularly in Burundi. It has also made many of them food insecure. As a result, Africa-based Sister Organisations working in the sea-level rising area are trying to help as much as they can.

Besides that they are also dealing with other situations linked to environmental challenges or events (e.g., sea level rise) like the following:

√ Helping to stop the disruption of food (e.g., fish) from the blue and coastal spaces

√ Dealing with wildlife habitats in the area

√ Volunteering in the work of restoration of uprooted and destroyed trees and plants

√ Assisting homeless to get rehoused and resettled

√ Providing support for badly affected ecosystems by flooding

√ Offering counselling service for those who lost their love ones and properties in the area

Etc.

Their work contributes to the blue and coastal sustainable development in the African areas where they are intervening. Through their work, they help in capacitating their users for blue and coastal sustainable development.

This note concludes our Blue Spaces Theme for this September 2021. For any queries or enquiries about this note and the previous ones, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS. For those who would like to join in our work on the Blue Spaces, they can as well contact CENFACS.

• Boosting your Support as a Way of Getting Involved with CENFACS

Last week, we spelled out sixteen ways of getting involved with CENFACS by doing the work of poverty reduction. Amongst these ways was Boosting your Support.

If someone is already supporting us and realise that there is still way of improving their support, they can look at again the way in which they can boost their support. For example, they can examine the following ways of supporting CENFACS and decide if they can choose any of them and add it (them) to their existing support:

Donations, communications/media, public relations, volunteering/internship, training and skills development, research and development, legacies, gifts, sponsorship, premises, digital aid and equipment, events, direct marketing, recycling, website, advertisement, mobile and distance working technologies, etc.

Any of the above mentioned ways of supporting can help boost your support.

To boost your support, just select any of them and let CENFACS know your selected way of boosting your support.

• CENFACS’ be.Africa e-discusses Resources below Water and Land-based Resources in the Fight against Poverty in Africa

Many African economies that have land-based resources and minerals (e.g. copper) heavily rely on them to fight against or reduce poverty. Yet, some of them have enough sea/ocean and water (rivers, lakes and ponds) resources that can be utilised for the same purpose of reducing poverty. CENFACS’ be.Africa is e-discussing this week on the following:

How to sustainably increase the value of and mobilise sea/ocean and water resources in the fight against poverty and hardships in Africa without depleting them

To join in and or add your thoughts, feelings and experiences to this e-discussion, please contact CENFACS.

Sept objectifs pour réduire la pauvreté pendant les années 2020:

1) Réduire la pauvreté monétaire et améliorer des capacités rémunératrices

2) Diminuer l’indigence de consommation

3) Réduire la précarité énergétique

4) Abaissser la pauvreté salariale

5) Couper la pauvreté intergénérationnelle

6) Atténuer la pauvreté numérique

7) Soulager la pauvreté situationnelle et d’origine climatique

Vous pouvez travailler avec le CENFACS afin de réaliser ces objectifs. Pour travailler avec le CENFACS, veuillez le contacter.

Main Development

• Reduction of Energy Poverty

To study and implement the Reduction of Energy Poverty as our Goal No. 3, we are going to consider the following:

Meaning of energy poverty, energy poor, energy poverty data, reduction of energy poverty, CENFACS’ Energy Connections project, energy poor and poverty in Africa, Africa-based Sister Organisations and their work on energy poverty reduction, reduction of energy poverty and zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

• • Meaning of energy poverty

There are many definitions of energy poverty. In the context of CENFACS’ 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme and Development Agenda, energy poverty will be looked at from two perspectives:

(a) A single energy poverty line, based either on the minimal energy requirement or on the share of energy expenditure on household income as conceptualised by Barnes et al. (2)

(b) The sensitivity of the energy share to household income as an indicator to identify the energy poverty line, like the study of Lu Jiang et al. (3) tells us.

Barnes et al. use a demand-based approach to define the energy poverty line. They define energy poverty line as

“the threshold point at which energy consumption begins rise with increases in household income. At or below this threshold point, households consume a bare minimum level of energy and should be considered energy poor”.

In their study, Lu Jiang et al. differentiate energy poverty line from the sensitivity of the energy share to household income. In their analysis on the energy poor in China, they argue that energy poverty line is

“the line at which energy is used to sustain basic life needs”.

Lu Jiang et al. also contend that energy poverty is also defined as

“the sensitivity of the energy share to household income as an indicator to identify the energy poverty line”.

To implement our agenda and programme as well as help those who need to reduce energy poverty, we shall refer to this sensitivity of the energy share to household income. But, who are the energy poor?

• • Energy poor

Energy poor include those…

∝ With very low consumption of energy below their minimum requirement

∝ Who use dirty or polluting fuels

∝ Who spend excessive time collecting fuel to meet basic life-sustaining needs

∝ Who do not meet the minimum energy requirement for life

∝ Who spend more than 10% of their income on energy

∝ Who consume more inefficient energy sources like biomass energy and coal

∝ Who do not consume efficient and clean modern energy

∝ Who avoid meeting the fuel poverty level by not using energy in their homes

∝ Who are not consuming the energy they need as they are afraid that their energy bills will go up

Etc.

From the above listing or classification of energy poor, the key indicator for energy poverty is the consumption of efficient and clean modern energy.

For example, energy-poor households may consume higher percentage of solid energy (like biomass energy and coal) in their household energy consumption. But, that does not make them energy non-poor. Because energy consumption is often location-specific, these types of energy poor can also be found in Africa and elsewhere.

Since the main purpose of this post is the reduction of energy poverty, what can be done to reduce energy poverty?

• • Ways of reducing energy poverty

Energy poverty can be reduced in a number of ways including the following:

√ Helping CENFACS users to improve the energy efficiency of their homes

√ Assisting fuel poor households to meet the price caps given to energy suppliers or authorities

√ Financially supporting fuel poor households

√ Enabling energy poor to access or install smart meters in their homes

√ Campaigning with and on behalf of fuel poor to reduce and or end fuel poverty

√ Supporting pro-poor energy projects to address fuel poverty

√ Advising and guiding energy poor people on energy efficiency services and providers

√ Signposting energy poor users to organisations helping in fuel poverty

√ Last but not the least, supporting CENFACS’ Energy Connections Project

• • CENFACS’ Energy Connections Project (ECP) to help reduce energy poverty

ECP is a low carbon-intensive project that aims at reducing renewable energy poverty and hardships amongst poor people and communities in Africa by helping them to gain access to a network and development of renewable energy support (such as tools, skills, knowledge, capacity development, etc.) in order to reduce pressures on natural resources (forest resources and exploitation) and biodiversity.

The user-perceived benefits in terms of results or consequences of the implementation of the ECP are as follows:

√ Reduction of the carbon footprint for ECP end users

√ Protection and restoration of local biological diversity (biodiversity)

√ Preservation of forest resources and values

√ Improvement in women’s health and protection, especially those exposed to fire and smoke or any polluting fuels while cooking a meal for example

√ Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions within and outside households

√ Improvement in the quality of air locally

√ Development of better skills, knowledge and capacity about renewable energy

√ People and communities will become better informed and have an increased access to energy solutions to energy problems they face

√ Reduction of energy poverty and precariousness

The long term impact or the desired result about ECP will be to bring change to the lives of people and communities to a better energy life.

Briefly, the overall goal of ECP is to connect poor people and communities to a wealth and network of information, services support and resources (including skills, knowledge and capacities) so that they can make informed decision and choice to transition from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) to renewables (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and hydroelectric energy) while preserving their cultures, ways of life and values. In this respect, ECP is an orderly and people-friendly energy transition project.

• • Africa-based Sister Organisations and their work on energy poverty reduction

Our Africa-based Sister Organisations are helping energy poor either where they are based or where they operate. They are doing it in these ways:

√ Helping energy poor to access cheap and clean energy sources

√ Getting the supply of affordable energy

√ Helping the locals to understand energy tariffs and bills

√ Assisting them to replace polluting and dirty energy to clean and cheap energy

√ Supporting them to access energy during the coronavirus crisis and lockdowns

√ Working with them to reduce the burning of woods and use of coal while motivating them to cut greenhouse gas emissions to meet basic needs of cooking, heating, housing and transportation

Etc.

This work from Africa-based Sister Organisations depends on their location, local energy needs and local energy sources.

For organisations working with locals who have a variety of sources of energy, it is easy to help them to switch from one source of energy to another to gain better access and reduce poverty.

For organisations operating in places where there is a lack of sources of clean and cheap energy, it is difficult to get local energy poor to get rid of their poverty.

• • Energy poverty data for Africa

One of the problems caused by the coronavirus is the deepening of the problem of the lack of data in certain areas of life in places where statistics are always a pending issue, like in Africa. The little statistical information available does not say much about the current level and state of energy poverty in Africa for example. Nonetheless, the statistics given by the World Health Organisation (4) indicate that

“The proportion of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technology were 19% in the African region” (p. 112)

This figure is also an opposite indication of those who do not consume efficient and clean modern energy for the same African region. Furthermore, the figure suggests the level and type of challenge that our Africa-based Sister Organisations face in their work about helping to reduce energy poverty.

• • Reduction of energy poverty as part of sustainable development goals

Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere is the first goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (5). Energy poverty is one of these forms of poverty. In this respect, reducing energy poverty should be part of our everyday life, whether we are at home or at work or on the move or at play. We need energy or usable power in whatever we do. Likewise, the current and future generations in our communities need energy. Therefore, there is a need to work so that we do not transfer energy poverty to future generations.

• • Reduction of energy poverty and zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050

There could link between the reduction of energy poverty and the realisation of zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. In other words, the way in which one is trying to reduce or end energy poverty should not negatively affect the health and wealth of the planet.

The net-zero by 2050 is the target to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 if one wants to meet the Paris climate goal of 1.5 degrees C. The reduction of energy poverty or any type of poverty should not be done by excessively emitting greenhouse gas. One can follow a carbon-free path to reduce energy poverty while contributing to the realisation of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050,

The above points made summarise the topic of Reduction of Energy Poverty, which is CENFACS’ Goal 3 of its 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme and Development Agenda. The points highlighted are also the different research tracks and implementation paths of this programme and agenda via its Goal No. 3.

These points should not be treated in isolation. There are interrelations between them in the context of this programme and agenda. For example, in the future, we might look at the relationships between energy poverty and income poverty or between energy poverty and inter-generational poverty.

We shall as well work on the mutual benefit of reducing both energy poverty and income poverty or both energy poverty and inter-generational poverty. All this is part of the implementation of the above named programme and agenda.

For those who would like to further discuss the reduction of energy poverty with us or any aspects of the 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme and Development Agenda, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

_________

• References

(1) Brundtland et al. (1987) Our Common Future, World Commission on Environment and Development (The Brundtland Report), Oxford University Press, London

(2) Douglas F. Barnes, Shahidur Khander and Hussain Samad (2011), Energy Poverty in Rural Bangladesh, Energy Policy, 2011, Vol. 39, Issue 2, 894-904

(3) Lu Jiang, Lu Yu, Bing Xue, Xing pen Chan, Zhifu Mi: Who is energy poor? Evidence from the least developed regions in China

https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10090514/1/who%20is20energ%20poor.pd (accessed in September 2021)

(4) World Health Organisation (2021), World Health Statistics 2021: Monitoring Health for SDGs, sustainable development goals, Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2021

(5) http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2015/09/24/undp-welcomes-adoption-of-sustainable-development-goals-by-world-leaders.html (accessed in September 2021)

_________

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 consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, 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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

Autumn Fresh Start Help and Resources to Build Forward Better

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on September 22, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

22 September 2021

Post No. 214

The Week’s Contents

• Autumn Fresh Start Help and Resources to Build Forward Better

• Build Forward Better Fauna and Flora

• Blue Spaces-focused Note for Week beginning 20/09/2021: Blue and Coastal Poverty Reduction in Africa

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Autumn Fresh Start Help and Resources to Build Forward Better

Let us briefly explain the following elements of Fresh Autumn Fresh Start.

• • Autumn Fresh Start Help and Resources

Autumn Fresh Start Help strikes or kicks off our Autumn programme and Starting XI Campaign. It is our Autumn project striker. Autumn Fresh Start Help and Resources are made of fresh start skills, tips, hints, tweaks, hacks, etc.; help and resources designed to overcome poverty and hardships.

Our advice-giving month of September continues as planned and will end next month. Advice-giving is also part of our Autumn Fresh Start Help and Resources. Although we put particular emphasis on advice-giving activity in our September engagement, other aspects of Autumn Fresh Start or striker are also important and will continue beyond September.

Autumn Fresh Start Help comes with Fresh Autumn Start (FAS) resources. The highlights of the 2021 Edition of FAS, which are given below, take into account the era of COVID-19 post-vaccination and testing programme as well as the context of unforced COVID-19 restrictions.

Therefore, our keywords for this Autumn are Fresh Start and Freshness to Build Forward Better. The context in which we will be using these key words is of unforced COVID-19 restrictions in the era COVID-19 post-vaccination and testing programme.

• • Autumn Fresh Start to Build Forward Better

Autumn 2021 is also of fresh start or work to build forward projects, services, activities and any other areas of operations that may have been affected by the coronavirus and its associated health and economic impacts. After building back better since last Autumn, we need to build forward better together with the communities in the UK and in Africa this Autumn. To do that it will be good to take a low-carbon development and greener economic path as we are transitioning to a post-coronavirus development world.

Further details about these key words and contextual framework are given below under the Main Development section of this post.

To ask for Fresh Start Help and or access Fresh Start Resources to Build Forward Better, just contact CENFACS.

• Build Forward Better Flora and Fauna Projects

Build Forward Better Flora and Fauna, which is a twin advocacy, is one of our Starting XI Projects. Through this Starting XI Project, we are continuing to advocate for the protection of animal and plant species in Africa and elsewhere in developing world. Animals get killed, traded and extinct to such extent that some animal species are at the brink of disappearing. Some plants are also threatened and disappearing.

• • Build Forward Better Fauna

We continue to advocate for the protection of animals in Africa and elsewhere in developing world whereby animals get killed, traded and extinct to such extent that some species are at the brink of disappearing.

Our fauna advocacy aims at dealing with ways of tackling the threats to survival in the wild facing by the world’s big cats (such as lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, cheetah, snow leopard, puma, clouded leopard, etc.), the world’s majestic animals and symbols of power and courage.

Animals such as jaguars, tigers, elephants, snakes, alligators, rhinoceroses, etc. are under threat. There are several reasons about it which include: hunting, illicit and illegal trade, over-harvesting, habitat loss, climate change, poaching, etc.

CENFACS’ Build Forward Better Animals or Fauna advocacy is to advocate for the re-enhancement of protection of endangered, threatened and vulnerable animal species.

In this process, we are as well interested in efforts made to protect animals from diseases including the coronavirus. For example, people can still remember how tuberculosis killed elephants in South Africa, a few years ago.

In the process of Building Forward Better from the Covid-19 disaster, one should make sure that the other living beings (like plants) are not left behind.

• • Build Forward Better Flora

We are as well extending our advocacy to other species in danger like trees, plans and flowers (flora). It is about building forward these species that are threatened with extinction.

For example, the New Phytologist Foundation (1) argues that 35% of the species are threatened with extinction. They include maize, potato, bean, squash, chilli pepper, vanilla, avocado, husk tomato and cotton crops.

If this threat is true and continues, then one needs to protect and build forward better these threatened species.

In the light of the above, our advocacy is a two-scope work on Building Forward Better Fauna and Flora. This year’s advocacy for flora and fauna will include two actions:

(1) Life-saving action to maintain COVID-19 restrictions into the flora and fauna advocacy while exploring the needs for better protection of flora and fauna (e.g. vaccination). This action is about saving the lives of flora and fauna while keeping on track health advice and COVID-19 restrictions as far as plant and animal species are concerned.

(2) Life-building forward action to ensure that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic sits on sound and sustainable foundations that build back better flora and fauna while moving forward the same flora and fauna in a sustainable and threat-free future. This action is about making sure that, plant and animal species regain, restore, rebuild and thrive their lives.

• • Build Forward Better Fauna and Flora to “A la une” Campaign

Building Forward Better Fauna and Flora is only an iceberg of the wide natural creature protection campaign run by CENFACS. CENFACS’ Build Forward Better Fauna and Flora is run this week until the last week of September 2021 and will be soon after followed by our Autumn environmental umbrella campaign, “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action to the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) project.

“A la une” will take Build Forward Better Fauna and Flora advocacy to the other level of environmental communications and awareness raising. It will focus on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa.

To advocate and raise your voice to build forward better endangered plant and animal species, contact CENFACS.

• Blue Spaces-focused Note for Week beginning 20/09/2021: Blue and Coastal Poverty Reduction in Africa

Poverty can be found in the coastal and sea areas of Africa. Poverty can be said to be blue and or coastal. Poverty can be defined in many ways. By using a dictionary definition given by Park (2), the later argues that

“Poverty is the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions” (p. 353)

If poverty is about what Park argued, then what is blue poverty and what is coastal poverty?

• • Blue poverty

There is no an established definition of blue poverty. However, from the above definition of poverty one can argue that blue poverty is the lack of money or resources from the sea/ocean to meet life-sustaining needs of food, education, housing, health, information, internet, etc. In this respect, the blue poverty is characterised by the lack of the basic necessities from the sea/ocean (like seafood, sea energy, sea species, other sea resources, etc.). It could also be featured by the unsustainable patterns of use of valuable aquatic resources (e.g. fish stocks, marine biodiversity and ecosystems), the lack of fair share in the fruits of the blue growth and in renewable marine living resources, etc.

• • Coastal poverty

There is no a conventional definition of coastal poverty. However, from the above mentioned dictionary definition of poverty, it is possible to argue that coastal poverty is the manifestation of lacks in terms of money and or material possessions found in some of the coastal people and communities. These manifestations are featured by the lack of options for happy livelihoods, pollution and sedimentation from the sea and land, habitat destruction, being cut of service delivery, high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, gender imbalances, and isolation from policy processes and so on.

Both types of poverty (blue and coastal) need to be reduced and or ended.

• • Reduction of blue and coastal poverty

It is possible to reduce blue and coastal poverty. Initiatives to reduce them could include the universal just as the specific ones. Amongst them, one can list the following:

√ Integration of the poor in the coastal society

√ Reduction of exclusion of the poor from the coastal and blue economies

√ Rehousing of coastal homeless

√ Rebuilding damaged and destroyed houses

√ Supply of freshwater

√ Desalination of plants for poor farmers

Etc.

Additionally, there could be a need to make the blue and coastal economies the net contributors to poverty reduction and sustainable development.

• • Blue and coastal poverty reduction in Africa by Africa-based Sister Organisations

In this work of blue and coastal poverty reduction, Africa-based Sister Organisations can play a pivotal role. They can drive the agenda about the reduction of blue and coastal poverty as follows.

Conventionally, they can continue to help in those initiatives relating to housing, education, water supply, health, sanitation, health, energy and so on.

Unconventionally, they can campaign to be part of the process of sustainably using sea and marine resources (instead of heavily relying on land-based resources) in order to reduce poverty while evaluating the importance of investing in local water/sea-based resources in order to reduce poverty in Africa.

They can finally continue to raise awareness on the extent to which the “Blue Spaces” together with the blue economy are helping people in Africa to alleviate or escape from poverty.

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

Extra Messages

• Fresh Start Capacity Development

Some people can easily and freshly restart life after a break (e.g. holiday, maternity or paternity leave, recovery from illness, COVID-19 lockdowns, etc.). Others can manage their working life and take new initiatives at the start of a new season. Other more may struggle or find it difficult to resume their activity or simply may take such a long time to restart.

So, as part of back-to-relief programme, we are looking forward to working with people in need to redevelop their fresh start capacity. This is a set of Autumn support made of fresh start essentials. It is a process through which their capacity (that is, their ability to perform functions of fresh start life) is re-established or redeveloped or even recreated. This process includes fresh start skills, knowledge and resources.

To enquire about Fresh Start Capacity Development, please contact CENFACS.

• Coming soon: Autumn 2021 Humanitarian Relief Appeal

As our Summer 2021 Humanitarian Appeal has come to an end, we will be soon launching the Autumn Appeal. The latter is a regular seasonal compassionate sustenance which will deal with people, flora, fauna, communities and organisations in need in Africa.

As we explained in our last post about ways of engaging with CENFACS in the new season, supporting this coming appeal is one of the great ways of materialising this engagement. Those who are looking for alternative way of philanthropic engagement, they can start to think and prepare themselves on how they can engage with this appeal. When this appeal will be out, they can then decide whether or not to support it or recommend it to others.

In meantime, we would like to thank all those who have been supportive to our seasonal humanitarian relief appeals, including the Summer 2021 one which is ending this week.

If there is a query about any of our appeals (both previous and the incoming ones), please do not hesitate to contact us.

• Happiness Survey and Questionnaire

As part of our Summer Reporting and Sharing of experiences and stories, we are running a Happiness and Healthiness survey.

The survey, which is mostly about hearing your Summer experiences and stories, is also about improving on planning and delivery of summer projects and of enhancing the outcome of our advice on summer break and season.

For those who may be interested in this survey, there is a questionnaire to complete and return to CENFACS. This questionnaire can also be found in our Fresh Autumn Start resource. You can request the questionnaire as well.

To request and or complete the questionnaire, contact CENFACS.

• End-of-Month Special Offer with Translation Day on 30/09/2021

As part of CENFACS’ Translation Service and the United Nations’ International Translation Day, CENFACS’ in-house bilingual translators will be offering special translation service on 30/09/2021 in French to English and vice versa. This also echoes the open source World Press Translation Day of this month.

If you have texts, documents and stories to be translated from English to French and vice versa, please grab the unique opportunity of the end of the month and the beginning of the Autumn season to get your work translated.

Translation is free service that we offer to our community. However, we do not mind a voluntary donation to keep this service running and the all machinery of CENFACS.

Should anyone need translation; they can let us know two days before the Translation Day so that we could plan ahead.

Please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS beforehand should you need translation and we hope you will join us on the Translation Day.

Vous pouvez travailler avec le CENFACS à travers la collection de projets ci-dessus de nouveau départ ou de lancement de notre campagne XI. Quels sont ces projets?

Ce sont des plans d’actions pour donner une feuille de soulagement assaisonné pendant cet automne et cette année des feuilles au sein de CENFACS.

Ces projets mettent en oeuvre des méthodes de travail nouvelles et améliorées avec les populations locales.

Ces projets permettent de répondre à l’évolution des besoins résultant des effets néfastes persistants de la pandémie de coronavirus dans une nouvelle ère et un nouveau paysage de politiques de réduction de la pauvreté et de développement durable.

Pour travailler ensemble à travers les projets nommés ci-dessus, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

Main Development

• Autumn Fresh Start Help and Resources to Build Forward Better

• • Making Autumn Start and Season Easier

• • • What is Fresh Autumn Start (FAS)

FAS is a continuation of our Summer Support projects into the Autumn season. It is a building block or additional back up of useful survival tips and hints to embrace Autumn as smoothly and trouble-freely as possible.

It includes real life situations that users may face when and as they return from their Summer break or season on one hand, and possible leads to proffer solutions to their arising Autumn needs on the other hand.

This FAS resource is not exhaustive or an end itself. It needs other resources as complement. It is a good basic insight into a Fresh Start as it provides helpful advisory tools for a Fresh Start and confidence building from the beginning to the end of Autumn season. It could also be used as a reference for users to engineer their own idea of Fresh Start and the sustained management of autumn needs.

At the end of this resource, there are some websites addresses/directories for help and support. These sources of help and support are not exhaustive. We have mainly considered third sector organisations and service providers as well as social enterprises.

For further or extended list of service providers for Autumn needs, people can contact their local authorities and service directories (both online and in print).

• • • Fresh Autumn Start in the context of unforced COVID-19 restrictions

This Autumn, we are approaching Fresh Start Help from the perspective and context of unforced COVID-19 restrictions. It is the context in which some people have been COVID-19 vaccinated and tested while others aren’t. It is also the situation in which COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in many parts of the UK and/or where the use of restrictions is no longer mandatory.

It is in this context of unforced COVID-19 restrictions and terms that we are going to respond to users’ needs. In other words, we are going to help meet basic life-sustaining needs and requests under the terms and conditions of unforced COVID-19 restrictions and of continuing of adverse impacts of climate change. So, Fresh Start Help will deal with the needs arising from life-sustenance under the terms and conditions of unforced COVID-19 restrictions and continuing adverse impacts of climate change.

• • Key summaries of the contents of FAS 2021 Edition

• • • Contents for FAS 2021 Edition

The contents for 2021 Edition of FAS include:

∝ Autumn scenarios and actions to take

∝ Examples of Summer Break Expenses Track Record and Autumn Build-Forward-Better Budget

∝ People needs and Autumn leads

∝ Integration of threats and risks

∝ What you can get from CENFACS

∝ Autumn online and digital resources

• • • Possible Autumn Scenarios and Possible Actions

When returning from Summer break and/or season or coronavirus-induced lockdown, people can find themselves in a variety of situations depending on their own individual circumstances and life experiences. This variety of situations may require or be expected to be matched with a diversity of responses in order to meet people’s Autumn needs.

These variable circumstances and diverse responses or a course of actions can take the different shapes as well as can be framed in order to take into account the continuing adverse impacts of climate change. One of these shapes could be to contextualise and customise back-to-relief, fresh start and build-forward-better support. This is what CENFACS tries to do via the advice service.

• • • Examples of Summer Break Expenses Track Record and Autumn Build-Forward-Better Budget

Tracking down and reassessing summer break/season expenses are a positive step to put one through a positive start for the Autumn season. As part of this positive step, FAS is packed with an example of Summer Break Expenses Track Record.

Budgeting Autumn items and needs is also good for a Fresh Start and for overall control over the start and rest of autumn season expenses. Since our focus is on building forward better, one can write a build-forward-better budget. Such a budget will help in costing the activities planned in the process of building forward better.

To support this financial control, FAS contains two examples of budgets: Autumn build forward better budget and fresh start budget.

• • • People’s Needs and Autumn Leads

Variable circumstances can obviously result in multiple needs. One of these circumstances is the current unforced terms and conditions of Covid-19 restrictions in some parts of the UK. To meet those needs, we may have to gather resources, tools and institutions to guide us. The 2021 Edition of FAS provides a table that gives an idea of the likely leads to satisfy people’s needs or just to guide them.

• • • Integrating threats and risks from the adverse impacts of various factors into FAS

Since the coronavirus still poses a threat, the FAS 2021 edition integrates the life-threatening impacts of the coronavirus. COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in some parts of the UK; however COVID-19 has not yet gone away. Likewise, the probable adverse impacts of climate change are nevertheless there. This integration is at the levels of possible Autumn scenarios, Autumn budget and arising needs. It is the integration of both life-sustaining needs and life-threatening impacts of the coronavirus and climate change.

• • • What You Can Get from CENFACS in Autumn under Autumn Help to Build Forward Better

The set of help provided in the FAS 2021 to Build Forward Better is part of CENFACS’ UK arm of services and additional services we set up to overcome the negative side effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns. Besides that it further takes into account specific needs of people that may require specialist organisations and or institutions to deal with them. In which case CENFACS can signpost or refer the applicants to those third parties.

• • • Autumn online and digital resources

As explained earlier, FAS 2021 Edition contains a list of organisations and services that can help users in different areas covering basic needs. Most the provided resources, which are from the charity and voluntary sector, are online and digital. The list gives their contact details including the kinds of support or service they provide.

We hope that the basic tips and hints making the contents of FAS 2021 Edition will help you in some aspects of your Autumn needs, and you will find the relief you are looking for.

We would like to take this opportunity of the beginning of the new season to wish you a Happy and Healthy Autumn, as well as good luck in your efforts to Build Forward Better!

_________

• References

(1) https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.10225 (accessed September 2021)

(2) Chris Park (2011), Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York

_________

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 consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

Starting XI Campaign Plus Getting Involved!

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on September 15, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

15 September 2021

Post No. 213

The Week’s Contents

• Autumn of Freshness to Build Forward Better

• Autumn Programme with Starting XI Projects/Campaign to Build Forward Better

• Blue Spaces-focused Note for Week Beginning 13/09/2021: Reduction of Sea-level Rise Impacts on the Coastal Poor in Africa

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Autumn of Freshness to Build Forward Better

This Autumn 2021, we are going to gradually start to return the nature of our Autumn, which is of Freshness or Fresh Start. This is because last year, our Autumn lost its true nature due to the unbearable impacts of the coronavirus and associated containment measures.

We have already accepted and integrated the coronavirus pandemic in our mind sets as the 1960s theory of the five stages of grief or model of change curve by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross (1) tells us. We have accepted that change is inevitable; so we could now return to where we were before the coronavirus with changes rather than against them. We can now move on. If this is the case, what Autumn is about for us?

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

Autumn of Freshness is the season of

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

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

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

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

This Autumn will be of Freshness or Fresh Start to Build Forward Better Together. It will be of working together with our local people to build forward better from the side effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns. This building process started since last March when we published the underlying principles of our Build Forward Better Programme. During this Autumn, we are going to continue to apply these principles.

So, we are going to work together to build forward from where we were before the coronavirus pandemic struck, and where possible, we will introduce new initiatives. Therefore, the key words and phrases for our sharing and engaging contents over this Autumn are Freshness or Fresh Start to Build Forward Better; words and phrases which will underpin all our work over this period.

• Autumn Programme with Starting XI Projects/Campaign to Build Forward Better

Report, Refresh, Renew, Develop and Thrive with Fresh Start Projects from the Autumn Programme

Autumn of Freshness is about working together with our users and stakeholders through helpful collection of Fresh Start projects blended together to give a new seasoned leaf of relief during this Autumn and Year of Leaves.

These projects will implement new and improved ways of working with local people to meet changing needs mainly led by the persisting adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic in a new era and landscape of poverty reduction and development policies.

The Autumn 2021 Fresh Start Programme is made of

(a) Build Forward Better skills, tips, hints, tweaks and hacks

(b) Transformative experiences

(d) A Slice of Africa’s history

(e) A post-vaccine and post-testing COVID-19 campaign

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

(g) Build Forward thoughts and inspirations for a coronavirus-free poverty relief and development agenda

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

So, the line up for CENFACS’ Build Forward Starting XI Projects and Campaign (or Build Forward Better Projects) for this Autumn is as follows:

(1) Women, Children and Foresight Skills

(2) Literacy and Numeracy Skills for Debt and Deficit Management – NEW

(3) Guide for Investing in African Not-for-profit Organisations – NEW

(4) Making Memorable Difference with the Congolese “Rumba”

(5) Build Forward Better Flora and Fauna

(6) Advice that Includes Leaves – NEW

(7) “A la Une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence)

(8) International Advice Service

(9) Help to Build Forward Better

(10) Campaign to End COVID-19-induced Poverty

(11) Autumn Humanitarian Relief Appeal

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

• Blue Spaces-focused Note for Week Beginning 13/09/2021: Reduction of Sea-level Rise Impacts on the Coastal Poor in Africa

In Africa, poverty is also found amongst certain peoples living in the coastal zones. Not everybody who lives in coastal areas is rich. When sea levels rise in those areas, the adverse impacts could be stronger amongst these African coastal poor than others. To understand this, we are going to briefly highlight the following two points: impacts of sea level rise on African coastal poor people and the reduction of its impacts on these coastal poor people.

• • Impacts of Sea Level Rise on African Coastal Poor

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2) argues that “about 56% of the coastlines in Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo are eroding and this is expected to worsen in the future”.

This coastal erosion could be the result of sea level rise. Sea-level rises, which are part of climate change, affect people living in poverty. If you are poor and lives by the sea, you would be even more affected by sea-level rises than what some would have thought. They also deepen inequality where they happen.

Generally speaking, African coastal countries have very tiny resources to cope with the level of damages that sea level rise can cause. Let alone, what environmental events (such as flooding, drought, storm surges, heavy rain falls and so on) can create. Sea-level rises can create refugees, displaced persons, homeless, migrants, orphan and abandoned children, etc. This is without forgetting other damages like environmental ones (e.g. soil salinity and contamination of plants and crops).

For example, in 2019 when sea level rose in the Western coast of Africa (from Mauritania to Cameroon), coastal poor were mostly affected than others. In the same year, sea-level rise happened in Senegal (particularly in Saint-Louis) and destroyed houses and crops as well as flooded streets. The most sufferers were the poorest ones.

Yet, it is possible to reduce the impacts of sea level rises on the African coastal poor. How?

• • Reduction of the Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Africa’s Coastal Poor

There are both general and specific initiatives that can be undertaken to reduce the impacts of sea level rise on the African coastal poor. Without distinguishing general from specific initiatives, let us number the following:

√ Support of those poor people working in the tourism industry as flooding and erosion can put off tourists

√ Repairing damages caused by coastal flood and erosion for those (coastal poor) who cannot afford the cost of repair

√ Compensation for agriculturalists’, pastoralists’ and farmers’ livelihoods as their land can be contaminated by high salt from sea water

√ Helping coastal poor to access safe drinking water and sanitation

√ Rehousing or rebuilding homes for coastal flood-related homeless

√ Providing health and healthcare-related support to the stricken coastal poor

√ Recreating income-generative activities and capacities for coastal economic inactive people because of coastal floods

Etc.

Additionally, coastal Africa-based Sister Organisations can help by working with local coastal poor to alleviate many of these issues, including developing policies and strategy with coastal people so as to minimise or reduce the adverse impacts of future flooding and erosion like it happened in Senegal.

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

Extra Messages

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

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

Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and other factors have restricted the choice one can make about their happiness and healthiness over Summer 2021. To reflect these restrictions, one can create or write a journal of freedom or the lack of freedom for the things that have made them to feel happy, healthy and free during this Summer 2021. Alternatively, one can consider writing a journal of the things that have made them unhappy, unhealthy and confined this Summer 2021.

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

You can create your journal for any aspects of Summertime linked to freedom to choose. You can explain your experiences, feelings and thoughts in terms of happiness and healthiness about freedom to choose over this Summer of enduring COVID-19.

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

∝ Things that have made you to feel happy, healthy and free over this Summer 2021

∝ Things that have made you unhappy, unhealthy and confined over this Summer 2021

∝ Explaining the freedom and ability you have to choose solutions to reduce or end poverty and hardships over this Summer 2021.

You can share with the community your experience of happiness and healthiness regarding the freedom to choose. This can be recorded in your journal and be shared by the end of Summer 2021.

To share the contents of your happiness and healthiness journal relating to happy, healthy and free livelihoods during this Summer 2021 as well as to help build a better Summer holiday experience, you can contact CENFACS.

• Starting or Renewing your Involvement with CENFACS’ Work this Autumn 2021

The beginning of every season is an opportunity either to continue to do the things we always do as they work or to think of taking on new initiatives in the new season or to do both. Likewise, in times of post-crisis like the post-coronavirus pandemic there are not only damages to account about and reparations to do; there are as well opportunities and possibilities to do things differently. One can use the opportunity of the post-COVID-19 crisis to change things. One way of doing it is to start or continue to build forward. There are many ways in which one can build forward better this Autumn.

For example, one can use the opportunity after the COVID-19 crisis and rethink on the types of organisations and projects they support. One may find appropriate to start or increase or even reduce their support to a particular development cause. One could also think of getting involved in CENFACS’ work or renewing their commitment to it if they have ever got involved in it before. The decision is theirs.

Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have spelled out various ways in which one can enhance CENFACS’ cause and make a useful impact on poverty alleviation with us.

• Analytics-based Solutions to Poverty via Triple Value Initiatives (All-Year Round Projects)

Our experience of tracking data about the Triple Value Initiatives (or All-year Round Projects) and of studying the relationships between the three of them (Play, Run and Vote projects) continues this Autumn 2021. We are analysing possible correlations between the different sets of data from these projects and carrying out predictions of probable events from them.

The aim of this data tracking exercise is to combine data about them to generate an increased or add-on relief against poverty and hardships. We are indeed conducting analytics-based solutions to poverty via these three initiatives. In other words, we are exploring and interpreting meaningful data about them in order to drive good decisions on poverty reduction.

It would be highly appreciated that for the running of this tracking data exercise, those who have managed to undertake the three of them to share information relating to them. The data to be shared could be qualitative and/or quantitative.

With data tracked, we will be able to discover if there are some interactions or correlations between them. Our analysis will not stop there, we will as well study the patterns in data collected and treated.

For further details about this data tracking and or to communicate your actions-results about these projects, please contact CENFACS.

En ce temps du coronavirus durable, vous pouvez ensemble avec le CENFACS…

∝ Accéder aux moyens pour mieux construire vers l’avant

∝ Participer à notre appel humanitaire saisonnier

∝ Renouveler vos idées et inspirations

∝ Acquérir et prendre part à des expériences transformatrices

∝ Apprendre et partager une tranche de l’histoire africaine

∝ Continuer à combattre le COVID-19 et ses effets durables

Pour aider à réduire la pauvreté et mieux construire vers l’avant, svp contactez le CENFACS.

Main Development

• Autumn Programme with Starting XI Projects to Build Forward Better (Build Forward Better Projects)

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

Please find below key highlights of these projects making CENFACS’ Autumn 2021 of Building Forward Better.

11 PROJECTS TO BUILD FORWARD BETTER: 11 WAYS OF HELPING TO REDUCE AND END POVERTY THIS AUTUMN 2021

September 2021

(5) Build Forward Better Flora and Fauna projects (including the Big Beasts sub-advocacy) will continue our advocacy work on the protection of plants and animals while we are carrying on to implement new ways of working with local people and organisations in Africa to build forward better flora and fauna in the era of the coronavirus pandemic (Advocacy)

(6) Advice based on Leaves: an innovative step forward within the framework of the advice service we provide to the community. This element within our local advice package, which is designed to mark CENFACS’ Year of Leaves, will use leaves in the process of helping to reduce poverty. (Advice)

(7) A la Une (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) will include our sub-advocacy work on nature, which is Sustainable Trajectories for the Nature. This year, A la Une project will focus on the Safeguard of Crop Wild Relatives in Africa (Campaign)

October 2021

(11) Autumn Appeal to Support projects: a renewed engagement with supporters via an appeal to deal with the persisting side effects of the coronavirus on poor people in Africa. (Humanitarian appeal)

(4) Making Memorable Difference: The focus for this October History Month will be on African dance with emphasis on the Congolese Rumba, Rumba will be looked at as culture, art and patrimony for poverty reduction and sustainable development while including its legacies for the current generations’ cultural development. (History project)

(10) End of Covid-19-induced Poverty: Although the coronavirus is not yet over, this is a COVID-19 post-vaccine and post-testing campaign designed to help reduce and mostly end poverty and hardships brought by the coronavirus pandemic and its associated effects. (Poverty-relieving campaign)

November 2021

(9) Autumn Help to Build Forward Better: a new and enhanced support to the CENFACS Community returning from the lockdown and long Summer break 2021. The resource will contain new information, tips and hints to help the community meet their changing needs as legacies of the coronavirus pandemic. This initiative or resource may start or come out this September 2021, although it is scheduled for November 2021. (Resource)

(1) Women & Children FIRST Development Day: This year our Development Day will prolong our Reflection Day of last April as we will be celebrating and thinking of Foresight Skills to help correctly judge future risks and crises (similar to the coronavirus) and plan actions based on this knowledge. Also, by dealing with skills, this year’s Development Day will resonate with the November month of Skills Development within CENFACS. (Thoughts)

(8) International Advice Service: Our support to Africa-based Sister Organisations via advice will continue to operate to help these organisations to overcome many challenges they face as the coronavirus is still at large in Africa. Although this service is open since we launched it, we have planned to conduct more activities about it this coming November 2021.

(2) Literacy and Numeracy Skills to Manage Debts and Deficits: This initiative, which continues the key messages of our July 2021 Festival of Thoughts, will provide to those who are illiterate and innumerate from the perspective of financial skills, some basic skills to understand what debts and deficits are about and how to use these skills in personal and or family life in order to avoid or reduce debts and deficits. (Financial Advocacy & Skills)

(3) Guide for Investing in the Not-for-profit African Organisations and causes: This will be our first booklet (a 2021/2022 one) on the matter that will be issued by CENFACS to provide some basic information, guidance and advice for those who would like to invest in Africa-based Sister Organisations engaged with the African Continental Free Trade Area. (Resource)

Note:

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

Although they are scheduled for Autumn 2021, we may slightly alter our initial plan and or introduce occasional initiatives to cope with the reality of the unpredictability and complexity of development situations (e.g. coronavirus uncertainty, side effects of the economic exit of the UK from the EU’s single market, humanitarian and emergency situations), in which case we shall let you know as early as we can.

• Getting the Most of your Involvement with CENFACS into Poverty Alleviation Work from Autumn 2021 and Beyond

Where to start: Sign up!

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

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

Stay in touch with our…

√ Newsletter and other paper and free-paper communication materials

√ Regular updated and upgraded resources and supporting information

Involve us in raising awareness of the poverty relief issue

√ Advertise with us for helpful good and deserving causes

√ Pass our relief messages on to interested third parties

Share your transformative experience

√ Tell us what you think and or your development story

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

Boost your support

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

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

Get noticed to go further with your involvement

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

√ Join up our network of poverty relief and development work

Stay ahead of the game with us

√ Communicate with us before hands and when the needs arise

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

Deliver on your promises

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

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

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

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

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

Be contactable and present via

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

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

Get the word out on your communication channels

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

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

Keep your involvement with CENFACS digitally and on papers

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

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

Act upon information received from us

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

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

Build and protect standards of trust in CENFACS

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

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

Continue the legacy of CENFACS’ work

√ It is now 19 years and two months that CENFACS has been working on poverty relief and sustainable development since it was registered in 2002. You can continue this legacy with us.

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

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

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

_________

References

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

(2) https://unfccc.int/news/climate-change-is-an-increasing-threat-to-africa (accessed September 2021)

________

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 consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

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Reduction of Back-to-school Poverty

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on September 8, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

08 September 2021

Post No. 212

The Week’s Contents

• Back-to-school Poverty

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

• Coming in Autumn 2021: The 73rd Issue of FACS Newsletter, to be entitled as The Cost of Building Forward from the Coronavirus Pandemic

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Back-to-school Poverty

The post no. 212 of our blog page goes an extra mile in discussing the back-to-school poverty as the first key message and main development. This key message and main development takes stock of what we argued last year about the same topic while dealing with back-to-school challenge in 2021, poverty issue, support that CENFACS can provide during the back-to-school period, expenses budget and the particularity of this year’s back-to-school.

This particularity is that back to school is still overshadowed by a certain number of factors which are:

∝ The continuation of caution about the enduring coronavirus pandemic and its new variants (such as Delta) despite the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and testing programme

∝ Back to school is caught by hybrid working and learning, between at-home and in-person learning/working

∝ Cure of activities, services and infrastructures as a result of COVID-19 damages

∝ Counselling sessions for those who need them to manage the pain caused the coronavirus to cope with back-to-school process and pressure

∝ Blurred sanitary conditions in which restrictions have been lifted but there are constant messages reminding people to observe COVID-19 protection measures in public spaces.

Back to school is a challenging time for many families and parents especially for those on low income brackets or just poor. It is even controversial for many of them as they are trying to build back and forward educational life for children while they have still to deal with the legacies of the coronavirus pandemic. The controversy between rebuilding lives and being careful about the enduring coronavirus is shared by both our project beneficiaries here in the UK or in Africa.

The greatest challenge for these families is back-to-school poverty. Back-to-school poverty is what we are trying to help reduce or eradicate within our back-to-relief programme this Autumn 2021. We are tackling it while carrying on back-to-relief programme and services.

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

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

We are taking stock of the theme of “Blue Spaces” we developed in 2019 and 2020 in the context of protection of oceans and seas. This year, we are adding new topics or notes to this theme. These new notes will be about the expansion of oceans and seas (as a result of global warming) and the effects on the poor, particularly coastal poor people in Africa. Additionally, we are carrying on in looking at blue poverty reduction and blue sustainable development. However, before presenting this week’s notes, let us clarify the theme statement.

• • Theme statement

The theme of “Blue Spaces” under the back to the upkeep of the nature (which is part of our back-to-relief programme) is about protecting blue spaces while using these spaces to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. There are two aspects in this statement.

The first aspect of this statement is about sea level rise and its impacts. This first aspect prolongs the work we have done so far on oceans and seas. The second aspect of this statement is what we called blue poverty reduction and blue sustainable development.

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

We are as well revisiting the sustainable development goals by re-exploring the role and place that the “Blue Spaces” are playing in capacitating poor people’s sustainable development. This is what one can term as “blue sustainable development“.

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

(a) the impacts of sea level rise

(b) the reduction of these impacts

(d) blue sustainable development.

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

Let’s now summarise the first note or topic of our September 2021 work on blue spaces; note which started from 06 September 2021.

• • Blue spaces-focused note for week beginning 06/09/2021: The impacts of seal level rise on poverty reduction in Africa

Sea level rise can adversely impact African coastal countries, especially the poor coastal people and communities of these countries, as well as the way in which the work on poverty reduction is conducted.

• • • The impacts of sea level rise on African coastal countries

Almost 33 out of 55 countries in Africa have coastlines. Amongst these 33 countries, 19 of them have port cities. For example, the State capitals of Dakar, Banjul, Conakry, Abidjan, Lomé, Accra, Lagos and Brazzaville are port cities.

According to Ibe and Awosika (1),

“If sea level rise on the African Coastal Zones like the above name port cities, there could be loss of wetlands, increased rates of beach erosion, flooding, salt water intrusion and higher water tables, deforestation, disruption in transport and communication and so on.”

There could be net adverse effects of sea level rise on coastal zones as these authors argued. Among these effects include the creation and or worsening of poverty for some and the challenge to reduce it.

• • • Effects of sea level rise on poverty reduction

One of the effects of sea level rise is the creation of situational or transitory poverty. What is situational or transitory poverty relating to sea level rise?

• • • • Situational or transitory poverty

Situational or transitory poverty can be defined in many ways. On the website Richmondvale.org (2), it is defined as

“a period wherein an individual falls below the poverty line because of a sudden event”.

There are many events that can push people or communities towards transitory poverty. In this context, transitory poverty is caused by climate change events (e.g. sea level rise) and environmental disasters like earthquakes, storms, floods, etc.

Sea level rises can lead to situational or transitory poverty or transitory poor. They can as well complicate the on-going work on poverty reduction.

• • • • Effects of sea level rise on the work on poverty reduction

Given the limited resources and capacities that our Africa-based Sister Organisations have, it could be challenging for them to intervene when sea level rise happens. They have to work hard to help those affected by sea level rise to get shelter, food, health service, sanitation, hygiene, etc. This is because an event like sea level rise requires a gigantic level of investments in order to save and preserve lives.

There is more to argue and prove about sea level rise and its effects in Africa. For those who would like to further discuss the matter with us, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.

• Abstract for the 73^rd Issue of FACS

It costs to build forward better from the calamitous impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and associated non-essential economic inactivity. It costs for individuals like our users, for organisations such as our Africa-based Sister Organisations and for CENFACS itself. In other words, there is a cost to bear in the process of building back and forward from what it has been damaged, lost and destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The 73^rd Issue of FACS will deal with the price of curating activities damaged and destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic while exploring the cost associated with non-essential economic inactivity from prolonged lockdowns. In doing so, the Issue will give the opportunity to readers to navigate basic accounting and financial processes and jargon in order to grasp the building forward process that has been undertaken by CENFACS‘ users and organisation beneficiaries.

In this Issue, we shall try to collect and illustrate examples and/or models on how users and organisations working with CENFACS are trying to manage the cost of building forward from the legacies of the coronavirus pandemic.

Far from being a simple part of financial translation of CENFACS‘ Build Forward Better together Programme, the Issue will go further by treating both financial and non-financial costs from COVID-19. It will look at these costs from the perspective of project planning and development in terms of cost-benefit analysis.

Besides looking at the cost of building forward as a financial operation, it will provide a non-financial look of the cost of building forward in the form another reading of poverty and poverty reduction. In this respect, there could be hidden or forgotten or even unaccounted costs that the process of building forward needs to consider.

Moreover, the Issue will be about how to work with users and Africa-based Sister organisations in order to not only account for these costs from the accounting and financial perspective since accounting is often about recording transactions that happened in the past; but also doing basic accounting and financial forecasting of the needs of the community as we are trying to build forward, for the future.

Finally, since we are in the era of delivering climate change pledges, the Issue will touch on the cost of building forward better greener and cleaner. It means that in our process of building forward better, we (users, African Sister Organisations and CENFACS) need to include the cost of taking green and clean paths.

The above gives a bit some flavour or general idea about the next issue of FACS, the 73^rd Issue of FACS Newsletter.

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

Extra Messages

• Leafy Year and Advice Month

Leafy Year is our dedication of 2021 as a leafy year or a year of leaves of poverty reduction. Advice Month is the month of the year during which advice is more pronounced within CENFACS compared to other months of the year. In other words, we invest more resources in advice in September than at any other times of the year. We can use this month of advice to support 2021 as a year dedicated to leaves via helping in poverty reduction.

• • Integrating leaves and advice to produce poverty reduction

Leaves of poverty reduction can be combined with advice on poverty reduction to achieve a good result. There are many ways in which this combination can be done. For example, if one considers advice on leaves, a lot can be said about how autumn leaves can bring relief and to clean the environment (e.g. collecting leaves, burying them, mulching them, etc.)

In terms of advice to use leaves to reduce poverty, there is much to argue and remember about leaves for food, health, shelter, body care, etc. Likewise, leaves can be used for wildlife, compost ingredients, bedding for chickens and ducks, etc.

This advice about the use of leaves can come from various professions and professionals including gardeners, farmers, doctors, nutritionists, etc. The integration of leaves and advice can also come from organisations working on leaves and advice on a regular or circumstantial basis. For example, CENFACS is working on the integration of leaves and advice in order to produce or help poverty reduction during this month of September 2021.

• • CENFACS’ Advisory Support that integrates Leaves

We hope through this support to work with our users and those who are looking for advice that involves leaves of poverty reduction. Leaves of poverty reduction will be featured and included in our advice sessions during this month of September. Users and others will figure out the benefit of poverty reduction approach that involves natural leaves.

To find out more about our Advisory Support that includes Leaves, please contact CENFACS. To enquire about Leafy Year and or Advice Month, please also contact CENFACS.

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

After last week’s pause, we can continue creating our Summer Journal of Happiness and Healthiness.

The coronavirus and associated effects may have perhaps made some people to lose trust in poverty reduction. Yet, there is a need or reason to keep faith in the reduction and end of poverty.

You can create your journal for any aspects of Summertime linked to trust. You can explain your experiences, feelings and thoughts in terms of happiness and healthiness about trust over this Summer of enduring COVID-19.

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

• • Journal of trust in poverty reduction

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

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

• • Journal of trust in people and communities

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

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

• • Journal of initiatives to build trust

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

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

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

Briefly, you can share with the community your experience of happiness and healthiness with trust. This can be recorded in your journal and be shared by the end of Summer 2021.

To share the contents of your happiness and healthiness journal relating to happy, healthy and trustful Summer 2021; as well as to help build a better Summer holiday experience, you can contact CENFACS.

• Summer 2021 Reporting in Your Own Words, Numbers and Information Graphics

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

From this week until Saturday the 21^st of September 2021, we are simply asking those who can to share with us and others their Summer experiences; experiences about what they did during the Summer break and think that it is useful for sharing.

The 2021 Summer Experiences Reporting activity is a further experience of reporting, sharing, learning and development opportunity for those who have not yet informed us about the outcomes of projects; projects pending for reporting, personal experiences to be shared, lessons to learn and development trends to spot.

• • Sharing Development Experiences, Stories, Tales and Reports about Summer 2021

As we are nearly reaching the end of Summer 2021, we would like our users and supporters as well as those who sympathise with CENFACS’ cause to share with us and others their experiences, stories and reports about the following:

√ Run, Play and Vote projects (Triple Value Initiatives): You can feedback the outcomes or Action-Results of your Run, Play and Vote projects.

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

√ Summer programmes: Happiness, Healthiness and Appeal projects: You may prefer to report on your use of Happiness and Healthiness projects and your response to our Humanitarian Relief Appeal projects.

√ August 2021 Trending Activities: You can as well report on your experience of following the direction of poverty reduction through natural capital assets.

√ Leaf Activities: As we are in CENFACS’ Leafy Year, we would be more than happier to hear any stories related to this year’s dedication.

√ Journal of Happiness and Healthiness: You can share the contents of your happiness and healthiness journal relating to happy, healthy and trustful Summer 2021; as well as to help build a better Summer holiday experience.

√ Other Experiences and Stories Reporting: You can feedback on any moving experience or transformative story you have had during Summer 2021.

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

Thank you for supporting us with your Summer 2021 experience, story and report In Your Own Words, Numbers and Information Graphics.

Le mois de septembre est celui de conseils au sein de CENFACS: conseils pour des individus et des organisations africaines.

Si vous avez un problème et besoin de conseils, s’il vous plaît n’hésitez pas de contacter le CENFACS.

Main Development

• Back-to-school poverty

In order to approach back-to-school poverty, the following items will be considered: back-to-school challenge, poverty, back to school disrupted by the coronavirus, back-to-school budget and support, and back to school greener and cleaner.

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

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

Back to school/college for them is characterised by the following: the struggle to afford the costs linked to school/college, the inability to meet basic life-sustaining needs (including of education, food, fuel, shelter, skills development, etc.), deprivation of cleaning and disinfecting household items, the lack or poor access to internet broadband, etc.

This year’s back to school/college is still challenging as the side effects of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have not stopped to disrupt the normal preparation of back to school/college. This disruption started since lockdowns happened, from the purchasing of what pupils and students need to the format or formula of the school/college start.

• • Back to school disrupted by the continuing effects of coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns

This year’s back to school is still under the shadow of coronavirus as the crippling effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns continue to disrupt the entire organisation of the back to school for this September school entry 2021/2022.

The coronavirus pandemic has completely changed the way in which back to school has to be perceived and approached in many aspects and respects by including enhanced health and safety measures such as social distancing rules, disinfection of educational materials and establishment, daily number of people allowed by square meter in any educational infrastructures, etc. This year, the school return is even confusing as restrictions have been lifted while in some places there are messages telling people to continue to apply them.

The coronavirus pandemic has introduced new items while increasing the level of spending for other existing items in the back-to-school budget. It has brought new social rules such as the wearing of face coverings, the regular use of sanitising products, the requirement of vaccination and regular testing. This can only affect the togetherness and school community life.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the patterns and habits of working life and socialisation while introducing or reinforcing the virtual and online dimensions in the back-to-school preparation and delivery.

Briefly, due to the coronavirus pandemic the all health and safety policies and practices have to be redesigned and tested against the pandemic. While this has been done, some of those less well-off parents and families (those who do not have enough for their children) can find themselves in a back-to-school poverty with them. They could be in the back-to-school poverty while still struggling against sanitation poverty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

• • Back-to-school poverty

• • • What is back-to-school poverty?

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

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

Besides these universal costs, there are new costs due to the coronavirus. They can include the following: buying soaps and often wash children’s clothes to disinfect them from the traces of the coronavirus, preparing special lunchboxes with items to disinfect hands and tools before eating, providing to each child personal school utensils to avoid any exchange with other school mates, etc.

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

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

The first type of poverty is related to the start of the new school year whereas the second is caused by the pressure from the coronavirus pandemic. As the Global Care (3) puts it on their website:

“The cost of coronavirus has been high for all our children – not least, a year of disrupted education. But, sadly, we believe the highest price is being paid by the poorest children”.

Children from families and parents living in poverty are likely to be the most affected by the adverse continuing impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

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

• • • Back-to-school support at CENFACS

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

Since the coronavirus pandemic started, we enhanced health and safety aspects in this programme. We are also providing support related to the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic and economic inactivity for those who are looking for this type of support.

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

Since the battle against the coronavirus pandemic is not yet over, there are limitations on the ways our support can be accessed. It can be accessed as follows:

√ Only virtually on a no face-to-face physical basis, but on a one-to-one basis or as a group

√ Over phone

√ Via e-mail

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

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

Where in-person meeting with beneficiaries is unavoidable, extra precautionary health and safety measures will be taken before the advice can happen.

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

• • • Back-to-school COVID-19-induced Budget

The 2021/2022 Back-to-school COVID-19-induced Budget is a COVID-19-induced one for many parents and families as they have to cost and integrate the aforementioned aspects of protection related to the coronavirus pandemic into the educational budget of their children. It is also a budget of building forward from the coronavirus, although the fight against it is not yet over.

Although young children may not be wearing face masks, there are still some levels of investment that parents and families may have to do to keep the education of their children to an internationally agreed standard. They may have to proceed with the following initiatives:

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

∝ Improve their access to internet and broadband supplies

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

∝ Improve or upgrade existing home infrastructures for e-education

All these types of investment will create additional costs in the back-to-school plans, although some of these costs will not be at the start of the school.

For poor families and parents, it is even more difficult for them to keep the educational level of their children to a good standard unless they get financial support to their back-to-school budget.

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

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

• • • Back to school greener and cleaner

Back to school in 2021 is also subject to the requirements of greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets as well as clean environment. It means that for parents and children whether well-off or less well-off, they need to make sure they take an eco-friendly path in the back-to-school preparation and delivery.

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

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

_________

References

(1) Ibe, A.C., and L.F. Awosika (1991), Sea level rise impact in African coastal zones, In a change in the weather: African perspective on climate, ed. S. H. Omide and C. Juma, 105-12, Naïrobi, Kenya: African Centre for Technology Studies

(2) https://richmondvale.org/en/blog/situational-poverty-definition-and-types (accessed February 2021)

(3) https://www.globalcare.org/2021/back-to-school-in-poverty/ (accessed September 2021)

________

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 consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

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Back-to-relief Programme 2021

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on September 1, 2021 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

01 September 2021

Post No. 211

Welcome back Message

Before starting the contents of the blog and post of this first Wednesday of September 2021, we would like to welcome back all those who are returning this month.

We are welcoming back the following:

∝ All those who are returning from the coronavirus self-isolation

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

∝ Those who are or have been working during the Summer time

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

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

Welcome back to all of you and healthy return!

The Week’s Contents

• Back-to-relief Programme: Programme for Pre-autumn Season 2021

• September: Advice-giving Month

• Making Zero Hunger Grand Sud of Madagascar

… And much more!

Key Messages

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

• Back-to-relief Programme: Programme for Pre-autumn Season 2021

Back-to-relief Programme is a set of related activities and services with an aim of reducing poverty amongst multi-dimensional poor children, young and families (MDPCYPFs) by working with them to meet their needs after summer break and economic unlocking so that they can start September 2021 without or with less hardship.

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

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

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

This year’s programme will slightly follow the pattern of last year’s since the coronavirus pandemic endures. Many of our project and programme beneficiaries have experienced many months of economic inactivity since the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns happened. Now that some of them are returning or resuming or still struggling with their outdoor activities, they may need some advice to adjust their lives or build back and forward better from the legacies of the coronavirus and subsequent lockdowns.

The Back-to-relief 2021 programme is designed to include the needs of these returnees. It is also conceptualised to anticipate any changes of situation due to any potential spikes of Covid-19 and lockdown resumption as the battle against the coronavirus has not been yet won despite COVID-19 vaccine rollout and testing programme.

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

• September: Advice-giving Month

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

We provide advice to both individuals and organisations as mentioned above. Advice can be given in the context of Back-to-Relief Programme and outside this context. When Advice is given in the context of Back-to-Relief Programme, it becomes constituent part of this programme like other elements making this programme.

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

• Making Zero Hunger Grand Sud of Madagascar

Our campaign about Making Zero Hunger Africa continues this September 2021 as we are appealing to step up support for the Grand Sud of Madagascar to reduce and, if possible, to end hunger there. Stepping up efforts will help add value to what has been done so far, such as drones that are supplying food and vaccines to people living in remote areas of Madagascar.

Indeed, climate change and hunger continue to threaten and endanger lives in the South of Madagascar – the Grand Sud of Madagascar. Currently, the peoples in the Grand Sud of Madagascar are experiencing the following life-threatening events: prolonged drought, food insecurity, crop failures, in brief humanitarian crisis.

As part of this crisis, the following data and facts have been recorded from local sources and various development agencies working on the ground:

√ Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from prolonged drought

√ 3 million people suffered from droughts

√ 14,000 people are on the brink of famine

√ Women and children are amongst these victims

Etc.

You can make zero hunger support or help to the peoples of the Grand Sud of Madagascar.

Your support can help them …

√ To eat

√ To pay for health services

√ To send their children to school

√ To get clean water

√ To access sanitation facilities

√ To get the seeds to plant

√ To manage the hunger season

Etc.

To make zero hunger happen for the people of the Grand Sud of Madagascar, please contact CENFACS.

Extra Messages

• Unlock your Summer Holiday Data and Tell your Story

Throughout our July and August 2021 communications, we have been asking everybody to store and keep their Summer data so that when we all return we can report back or share parts of our Summer experiences that are shareable and spreadable.

Now some of you are back, we can try to feedback our poverty-relieving and development experiences of using Happiness and Healthiness projects and of the economic unlocking as well as of the coronavirus restrictions and rules over the Summer period.

One can also feedback any creations, any experiences with natural capital assets, any community practices and any volunteering stories, if they volunteered, they had over the last two months. One can report back a personal Summer experience as well.

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

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

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

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

• COVID-19 Campaign Update: Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Strategies (Phase 3)

The Campaign for Resilience against Covid-19 (or the Covid-19 Campaign) is still in Phase 3. After our Summer report on this campaign, the following update will enlighten the progress made about the Phase 3 of the campaign.

• • What is Phase 3 of our COVID-19 Campaign?

Phase 3 is the Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Strategies, which are processes of planning and conducting cure and restoration in order to bring back our programmes, projects, activities, services and products to their original or normal condition. It is a restoration or build-back campaign as well.

• • What did happen in this Phase 3?

As part of these processes, we have curated activities and services so that they get fully and healthily back on track. This move goes in tandem with the unlocking of the economy as well as COVID-19 vaccine rollout and testing programme.

Let us repeat ourselves. By speaking about Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Strategies, we do not mean that the coronavirus pandemic is over. We just imply that in our mind set COVID-19 is a reality but not a fiction. We have to understand it and live in the COVID-19 environment until a medicine is found against it. So, the idea of the existence of COVID-19 has been already passed in our mind set.

• • What do we need do as part of these rehabilitation strategies?

What we need to do is to develop strategies to restore our work while taking into account the new coronavirus-led environment or reality (including the new COVID-19 variants). In this respect, we are trying to Build Back Better our lives through a Build-Back-Better Campaign.

Once we build back better, we could build forward better. This means, we can move to the next level of our Build Campaign, which is a Build-Forward-Better Campaign. We can build back and forward at the same time as the process of building in this context is backward and forward one.

• • Strands of thought on COVID-19 Campaign

Some of you know that in our COVID-19 Campaign, there are two strands of thought. There are initiatives that we took that are related to our work in the UK. There is a set of campaigning initiatives that have been linked to our work in Africa.

• • COVID-19 Campaign Update relating to CENFACS’ work on Africa

Regarding the COVIDd-19 Campaign in relation to our work on Africa, the COVID-19 extra message of this week is as follows.

We are continuing to follow the development of the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus pandemic in Africa where cases keep on increasing. We are doing it via our shadowing model.

From the Health Emergency Dashboard of World Heath Organisation (1), it is stated that

“as of 31 August 2021, there were 5,634,831 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Africa”.

The rise in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and increasing trend of the “epi-cruves” can only mean to us to keep up shadowing them (“epi-curves”) while motivating our Africa-based partners to carry on in rebuilding health systems to keep tight control on the COVID-19.

Finally, we are monitoring the evolution of the coronavirus vaccine rollout and testing programme in Africa. In this checking process, we are looking at the involvement of our Africa-based Sister Organisations in supporting their local users. Where our hands are needed, we would be pleased to help when we can.

The above is our COVID-19 Campaign update, particularly the 3^rd Phase of this campaign. This update can be found at CENFACS’ COVID-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction.

To support and or to enquire about this COVID-19 Campaign update and COVID-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction, please contact CENFACS.

• This September’s Special: Working with the Untargeted and Unqualified for support

As special feature of our Back-to-relief programme for this year, we will be working with those members of our community who have not been targeted for help and or who are not meeting the criteria for support.

For unknown and unjustified reasons, there could be members of our community who have been refused or denied or slept through the net in order to receive poverty reduction service they deserve from services or institutions which are supposed to support them.

We will work with them, re-examine their cases and explore together the level of support they need in navigating their journey toward qualification and eligibility to services and activities available on the market.

If you are a member of our community and not have been targeted or have been told you do not meet criteria for support whereas you have genuine need of poverty reduction, you could contact CENFACS to explore together your case for poverty reduction support.

Pour cette rentrée de septembre 2021, le CENFACS a préparé des activités, projets et programmes pour travailler ensemble avec ses usagers. Ces activités, projets et programmes permettront de répondre à leurs besoins existants, changeants et émergents de l’ère du coronavirus.

Pour en savoir plus et/ou y avoir accès, s’il vous plaît contactez le CENFACS.

Main Development

• Back-to-relief Programme: Programme for Pre-autumn Season 2021

• • Back-to-relief Projects

As previously mentioned, most of our projects and programmes are organised to take into account the lives and needs of our beneficiaries; supporters as well. Some of them will be back this week after Summer break and the prolonged coronavirus disruption. They are back for the New Academic Year and New Relief, year for which we have prepared projects and programmes to work with them so that they can meet their existing, challenging, changing and coronavirus-emerging needs – the back-to-relief projects and programmes in a September of double-jabbed COVID-19 waning immunity.

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

• • Virtual Open Days under Back-to-Relief Programme

Due to the continuing impacts and other crippling effects of the coronavirus pandemic, many of our services are run in hybrid way: virtually/online and in-person run. Besides that, it is not always easy for people, especially those who have some physical handicaps and parents with small kids, to in-person move and meet service providers if this service provision cannot physically come to them even if the need is pressing.

This is why we are carrying on in organising these virtual days to enable those in need to virtually access services despite the continuing legacies of the coronavirus disruption and any physical inconvenience they may have.

• • • What are virtual open days?

Virtual Open Days (VODs) are a back-to-relief initiative organised by CENFACS during this September 2021 to enable people in need to access our advice service and other similar services in order to reduce or end poverty linked to their situations or conditions of life.

• • • How VODs Work

Our Virtual Open Day, which will be every Fridays of September 2021, will be held from 10 am to 2 pm.

You can access VODs by contacting CENFACS.

You do not need to register with us.

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

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

• • Support for Children of Conflict-stricken and Climate Change-affected Areas in Africa this September

Another back-to-relief initiative for this September 2021 is Support for the Children of Conflict-stricken and Climate Change-affected Areas of Africa in this September and beyond. This initiative relates to the humanitarian appeals we launched this year (such as Tigray, Ituri and African Sahel appeals). All these appeals were launched under the Light projects.

The appeals were related to countries with displaced persons and victims of conflict (e.g. Tigray appeal for Ethiopia); children victims of conflicts (e.g. the Ituri appeal for the Democratic Republic of Congo); under acutely food-insecure people (e.g. the appeal for African Sahel and Lake Chad Basin).

While one can still ask the progress made to save and rebuild lives in these stricken countries and areas, one can also question about the support that the children of the affected areas/countries are receiving and/or received, especially at this challenging time of building forward better together from the coronavirus pandemic.

This questioning is relevant as we are in September when a new school or academic year starts in many parts of the world. This questioning is even founded at this time when educational systems in many countries have been affected by the adverse impacts of the coronavirus and subsequent lockdowns. This negative effect is even greater for children from poor places in developing countries (like of Africa) where educational opportunities have been denied to many of them regardless of the coronavirus situation.

So, during this September we will be working on this back-to-relief initiative to explore ways of keeping education alive for these unfortunate children living in those stricken areas or places.

For further details about this initiative, please contact CENFACS.

• • Back to the Upkeep of the Nature this September 2021

September is also the month we resume our advocacy work on the upkeep of the nature. Normally, this advocacy starts from the protection and care of animals in Africa from illegal killings, extinction and poaching. In the last week of September 2021, we shall focus on saving endangered animal species through our “Big Beasts” advocacy, which has already kicked off.

In September 2019, we worked on the Protection of the Oceans (particularly the waters surrounding Africa and the rivers and lakes in Africa). In September 2020, we carried on with the advocacy on waters through the theme of “Blue Spaces”.

This September, we shall have a 3-week work on sea level rise as new notes for the “Blue Spaces” starting from the 6^th of September 2021. To conclude the month, we will have some e-discussions on circular economy.

Briefly, Back to the Upkeep of the Nature this September 2021 will include the “Big Beasts” advocacy, protection against “Sea Level Rise” as a new note for the “Blue Spaces” theme and an e-discussion on circular economy.

• • Back to Advisory Support this September 2021

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

• • • Advice service for Individuals

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

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

√ Finding a new school or a nursery for children

√ Registration to health services

√ Finding accommodation or relocating

√ Accessing training opportunity or employment

√ Looking for a new occupation to deal with the economic effects of the coronavirus and lockdown

√ Finding help to adjust their life after lockdowns

√ Looking for direction in an unlocking economy

Etc.

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

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

The types of help we provide include:

√ Translation (English to French and vice versa)

√ Interpreting

√ General advice

√ Guidance

√ Signposting

√ Referral

√ Advocacy

Etc.

As we are in a digital era, we adapted the provision of this help while still retaining its essence.

In the last two years, we even went far with our Advice service as we were trying to deal with the coronavirus pandemic effect. We included the coronavirus restrictions and rules into our Advice service.

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

• • • Advice service for Organisations

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

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

√ Capacity building and development

√ Project planning and development

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

√ Not-for-profit investment and development

√ Absorption capacity development

√ Fundraising and grant-seeking leads

√ Income generation and streams

√ Sustainable development

√ Monitoring and evaluation

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

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

________

Reference

(1) https: //covid19.who.int (accessed September 2021)

________

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 consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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 2021 and beyond.

With many thanks.

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