Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

02 February 2022

 

Post No. 233

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Sustainable Development Month with Debt Sustainability For Highly Indebted Poor Households

• African Children’s Climate and Sustainable Development Goals (Generation Global Goals Project): Generational Impact Analysis of COVID-19 and its Variants on Children

• Knowledge Year/Project and the Global Knowledge Index

… And much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Sustainable Development Month with Debt Sustainability For Highly Indebted Poor Households

 

February is the month of Sustainable Development, according to CENFACS development calendar or planner.  It is the month during which we revisit our works relating to sustainable development.  In particular, we try to look at again the United Nations (1) Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their related 169 targets.  We normally select one of the topics within the set of SGDs and targets; and try to work on it.

Since the coronavirus pandemic and its variants have led to a soaring debt for many people, especially for the poorest ones, we have selected Goal 17 of the United Nations SDGs and 2030 Agenda in order to tackle the month of sustainability.  Within this goal, we have chosen Target 4.

The Goal 17 is to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

The Target 4 of Goal 17 is to assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress.

Although this target speaks about countries, countries are made of people.  Thus, this target is about people.  In the context of our Month of Sustainability, we are going to look at how this target can be applied to poor people, particularly the people that make up CENFACS‘ noble cause of poverty reduction.  To do that we have organised a plan of work on debt sustainability as shown under the Main Development section of this post.  Under the same section, we have provided more details about the theme of Debt Sustainability as well.

 

 

• African Children’s Climate and Sustainable Development Goals (Generation Global Goals Project): Generational Impact Analysis of COVID-19 and its Variants on Children

 

Normally, the project that carries this month of Sustainable Development is African Children’s Climate and Sustainable Development Goals (ACSDGs).  It is also known as Generation Global Goals (3G) project.

3G project is the impact level in CENFACS’ process of advocating that global goals (like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) work for children and not way around.  It is indeed the testing of the gains that global goals claim to achieve and of their impact on the welfare and well-being of children.  This is regardless whether these children are in spaces and times of peace or lack of peace (like conditions of wars, areas stricken by viruses or epidemics and time of natural disasters).   Unsurprisingly, these gains should be materialised even in time of health crisis like the coronavirus pandemic.

For this year, our 3G project will continue to focus on the Generational Impact Analysis of COVID-19 and its Variants on Children.  The current focus will be a second-round work after the one we carried out last year.   But, what do mean by ‘generational impact analysis’?

 

• • Children generation of global goals

 

The children generation of global goals are those two generations of children relating to two sets of global goals: Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The generation of Millennium Development Goals will be those children or persons born and live between 2000 and 2015, whereas the generation of Sustainable Development Goals will be referred to those born and live from 2015 until now (ideally between 2015 and 2030).  The two generations are relating to the lifespan of these two sets of goals.

These generations relating to global goals have to be differentiated from the conventional definition of generations which classified them as follows: Gen Alpha (2013 – 2025), iGen/Generation Z (1995 -2012), Millennials/Generation Y (1980 – 1994), Xennials (1975 – 1985), Generation X/Baby Bust (1965 – 1979) and Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964).

 

• • Impact analysis

 

We are going to use the definition of impact analysis as given by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).  The OECD (2) differentiates ex ante impact analysis from ex post impact assessment.  According to the OECD, ex ante impact analysis is

“Part of the needs analysis and planning activity of the policy cycle. It involves doing a prospective analysis of what the impact of an intervention might be, so as to inform policymaking – the policymaker’s equivalent of business planning”.

From the above clarification of children generation of global goals and impact analysis, it is possible to speak about generational impact analysis.

 

• • Generational impact analysis

 

The generational impact analysis would be a set of tasks that we will perform to identify children generation of sustainable development goals; generation that has been impacted by a change/disruption brought the coronavirus pandemic and its variants.

We are going to establish a chain of causation or theory from COVID-19 shock waves and its variants to impact as well as to measure or describe the changes induced along that chain.  Briefly, we are going to refer to cause-and-effect approach and to the theory of change.

 

• • Early inference of the effects of COVID-19 and its variants on Poor Children

 

Our work on generational economics and the intergenerational transmission of poverty continues with the study/analysis of the generational impact of COVID-19 and its variants on children and future generations.  We started this impact analysis two years ago by looking at how COVID-19 may have delayed the realisation of several aspects of the United Nations Climate and Sustainable Development Goals for children.

We are continuing our work where we left it by searching on the way in which COVID-19 may have impacted different generations of children.  This generational impact analysis of COVID-19 shock waves and their variants will be on children we can call as the generation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) or the generation of children thought to be the beneficiaries of the implementation of SDGs.

Although we are using the word impact, it is clear that the real impact of COVID-19 will be known in the long term as there are still data to be collected and treated quantitatively and qualitatively.  This may take sometimes.  This is why United Nations Children’s Fund (3) argue the following:

“COVID’s legacy will take several years to definitively quantify, but it is already possible to infer some aspects that are especially salient for children” (p. 10)

It is possible to start inferring the effects of COVID-19 and its variants on poor children.  So far, a number of agencies and individuals have tried to do it.

In this second round of work, we are trying to seize the early outputs or effects of COVID-19 on the realisation of SDGs linked to children’s health, well-being and welfare.  However, one needs to be cautious in interpreting what we may have found since we are carrying on studying and learning more from COVID-19 scarring and lingering effects.

 

• • Generational impact of COVID-19 on children generation of SDGs

 

It is without doubt that COVID-19 has left and will leave some scars and fractures in the realisation of SDGs, particularly but not exclusively those aspects of these goals relating to children.  The study on the following six selected SDGs will help to speculate on how COVID-19 is impacting or can impact the realisation of SDGs for children (particularly but not exclusively African children):

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all (Goal 7), Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all (Goal 8), Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation (Goal 9), Reduce inequality within and among countries (Goal 10), Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (Goal 11), and Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (Goal 12).

In this study, we have not included the climate impact as this will be a matter of another advocacy which we will deal with at a different time during this year.

 

• • Possible effects of COVID-19 for children regarding the realisation of SDGs

 

We have considered the above selected goals (goal 7 to goal 12) out of 17 United Nations SDGs for dealing with the COVID-19 effects.

For those who would like to know more about our findings from this second round work and the stories of poverty reduction happening in Africa from CENFACS’ Africa-based Sister Organisations working with children, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Knowledge Year/Project and the Global Knowledge Index

 

Our Knowledge Year/Project kicked off last month with the first activity, which was about the Knowledge on the Consumption Needs of Those in Need.  This month, we are continuing the application/implementation of the ‘K’ Project through the Global Knowledge Index.  Before going any further, let us try to understand the Global Knowledge Index.

 

• • What is the Global Knowledge Index (GKI)?

 

The United Nations Development Programme and Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (4) argue that

“The Global Knowledge Index consists of seven sub-indices which are:

pre-university education; technical and vocational education and training; higher education; information and communications technology; research development and innovation; knowledge-based economy; and enabling environment”.

The authors of the Global Knowledge Index (GKI) argue that the GKI, which covers 232 indicators, serves as a vital tool to monitor the knowledge status of countries in key areas including education, innovation and information and communications technology.

 

• • The Global Knowledge Index and CENFACS’ Knowledge Year

 

The GKI can help us to understand the needs of those in need.  By using some of the sub-indices of the GKI (e.g. technical and vocational education and training about sustainable development), it is possible to know and assess the needs of those in need as well as explore solutions to the issue of poverty they are facing.

Briefly, the GKI can help to identify how, where and on who to invest for poverty reduction and sustainable development.  It can lead us to the kind of support that is appropriate to address poverty stemming from knowledge gaps.

For any queries or enquiries about the Knowledge Year/Project and its relationships with the month of Sustainable Development within CENFACS, please read our next posts in this month.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Triple Value Initiatives, All Year Round Projects: Extra Support

 

Last week, we announced the kick off for our Triple Value Initiatives, initially known as All Year-round Projects.  For those who are interested in engaging with these initiatives, we would like to highlight the following three points: start-up, fundamentals and goals.

 

• • Triple-Value-Initiatives Start up

 

It is better to start up early, although people can always join at any time.  The earlier you start the better.  This is because everybody is busy with their lives and has other things to do.  Also, the earlier you start, the earlier CENFACS can help if one encounters any problems.  Briefly, the message is start up early.

 

• • Triple-Value-Initiatives Fundamentals

 

You need to get the fundamentals about All Year-round Projects right from the beginning.  You need to clearly sort out the basic principles and bases of these projects so that you move to the right direction early without being forced to change course as you progress or repeat from scratch.  Briefly, the message is get the fundamentals right.

 

• • Triple-Value-Initiatives Goals

 

Whether you play or run or vote for poverty reduction and sustainable development, the all exercise is for you to reach your goal of delivering the objectives you set up from the onset.  It means you need to be clear in your mind set about what you want to achieve.  Again, if you have any problems in setting up clear goals (aim or purpose) and objectives, CENFACS can be of help.  Briefly, the message is be clear about what you want to achieve.

You can select a theme to run, create your play station game and watch people to vote.  This is what Triple Value Initiatives or All Year Round Projects are all about.  Good luck!

 

 

 

• Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022 with a Double Focus on Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

 

What are the net worth and net cash flows of my family/household accounts?

 

We can help you to find out the net worth and net cash flows of your accounts.

 

Last week, we concentrated on the key activity of reducing the excess of liabilities over assets as we were trying to work out the net worth from members’/users’ individual balance sheet.

This week, we are continuing with the balance sheet and net worth activities.  While we are doing these activities, we are taking enquiries about household cash flow.  In other words, we are working on cash inflows (that is; income deriving from labour income and capital income) and cash outflows (i.e.  expenses as a total of consumption plus debt service plus other expenses).

 

 

• • Working with the Community on Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

 

We are taking on enquiries about ways of improving community members’ fixed assets and working capital.  We can advise them on their liabilities.  This advice will help them to find ways of increasing their assets while reducing their liabilities.  We are also advising on household cash flow, how to increase household cash inflows and decrease household cash outflows in order to generate a positive net cash flow.

 

We can advise you to increase your cash inflows and to decrease your cash outflows.

 

For those members of our community who are struggling to create net worth or who are having balance sheet problems with their household accounts, they are free to work with us so that together we can explore steps forward or ways out to these problems.

 

We can help you to increase your assets while reducing your liabilities.

 

We can provide the same assistance regarding for cash flow statements or projections.

To ask or get support to sort out the balance sheet, net worth and net cash flows for your family/household accounts, please contact CENFACS.  Also, to support Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Coronavirus-affected Children of Sub-Saharan Africa Desperately Need Your Help Right NOW

 

This Winter 2022 Halving Poverty campaign is still running.

You can donate £9 to halve poverty  in Sub-Saharan Africa.

You can halve health poverty for and with children at risk of loosing their life because of COVID-19.

To donate, gift aid and or support differently this life-saving campaign, please contact CENFACS:

*over phone

*via email

*through text

*by filling the contact form on this site 

 

For further details about this project, please go to: cenfacs.org.uk.supporting-us/

 

Dédicace de l’année 2022:

 

L’année 2022 a été déclarée comme l’Année de Connaissances sur les personnes nécessiteuses ou celles qui sont dans le besoin.   

Pour réaliser cette déclaration ou dédicace au sein du CENFACS, nous avons mis en place un projet d’accompagnement, qui est le Projet ‘Connaissances’. 

Le Projet ‘Connaissances’ est un ensemble de tâches interdépendantes qui ont pour objectif commun de mettre en œuvre l’engagement du CENFACS de l’année 2022 en tant qu’Année de la Connaissance des personnes dans le besoin.

A travers ce projet, nous essaierons autant que possible d’apprendre, de connaître et de comprendre les besoins et les attentes en matière de solutions pour ceux qui ont besoin d’aide et de soutien pour sortir de la pauvreté. 

Pour connaître les besoins et les attentes des gens, nous allons travailler avec eux sur un certain nombre d’activités.

Pour plus d’informations sur l’Année de Connaissances et son projet d’accompagnement, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Debt Sustainability For Highly Indebted Poor Households

 

To approach the theme of Debt Sustainability of our Sustainable Development Month, we are going to deal with the following: the key concepts shaping our theme and its notes, our plan of work on debt sustainability and the first notes to kick off our theme for the month.

 

• • Key Concepts

 

Let us briefly clarify the following four key concepts: Highly indebted poor households, household debt, debt sustainability and debt ratio.

 

• • • Highly indebted poor households

 

We are going to refer to over-indebted households instead of highly indebted households.  We put and kept the words ‘highly indebted households’ in framing the title of our theme because they are part of the working of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17 and Target 4.   

We know that there is a difference between highly and over.  We have chosen over-indebted households as its definition matches with the kind of work we would like to do with our users and the message we are going to share with our audiences.  Then, what is an over-indebted household?

The European Commission (5) argues

“An over-indebted household is one whose existing and foreseeable resources are insufficient to meet its financial commitments without lowering its living standards, which has both social and policy implications if this means reducing them below what is regarded as the minimum acceptable in the country concerned”.

Although this definition could be disputable, it can be a working one in the context of dealing with poverty linked to household indebtedness.  So, we are going to refer to this definition when dealing with highly indebted poor households.

 

• • • Household debt

 

Household debt is an amount of money owed by an household; owing which could be related to home mortgages, home equity loans, car loans, student loan, and credit card/consumer credit.  In case of poor households, it can be related to the amount owed as a result of the inability to meet basic life-sustaining needs.  This means that the only way for those poor households to meet their basic needs is to be indebted.

The problem here is not about debt itself.  The problem is when the combined debt of all people making a household becomes unsustainable, either in terms of liabilities compared to its assets (when looking at the household’s balance sheet), or in terms of its expenses (that is, consumption plus debt service plus other expenses) compared to its income (i.e. labour income and capital income)  when considering the household’s cash flow, or both.

When this happens indebted households may need support for debt sustainability.

 

• • • Debt sustainability

 

Debt sustainability makes up the Target 4 of the Goal 17 of the United Nations (op. cit.) Sustainable Development Goals and 2030 Agenda.   According the International Monetary Fund (6), a country’s public debt is considered sustainable if

“The government is able to meet all its current and future payment obligations without exceptional financial assistance or going into default”.

Although this macro-economic definition of debt sustainability relates to countries, it can however be applicable at the meso- and micro-economic levels to include individuals, families and households.

If this definition is applied at the level of poor people, it could suggest that debt sustainability occurs when an indebted household can honour its payment obligations towards debt without defaults and bankruptcies.

Debt sustainability will equally happen when this indebted household has liquidity to pay debt and or is solvent (that is; likely to be able to pay it at any points of time).

To get a good understand of debt sustainability, households may need to have something to guide them in the form of quantitative measures or metrics.  One of the metrics or indicators could be debt ratio.

 

• • • Debt ratio

 

It is simply a measure expressed as a proportion, which shows the relative proportion of debt to total assets.

For example, if an ordinary household has a debt ratio of 0.50, it means that there is a balance between the ordinary household’s liabilities and its assets.  However, if this ratio is more than 0.50, this could mean that this household has more financial risk.

A highly indebted poor household would have this ratio significantly above 0.50; meaning it is unable to meet its current expenses.  This type of households whose most of spending goes to borrowing repayments will be living below the poverty line.

The requirements of debt sustainability and having a good debt ratio can be extended to the area of poverty reduction.

 

• • Debt Sustainability and Poverty Reduction

 

Any debt to be sustainable, it should not jeopardise the stability and integrity of any household.  It also needs not to put at risk or threaten any efforts that household is making to navigate its way out of poverty, especially intergenerational poverty. In other words, a sustainable debt should not lead to the transmission or transfer of poverty to future generations.

 

• • Work with the Community on Debt Sustainability

 

During this month of February 2022, CENFACS is going to work with the community members or households who need some advice or support regarding any debt sustainability issue.  This advice or support has to be placed within the two contexts of CENFACS’ Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022 and Month of Sustainable Development.

The following working plan provides a glimpse of the way in which we are going to both carry out the Month of Sustainable Development and support the community’s households on the matter of debt sustainability.

 

 

 

• • February 2022 Working Plan on Debt Sustainability

 

From every Wednesday of this month, we will be dealing with each of the four elements making Target 4 of the United Nations SDG 17 as follows:

 

Wednesdays/Dates                     Notes/Sub-themes

 

1st Wednesday / 02/02/2022:        Debt financing

2nd Wednesday / 09/02/2022:      Debt relief

3rd Wednesday / 16/02/2022:       Debt restructuring

4th Wednesday / 23/02/2022:       Debt distress

 

Our work will be about the above issues in the relation to COVID-19 and poverty with respect to poor people.

 

 

• • First Wednesday (02/02/2022), In Focus: Debt Financing

 

Target 4 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17 is to Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies.  Fostering debt financing is among these policies aim at.  But, what is debt financing?

 

• • • Understanding debt financing

 

From the literature review on debt financing, we have selected the definition of the online dictionary ‘financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com’ (7) which states that debt financing is

“The act of a business raising operating capital or other capital by borrowing.  Most often, this refers to the issuance of a bond, debenture, or other debt security.  In exchange for lending the money, bond holders and others become creditors of the business and are entitled to the payment of interest and to have their loan redeemed at the end of a given period”.

Although this definition applies to businesses, individuals and households can also try to raise their household capital by borrowing.  However, those of them who are poor may find it difficult.

 

• • • Debt financing options for poor households

 

Generally, debt financing will be challenging for indebted poor households since many of them do not possess collateral security or just are not in a position to issue promissory note or bond.

Those who will try can resort to the following means:

∝ Community loans

∝ Pawnbrokers (if households are able to pawn some of their belongings)

∝ Families and friends

∝ Charities and not-for-profit organisations

∝ Crowdfunding

Etc. 

 

• • • How CENFACS can work with those in need to finance their debts

 

Working with those in need to finance their debts is both part of this Month of Sustainable Development and our Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022.  In our work with the community, we shall proceed the following:

 

√ Conduct debt sustainability analysis with indebted users  (this will imply the calculation of Debt-to-Assets Ratio)

√ Analyse vulnerability to debt

√ Carry out anatomy and composition of household debt

√ Assess household capital requirement and cash flow

√ Establish and check of indebted users’ balance sheets and cash flows

√ Advise on debt financing affordable options

√ Lead them to debt financing providers and resources (e.g. debt calculator and monitor)

Etc.

 

The ultimate aim of this work with those in need is not help them finance their debts.  Instead, it is about helping them to avoid intergenerational poverty via the debt financing mechanics or approach.  

For those members of our community who need advisory support regarding their debt financing problems, they are free to contact CENFACS.

For any queries or enquiries about Sustainable Development Month and Household Debt Sustainability, please contact CENFACS.

 

• References

 

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

(2) ttps://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/what-is-impact-assessment-OECDImpact.pdf (accessed in January 2022)

(3) https://unicef.org/globalinsight/media/1516/file/UNICEF-Global-Insight-5year-Outlook-2021pdf

(4) United Nations Development Programme and Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (2021), Global Knowledge Index @UNDP and MBRF 2021

(5) European Commission (2010), Over-indebtedness: New evidence from the EU-SILC Special module, Research note 4/2010

(6) https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2020/09/what-is-debt-sustainability-basics.htm# (accessed in January 2022)

(7) https://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Debt+Financing (accessed in January 2022)

________

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

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

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future or as a New Year resolution.

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 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

26 January 2022

 

Post No. 232

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Coronavirus-affected Children of Sub-Saharan Africa Desperately Need Your Help Right NOW

• Knowledge (K) Project 

• Donor and Stewardship Development Programme

 

… And much more!

 

Key Messages

 

• Coronavirus-affected Children of Sub-Saharan Africa Desperately Need Your Help Right NOW

 

You can halve poverty  in Sub-Saharan Africa; you can halve health poverty for and with children at risk of loosing their life because of COVID-19.

 

Evidence and studies shared by many infectious diseases epidemiologists show that children in Sub-Saharan Africa who are hospitalised with COVID-19 are dying at a rate far greater than children in other parts of the world (like United States and Europe).  This is worrying situation since Africa (including its Sub-Saharan part) has a large number of COVID-19 unvaccinated people.  Amongst these unvaccinated people are children.

Yet, it is possible to reduce or halve the number of hospitalised children dying with COVID-19.  It is conceivable to halve poverty for and with children at risk of loosing their life because of the coronavirus pandemic and its variants.

With and on behalf of these children of Sub-Saharan Africa, we would like to ask for the halving of health poverty and hardships they are facing.  CENFACS would like to work with those who are willing to halve poverty by supporting children who are in health emergency in Sub-Saharan Africa in order to meet their life-saving needs and dreams.

Under the Main Development section of this post, you will find some details about halving poverty for and with these children of Sub-Saharan Africa whose life is highly at risk.

 

 

• Knowledge (K) Project

 

Knowledge or ‘K ‘ Project is one of the new initiatives for 2022.  The following two elements help to understand this project: its meaning and its activities.

 

• • What is ‘K’ Project?

 

It is a set of interdependent tasks that have  a common goal of implementing CENFACS‘ dedication of year 2022 as a Year of Knowledge of People in Need.  Through this project, we will try as much as we can to learn, know and understand the needs and expectations to solutions of those who need help and support to navigate their way out of poverty.  To know people’s needs and expectations, we are going to work with them on a certain number of activities.

 

• • Activities and tasks relating to the ‘K’ Project

 

There will be twelve activities, each activity or task per month.  Each ‘K’  activity will be announced at the beginning of each month.  For this month, the ‘K’ activity is about knowing the consumption needs and habits of those in need so that they can be better supported on their road to reducing or ending consumption poverty and hardship.

 

• • Activity/Task 1 of the ‘K’ Project: Knowledge about the Consumption Needs of Those in Need

 

Being aware of and coming close to those in need can help to figure out their needs and wants.  It can also help to know their circumstances and conditions of life.  It can further promote some familiarity with the kinds of barriers and difficulties that block them in order to move out of consumption poverty.

After being familiar with their problems and barriers, one could find that it could be more appropriate (than without their knowledge) to work with them.  This knowledge on them and consumption needs will help needs-based solutions so that they can improve their circumstances and consume what it takes to reduce poverty and hardships.

For any queries and enquiries about this project and this year’s dedication, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Donor and Stewardship Development Programme

 

This programme consists of two areas: donor solicitations and donor products to match these solicitations.

 

• • Donor Solicitations

 

We are continuing our solicitation to some of you as donors and /or stewards of poverty relief as follows.

 

• • • Solicitation relating to CENFACS’ Donor Development Plan

 

Under this plan, donors can build quality donor-relations with CENFACS.

Donor developers can help us in a number of ways such as:

 

σ Get the right people engaged to and informed about our work

σ Make our donations to grow over time

σ Help with technology like donor management software

σ Increase the levels of involvement from users

σ Help us to manage donors expectations

σ Assist us in donor-development goals and tasks such as event support

 

• • • Solicitation relating to CENFACS’ Donor Stewardship Programme

 

Under this programme, you can help us in the following:

 

σ Steward donors

σ Build and maintain relationships and communications with those who gave to our users or us a gift

σ Enable access to and use of donor stewardship tools.

 

• • Donor Development Products on Offer

 

We are offering the following products to those who would like to engage, develop their interest, to build bond and loyalty to CENFACS and CENFACS’ work. 

We are offering to the donor development market a donor status to enable those who want to commit themselves on regular basis to giving or boosting their status as donor to have the opportunity to do so. 

We are inviting those who want to commit themselves as funder or donor to do so.    They can do it by supporting CENFACS with a silver donation, a great relief and a product booster.

 

• • • Free for Supporters: Silver Status

 

Silver status is the legacy of CENFACS’ “Quadranscentennial” Year (2019).  Support our projects as you can or as you choose if you visit them or if you happen to be within the area of them.  This will boost your support and help you to win a silver status as CENFACS’ Supporter in a CENFACS’ Knowledge Year. 

Alternatively, you can fund CENFACS’ Knowledge Year to win the same status and continue CENFACS’ legacy.

 

• • • Want to provide Great Relief as a Supporter

 

You can provide great relief by becoming a regular giver or supporter, adding value to you support and boosting your support. 

For example, at this challenging time of continuing coronavirus hardships, we need those who can provide that sort of relief to keep our action going and out of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Many individuals and organisations stepped in to support their good deserving causes during this storming time of the health crisis; you can do the same by supporting CENFACS.

Please contact CENFACS for details about becoming Great Reliever.

 

• • • Need to boost your support or stewardship as a Product Booster

 

You can choose a particular sustainable initiative or programme or even CENFACS as your boost product.

You can support 3 projects or 2 projects and CENFACS

You can support 3 programmes or 2 programmes and CENFACS.

This will elevate your position as a Project or Programme Funder or a Product Booster

For further details about boosting your support or stewardship, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Gifts of Peace, Edition 2021-2022: Ends 31 January 2022

 

Gifts of Peace for Edition 2021-2022 are coming to an end on 31 January 2022.  If you have not yet supported, there is still five days to go.  You can still do something for poverty relief and for healing the scars of coronavirus pandemic and its associated effects.

Although the deadline for the Season of Donation for these gifts is 31 January 2022, we will still accept any donations made after this deadline as there are always pressing and urgent needs that desperately request support.

Please do not wait for the expiration of the deadline as the needs are pressing and urgent.

We know that many supporters of good causes have been affected by the adverse impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.  However, for those who can please do not hesitate to support these noble causes of peace since the potential beneficiaries of them are doubly impacted by:

(a) The coronavirus pandemic which brought economic and social lockdowns

(b) The already extremely poor conditions in which they are living

Every support counts to help reduce and end extreme poverty.

For further details about these Gifts of Peace and or to support, go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

We look forward to your support.  Thank you!

 

 

 

• 2022 All Year-round Projects (Triple Value Initiatives): Play, Run and Vote for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development

 

CENFACS’ Triple Value Initiatives, the All Year-round Projects, are now back for this year.  You can play, run and vote to reduce poverty this year again.

The 2022 Edition of All Year-round Projects has kicked off.

You can Run or Organise a Run Activity to Reduce Poverty in 2022. 

You can Play the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief.

You can Vote your 2022 African Poverty Relief Manager.

Before proceeding with one of the All Year Round Projects, it is good to speak to CENFACS.  We can discuss together your plan or the way you want to participate or engage with these initiatives.

 

• • How CENFACS can help you to engage with Triple Value Initiatives

 

The following examples show what we can discuss together before you start.

 

Example 1: Run Themes

For example, let’s take Run to Reduce Poverty.

There are Run Themes.  You can Run alone or Run as group or even Run for fun.  You can do Seasonal Run or Run to raise money or even Run to raise awareness.  However, due to the coronavirus pandemic and its variants, there are health and safety restrictions that everyone who will be involved in this Run activity must follow.

There are ways of making your Run event simpler.  To do that, you can contact CENFACS before you plan your event.  CENFACS can help you to select your theme.  You need to confirm the date and time with CENFACS.

There are other things to consider as well such as: location, engagement in activities, prizes (rewards for participants), COVID-19 health and safety issues, child protection policy if children are involved, insurance cover, budget, etc.

 

Example 2: Play Station Game

Let’s take another example: Playing CENFACS’ League for Poverty Relief

You can create your own play station game with CENFACS’ League and run your own tournament and matches.  You can even involve colleagues, friends and families sharing the same passion about how the selected African countries are working to reduce poverty.  You can group or rate these countries according to poverty reduction performance (showing which one comes on top, middle and bottom).  You can as well use game theories. Like for Run activity, you must include the coronavirus pandemic health and safety measures and guidance.

 

Example 3: People to Watch

Let’s take the last example: Voting your Poverty Relief Manager

You can create your own list of 22 Top People to Watch throughout the year.  One or two of them will be potentially the best managers of 2022.  You can collect data and facts about them, follow their annual performance and vote the best between the two at the end.

While you are running or organising a run activity, playing the CENFACS’ League and voting your Manager of the Year 2022; we would like you to share with us and others your progress, news, events, experiences, stories and reports regarding these projects.  The end product of your share will be a kind of Action-Results Report 2022.

 

• • What we would like to hear at the end of this process

 

We would like to hear from you the following three bests or stars of the year:

 

√ The Best African Countries of 2022 which will best reduce poverty

√ The Best African Global Games Runners of 2022

√ The Best African Development Managers of 2022

 

The deadline to tell us your bests or stars is 23 December 2022.

As we progress throughout the year, further information will be released for CENFACS’ Triple Value Initiatives.

Please remember, the early you start the better for you.

For more information about these projects, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022 with a Focus on Balance Sheet

What is the net worth of my family/household accounts?

 

This year and Season of Light, we are keeping on working with the community members on income deficit issues so that they can better manage their income, particularly they can reduce the deficit (or excess of expenses over income or excess of liabilities over assets or even excess of outgoings over incomings) linked to their income.  

In the last two weeks of work with them, the focus has been on net income or net deficit.  This week, we are working on family balance sheet, particularly the net work account.   What do we mean by family/household balance sheet and net worth?

 

• • Family/household Balance Sheet and Net Worth

 

Balance sheet and net worth as financial statements in business accounting can be adapted and used in family or household situation.

In the context of family/household, a balance sheet for a family or household would show both assets and liabilities for that family or household.  The net worth for the same family or household would instead be the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by that family or household minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities.

What is important here is not the definition of these two concepts.  What matters is how CENFACS is going to work with the community members so that they can have their balance sheets right and find out their net worth, especially for those living in poverty.

 

• • Working with the Community on Balance Sheet and Net Worth

 

We will be working with our members on ways of improving their fixed assets and working capital.  We will as well work on their liabilities.  It is about helping them to increase their assets while reducing their liabilities.  In doing so, one can hope that they will be able to better understand both concepts and improve their financial situation.

For those members of our community who are struggling to create net worth or having balance sheet problems with their household accounts, they are free to work with us so that together we can explore steps forward or ways out to these problems. We can help them to increase their assets while reducing their liabilities.

To ask or get support to sort out the balance sheet and net worth of your family/household accounts, please contact CENFACS.  Also, to support Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Un extrait de la parution numéro 74 de FACS (le bulletin trimestriel de CENFACS) : 

 

Des parts du marché de réduction de la pauvreté urbaine en Afrique pour des organisations africaines: Sont-elles significatives ou pas? (Page 5)

Quand on regarde l’éventail des problèmes que les pauvres urbains font face dans des cités africaines, on peut dire qu’il y a beaucoup de travaux à faire pour endiguer ou réduire la pauvreté ou précarité urbaine.  Par contre, quand on se référe à l’ensemble de ressources de ces organisations, il y a lieu d’affirmer qu’elles n’ont pas de capacités d’intervention ou de réponse requises aux enjeux ou problématiques urbains.

Compte tenu de cette limitation des moyens, leurs parts du marché ne peuvent qu’être peu ou pas significatives.  Bien entendu, cela dépend des cités et des pays africains et de la hantise (ou affection) qu’on a vis-à-vis des problèmes de pauvreté par ceux ou celles qui sont censé(e)s y pallier.

Ainsi, rehausser les parts du marché en faveur des organisations qui exercent le rôle qui est le leur dans le travail de réduction et d’élimination de la pauvreté ne serait qu’une bonne chose pour ceux ou celles qui veulent voir la disparition de la pauvreté urbaine.

Source: CENFACS, Le dilemme auquel sont confrontées les organisations soeurs basées en Afrique en aidant à réduire la pauvreté urbaine dans le contexte de l’augmentation de la population urbaine en Afrique, FACS, Parution No. 74, Hiver 2022

 

Main Development

 

• Coronavirus-affected Children of Sub-Saharan Africa Desperately Need Your Help Right NOW

 

You can halve poverty  in Sub-Saharan Africa; you can halve health poverty for and with children at risk of loosing their life because of COVID-19

 

The following summarises data, needs, request, use and outcomes that briefly make the case for halving poverty for and with children at risk of loosing their life due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

• • The data

 

Further to their study on hospitalised children with COVID-19 and their report entitled as ‘Assessment of Clinical Outcomes Among Children and Adolescents Hospitalised With COVID-19 in 6 Sub-Saharan African Countries [i.e. Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda]’, Jean B. Nachega et al (1) argue the following:

“African children reported a high overall mortality rate of 8.3 per cent compared with 1 per cent or less reported from Europe and North America.

Infants younger than one year had nearly five times the risk of death than adolescents aged 15 to 19 years.

African children less than a year old and with pre-existing non-communicable diseases were more likely to have poorer outcomes, including intensive care requirements and death”.

The above data has led to this appeal.

Indeed, children in Sub-Saharan Africa have never faced a health crisis of this magnitude and scale.  There are no specialised doctors in some areas and, if there are, there is only a very limited number of them to deal with the situation.  In places stricken by the legacies of wars and civil insecurity or climate change, the medical situation is even worse.

 

• • The Needs

 

The  needs for emergency health and clinical support are 24 times than average in Sub-Saharan Africa where children are hospitalised with COVID-19.   These children need your life-saving help to meet their life-surviving need.

 

• • The Ask

 

For £9, you can provide an emergency and life-saving support to a COVID-19 infected child in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Your gift of £9 today will provide an emergency health-saving and enhancing relief to a COVID-19 infected child in need.

Your £9 will go to the cost of 1 treatment or 1 visit per COVID-19 infected and hospitalised child.

 

• • The Use

 

Your gift of £9 will be used as follows:

 

To…

√ Facilitate the access of COVID-19 affected children to paediatric intensive care

√ Reduce high child morbidity and mortality associated with hospitalised children with COVID-19

√ Increase facilities or equipment for paediatric intensive care

√ Support places without doctors and/or those without specialised doctors

√ Help access to COVID-19 vaccination and therapeutic interventions for at-risk eligible children and adolescent patients in Africa

√ Build capacity and support for paediatric intensive care

√ Reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy amongst those related or surrounding children patients

√ Improve vaccine uptake via accessibility and trustworthiness to reduce threats within children’s social environment

Etc.

Please give today so that we can help children who are hospitalised with COVID-19 and have their life at great risk. 

Your gift of £9 will help to rescue them from tragic situation and help them get back home after feeling well.

 

• • The Outcomes

 

With the support to be received, the following changes will be expected:

 

√ Reduction in the number of child tragedies

√ Cut in numbers of child morbidity and mortality

√ Better equipped paediatric intensive care units

√ Improvement in doctors recruitment and retention

√ Increase in the number of COVID-19 vaccinated people, including vaccinated children

√ Rise in the number of rescued children from early death

√ More happy and healthy children of Sub-Saharan Africa

Etc.

 

• • How to donate

 

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

You can donate

*over phone

*via email

*through text

*by filling the contact form on this site 

 

On receipt of your intent to donate or donation, CENFACS will contact you.  However, should you wish your support to remain anonymous; we will respect your wish.

Thank you in anticipation for your willingness to give and help save lives of Hospitalised Sub-Saharan African Children with COVID-19.

 

_________

Reference

(1) Nachega, J.B., Sam-Agudu, N.A., Machekano, R.N., et al (2022), Assessment of Clinical Outcomes Among Children and Adolescents Hospitalised With COVID-19 in 6 Six Sub-Saharan African Countries at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2788373 (accessed in January 2022)

_________

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

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

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future or as a New Year resolution.

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 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

19 January 2022

 

Post No. 231

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• FACS, Issue No. 74, Winter 2022: The Dilemma Faced by Africa-based Sister Organisations in Helping to Reduce Urban Poverty in the Context of Rising Urban Population in Africa

• 2022 as a Year of Knowledge about People in Need

• Opportunities and Openings for Poverty Reduction by Africa-based Sister Organisations in 2022

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• FACS, Issue No. 74, Winter 2022: The Dilemma Faced by Africa-based Sister Organisations in Helping to Reduce Urban Poverty in the Context of Rising Urban Population in Africa

 

The 74^th Issue of FACS, CENFACS’ bilingual newsletter, addresses the dilemma faced by our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) in trying to help to reduce urban poverty while urban population is rising in Africa.  In this address, the attention is being put on two drivers: urban poverty reduction and urban cities’ population in Africa. 

The 74^th Issue is an urban journey or exploration about the problems that urban poor are experiencing in Africa’s growing and large cities (like Kinshasa, Lagos, Cairo, Alexandria, etc.); problems that can be found in any other big urban areas of developing countries.  These problems include the following:  overcrowding, air pollution, waste mismanagement, informal settlements, unsafe and unsustainable transport, polluting energy, etc.

The focus in this 74^th Issue is not really about whether or not these problems exist in urban cities of Africa.  What is at stake in this Issue is urban population continues to grow while Africa-based Sister Organisations are trying to work with those experiencing these problems in order to reduce or solve them. 

For example, the Business Insider Africa (1) argued in 2021 that

“Dakar will see a 50% rise in its population between 2005 and 2025 as its inhabitants increase from 2.8 million to a little over 4.2 million…

Just in 2005, Kinshasa had a population of about 10 million people.  In 2025, however, it is estimated that this powerful city will be hosting 18 million people”.

This is the dilemma for ASOs.  It is a dilemma relating to the growth of urban population that it is not matched with the means of Africa-based Sister Organisations in order to deal with the size and complexity of urban poverty or simply with the demand from urban poor amid the growing urban population (which includes poor people).

Therefore, the key message or statement here is how Africa-based Sister Organisations can find an appropriate ground to better work with urban poor and help reduce urban poverty despite urban population is on the rise in Africa’s urban cities.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided the key summaries making up the 74^th Issue.

 

 

• 2022 as a Year of Knowledge about People in Need

 

COVID-19 has created physical and social distances or barriers between people, between families, between groups, between users and organisations, between those in need and those who could help them.  Despite this new socio-economic distancing world, it is possible to re-create and re-imagine a new way of relieving poverty and hardships. 

Part of this re-creation and re-imagination is about how we can better learn and know the needs of those who are suffering from all sorts of poverty so that their problems could be better unveiled and remedies to fix them could be appropriately matched.  Knowing people and their problems is also about how we can come close to them in finding their way of life or lifestyle.

To do that, it may require more and better learning and knowledge about them, their problems and lifestyles.  Those in need require to be known.  To know them one may need to try to find from them their problems, what keeps them under poverty. 

There are already quantitative and qualitative research techniques and/or methods (like focus groups in qualitative research) that can enable to handle this sort of knowledge and qualitative data about them.  But, we can still go further steps and perhaps try to re-invent the wheels by using rapprochement methods whereby we can renew or re-establish our closeness to them in order to get to know their real problems including the real solutions to their problems or what they want to be done for them.

So, 2022 will be dedicated as a Year of Knowledge of the People in Need within CENFACS,  Through this dedication, we can  expect that their needs will be better known and their expectations of the types of solutions or remedies will be revealed. 

2022 is also the year of rapprochement to those in need.  In dedicating this year in this way, one could hope to develop customised or tailor-made solutions to their problems instead of one size-fits-all solutions. 

It is a year of rapprochement between CENFACS and those in need in the process of working together to enhance their quality of life while keeping an eye on the spread of COVID-19 and its new variants or any events/diseases that may disrupt or disturb our/this rapprochement or togetherness.        

By the end of January 2022, there will be a project to implement this dedication.  The project will be a one-year initiative starting from week beginning 24 January to December 2022.  However, for those who would like to know more about this dedication, they are free to enquire from CENFACS.  Likewise, for those who would like to support it, they are welcome to do so.

 

 

• Opportunities and Openings for Poverty Reduction by Africa-based Sister Organisations in 2022

 

Every year brings along with it challenges and opportunities.  2022 does not make any exception as it brings both challenges and opportunities.  Africa-based Sister Organisations can do their own SWOT analysis to identify and determine the internal strengths and weaknesses of their organisations as well as the external opportunities and threats they may come across throughout 2022. 

By focusing on opportunities and openings rather than on the other three elements of SWOT analysis, they can appraise their external environment and their presence in African markets of poverty reduction as well as formulate a strategy and develop their services to work with those in need in a new or improved direction.

For example, they can use the following possibilities to help further reduce poverty in Africa in 2022 by:

 

√ Helping to sensitize people to get COVID-19 vaccine since Africa has largely COVID-19 unvaccinated people

√ Assisting disease sufferers to gain access to medical treatments as far as the management of other diseases (like HIV-Aids, malaria, TB and diabetes) are concerned

√ Advocating for the end of violence in order to contain violence in conflict hotspots like in African Sahel and others

√ Helping to cut down risks of worsening humanitarian crises like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Mali, Niger, Cameroon, and so on  

√ Supporting urban poor in terms of their demand for land use, housing, consumer goods and services regarding urbanisation

√ Accompanying poor people in their recovery efforts from the lingering effects of COVID-19 and associated adverse impacts

√ Working with poor people to develop their digital skills via education and training in order to keep pace with digital revolution

√ Supporting indebted and income deficit poor people to restructure their income deficits and debts as far as the management of income deficits and debts are concerned

√ Assisting in African Diaspora’s money remittances or transfer schemes to those in need in Africa in the areas of international payments, travel and tourism   

√ Helping poor people to formulate their human rights request/demand to make 2022 elections and transitions in Africa as processes that leave none, no need and no place behind

Etc.

 

The above possibilities show that Africa-based Sister Organisations can cautiously grab the opportunities and openings of the 2022 year in order to further up their poverty reduction work and regain the lost hard-won poverty reduction results because of COVID-19 in Africa.

For those Africa-based Sister Organisations wanting to work on these opportunities and openings and finding some difficulties to do it; they can discuss the matter with CENFACS so that together we can plan a 2022 market development strategy.   

Need a market development strategy or plan in order to better engage with the 2022 opportunities and openings; please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

  

 

Extra Messages

 

• COVID-19 Campaign 2022

 

This January 2022, our COVID-19 Campaign continues.  We have not given up by repeating in saying to the community the following:

It is life-saving to keep following and implementing the coronavirus pandemic restrictions, advice and rules. 

All our community members should be aware of the nature of the current threat level posed by the COVID-19 and its variants (like the Delta and Omicron which are both in circulation). 

People need not only to follow but also to practise what the health authorities and professionals (e.g. World Health Organisation, the UK Government and the National Health Service) are advising.

The rapidly changing pandemic landscape means aggressive and sustained response.  Without interfering in our community members’ health life, we are kindly asking to all of them to help in the following:

 

√ Follow the voices, movies, signs and symbols of protection against the coronavirus pandemic and its variants 

√ Be ready to implement stringent COVID-19 safety protocols prior to attending any in-person events as long as the threat level of COVID-19 remains

√ Monitor your health with COVID-19 tests even if you are vaccinated

√ Check your COVID-19 vaccination status and test results before committing to any in-person events

√ If in doubt, please do not hesitate to opt out of any gatherings for in-person parties as a safeguard or precautionary measure

√ Avoid any in-person event that could become a source/centre of COVID-19 spread or contagion

√ Appropriately act upon information or data received on COVID-19 threats and risks

  

The above COVID-19 Campaign 2022 message should be added to the currently available COVID-19 restrictions, advice and rules such as social distancing, confinement, sanitation, face coverings, temperature screenings, disinfection or cleaning of personal items and of your living environment, etc.

For any enquiries and or queries about this life-saving message, please e-contact CENFACS as COVID-19 Campaigner.

 

 

 

• Gifts of Peace still running

 

Our Season of Giving through the Gifts of Peace has not yet finished.  We still have almost 1 week and 5 days to go until the end of this month. We are making a plea to those who have not yet managed to support to keep these gifts in their mind.

Although the deadline for the Season of Donation for these gifts is 31 January 2022, we will still accept any donations made after this deadline as there are always pressing needs that desperately request support. 

Please do not wait for the expiration of the deadline as the needs are pressing.

For further details about these Gifts of Peace and or to support, go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/  

We look forward to your support.  Thank you!

 

 

 

• The Season of Giving continues with SHOPPING and DONATIONS at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

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

You can donate or recycle your unwanted and unneeded goods gifts you received over the festive days to CENFACS’ Charity e-Store, the shop built to help relieve poverty and hardships. 

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

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

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

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

√ DONATE unwanted Festive GOODS GIFTS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Charity e-Store this January and Winter

√ SHOP at CENFACS Charity e-Store to support noble and deserving causes of poverty relief this January and Winter.

Your SHOPPING and or GOODS DONATIONS will help to the Upkeep of the Nature and to reduce poverty and hardships.

This is what the Season of Giving is all about.

 

Vient de paraître:

Le 74e numéro de FACS vient de paraître. 

Ceux ou celles qui sont intéressé(e)s à lire en détail la version entière en français de ce nouveau numéro  peuvent contacter le CENFACS à notre adresse habituelle sur ce site internet. 

 

 

Main Development

 

• FACS, Issue No. 74, Winter 2022: The Dilemma Faced by Africa-based Sister Organisations in Helping to Reduce Urban Poverty in the Context of Rising Urban Population in Africa

 

The contents and key summaries of the 74^th Issue of FACS are given below.

 

• • Contents and Pages

 

∝ Determinants of urban poverty (Page 2)

∝ Opportunities and openings for poverty reduction for Africa-based Sister Organisations in African urban areas in 2022 (Page 3)

∝ ASOs’ work and the access of poor local city-residents to city-wide services (Page 3)

∝ Africa-based Sister Organisations, urban migration and poverty reduction (Page 4)

∝ Africa-based Sister Organisations, COVID-19 and reversal of urban poverty reduction (Page 4)

 

∝ Faire bouger les lignes pour réduire la pauvreté urbaine  (Page 5)

∝ Des parts du marché de réduction de la pauvreté urbaine en Afrique pour des organisations africaines: Sont-elles significatives ou pas? (Page 5)

√ Redistribuer les moyens et les cartes pour endiguer la pauvreté urbaine en Afrique (Page 6)

∝ Les organisations soeurs basées en Afrique face à la double donne dans des cités urbaines africaines:  Croissance de la population et celle de la pauvreté (Page 6)

 

∝ Africa-based Sister Organisations and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Making Cities Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable (Page 7) 

∝ Africa-based Sister Organisations’ action on informal settlements in Africa’s cities (Page 7)

∝ Africa-based Sister Organisations’ helping harms in the process of building climate resilient and sustainable living for the urban poor (Page 8)

∝ Community research and development about urban poverty and population (Page 8)

∝ Survey about ASOs’ capacity to help to reduce urban poverty in Africa’s cities (Page 9)

∝ E-focus group discussions on urban poverty (Page 9)

∝ Urban Poverty Reduction project (Page 10)

 

• • Key Summaries

 

Please find below the key summaries of the 74^th Issue of FACS from page 2 to page 10. 

 

• • • Determinants of urban poverty (Page 2)

 

In the extract of this 74^th Issue, we provided the definition of urban poverty to be considered in this Issue.  We are going to add to this definition the determinants of urban poverty, which come from Jo Beall (2).  From what Beall argued, one can identify the following determinants of urban poverty:

 

∝ The poorest are found among the unemployed and casually employed

∝ The urban poor pay more for their goods and services and are often more vulnerable than the rural poor to changes in market conditions

∝ The poor are disproportionally affected by insecurity of land tenure and insecure living conditions

∝ They are squeezed off valuable land and are forced into peripheral or marginal locations

∝ The urban poor experience poor living conditions such as appalling overcrowding, contaminated water, poor or absent of sanitation, lack of services and the constant threat of floods, landslides or industrial pollution

∝ The urban poor are exposed to severe environmental health risks.

 

The above elements can determine urban poor compared to rural poor. 

For example, urban poor in Africa’s cities like Kinshasa, Cairo and others would experience most of the above mentioned problems.  This is let alone the socio-economic pressure brought COVID-19 and its variants.

These determinants are also the ones Africa-based Sister Organisations may need to deal with in Africa’s cities (like Kinshasa, Cairo and others) where urban population is rising or has the potential to rise.

 

• • • Opportunities and openings for poverty reduction for Africa-based Sister Organisations in African urban areas in 2022 (Page 3)

 

Urbanisation and growing urban population in African urban cities form a major challenge in terms of poverty reduction for Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs).  However, where there is a challenge, there could be opportunities lying ahead as well.  These opportunities could be within and/or around the challenges that urbanisation can bring such as overcrowding, waste management, growing urban population, informal settlements, unsafe and unsustainable transport, lack of clean energy, air pollution, etc.

ASOs can seize these 2022 opportunities and work with those (e.g. urban dwellers or urban poor) suffering or who may suffer from these challenges or problems.  This work will depend on each country, urban area and where each ASO’s area of operation is located.  It will depend as well on each ASO’s internal strengths and weaknesses to be able to reap some benefits from these opportunities. 

 

 

• • • ASOs’ work and the access of poor local city-residents to city-wide services (Page 3)

 

One of the problems that poor city-residents, whether they are indigenous or immigrants from rural areas, face could be the lack of or inadequate access to city-wide services (such as water supply, sanitation, energy, health, etc.).  ASOs could work with those who are suffering from this access so that these services could reach them.

Working with these poor city-residents could include the following:  explaining them how the distribution of these city-wide services work, providing them with digital support where these services can only be accessible digitally, informing them about rights and obligations as city-residents in terms of these services, etc.

 

• • • Africa-based Sister Organisations, urban migration and poverty reduction (Page 4)

 

There are many reasons why people move into urban areas, whether this immigration comes from within a country (from its rural areas or other areas) or other places of the world.  One of the reasons is urban immigrants could expect a better life in urban areas.  If this expectation becomes a reality, then their dream could come true.  On the contrary, if it does not happen, some of them could end up in poverty.

If urban immigrants are or become poor, then there is a need to tackle this type of poverty.  And ASOs working on both urban and immigration matters could be better placed to work with this category of urban poor in order to manage the dilemma of having to help reduce poverty in the context of simultaneous growth of urban poverty and urban population.

 

• • • Africa-based Sister Organisations, COVID-19 and reversal of urban poverty reduction (Page 4)

 

The coronavirus pandemic and its far-reaching ramifications have not made things easy for urban poverty reduction in Africa’s urban areas or cities.  This is to an extent that the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (3) argues that

“[Poverty reduction in reverse] is especially evident in cities, where the pandemic has exacerbated the multiple deprivations already experienced by the urban poor.  In developed and developing countries alike, the pandemic’s health, economic and social impacts are falling most severely on marginalised and low income households” (p. 54)

The reversal of poverty reduction in urban areas of Africa could only mean that ASOs have to work harder with urban poor to regain the lost hard-won poverty reduction results during the pre-pandemic period.

 

• • • Faire bouger les lignes pour réduire la pauvreté urbaine (Page 5)

 

Les organisations africaines peuvent faire bouger les lignes et gagner une bonne place sur le chantier de réduction de la pauvreté urbaine dans l’ère post-COVID-19.

En effet, pour mieux reconstruire les societés et économies urbaines après les dégâts économiques et sociaux créés par la pandémie de coronavirus et ses variantes, il y a lieu de reconnaître et rehausser la place de tous les acteurs, notamment ceux du secteur à but non lucratif.  Les acteurs de ce secteur, particulièrement mais pas exclusivement les charités africaines, peuvent jouer un rôle non négligeable sur le recul ou l’élimination de la pauvreté urbaine.

Cela demande de faire bouger les lignes traditionnelles pour accorder davantage des rôles aux organisations africaines qui sont plus proches des problèmes urbains et des peuples urbains.  Cet octroi de rôles concernera aussi bien des projets d’investissements que la réparttion des parts du marché de réduction de la pauvreté.

En gros, faire bouger les lignes traditionnelles en accordant des moyens aux organisations à but non lucratif et en leur faisant partie intégrante de l’enveloppe économique et financière de la reconstruction urbaine ne pourra qu’avoir des effets bénéfiques pour les usagers pauvres urbains et atténuer, sinon à faire disparaître, les effets néfastes sur une population urbaine montante.

 

 

• • • Des parts du marché de réduction de la pauvreté urbaine en Afrique pour des organisations africaines: Sont-elles significatives ou pas? (Page 5)

 

Quand on regarde l’éventail des problèmes que les pauvres urbains font face dans des cités africaines, on peut dire qu’il y a beaucoup de travaux à faire pour endiguer ou réduire la pauvreté ou précarité urbaine.  Par contre, quand on se référe à l’ensemble de ressources de ces organisations, il y a lieu d’affirmer qu’elles n’ont pas de capacités d’intervention ou de réponse requises aux enjeux ou problématiques urbains.

Compte tenu de cette limitation des moyens, leurs parts ne peuvent qu’être peu ou pas significatives.  Bien entendu, cela dépend des cités et des pays africains et de la hantise (ou affection) qu’on a vis-à-vis des problèmes de pauvreté par ceux ou celles qui sont censé(e)s y pallier.

Ainsi, rehausser les parts du marché en faveur des organisations qui exercent le rôle qui est le leur dans le travail de réduction et d’élimination de la pauvreté ne serait qu’une bonne chose pour ceux ou celles qui veulent voir la disparition de la pauvreté urbaine.

 

• • • Redistribuer les moyens et les cartes pour endiguer la pauvreté urbaine en Afrique (Page 6)

 

Pour combattre la pauvreté urbaine en Afrique, cela demande des moyens.  Pourtant, avec le poids écrasant de la crise sanitaire du COVID-19 et ses ramifications économiques et financières néfastes, plusieurs organisations ont perdu leurs capacités d’intervention sur la scène urbaine.

Puisque les économies africaines, et en particulier les économies des cités urbaines, sont à reconstruire après les dégâts sanitaires et économiques liés au COVID-19; cela ne peut se faire efficacement qu’en y intégrant des organisations travaillant avec des pauvres urbaines.   Dans le contexte de cet article, celles-ci seront celles du secteur caritatif ou associatif ou à but non lucratif.

Par conséquent, redistribuer les moyens et les cartes urbaines en tenant compte de ces organisations peut permettre à relever le défi économique et sanitaire, et donc la nouvelle pauvreté urbaine qu’ont entraîné le COVID-19 et ses ramifications.

A l’entrée de jeux du marché de réduction de la pauvreté urbaine, ces organisations peuvent ne pas avoir des moyens nécessaires et suffisants.  Néanmoins, si les ressources financières et autres sont confiées à elles ou réparties équitablement, elles peuvent être à même de réunir des capacités requises et moyens de leur ambition ou mission urbaine pour combattre ou mieux réduire la pauvreté urbaine face à la montée à long terme de la population urbaine.

 

• • • Les organisations soeurs basées en Afrique face à la double donne dans des cités urbaines africaines:  Croissance de la population et celle de la pauvreté (Page 6)

 

Plusieurs études démographiques démontrent que la population africaine continue et continuera de grimper d’ici à 2030 et à 2050.  Les cités africaines ne sont pas épargnées dans cette croissance démographique.   A cette donne démographique, il y a lieu d’ajouter la pauvreté grandissante ou plus ou moins constante dans des cités africaines telles que Kinshasa, Bangui ou autre.

Face à cette double donne, les organisations soeurs basées en Afrique et oeuvrant dans le secteur de pauvreté urbaine sont prises en tenaille pour offrir des services à leurs bénéficiaires.  D’un côté, il y a une montée annuelle de la population urbaine; et de l’autre côté, la pauvreté urbaine va dans la même direction que celle de la population urbaine. 

Devant cette double progression, les organisations doivent parfois faire des choix difficiles en matière de lutte contre la pauvreté urbaine.  Depuis les deux dernières années, ces choix ont été écornés par des effets néfastes de COVID-19 qui ont quasiment balayé le progrès jusque là réalisé pendant les deux dernières décennies en matière de réduction de la pauvreté urbaine.

D’aucuns espèrent que l’année 2022 amènera un nouveau souffle pour que ces organisations soient à même de surmonter leurs difficultés de choix et répondre aux attentes des pauvres urbains.  Ce qui est vrai est qu’elles doivent se re-inventer pour trouver des nouvelles solutions contre la pauvreté urbaine cadrant avec la double donne susdite.

 

• • • Africa-based Sister Organisations and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Making Cities Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable   (Page 7)

 

From the Sustainable Development Goal 11 of the United Nations (4), making cities safe and sustainable means ensuring access to safe and affordable housing and upgrading slum settlements, including in urban spaces where extreme poverty is concentrated.

ASOs working in urban areas can contribute to the realisation of this goal by tackling extreme poverty where it is concentrated in Africa’s urban areas.  They can work with extreme poor so that the latter can access and meet their basic life sustaining needs of safe water, affordable housing, local integration, etc.

 

 

• • • Africa-based Sister Organisations’ action on informal settlements in Africa’s cities (Page 7)

 

Informal settlements are one of the problems found in many cities.  But, what is an informal settlement?

Avis (5) argues the following:

“Informal settlements are residential areas where…

Inhabitants often have no security of tenure for the land or dwellings they inhabit – for example, they may squat or rent informally;

Neighbourhoods usually lack basic services and city infrastructure;

Housing may not comply with planning and building regulations, and often situated in geographically and environmentally sensitive areas”.

Because of their features, informal settlements can come with them human settlement dimension of poverty.  Indeed, not having a defined living place or space in terms of accommodation is in itself a manifestation or proof of poverty and hardships.  Many urban poor experience this problem.

This issue of informal settlements puts Africa-based Sister Organisations in a position to act and work with informal settlers so that their needs could not only be recognized and advocated, but also be met in practical terms.

 

• • • Africa-based Sister Organisations’ helping arms in the process of building climate resilient and sustainable living for the urban poor (Page 8)

 

The impacts of climate change and weather events in many cities of Africa are well known.  These impacts are even regrettable when they hit urban poor since many of them do not simply have the means to live, let alone to survive these impacts.

To support urban poor impacted by these events, ASOs can work with many of them in the areas of resilience and sustainable living.  Their work on resilience is and will be about working to together with urban poor so that they can regain structure and functionality as a result of disruption or disturbance caused climate change events, such as flooding in Congo-Brazzaville towards the end of 2021.

In this respect, ASOs can work with urban poor of Africa’s cities to build coping or adaptive or even transformative capacity.  This could depend on the intensity of the shock of these events whether it is mild or moderate or severe.

The work of sustainable living includes making sure that the living conditions of these urban poor are continued over the long term without adverse effects, which may derive from various events including the health disaster like the coronavirus pandemic.

 

• • • Community research and development about urban poverty and population (Page 8)

 

CENFACS has two research projects relating to urban poverty and population to which people can participate, which are as follows:

(a) Evaluation of the work of Africa-based Organisations on Africa’s urban problems

(b) Testing the correlation between urban migratory inflows and poverty in one of Africa’s cities with growing population

 

(a) Evaluation of the work of Africa-based Organisations on Africa’s urban problems

 

This is an evaluative work through which participants can conduct an examination about the worth, quality, significance, amount, degree and condition of the work so far carried out by Africa-based organisations regarding urban poverty in Africa’s cities.  This work could be before or after the coronavirus pandemic. The evaluative work we are talking about is an empirical work, but not academic writing.  It is the applied work done on the grounds to support or work with urban poor so that they can help themselves in navigating their way out of poverty.

 

(b) Testing the correlation between urban migratory inflows and poverty in one of Africa’s cities with growing population

 

This is a theoretical study on the relation between two variables: urban migration and urban poverty.  The study will consist of finding if there is or not any relationship between migratory inflows to urban cities with the increase of urban poverty (or the number of urban poor) in Africa’s cities.  To test the correlation between the two, one will need data (about urban poor and urban immigrants) in a particular urban city of Africa.

To participate in either of the projects, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • • Survey about ASOs’ capacity to help to reduce urban poverty in Africa’s cities (Page 9)

 

Given that Africa’s population will continue to grow by 2050, including in Africa’s cities, do you think that ASOs have the means to keep pace with and sustain their work in the area of urban poverty reduction by 2030?

 

 

• • • E-focus group discussions on urban poverty (Page 9)

 

As part of supporting each other, we would like to e-discuss with those who may be interested in experience of the community members living in mega cities compared to those living out of cities or in small towns in terms of economic hardships or deprivations, especially at this time of the continuing adverse effects linked to the coronavirus and its variants.

The e-discussion will be on the following:

 

(a) Types of economic deprivations or hardships experienced

(b) Types and profiles of the economically deprived community members

(c) City’s or urban responses to urban poverty or deprivations where they live

 

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

 

• • • Urban Poverty Reduction project (Page 10)

 

This is a sustainable development and inclusive initiative aims at reducing the economic and social difficulties or hardships experienced by urban poor (who could be city-dwellers and small scale urban farmers) living in Africa’s cities so that they can improve the quality of their living conditions.  The project will also help them to be included, feel safe and stay resilient against environmental, economic and social threats.

Through this project, there are expectations to meet the needs (i.e. social needs like shelter, economic needs such as income generation activities, environmental needs like net-zero-CO2-emissions consumer goods and services).

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

For further details including full project proposals and budget about the Urban Poverty Reduction Project, please contact CENFACS.

The full copy of the 74^th Issue of FACS is available on request.  For any queries and comments about this Issue, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

_________

 

References

(1) https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/top-10-fastest-growing-cities-in-africa-2021/1PVKr58 (accessed in January 2022)

(2) Jo Beall (2000), Life in the Cities, in Allen, T. & Thomas, A. (eds.), Poverty and Development into the 21^st Century, The Open University in association with Oxford University Press, New York

(3) United Nations Human Settlements Programme/UN-Habitat (2021), Cities and Pandemics: Towards a More Just, Green and Healthy Future at https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2021/03/cities_and_pandemic-towards_a_more_just_green_and_healthy_future_un_habitat_2021.pdf (accessed in January 2022)

(4) https://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 January 2022)

(5) Avis, W. R. (2016), Urban Governance (Topic Guide), Birmingham UK: GSDRC, University of Birmingham

_________

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 or as a New Year resolution.

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 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

12 January 2022

 

Post No. 230

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Light Season’s Resources, Projects and Programmes

• Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022 with a focus on Net Income (or Deficit)

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

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Light Season’s Resources, Projects and Programmes

 

Last week, we listed projects and programmes to be carried out in January 2022.   This week, we are unveiling more projects and programmes including resources.  The last week’s listed projects and the ones to be unveiled below will all make our Light Season 2022.

However, amongst last week’s and this week’s projects and programmes, there are those (such as humanitarian appeals/projects) that are specifically designed to feature the Light Campaign/Advocacy,  to bring and carry the message of hope through a Blaze of Hope; whereas there are others that just fall within the Season of Lights, which is between December in the preceding year (e.g. 2021) and March in the following year (e.g. 2022).

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided further details about the Light Season’s Resources, Projects and Programmes.

 

 

• Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022 with a focus on Net Income (or Deficit)

 

This year and Season of Light, we are keeping on working with the community members so that they can better manage their income, particularly they can reduce the deficit (or excess of expenses over income or excess of liabilities over assets or even excess of outgoings over incomings) linked to their income.  In our work with them, the focus will be on net income or net deficit.  But, what is net income (or deficit).

 

• • Basic understanding of net income (or deficit)

 

To make it easy but technical, we have selected these two definitions from the lawsinsider.com (1) which states that…

“Net Income (or Deficit) means with respect to any person (or any asset of any person) for any fiscal period, the net income (or deficit) of such person (or attributable to such asset), after deduction of all expenses, taxes and other proper charges, determined in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles”

Or

“Net Income (or Deficit) means, with respect to any fiscal period, the consolidated net income (or deficit) of the subject Borrower, after deduction of all expenses, taxes, and other proper charges, determined in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles”.

How these definitions can help the CENFACS Community.

 

• • Working with the Community on Net Income (or Deficit)

 

We will be working with our members on ways of improving their incomings and assets on the one hand; and of reducing or controlling outgoings and liabilities on the other hand.  In doing so, one can hope that they will be able to create a surplus or simply to better manage the net income (or deficit).

For those members of our community who are struggling to get the level of net income (or deficit) of their household accounts manageable or affordable, they are free to work with us so that together we can explore steps forward or ways out to the problem.

To ask or get support to sort out the net income (or deficit) from your household accounts, please contact CENFACS.  Also, to support Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

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

 

After completing the review of Horn-of-Africa Appeals which started at the beginning of December 2021, we are now appealing for an end to food insecurity in the Eastern Horn of Africa.  Indeed, due to the worsening drought in the region, many of those are living there will be at risk of severe hunger.   The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (2) in its food security platform alerted the world about this hunger situation by arguing on 29 December 2021 the following:

“Over 20 million people were in need of urgent food aid in the Horn of Africa amid severe drought and conflict”

In other words, nearly 20 million people, who would be forced into food insecurity due to drought caused by La Nina natural disaster, would need urgent humanitarian food assistance in 2022.

Additional data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations  (3) tells the same hunger story in the Eastern Horn of Africa, particularly in these three countries: Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.  Data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations  (ibid.) indicate the following:

“In Ethiopia, about 7.4 million people [were] severely food insecure between July and September 2021”

“In Kenya, about 2.4 million people [were] estimated to be severely food insecure between November 2021 and January 2022, reflecting poor rainy seasons”

“In Somalia, about 3.5 million people [were] estimated to be severely food insecure between October and December 2021” as a result of consecutive poor rainy seasons”

The above figures are not given for statistical purpose.  They are referred to in order for action to be taken.  They help to launch this first wave of appeal under the Light Projects, as way of sending a message of hope to those hungry people in the Eastern Horn of Africa.

One can hope that every effort will be made, by those who can help, so that logistics and channels for food assistance will be put in place in order to enable those in need to have access to food and other life-saving commodities.  One can as well expect that effort will be made to support locally grown food to meet the local food needs.

The above is our Blaze of Hope or Light Appeal to support the peoples of Eastern Horn of Africa. 

To support or enquire about this Light Appeal, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Digital and Social Media Campaign

Level 5: Apps that Help to Reduce Poverty

 

The next level of our Digital and Social Media Campaign will be about what online and internet applications (or Apps.) can do for those users who use a mobile phone or any other electronic devices (e.g. tablet or netbook) in terms of poverty reduction and of the enhancement of sustainable development.

 

• • What Level 5 of this Digital and Social Media Campaign can achieve

 

Through this level 5, we hope to achieve the following:

 

√ Identify more of those Apps with built-in poverty-relief facilities, tasks or functionalities even if their designers did not in the first place think of poverty reduction during their conception

√ Find out what they can or cannot do for people living in poverty

√ Match those Apps with the problems that people in need face

√ Check if Apps are free or paid

√ Disseminate information about these Apps within the community so that more people are aware about them in terms of reducing poverty and enhancing sustainable development.

 

• • Apps useful in reducing poverty

 

There are Apps that users can download to their electronic devices so that they can better perform a particular task.  However, not all those applications could enable to reduce or end a particular type of poverty.   In our Campaign, we would like to highlight those Apps that are useful in reducing poverty and hardships. 

 

For example, WhatsApp Messenger, which is a free messaging and video calling app, is a cross-platform mobile messaging app that enable people to send text messages and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations and other contents.  WhatsApp can help to reduce both communication poverty and money poverty by enabling its income deprived users from different parts of the world to use its platform to run phone conversation as well as materials (e.g. videos and images) for free. 

One could hope that if anyone has more and better information about these Apps that help to reduce poverty and hardships, it could be a good idea to share this information with us and the rest of the community.

To share Apps information and/or support the level 5 of our Digital and Social Media Campaign, please contact CENFACS. 

 

 

 

• Poverty Reduction Show

 

Showing that poverty reduction is happening despite COVID-19 new variants is an extra message we would like to share with our users, Africa-based Sister Organisations and other stakeholders.

This 2022, we would like our local people and Africa-based Sister Organisations to show or showcase via a variety of evidences, testimonies, cases, films, videos, news and examples of poverty reduction that poverty reduction has happened and continues to happen despite the continuing challenge posed by COVID-19 and its currently running variants (like Delta and Omicron).  Poverty reduction show will add value to stories of poverty reduction we normally run.

Through this showing exercise, we hope to build a better picture of these poverty reduction cases with features, similarities, differences and patterns for learning and development experience about our system of poverty reduction.  It is about proofing that poverty reduction does happen in real life.

To show or share your experience on how poverty reduction has happened to you or those you know despite the mounting pressure of COVID-19 and its variants, please contact and share it with CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

• Net Zero Consumers’ Experience about Substitution Effect

 How many of net zero consumers are attracted by net zero consumer goods?

 

As part of the month of Responsible Consumption and of Net Zero Consumption, we are looking for net zero consumers’ experiences of substituting non-net zero consumer goods (or carbon footprint consumer goods) to the purchase of net zero consumer goods in their shopping basket.

We are precisely working on the elasticity of technical substitution between non-net zero consumer goods and net zero consumer goods.  In other words, our work is on the substitution of one non-net zero consumer product (or carbon footprint consumer product) for a net zero consumer one resulting from a change in their relative prices.   We are trying to find out the substitution effect of these two types of goods whether or not they are economically interchangeable by poor consumers in order to reduce poverty. 

The result of this work will help us to determine how many of poor consumers are attracted by net zero consumer goods or a particular one.  In doing so, we can improve our perception about net zero consumer goods/economy and the support we give through the Consume-to-Reduce-Poverty project/resource.

To take part in this study or to tell us your experience of the use of net zero consumer goods in relation to non-net zero consumer goods, please contact CENFACS.  Also, anyone who has reliable data on this matter; it will be good to let CENFACS know.

 

 

 

Le 10e numéro du CRP (Consommer pour Réduire la Pauvreté) met l’accent sur la consommation nette zéro.

Dans ce numéro, nous travaillerons sur la consommation nette zéro; c’est-à-dire une consommation qui n’ajoute pas d’émissions de CO₂ supplémentaires à la quantité de gaz à effet de serre dans l’atmosphère. 

La consommation nette zéro est un effort que tous les membres de notre communauté peuvent faire afin d’aider à atteindre l’objectif mondial de 1,5 degré Celsius tel qu’il ressort du Traité de Paris sur le climat. 

Pour évoluer vers une trajectoire de consommation nette zéro, il faudra avoir une stratégie de consommation nette zéro et des plans d’action personnalisés. Il faut également entreprendre des évaluations des gaz à effet de serre et une comptabilité carbone afin de déterminer l’impact de notre consommation en termes d’émissions de CO₂.

En gros, le 10e numéro du CRP est un outil de travail pour qu’ensemble avec la communauté CENFACS nous marchons vers l’objectif 1,5 degré Celsius.

Pour soutenir la consommation nette zéro et responsable aussi bien qu’obtenir le numéro complet de 2022 de cette ressource hivernale (Consommer pour Réduire la Pauvreté et les Changements Climatiques), veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Light Season’s Resources, Projects and Programmes

 

The following highlights the Light Season’s Resources, Projects and Programmes.

 

• • What are Light Season’s Resources, Projects and Programmes?

 

They are a stock of assets (resources) together with a set of interdependent tasks (projects) and related activities (programme) designed to help meet the aim of poverty reduction either within the Lights Season and/or beyond it depending on the types of resource, project and programme.  In other words, whether it is about resources or projects or even programme, the unified aim is to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

 

• • Types of Light Season’s Initiatives

 

There are two types, which are:

 

(a) Initiatives that are specifically designed to bring message of hope or a Blaze of Hope

(b) Initiatives that fall within the Season of Light

 

• • • Initiatives to bring message of hope or a Blaze of Hope

 

They include two waves of intervention or Blazes of Hope, which are:

 

(a) Appeals to deal with the unfinished business of previous destruction and disruption brought by the coronavirus, wars and natural disasters

(b) Appeals linked to seasonally erupted events or effects from health disasters (like the coronavirus), armed conflicts, economic slowdown, climate change and natural disasters

For example, the Appeal to End Food Insecurity in the Eastern Horn of Africa is at the same time for unfinished business of humanitarian and any eruption of food crisis in the New Year.

 

• • • Initiatives falling within the Season of Light

 

They consist of the following:

 

∝ Light (or energy) and poverty reduction projects (New)

∝ Programme of gradually phasing down coal as source of energy for Africa’s poor coal-dependent (New)

∝ Activities to adapt and mitigate transformational and structural changes to cope with changing uncertainty in the Anthropocence

∝ Advocacy and e-workshops about energy transition to carbon net zero or post-carbon economy, from polluting to clean and green energy and technology (New)

∝ Climate neutral projects (New)

 

The above initiatives are not the only ones for the Season of Light.  During the season, we may cancel or reduce the scope of some initiatives if we realise that the problem they were supposed to resolve are no longer there.  Likewise, we may add new or recurring initiatives depending on the events within the community we serve.  The worksheet below provides some indication in terms of initiatives implementation plan.

 

• • Basic implementation plan for the Light Season’s Initiatives

 

As we go along the Light Season, the following implementation plan consisting of ten initiatives will be effective.

 

10 initiatives to implement the Light Season 2022  

This initial implementation plan for the Light Season’s initiatives can change depending on the circumstances and conditions.  Some of the initiatives inserted in the plan/worksheet are not listed under Types of Light Season’s Initiatives.  This is not a big issue.  What is important is the deliverables of those scheduled within the plan.

For those who would like to discuss any of these planned initiatives or any aspects of the plan; they can contact CENFACS.  

To support and or enquire the Light Season’s Resources, Projects and Programmes for 2022, please contact CENFACS.

 

_________

References

(1) https://www.lawsinsider.com/dictionary/net-income-or-deficit

(2) https://fews.net

(3) https://www.fao.org/giews/country-analysis/external-assistance/en

_________

 

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 or as a New Year resolution.

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 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Happy New Year and Welcome Back to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

05 January 2022

 

Post No. 229

 

 

 

The New Year’s Contents

 

• What is New at the Start of the New Year and What is on this January 2022?

• The 10^th Issue of Consume to Reduce Poverty, in Focus: Net Zero Consumption

• Coming up this Winter: The New Year’s and Next Issue of FACS (The 74^th Issue) to be entitled as The Dilemma Faced by Africa-based Sister Organisations in Helping to Reduce Urban Poverty in the Context of Rising Urban Population in Africa

 

 … And much more!

 

 

 

The New Year’s Key Messages

 

• What is New at the Start of the New Year and What is on this January 2022?

 

New Tool, New Relief & New Hope

 

We have got the following initiatives to look forward to in this January 2022 at CENFACS:

 

√ Consume to Reduce Poverty (Issue No. 10) with a Focus on Net Zero Consumption

√ 2021 Year-end Financial Control as a Tool for Poverty Reduction

√ Zero Income Deficit Campaign 2022

√ COVID-19 Campaign in 2022

√ Sustainable energy and Climate neutral Projects (New)

 

The above mentioned initiatives are amongst the ones we have selected to kick-start 2022. 

We shall soon unveil the other selected initiatives making the Season of Light at CENFACS.

 

 

 

• The 10^th Issue of CRP (Consume to Reduce Poverty), in focus: Net Zero Consumption

 

January is the month of Responsible Consumption for CENFACS.   The initiative featuring this month is our resource entitled Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change.  The 10^th Issue of this resource will be on “Net Zero Consumption”.  However, before giving the message about the 10^th Issue of CRP, let us briefly re-explain what normally happen in January.

 

• • January as a Month of Responsible Consumption within CENFACS

 

Some of you are aware that January is our month of Responsible Consumption following CENFACS development calendar.  It means that the theme for January is Responsible or Sustainable Consumption and the monthly project carrying this theme is Consume to Reduce Poverty. 

It is the month we act against poverty due to the lack of consumption and we deal with measures of poverty reduction through consumption.  It is also an opportunity to act to preserve a good relationship between the way in which we consume products on the one hand and the reduction of climate change on the other.  In particular, January is a climate reminder month as it is the month during which we raise awareness of the relationships between humans and the nature through sustainable consumption; that is consumption that does not destroy the nature.

This January we will take an extra step by exploring the relationship between humans and net zero consumption; in other words between humans and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and/or ensure that any on-going emissions are balanced by removals.

Consume to Reduce Poverty (CRP) is our users’ New Year supporting information and accompanying booster that focuses on Buying and Consumption elements conducive to the reduction of poverty and hardships.  It is indeed a complimentary support to our Autumn Festive Income Boost (FIB) resource.

The FIB is an income-generating resource while CRP brings in a consumption-led look in our fight against poverty.  The next Issue (Issue no. 10) of CRP will be on Net Zero Consumption as mentioned above.

For further details about CRP project, go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/services-activities/

 

• • The 10^th Issue of CRP (Consume to Reduce Poverty), in focus: Net Zero Consumption

 

We will be working on Net Zero Consumption; that is consumption that does not add extra CO₂ emissions to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  Net Zero Consumption is an effort that any of the members of our community can make in order to help achieve the global goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius under the Paris Climate Treaty. 

To move towards a Net Zero Consumption trajectory, one will need to have Net Zero Consumption strategy and personalised action plans.  One needs as well to undertake greenhouse gas assessments and carbon accounting in order to determine the impact of their consumption in terms of CO₂ emissions.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have given some highlights about the 10^th Issue.

 

 

 

• The New Year’s and Next Issue of FACS (The 74^th Issue) to be entitled as…

 

The Dilemma Faced by Africa-based Sister Organisations in Helping to Reduce Urban Poverty in the Context of Rising Urban Population in Africa

How Africa-based Sister Organisations Can Help Reduce Urban Poverty as Urban Population Rises in Africa

 

The 74^th Issue of FACS will deal with two problems as cities or urban places in Africa try to modernise or develop, which are: urban poverty and urban population. 

 

• • Urban population in Africa

 

The African population has continued to grow, especially in urban cities or capitals.  According to the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (1),

“The Urban Population in Africa at Mid-Year by Country was 587,738 thousand in 2020 and will be 824,014 thousand in 2030” (p.305)

 

The above figure indicates that the urban population in Africa is growing.  If this growth continues, there are or could be urban problems.  One of these problems is urban poverty.  But, what is urban poverty?

 

• • Urban poverty in Africa

 

There are many definitions of urban poverty.  Amongst these definitions, we have selected the one given by Anna Belén Cano Hila. 

Anna Belén Cano Hila (2) argues that

“Urban poverty refers to the set of economic and social difficulties that are found in industrialized cities and that are the result of a combination of processes such as: the establishment of comfortable living standards, the increase of individualism, processes of social fragmentation, and the dualization of the labour market, which translates into social dualization. Urban poverty is seen as a type of poverty with the primary characteristic that it occurs in industrialized societies, according to Rowntree 1901, but also in the Global South, in accordance with Mitlin and Satterthwaite 2012”.

Urban poverty can also happen developing cities like those of Africa.  This set of economic and social difficulties or urban poverty has increased with COVID-19 and its socio-economic impacts in those developing cities. 

For example, the United Nations Settlement Programme (op. cit.) reports that

“The absolute increase in extreme poverty in Africa has implications for poverty in its urban areas given the rapid pace of urbanization.  Urban poverty in many African countries is increasing faster than national poverty” (p. 162)

The same United Nations Settlement Programme also contends that

“Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest incidence of urban poverty globally, with about 23 per cent of the urban population living below the international poverty line and 29 per cent experiencing multidimensional poverty” (p. 162)

 

The above quotes tell us that Africa has the problems of urban poverty and urban population, which need to be dealt with. 

 

• • Urban poverty and urban population as a dilemma for Africa-based Sister Organisations

 

If urban population is increasing and urban poverty is rising faster in Africa, how can Africa-based Sister Organisations continue to rise to the challenge of reducing poverty and how can they reduce poverty, particularly urban poverty?  Yet, population increase is always seen by many economists including some demographers as a good demographic indicator for labour as factor of production and a contributor to economic growth.

However, in places where there is already a high level of poverty and social deprivations, disproportionally rising population could be itself an impediment to the task of reducing poverty.  Rising urban population (mostly if it is mainly made of poor people) can lead to rising demand of poverty reduction as well as poverty reduction goods and services, whereas Africa-based Sister Organisations have very limited resources in order to respond to such high demand of urban poverty reduction.  So, it is a dilemma for these organisations.  This lets alone other urban problems such as environmental health decay, flooding, insecurity, homelessness, unemployment, etc.

The 74^th Issue will look at both urban poverty in the context of rising urban population in the way of doing the most and the best for those in need.  It is therefore about how Africa-based Sister Organisations can further reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development while urban population is growing or has the potential to grow, given the resources constraint these organisations have.

More details about this Issue will be given this Winter.  However, for those who would like to enquire about it before it appears, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.   

 

 

 

The New Year’s Extra Messages

 

• 2021 Year-end Financial Control as a Tool for Poverty Reduction

 

Year-in-review accounts are one of the financial tools we would like to work and share with our users as we explained in our last post of 2021.  They are part of year-end financial control project or exercise which includes income boost and other financial tools making our campaign to reduce and end poverty, particularly income poverty.

For those (individuals, families or households) who need help to manage or close their 2021 year-in-review accounts, they can contact CENFACS prior to the end of 2021-2022 tax year or by the 5^th of April 2022.

 

 

• Spending Limit Reports

 

During December 2021, we conducted Structured Activities or Micro-projects under Spending Limit Programme and Scheme.  As part of monitoring process, we would be pleased if those who managed to carried out these activities or exercises to report or share their experience regarding them.

Under Spending Limit Scheme, they can report or share on the following:

 

∝ Elaboration of an action plan for spending limit

∝ Building and understanding of cash flow statements or projections

 

Under Spending Limit Programme, they can report or share on the following:

 

∝ Setting up spending threshold

∝ Respecting spending restriction

 

To report or share your experience, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) in 2022: One Year on with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

One year on since the AfCFTA became operational, what our ASOs make of it in terms of poverty-relief creation or diversion effects.

 

It is now one year since the AfCFTA opened for trading activities.  Although it is too early to measure the impacts or implications of AfCFTA for poverty reduction (and more in the current situation and conditions of continuing COVID-19 disturbance), it is however possible for ASOs to start to give their first feelings or results.  The ASOs can provide their first impressions or feelings regarding the following:

 

∝ The materialisation of the assumed poverty-relief creation effects deriving from the AfCFTA

∝ Windows of opportunities in terms of market niches of poverty reduction

∝ The possibility to build poverty-relief alliances

∝ The improvement in links with poverty-reduction organisations of similar aims

∝ The delivery of cross-border poverty reduction outcomes

Etc.

 

To share and or discuss poverty-relief creation or diversion effects of AfCFTA for ASOs, please contact CENFACS.

 

A nos lecteurs (lectrices) et audiences francophones

Plus de détails sur ce numéro seront donnés cet hiver.  Cependant, pour ceux ou celles qui voudraient s’enquérir avant qu’il n’apparaisse, n’hésitez pas de contacter le CENFACS.

 

The New Year’s Main Development

 

• The 10^th Issue of Consume to Reduce Poverty (CRP)

 

 In Focus: Net Zero Consumption

 

• • Key highlights, Tips & Hints about the 10th Issue of CRP

 

• • • What is Net Zero Consumption?

 

To define net zero consumption, one needs to understand net zero greenhouse gas emissions.  The expression ‘net-zero-greenhouse-gas-emissions’ is often shortened to net zero within the climate literature.  Within the same literature, there are many definitions of net zero. 

In the context of this 10^th Issue, we are going to use the definition of net zero provided by the World Economic Forum.  According to the World Economic Forum (3),

“The term net zero applies to a situation where global greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are in balance with emissions reductions.  At net zero, carbon dioxide emissions are still generated, but an equal amount of carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere as is released into it, resulting in zero increase in net emissions”.

From this definition, one can try to define net zero consumption.  Net zero consumption is the types of consumption (whether the consumption is about consumer goods or other goods or even services) that do not add extra emissions of carbon dioxide to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  This matters at all levels of consumption, including at the level of poor consumers (like some of our users) even if their consumption can generate only a tiny amount of emissions.  

 

• • • Going Net Zero in your Shopping Basket

 

Using the internet, e-mail, social networks and other communication technologies; it is possible to get enough information about products and services that meet the requirements of net zero consumption while reducing poverty at the same time. 

It is conceivable for consumers including the poor ones to live a net zero life by shopping and filling up their shopping basket with goods or products that meet net zero requirements.  It is as well possible to find resources and websites that compare and contrast these kinds of products, services and prices.  People can then choose products and services that are good value for net zero consumption and add them to their online shopping basket.

 

• • • Reducing Poverty through a Net Zero Journey

 

Individual and family strategies of reducing the state of having little or no money or even no material possessions can be implemented via net zero consumption or use.  Individuals and families (including the poor ones) can consume net zero products and services that do not add extra emissions, but that help to reduce or even end poverty.  People and families can leapfrog poverty reduction to net zero consumption. 

 

• • • Net Zero Consumption and Circular Economic Model

 

Embracing the recipes of the economic model that decouples (bad) exploitation of natural resources and the desire to meet human needs and wants (circular economy), can help improve consumer behaviour via net zero consumption.  It is said that all processes create waste and sometimes emissions.  However, the circular economic model helps to direct consumption towards what is essential to maintain human life; in doing so it benefits humans to fix, reuse, reduce and save resources through their consumption. 

Briefly, the model can contribute to less production and consumption of products and services that are the result of extra CO2 emissions.

 

• • • Net Zero Consumption and the Climate Economy

 

The process of using resources without adding extra amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere can goes hand in hand with an organised system for the production, distribution and use of goods and services that takes into account the changing weather conditions.  In other words, consuming net zero products and resources can help reduce adverse climate change. 

As climate economy continues to establish itself as an economy for the future, it can bring new climate educational opportunities, economic savings and improved well-being for the poor.  These attributes of the Established Climate Economy can help them consume goods and services that are net zero and non-polluting.

 

• • • Net Zero Consumption and Climate Change

 

Maybe enough has been said about the impacts of changing climate.  If not, then one area of work could be for humans to rethink about how their net zero consumption can help.  Their net zero consumption can help to adapt and mitigate the negative effects of climate change.  The consumption of net zero products and services would help the health and wealth of the environment and the nature on which we all depend.

 

• • • Net Zero Consumption and COVID-19

 

There is a body of scientific explanations about origins of the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, which indicate that the coronavirus pandemic is a novel zoonotic pathogen or disease.  From this body, it is possible to argue that consuming net zero products and services will help to reduce human induced impacts of climate change and global warming; impacts that probably led to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and other pandemics.

   

• • • Poor Consumers and their Affordability of Net Zero Goods

 

Not everybody can afford to buy net zero goods and services, especially many poor consumers who may even lack their access.  Since the first COVID-19 lockdown, many low income people and families are struggling to access even essential goods and commodities.  The asymmetry in the distributional effects of the lockdowns has denied to many of them even the access to essential consumption goods.  Their expenses budget has gone up with the new coronavirus-related health items.  This situation does not make easy for them to access net zero consumption even if these could be affordable.

Giving them advisory support in terms how to increase their income, to make some changes in their expenses budget and find affordable net zero consumption goods and services should be a priority amongst other ones.  In this respect, a list of where to find affordable net zero consumption goods in this CRP resource could be handy for them to go net zero for their consumption.

 

• • • Net Zero Consumption Good Practices within the Community

 

Despite the problem of affordability of net zero goods for low income poor people and families, there are nonetheless net zero consumption good practices within our community.  To back up these practices, the10^th Issue of CRP highlights some cases of net zero consumption good initiatives undertaken by the CENFACS Community that underpins net zero consumption accounts as part of every day’s human life.

In this respect, those who have cases of net zero consumption practices and who may find them worthwhile to share and be added to this issue of CRP, they can let CENFACS know.

 

• • • Demonstrative Projects of Net Zero Consumer Goods and Services

 

In net zero consumption economy, every shopper can demonstrate the ability to follow the rules of net-zero consuming world.  In those circumstances, there could be those consumers who do more by taking a proactive action to net-zero consume.

Likewise, there could be local projects (for example, local artists, local soap and face mask makers to support local net zero economy) that could display demonstrative talents and skills in promoting net zero consumption goods, services and habits as a way of living rather than as an accident.

For those members of our community who have developed this kind of demonstrative projects of net zero consumption products and services, it could be a good idea to let us know so that we can add them to this CRP resource.

 

• • • Barriers to Achieve Net Zero Consumption Goals

 

There could be some handicaps for people and families to achieve net zero consumption goals.  One of the barriers is the lack of income that extremely poor people experience that could push them out of reaching net-zero consumption products.  Despite that in charitable world and economy in which no one and no place are left behind, there could be still access for everybody and everyplace to net-zero consumption goods and services.

However, people and families do not like net-zero consumption to happen to them in this way since they would like to work and pay for their net-zero consumption.  Because of the barriers they face in finding opportunity to work and earn decent income, their prospect for meeting their net-zero consumption goals could become remote.

As part of tackling these barriers, the current resource provides some leads in terms of print and online resources that users can further explore in order to respond to some of their net-zero consumption problems.

 

• • • Budgeting for Net Zero Consumption

 

It is a good idea for users to budget for net zero consumer goods and services as part of the overall of household budget.  Users can do or learn to do their own carbon accounting.  This kind of preparation in terms of financial statements for any planned incomes and expenses for a particular period can help to maximise the clean use of resources and reduce spending in items able to gear towards greenhouse gas emissions in terms of what is polluting and non-polluting consumption.  It can as well provide alternative to net-zero consumption to reduce poverty and hardships due to pollution or CO2 emissions.

 

• • • Net Zero Consumption Indication on Products for Verification, Identity and Authenticity

 

It is a good idea for any consumer, rich or poor, to check net-zero features on their buys and other specifications as well as read other people’s testimonies, reviews or comments about it.  In this respect, selling the positive idea of net-zero consumption could be helpful for net-zero consumers.

 

• • • Net Zero Security and Guarantee 

 

When buying net-zero consumer products and services (whether using online or a physical store), one needs to check, compare and contrast products, terms and conditions of business, buying terms, prices, etc.  There is a need to check as well guarantees and safety policies for net-zero features in terms of the coronavirus pandemic.

If you are buying online, before you sign up, add to your net-zero consumer shopping basket and purchase an item; you need to read, discuss and check what you are agreeing on.  You may even take more precautions when selecting items, filling up buying forms to enter your personal, financial information and sensitive details.  Make sure that your online shopping does not limit itself to tick or cross out boxes only.

You should also be aware of scams, spams as well as illegal and malicious practices.  For own online security, use the e-safety tools and advice.

 

• • • Looking for Help and Support

 

For those users who would like to dive into net zero consumption, we can provide them with online and print resources relating to net zero consumption.  There is a lot of online resources and websites they can sign up and receive advice on the following matters:  net zero strategy, action plans, greenhouse gas assessments, carbon accounting, etc.

To support Net Zero and Responsible Consumption and get the full 2022 Issue of Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change, please contact CENFACS.

 

 _________

 

References

 

(1) United Nations Human Settlement Programme (2020), World Cities Report 2020: The Value of Sustainable Urbanisation, UN-Habitat, 2020

(https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2020/10wcr_2020_report.pdf)

(2) Anna Belén Cano Hila (2020): Urban Poverty – Urban Studies – Oxford Bibliographies at…

https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780190922481/…

Cano, Ana Belén. “Urban Poverty.” In The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies. Edited by A. M. Orum, 1–7. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2019.

(3) World Economic Forum at… https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/net-zero-emissions-cop26-climate-change/

_________

 

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 or as a New Year resolution.

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 2022 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

29 December 2021

 

Post No. 228

 

 

The Week’s Contents of the Last Post of 2021

 

• 2021 Year-in-review Report

• Year-end Fundraising Campaign

• Year-end Advice-giving Service

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

Festive Season’s Key Messages

 

• 2021 Year-in-review Report

 

The above mentioned report is an evaluation of what happened in this ending year (2021).  It is not an annual report or an annual return.  The report, which is a brief summary of 2021, will help to learn what went well and what did not get well within and around CENFACS, as well as how we can engage our charitable objects in 2022 and beyond. 

This year-end post, which is the 52^nd one, is therefore about covering the events of the year 2021 from the perspective of recapping the year for CENFACS’ audiences, followers and supporters, as well as from the point of view of CENFACS’ contribution to poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Under the Main Development section of this post you will find key highlights of CENFACS’ 2021 Year-in-review Report.

 

 

• End of Year Fundraising Campaign

 

Our End of Year Fundraising Campaign continues until the last day, hour and minute of 2021.  For those who would like to donate to our End-of-year Support, Festive Gift Set and any other festive projects or campaigns or even causes before 2021 ends, please do not hesitate to donate.   You can still make a helpful difference before 31/12/2021.

To donate, just contact CENFACS with your donation by any of these means of communications: text, phone, email and contact form on this website.

 

 

 

• End of Year Advice-giving Service

 

As we informed you in our 51st post of last week on this platform, we are in holiday break until the 5^th of January 2022.  However, some of our projects and campaigns are either self-running or designed to run throughout the holiday season like the festive holiday.  One of these holiday projects is the Advice-giving one. 

Indeed, during the festive period not everybody or member of our community can afford to celebrate on the New Year’s Eve.  There are people who still need accommodation, food, income, guidance, support against the new COVID-19 variant, help against loneliness, etc.  They may also need life-saving support of various kinds to cope and survive while other people, the lucky ones, are busy preparing themselves for the New Year’s Eve festivities.

Because of this on-going need and demand within the community, we have maintained a minimum level of advice-giving service to e-work with those who desperately need advice to reduce poverty or any type of hardships they are facing and do not have anywhere else to ask for help and advice, especially at this time of COVID-19 rebound with the Omicron variant.

If you are one of our members and facing serious hardship during the festive period, you can e-contact CENFACS for advice, guidance and support.  If you are not one of our members and would like to discuss this year-in-review project, please still e-contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Festive Season’s Extra Messages

 

• Charity e-Store: Recycle and or Give away your Unwanted or Unneeded Presents

 

You can recycle and or give away your unwanted or unneeded presents during this festive period.  In doing so, one will not only support the noble cause of poverty reduction, but also will contribute to the Upkeep of the Nature while maintaining a fair balance between nature and festive presents, between climate and the season’s gifts.

To recycle and or give any unwanted or unneeded festive presents, please contact CENFACS to discuss the reuse of your items since we are under the constraint of renewed COVID-19 restrictions relating to the Omicron variant.

 

 

 

• Help for your Year-in-review Accounts

How to successfully close your end-of-year personal or family accounts and get prepared for the New Year accounts before the end of financial year

 

It is theoretically known that the financial year closes in April and the State budget starts in April of each year.   For example, the 2021-2022 tax year began on April 6^th 2021 and will run until April 5^th 2022 in the UK.

Understandably, the coronavirus pandemic and its adverse effects may impact everybody’s financial calendar and deadlines.  Despite that it is a good practice to use the opportunity of the end of the civil year to start to work out the balances of one’s personal or family accounts.

To help those who are struggling to close their year-end accounts of 2021, we will be looking at, from the start of January 2022 when we return, how to successfully close your personal or family financial accounts and prepare your new accounts in the New Year.

It is always a good practice to start early before the deadlines of the financial year!

It is wise to work out your year-end accounts early so that you could enter the New Year with a good understanding of your financial position while keeping financial control on accounts.  In doing so, one can know areas of financial improvement to sort out their financial situation in the New Year.

This year-end financial control project or exercise includes income boost and other elements making our campaign to reduce and end income poverty.  This is without forgetting the elements of Spending Limit Programme/Scheme and Zero Income Deficit Campaign we conducted.

For those who may be interested in this year-end financial control project, they can contact CENFACS in the New Year.

 

• COVID-19 Campaign over the Festive Holiday

 

Our COVID-19 Campaign continues during the Festive Holiday.  We have not given up by repeating in saying to the community the following:

It is life-saving to keep following and implementing the coronavirus pandemic restrictions and rules. 

All our community members should be aware of the nature of the current threat level posed by the COVID-19 and its variants (like the Delta and Omicron which are both in circulation).  People need not only to follow but also to practise what the health authorities and professionals (e.g. World Health Organisation, the UK Government and the National Health Service) are saying. 

The rapidly changing pandemic landscape means aggressive response.  Without interfering in our community members’ health life, we are kindly asking to all of them to help in the following during the festive period:

√ Follow the voices, movies, signs and symbols of protection against the coronavirus pandemic and its variants

√ Be ready to implement stringent COVID-19 safety protocols prior to attending any in-person events during the festive time

√ Monitor your health with COVID-19 tests even if you are vaccinated

√ Check your COVID-19 vaccination status and test results before committing to any festive events

√ If in doubt, please do not be hesitate to opt out of any gatherings for festive celebrations as a safeguard or precautionary measure

√ Avoid a festive event that could become a source/centre of COVID-19 outbreak or contagion

√ Appropriately act upon information or data received on COVID-19 threats and risks

   

The above COVID-19 Campaign message should be added to the currently available COVID-19 restrictions and rules such as social distancing, confinement, sanitation, face coverings, etc.

For any enquiries and or queries about this message, please e-contact CENFACS as COVID-19 Campaigner.  

 

 

Les images ci-haut contiennent un message, qui est celui de réduction de la pauvreté et du développement durable. 

Elles sont sélectionnées et placées dans la galerie CENFACS parce qu’elles montrent comment l’année 2021 s’est déroulée au sein et autour de CENFACS.

Pour plus d’informations sur ces images ou la rétro 2021, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

Merci et Joyeuse Saison des fêtes!

 

 

Festive Season’s Main Development

 

• 2021 Year-in-review Report

How the year 2021 has gone within and around CENFACS

 

The following contents make this report: a brief summary of the year, the theme of 2021 year-in-review, the key takeaways of the year, and commitments for the year 2022.

 

• • The Year’s Brief Summary

 

We entered 2021 with in mind the following question: how can our users reduce income deficit and what can they do for not to carry forward 2020 income deficit balance into 2021?

The question helped us together with users on the way of approaching 2021 despite the coronavirus constraint.  From this starting point, there was a need to tirelessly work with those in need so that they can start 2021 with less income deficit and with income surplus regarding the opening balances of their family or household accounting books.  This was vital as a way of stopping or reducing the transmission of poverty to their next generations.  Throughout the year, we worked with them by helping them to resolve or reduce their income deficit.   

Besides the above question, we were arguing with Africa-based Sister Organisations about the 2021 opportunities for them in order to continue the work of poverty reduction and sustainable development.  This argument led us to believe that 2021 could be a year of uncovered opportunities for them; opportunities from the challenges they were facing from the coronavirus pandemic, financial uncertainty, economic impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns and global economic downturn.  Throughout the year, some of these organisations managed to seize these opportunities in terms of market niches.  Others are still suffering from the socio-economic effects of the above mentioned challenges.   

Both the answer to the question on users’ income deficit (or users’ need of income deficit reduction) and the argument about the 2021 opportunities for Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) had shaped the contents and direction of our work with them (users and ASOs) throughout this ending year.

To respond to the income deficit problems of our users, we conducted together with them a Zero Income Deficit Campaign, which led to the Spending Limit Programme and Scheme in the end.  To enable ASOs to grab the 2021 opportunities, we developed Capacity Development Advice from which they could find answers to the problem of living and sustaining in the newly formed African Continental Free Trade Area. 

Briefly, to address both the question and argument we developed Build Forward Better Programme as well as Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit People’s Development projects.  Through these programme and projects we were able to work together with users and ASOs throughout 2021.

 

• • Theme of CENFACS’ 2021 Year-in-Review

 

The theme for this review is building forward better together greener and cleaner in the post-pandemic year.

 

• • How did the Year 2021 go through from within and around CENFACS?

 

To underline the way in which the year 2021 went from within and around CENFACS, we are going to highlight the key takeaways of 2021 and the contributions we made.

 

• • • Key takeaways of the year

 

The points or facts to remember about 2021 from within and around CENFACS are as follows.

 

• • • • 2021 as a Leafy Year

 

Through Leaves-based Advice service, users could address the root causes of multi-dimensional poverty (including intergenerational poverty), access basic needs and use assets for income generation.

 

• • • • 2021 a post-coronavirus poverty reduction restructuring year

 

Thanks to users’ own contribution, we were able to develop a series of activities, proposals, plans, processes and tasks that helped them to deal with changes within the components of poverty reduction systems or structures.

 

• • • • 2021 a post-exit users’ development year

 

To help raise users’ living levels, create conditions for their self-esteem and increase their freedom from poverty and hardships; together with them we developed a set of activities, processes and tasks (e.g. Journal of Happiness and Healthiness written by users over last Summer).

 

• • • • 2021 as a year of not-for-profit development and solutions to poverty

 

During 2021, not-for-profit investors were invited to invest or increase their share of investment in African organisations working with poor people and in poverty issues.

 

• • • • 2021 as a year of debt and deficit management

 

The soaring of COVID-19 induced debts and deficits, especially from income poor users, has been a handicap to reduce and end poverty they are and were facing.  Working with them on the issue of debt and deficit management was pivotal as many of them suggested sustainable solutions to COVID-19 induced financial debt and deficit they were facing.

 

• • • • 2021 as a year of generational economics

 

It has been a year during which we worked with users to explain and understand how their resources (including intergenerational share of non-renewables) have been allocated between them and future generations so that they could reduce or slow down intergenerational poverty.  Many of them understood the problem and started to implement intergenerational solutions or changes to their problems.

 

• • • • 2021 as a year of building forward better together with users

 

Through a set of projects and activities organised together, users were able to ensure that the recovery from COVID-19 pandemic could sit on sound and sustainable foundations that could build back better the poverty reduction gains hard-won while moving forward greener and cleaner.

 

• • • • 2021 as a year of analytics-based solutions to poverty

 

Thanks to the help we received from many of you, we were able to analyse raw data about poverty in order to make insightful conclusions about information.  Through data and contents generated by many of our users, we were in a position to communicate meaningful patterns and trends as well as actionable insights about poverty reduction.  The results of this analysis have helped feed this 2021 Year-in-Review Report.

The above key features of 2021 have to be considered with the results or outcomes they generated.

 

 

 

• • • 2021 Key Produce or Achievements

 

2021 has also been a year of poverty reduction produce or accomplishments.  After doing a round-up of all efforts we made to support the causes of those in need and work with them, we could name the following contributions.

∝) To support the severely socio-economic and health impacted of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, we conducted together with our followers and supporters these humanitarian relief appeals: Making Zero Hunger Grand Sud of Madagascar, Food Security Appeal to help tackle the food crisis and hunger situation in Tigray, etc.

∝) As we could not stay silent about human insecurity and displacement in the Ituri Region of the North-eastern in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we launched Ituri Peace Appeal and Re-appeal for the region.

∝) Through various e-discussions with interested users and African organisations, we produced a Guide for the Not-for-profit Investors in Africa.

∝) We could not be insensitive about what was happening in the African Sahel where innocent lives were unnecessary taken by food insecurity.  Together with our supporters, we launched an Appeal to Protect the Acutely Food-insecure in the Lake Chad Basin and Central African Sahel.

∝) We advocated for the reduction of asymmetrical distributional effects of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns concerning distance working and learning technologies and means to run them.

The above are just the few selected accomplishments or produce we wanted to share with audiences and supporters in this year-in-review campaign.  However, for those who would like get more insights into them and other achievements of the year 2021, they can still let us know.

 

• • Looking Forward to 2022

 

We shall undertake more sustainable initiatives about light (or energy) and poverty reduction since the global climate community has committed itself to phase down coal as source of energy whereas many energy poor people in Africa are coal-dependant. 

We will as well be developing post-pandemic projects and programmes with contents of Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction.  In other words, we shall plan and implement climate neutral projects to help keep us within the goal/trajectory of 1.5 Degree Celcius or below while also assisting in the reduction of poverty and the enhancement of sustainable development.

 

• • 2021 Gratitude

 

To end this year-in-review report, we would like to continue to thank our poverty reduction producers and enablers as we did in last week’s post. 

2021 was a memorable year for CENFACS for those who inspired us in responding to local and African needs at the challenging time of the continuing coronavirus pandemic.  We could not do it without their support. 

We thank them for making possible 2021 as another rewarding year of poverty reduction and of sustainable development as well as for what we accomplished together.  We hope to accomplish more in 2022 and beyond.

For further information or a full story of 2021 and to discuss any issues regarding this 2021 Year-in-Review Report, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

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 or as a New Year resolution.

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.

 

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

22 December 2021

 

Post No. 227

 

 

The Week’s Festive Contents

 

• Thanking 2021 Poverty Reduction Producers and Enablers

• Festive Season’s Arrangements

• Season’s Relief Triple Action Givings: Peace, Hope and Difference

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

 

 

Key Festive Messages

 

• Thanking 2021 Poverty Reduction Producers and Enablers

 

As 2021 comes to an end, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who produced poverty reduction with us and those who made poverty reduction possible for those in need and for us.  Amongst them are those who supported our work on poverty relief and sustainable development during this ending post-pandemic year.

For more information about this first key message, please read under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Festive Season’s Arrangements: from 23 December 2021 to 5 January 2022

 

The following are the arrangements we have made for the above stated period.

 

• • Queries and enquiries

 

During the festive holidays and the restrictions to slow down the spread of COVID-19 variants (Delta and Omicron), we will only handle online queries and enquiries until the 5th of January 2022.  However, our All-in-Development Winter e-discussion on Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction is still on until the 5th of January 2022 as planned.

 

• • Opening hours and days: 24/7

 

We are open online 24 hours and 7 days of week.

 

• • Visits

 

You can only visit us online.

 

• • Festive donations

 

Our festive campaigns highlight not only the projects and activities that are related to CENFACS’ demand, but also and mostly to the needs of those living in poverty around this time of the year and of the continuing coronavirus disruption.

Those who want to donate to our fundraising campaigns and projects (such as Gifts of Peace and End-of-Year 2021 Support); they are welcome to do so. 

Their festive support or donations will help bring a Blaze of Hope and Peace to those in need, particularly at this turbulent time of the new coronavirus pandemic variants.

As well as donating, there are other ways one can support.  These other ways range from spreading the message about CENFACS’ work and campaigns to visiting our online store for shopping.

All the above initiatives can create magical reliefs during this Festive Season and disturbing moment of restrictions relating to new COVID-19 variants.

 

• • Season of Light

 

Although our Season of Light has just kicked off, some of our services and activities (such as advocacy, in-person fundraising events, etc.) as well as development campaigns are scaled down until the 5^th of January 2022.  Also, they are even more reduced than the previous festive periods and years because of the coronavirus pandemic and the latest new COVID-19 variant (i.e. Omicron).

 

• • What’s on from 23 December 2021 to 5 January 2022!

 

We are breaking for the festive holidays while following the new COVID-19 restrictions.  However, there are projects that are essential in exceptional times like of the coronavirus pandemic and of the festive break.  One of them is advice-giving one which will still be run online. 

This is because evidence shows that in any difficult moments of human history or crisis, the poorest always suffer.  They do not have festive celebration as such, just as they could be the ones bearing the most negative socio-economic effects of the post-coronavirus pandemic and the return of COVID-19 restrictions.  Many of them need support which includes advice at any time. 

 

The above figure shows what is on between 23/12/2021 and 05/01/2022.  For those who want to get a further picture about what will be happening within CENFACS during the remaining days of December 2021, we recommend them to read our three last posts on the Blog page of this site.

 

• • Delays regarding call and e-mail responses

 

People should expect delay from us in responding to their calls and e-mails.  We heavily rely on volunteers for most of our services, who are sharing the Winter e-discussion with us during this Festive Time.  Some of them are already on holiday.   Also, the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions relating to the new COVID-19 variants (i.e. Delta and Omicron) do not make things easier.

 

• • Emergency and exceptions

 

In case of emergency or exceptional circumstances, please do not hesitate to text, phone, e-mail and complete the contact form on CENFACS’ website.  We will respond to your message as soon as we can. 

We apologize for any inconvenience or upset this may cause. 

We thank you all for your invaluable and sustained support during 2021 and look forward to your continued and further support in the New Year.

We wish you a Very Healthy, Safe and Peaceful Festive Season!

 

 

 

 

• Season’s Relief Triple Action Givings: Peace, Hope and Difference

 

• • What is the Season’s Relief Triple Action Giving?

 

It is about fighting poverty and hardships in a number of fronts over the Festive Season, particularly by helping…

(a) to bring peace,

(b) to create hope

(c) and to make a difference. 

 

Let us briefly explain each of the three givings (that is, peace, hope and difference). 

 

 

• • • Peace via the Gifts of Peace

 

Our celebratory theme for the Season’s Reliefs is Peace and continues to be alive to the end of this season.  The Gifts of Peace, which are one of CENFACS‘ festive favourites, are the set piece of the Season’s Reliefs that provides the absence of conflicts within ourselves as well as between us and others.

In terms of projects and programmes in Africa, the Gifts of Peace try to support poor people and communities so that they can navigate their ways towards freedoms from wars, armed conflicts, coronavirus disturbance and disorder from natural events.

For those who are looking for fundraising appeals or projects to fund as festive gifts over this festive time, Gifts of Peace as an appeal is a valuable proposal they could consider.

To enquiry about and or fund the Gifts of Peace, please contact CENFACS and go to Support Causes at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

• • • Hope through the Gift of Light

 

Our theme for the Season of Light is Hope and is still featuring what we have planned to achieve over this season.   The Gift of Light helps to bring hope to those who are in the darkness and need some lights to see life through other ways.  

Regarding the projects and programmes in our sphere of operation in Africa, through the Gift of Light we try to work with hopeless, desperate and destitute people and communities so that they can rebuild confidence and faith in themselves and continue to believe that they can find light and move away from darkness in the future.

 

• • • Difference by means of Charity e-Store

 

Shopping and donating goods at our Charity e-Store is the third giving.  Following the new COVID-19 variant and the current restrictions, CENFACS’ Charity e-Store is opened for goods donations.

We are asking goods donors and buyers to DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS SEASON by using these following options:

 

∝ Safe collection of goods for recycling: We can arrange for goods to be safely collected at an agreed location, day and time under our Recycle and Give policy 

∝ Goods buyers can Click and Collect. 

 

Every time you shop at CENFACS’ Charity e-Store, you make a helpful difference to people in need over this festive time. Amongst these people are those who are trying to fight the coronavirus-induced poverty.

  

The above are the Season’s Relief Triple Action Givings.  Each of these action givings will help to reduce poverty over the festive period and beyond. 

We can only help reduce and possibly end multi-dimensional poverty as well as coronavirus-induced poverty if you help us to do so.   And this time of the year is a unique opportunity for you once a year to change lives through your invaluable action giving, however small it may be.

Please, don’t miss this marvellous opportunity of the post-pandemic year and the end of the year.  There is a high demand for poverty reduction.

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

 

 

 

Extra Festive Messages

 

• Campaign for Resilience against the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19 Campaign) during the Festive Season

How to Integrate the New COVID Variant (Omicron variant) in the Shadowing Model of Fight against COVID-19

 

Our COVID-19 Campaign is also active and trending during the festive period and the new restrictions relating to the COVID-19 variants (i.e. Delta and Omicron) since the coronavirus has kept its sinusoidal shape as we thought it at the beginning of Autumn 2020.  The campaign is still in its Phase 3 of Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Strategies for our work in the UK and in Africa. 

This phase or stage includes the following sub-stages: recovery, repair, strengthened restoration and functional capacity.  We are dealing with the four sub-phases (i.e. recovery, repair, strengthened restoration and functional capacity) at the same time since these sub-phases are interlinked.  This concerns our actions relating to the two operations (in the UK and in Africa).

 

• • What is the COVID-19 Campaign by CENFACS during the festive season?

 

The COVID-19 Campaign by CENFACS during the festive period is about finding ways of integrating the new COVID variant or mutation in our shadowing model of fighting against the coronavirus pandemic. 

 

• • Keeping the momentum in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic

 

To keep and win the battle against the coronavirus, it is advisable to maintain a healthy relationship between hands, faces and space as we have been told by the health authorities and experts on COVID-19 matter.  It is better not to give up the basic healthcare principles and any life-saving advice during the festive season, even if one is double vaccinated against the coronavirus.

During this Festive Time, we are continuing to advocate for the community to stay resilient and vigilant against the coronavirus pandemic if one wants to win the fight against this deadly COVID-19 pandemic.  In this respect, it is in the best interest of everybody to act in a way that does not increase the health and economic threats and risks of the coronavirus pandemic and its variants on their and other people’s lives. 

For further details about the COVID-19 Campaign during the festive season, please check with CENFACS’ COVID-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction. 

 

 

 

• • Breaking out the vicious circle of the new economic inactivity

 

As many members of our community are living in the areas of COVID-19 restrictions, there could a need for some of them to find way to break out the vicious circle of the new socio-economic inactivity.  The exercises we have provided so far in relation to the COVID-19 lockdowns are still relevant and can be applied to manage the renewed socio-economic inactivity.  

For those who are looking for new types of activities including tips and hints, they can still let us know so that we can together e-work to come out with some new proposals to manage this challenging situation of COVID-19 changing faces and spikes which continue to occur during the Festive Season. 

Additionally, there are a lot of resources both print and online that can be used and accessed to deal with the renewed socio-economic effects of COVID-19 restrictions.

Need support to break out the vicious circle of the current socio-economic inactivity, please e-contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

• Festive Income Boost, All year-round Projects and the CENFACS Community

 

• • Festive Income Boost

 

For children, young people and families in need on whose behalf we relentlessly advocate; we can expect that they have managed to generate some little extra incomes they need to cover the extra expenses of the Season’s financial pressure. 

More importantly than anything else, they will manage to stay healthy and safe while exercising their basic human right to some forms of festive celebrations despite the coronavirus restrictions. 

Equally important, everybody in the community is doing what they can to better manage their spending limit and not to carry forward income deficit into 2022.

 

 

• • All Year-round Projects (Triple Value Initiatives)

 

Our All Year-round Projects or Triple Value Initiatives (i.e. Play, Run and Vote for poverty relief and development) will close on 23 December 2021 as planned.  One can hope that participants have been able to select their African Country or Game Runner or Development Manager of the Post-pandemic Year.  Those who have not done it, they have still 24 hours to do. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who responded to our call for Action-Results 2021.

 

 

 

• • The CENFACS Community

 

We would like as well to express our gratitude to those who replied to the Community Value Chains, the CENFACS Community, by adding their talents and skills to our register.

 

 

• Natural and Climate Balances in Festive Celebrations (or Net Zero Festive Celebrations)

 

It is possible to offset one’s carbon foot print and to have a positive effect on the nature and climate by the way one will celebrate their Festive Season.  It is possible to have a net zero CO2 emissions festive celebration; that is a festive celebration that does not add extra emissions to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. 

Already, COVID-19 lockdowns had beneficial effects on nature and climate to a certain extent in Summer 2019.  However, none needs everlasting lockdowns for these effects to happen.  This benefice can be increased in the way one may want to pass their Festive Season.

In this respect, our nature and climate campaigns continue as we are carrying on advocating about the maintenance of healthy balance between festive celebration and nature, between the season’s festivities and climate.  In other words, it is possible to have a festive celebration that is net zero CO2 emissions and climate-friendly while preserving the wealth and health of the nature.

Briefly, this extra festive message, which reinforces our commitment to the development of sustainable initiatives, can be translated into action at individual level.  The message is indeed about natural and climate balances by the way of approaching and celebrating the special days of the Festive Season (e.g. Christmas and the New Year’s Eve).

For more details and support about natural and climate balances in one’s festive celebrations, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.    

 

Remerciements et Voeux Festifs 2021

A tous ceux et toutes celles qui ont permis au CENFACS de réaliser le travail de  réduction de la pauvreté et du développement durable au cours de l’année 2021, le CENFACS vous dit…

 

 

infiniment.  

Le CENFACS vous souhaite une saison des fêtes saine, sécuritaire et paisible.

 

 

Main Festive Development

 

• Thanking 2021 Poverty Reduction Producers and Enablers

 

The work and produce of CENFACS are collective endeavour.  The end of the year gives us an opportunity of the many to thank all those who directly and indirectly contributed to the year 2021, either as poverty relief producer or maker or even enabler.

Perhaps, the best way of thanking could be to do it individually by naming every contributor.  There could be a risk of forgetting some audiences and supporters.  To avoid this risk, we are thanking them collectively although we may mention here and there some names. 

Year 2021 has continued the thread of 2020 in terms of historical challenge for CENFACS and many people/organisations in the world as the world is still battling against the coronavirus pandemic.  The toughening of restrictions in many places to slow down the spread of COVID-19 and its Omicron variant, the mandatory re-wearing of face masks and home working/studying as part of COVID-19 rules are all the indications of the challenge of the year including at this festive time.  

Despite this unparalleled challenge of the post-pandemic year, the commitment of various individuals and organisations to what we are trying to achieve has been indisputable and will be unforgettable. 

In particular, we would like to mention the following contributors: users, volunteers, web readers and commentators, web reviewers, local people and families, Africa-based Sister Organisations, charitable organisations, non-governmental organisations, community groups, third sector organisations, recycling organisations, individuals, etc.

Year 2021 has been dedicated as a “Leafy” Year, a Year of Leaves of Poverty Reduction within CENFACS.  During this year, we have tried as much as we can to reach out to those in need of relief from poverty and hardships through our Twelve Leaves of Poverty Reduction.  As it has been as well as a continuing pandemic year, we have deployed our efforts and resources to help and work with the community and our Africa-based Sister Organisations to protect themselves and others from the continuing life-threatening and –destroying impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

We would like to thank all those who have helped and worked with us in our COVID-19 Campaign to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and its destructive health and economic effects including the consequences of lockdowns.

Without undermining the other valuable and traditional sources of support we normally receive, we would like to thank, particularly but not exclusively, WordPress.com, Easily.uk and Twitter.com.  We thank them for providing us again with the opportunity to bring our ideas and work of poverty reduction to life to not only our audience but to a global audience as well.

WordPress.com, Easily.uk and Twitter.com with their platforms have continued to give us as a charity a tremendous opportunity and learning experience to engage the public and other supporters as well as to enable us to re-communicate our anti-poverty messages and undertake our work on sustainable development.  They helped us to create happy memories for our project users while enabling their wishes and dreams come true.

Small charitable organisations do not always have the financial means to put their messages across, to connect supporters with their causes.  Having the possibility of using free or sometimes affordable means of communications can enormously impact the work of these charities.   Free or cheap is not always poor quality or option, just as heavily paid option is not always the best one.  All depends on what you get and what it achieves.

2021 will be remembered by many including CENFACS as a post-pandemic year.  It is also a year of economic slowdown as many of the economic effects of the coronavirus disaster and shock have been accumulated this year.  The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent effects have forced us to shield ourselves as well as to remotely or distance work in order to achieve our mission and aims.  This has meant we had to go out our normal way and means to reinvent ourselves in order to deliver the same and new services in exceptional circumstances. 

Thanks to the support we have received from some of you, we have been still able to manage the bumps along the poverty reduction road.  We could punch above our weight in delivering poverty reduction outcomes and products for those in extreme and urgent need.  In this respect, CENFACS is thankful for all of you who gave so that together we have been able to produce poverty reduction.

This year, we would like to extend our gratitude to other living things.  To advocate for the peaceful relationship with the nature, the preservation of the biodiversity, the net zero CO2 emissions, the reduction of adverse impacts of climate change, the protection of endangered species of the fauna and flora and so on; we had to use images and pictures from the flora and fauna.  We would like to say thank you to those beautiful and scarce creatures of the nature that helped us to put our messages across.  We would like as well to express gratitude to our Africa-based Sister Organisations whose inputs have been instrumental in this advocacy.

To sum up, we are using the opportunity of the end of year to thank all those who produced poverty reduction, made and enabled the year 2021 work for CENFACS, its beneficiaries and other deserving and noble causes related to ours.

We would like to express all our feelings of thank you and best wishes of the Season’s Greetings to all our 2021 Poverty Reduction Producers, Makers and Enablers.

 

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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

15 December 2021

 

Post No. 226

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Season of Light: Starts 21 December 2021

• Festive Trends

• Festive Giving and Gifting

… And much, much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• The Lights Season: Starts 21 December 2021

 

• • Autumn Fresh Start to the Season of Light

 

The Autumn Season officially will end at the beginning of next week.  The momentum we have built from the beginning and throughout Autumn Fresh Start Season continues to galvanise our poverty relief action and is taking our relief journey into the Season of Light, which will start on the 21^st of December next week.

Next mid-week, Autumn Fresh Start projects and programmes as well as campaign will end.  The Season of Light will start within CENFACS; season during which we light up a Blaze of Hope for people and communities suffering from the effects and impacts of destructive wars and natural disasters in Africa. 

During the coming Season of Light, our Blaze of Hope will be extended to those who are continuing suffering from the adverse health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and related lockdowns, particularly those trapped by the growing hunger crisis in Africa.  This is let alone the new challenge brought by COVID-19 new variants (like Omicron). 

The Season of Light will come with the Lights Appeal or Campaign, which is the project that features the Season of Light.  The Season of Light, which usually starts the 21^st of December of each year and ends around 21 March in the New Year, runs through the Festive Season, which is between 01 December of the ending year (here 2021) and 31 January in the New Year (2022).  The Gifts of Peace, which keep on giving, normally feature the Festive Season.

 

• • Two Themes, Two Seasons and Two Gifts

 

The theme for the Season of Light is Hope which we try to bring through a Blaze, while the theme for the Festive Season’s Reliefs is Peace.  During the Festive Season, we try to reduce poverty as a lack of peace via the Gifts of Peace; whereas in the context of the Season of Light we work through Lights Appeals/Gifts to relieve poverty as a lack of hope.  Those who feel themselves hopeless need some hope.

Under the Main Development section of this post, there is more information about the Season of Light 2021/2022.

 

 

• Festive Trends

 

• • December and End of Autumn 2021 Updates and Trends

 

The following updates and trends cover three initiatives: All in Development Winter e-Discussion, Autumn 2021 Humanitarian Relief Appeal and Community Value Chains.

 

• • • All in Development Winter e-Discussion 2021/2022: Remote Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction

 

All in Development Winter e-Discussion is currently trending as planned amongst CENFACS’ December products and services.  This e-Discussion is in its second week.  

The following points are under the e-discussion:

 

∝ Remote volunteering and delivery of an action plan for climate neutrality and poverty reduction in 2022 and beyond

∝ Remote volunteering and the use of digital technologies (especially distance-working ones) to transform CENFACS’ volunteering operations

∝ Remote volunteering and the delivery of a relatively strong impact digital volunteering experience in the post-pandemic age

∝ Remote volunteering and its contribution in the situation of return of COVID-19 threats brought by its variants (like the newly identified Omicron variant)

∝ Remote volunteering and the delivery of a true value poverty reduction in the landscape of climate neutrality

 

Additionally, we are e-working on the following matters:

 

∝ The state of volunteering 2021 within CENFACS as 2021 is nearing end

∝ The 2022 volunteering budget

∝ Quantitative and qualitative effects or legacies of COVID-19 and its variants on our volunteering action

∝ Forecasting and projections about volunteering opportunities for the next year

To e-discuss volunteers’ matters relating to Remote Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Autumn 2021 Humanitarian Relief Appeal: Only One Week to Go!

 

We have only one week remaining for our humanitarian appeal for Autumn 2021.  This appeal is about supporting needy people, flora, fauna, communities and organisations in Africa. 

 

• • Projects making this appeal

 

The appeal includes the following five selected projects: 

 

√ Skills for Building Forward Better

√ Symmetry Project

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

√ Back-to-School Support

√ Save Flora and Fauna projects

 

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

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

 

• • Supporting the Autumn 2021 Campaign

 

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 and its new variants which are enormously disrupting 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 this seasonal appeal was launched to help not only to reduce poverty but also to save lives from the coronavirus disaster.

 

• • Where donors’ and funders’ money will go

 

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 they wish.  In other words, for every £2 raised, £1 will go to humans and £1 will be invested in other natural beings.

 

• • Gift-Aiding your donation

 

You can declare your charitable donation made as eligible for Gift Aid.  You can as well 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 or go to our ‘support causes’ page at Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk) .

 

 

 

• Community Value Chains, the CENFACS Community 

 

CENFACS as a Community that helps to take a leaf of poverty reduction out of others’ book, which is the Closing Act of the 2021 Year, is being prepared and trended. 

 

• • What is CENFACS’ Community Value Chains (CVC)?

 

1) It is a community value control, inspirational and motivational project of end-of-year celebration introduced by CENFACS in 2009.  The project is based on a basic idea of development which is as follows. 

What a member of our community best does which well works for them can have an underlying good value.  If there is a good value, it is desirable to share such value so that other members of our community could be aware of it and build a sort of chains of beliefs and community spirit/principles within our support network.

2) It is all about improving lives and outcomes of community members as well as enlivening capacities by sharing good practices, values and achievements; while learning from past mistakes.

In doing so, we can pull together as one community, strengthen our links and bonds, learn our differences and harness transformative changes we all want amongst us and beyond our self-interests.

3) It is finally about sharing and celebrating our impact as a community.

 

To sum up, CENFACS’ CVC or the CENFACS Community is our voluntary local and non-profit making arm inside which all our projects and activities carried out in the UK are grouped and delivered; the other two domains being CENFACS International and CENFACS Fund for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development.

 

• • What are those Shared Values? 

 

Good practices and good values do not need to be big or exceptional or even spectacular.  They are the simple good little things we do every day, which may have worked for us and could work for others as well.  

They could be life and work learning experiences, lifestyles, helpful differences, social responsibilities and principles that underpin them.  At this time of the continuing coronavirus disturbance with its variants, they could be all the little initiatives one has taken to care each other in order to stay safe, healthy and productive.

 

• • Sharing and celebrating impact via CVC 2021

 

CENFACS as a Community that helps to take a leaf of poverty reduction out of others’ book (or the Closing Act of the Leafy Year) will feature our year-end campaign.

This celebratory theme for CVC’s 12^th Celebration of CENFACS as a Community is and will be the Closing Act of the Leafy Year and Project.  However, this celebration will be a low key one since many of supporters and users have been affected by the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus disaster and related lockdowns.  Instead, we shall call it end-of-year sharing.

 

• • The 12^th Celebration of CENFACS Community as way of looking both back and forward

 

Looking back at 2021 will be about CENFACS as a community that helped its members to take a leaf of poverty reduction out of others’ book, that is imitate those who did well (or led by good examples) in their course of action. 

Looking forward 2022 will be a sharing to turn over a new leaf in order to begin a new and improved course of action in the New Year.

Briefly, it will be a virtual sharing of our leafiness on how the 2021 went on in everybody’s life in terms of the positive takeaways from it in order to build forward in 2022.  In this virtual sharing, the positive experience from the coronavirus pandemic and strengthened restrictions will be welcome. 

We want our community ends the 2021 on a positive note or sharing despite the ups and downs of this year, especially with the disturbance that the coronavirus pandemic has caused and is continuing to cause on many of us.  We would like as well our community to start 2022 with hope.

 

• • Share, Spread & Tweet the message

 

To enable us to build chains with you and others and to keep our support network alive and networked CENFACS, please spread the message to/pass it on around you.

If you feel that you need first to talk to us before responding to this invitation of end-of-year celebration/sharing, please let us know. 

If you prefer to respond via e-mail, you are free to do so at facs@cenfacs.org.uk. 

Whichever way or means you choose to enter this year-end sharing project, please reply by the 23rd of December 2021 so as to ease the end-of-year 2021 celebration/sharing and the start-of-year 2022 preparatory activities, projects and programmes.

For further details about this Closing Act of the Leafy Year and Project as well as the other Leaves of Poverty Reduction 2021 as a “L” Year, please contact CENFACS. 

For the timeline of the themes that made the Community Value Chains so far, please also contact CENFACS. 

As part of the closure of 2021 and preparation for 2022, we are as well doing an inventory of skills and are registering the talents and skills of the CENFACS Community. 

If you have not yet registered your skills to CENFACS’ Skills Data Bank, this is the opportunity to do it over this festive period.

To register or add your skills to the CENFACS Community’s Skills Register or Database, just contact CENFACS.    

 

 

 

• Festive Giving and Gifting

 

As part of the season of gifts and of the response to the continuing impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on vulnerable and poor people, we are asking supporters to go extra miles in responding in these two fundraising appeals which are: Festive Gift Set and End-of-year Support.

 

 

 

• • Festive Gift Set

 

The remaining two weeks and two days of this year starting from today are those of the last legacy of the Year 2021 as a “Leafy” Year at CENFACS. 

To mark the end of and the Closing Act of our “Leafy” Year and Campaign, we are appealing to you to support CENFACS’ year 2021 through a “Leaf” (“L”) Gift. 

Such a gift will help to cover the cost of efforts made to help reduce poverty, to knowledge CENFACS’ work and to keep its momentum over the festive period while carrying us in the New Year and future.

 

 

With the “Leaf” Gift plus the Gift of Light plus the Gift of Peace; the three of them give you a Gift Set of £5 or more.  What do these gifts express?

 

• • • Expressions from the three gifts (of Leaf, Light and Peace)

 

• • • • The “L” Gift represents the 12 Leaves of Poverty Reduction and bond with poor people as well as harmony with nature, especially during this challenging time of the coronavirus pandemic and its variants. 

 

• • • • The Gift of Light symbolises hope for the victims of coronavirus, wars and natural disasters.

 

• • • • The Gifts of Peace create long lasting relationships in a world without conflicts between humans as well as between humans and the nature (other living beings and things).  At this time of the coronavirus pandemic and of strengthened restrictions, the Gifts of Peace will enable to re-conquer the lost peace and get new form of peace from the COVID-19 led poverty.  This is without forgetting the lack of peace brought by climate change events.

 

All these initiatives represent some great ways of helping to reduce poverty at this special time of the year.  They give indeed more opportunities to supporters to do something different for those in need. 

By donating £5 or more for this Gift Set, you will help people in need to leave poverty and hardships behind them and may be for ever.

To donate and or enquire about this Gift Set, just contact CENFACS with or without your donation. 

 

 

 

 

• • End-of-year Support and Appeal

 

As 2021 is coming to an end, we would like to ask you to donate as a legacy towards CENFACS’ efforts to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

You can donate to support CENFACS’ anti-poverty campaign and to help reduce poverty and hardships this festive season and in the New Year. 

Your support can make helpful differences to CENFACS and to those in need, the people and communities that CENFACS serves. 

 

• • • Two ways of responding to this appeal

 

1) Make a One-off Festive Donation of £5 or more this festive time…

 

as a way of helping poor people via CENFACS and / or support CENFACS’ work on poverty relief and sustainable development

You can also support one of the CENFACS projects and programmes if you wish.

 

2) Make a Monthly Donation of £5 or £10 or £15 or more per month…

 

as a legacy for CENFACS’ work

Please make an end-of-year contribution today to help us continue to deliver the work of CENFACS in 2021 and beyond.

This End-of-year Support is an inclusive relief sending a never-ending message from the giver that they are part of what we have achieved in 2021 and will do in the coming years.

To make a donation and or enquire about this End-of-year Support, just contact CENFACS with or without your donation. 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• All year round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives): 2021 Verdict

 

The week is finally an occasion to remind the need to report on All-year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives) which are:  Play, Run and Vote projects for poverty relief and development. 

As we are reaching the end of year 2021, it is now the time to report on our three All-year Round Projects – which are Play, Run and Vote. 

We know that this post-pandemic year has been challenging for some of you to run some types of activities.  However, for those who have managed to undertake and complete the above named projects, we would like them to share with us and others their experiences, stories and reports regarding these projects.

 

• • The Action-Results of 2021: Tell it!

 

You can feedback the outcomes or Action-Results of your…

… Run if you ran for poverty relief over the year 2021 (or organised a Run activity)

… Play if you played the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief

… Vote if you have already voted your 2021 African Poverty Relief and Development Manager.

 

We would be more than happier to hear your Action and Results to feature and conclude CENFACS 2021 Year as Year of Leaves.  Tell it!

 

• • What or who we want to hear

 

We would like to hear from you about the Winner of CENFACS Virtual Trophy of the Post-pandemic Year, that is one of the following Three Stars or Bests of the Post-pandemic Year:

 

√ The Best African Country of 2021 which best reduced poverty

√ The Best African Global Games Runner of 2021

√ The Best African Poverty Relief and International Development Manager of 2021

 

If you have not yet told us, have your say by 23 December 2021!  The Verdict is yours!

 

 

 

 

 

• Income Generation Leads/Advice: Income Generators and Creators of the Month

 

Our advisory service on leads to income generation is still on.  Through this festive advice service, we are trying to explore the different leads or avenues that those in need can use, depending on their personal circumstances; to find the appropriate means to generate little extra income.  This is done bearing in mind that we are in post-pandemic time which itself still restricts the possibility for generating further income.

In this income generation to reduce poverty, we are as well trying to enlist those who could be named as Income Generation Models or Income Generators and Creators of the Season.  We are looking at their models or ways of generating little extra income.  We are assessing whether or not their models of generating income are generalizable or duplicatable or just are exceptions to the general rule and to the CENFACS Community.

If anyone has managed to generate little extra income and finds that their way of doing it has an underlying good value that can be shared with the CENFACS CVC members, please do not hesitate to talk to CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Structured Festive Activities or Micro-projects under Spending Limit Programme/Scheme: Deadlines expired!

 

The deadlines we set up for structured festive activities or micro-projects under Spending Limit Programme/Limit (07 and 14/12/2021) have now expired. 

For those who still need support regarding their spending limit or planning problems, they can still contact CENFACS.  They can contact us for their queries or enquiries relating to any of these following activities:

∝ Spending threshold, respect for spending restriction and little extra income generation under Spending Limit Programme

∝ Elaboration of an action plan for spending limit, and building and understanding cash flow statements or projections under Spending Limit Scheme

 

Need festive advice or support regarding your spending limit or spending planning problems, please do not hesitate to e-contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Season of Light: Starts 21 December 2021

 

The Lights Season at CENFACS kicks off with the theme of Hope as said above.  We are going to deliver this Hope with post-pandemic projects and programmes with contents of Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction.

 

• • What will shape the Season of Light?

 

As we presented in our post 224 of the 1^st December 2021, the 2021-2022 Season of Light will be about working on issues revolving around light (or energy) and poverty reduction since the global climate community has committed itself to phase down coal as source of energy whereas many energy poor people in Africa are coal-dependant.

It will be also about how to harness transformational and structural changes in the context of changing uncertainty in the Anthropocene driven by COVID-19 evolution and climate change so that those who living in poverty can find the means and spaces they need to navigate out of it.

The 2021-2022 Season of Light is also an energy transitional period to work with those living in poverty so that they transition from polluting to clean and green energy and technology.  To achieve or start or continue this energy transition to carbon net zero, it requires Hope and support. 

The two developments (COVID-19 evolution and climate neutrality) will shape our 2021-2022 Season of Light.  In the light of these developments, CENFACS will approach 2022 with a set of climate neutral projects.  Details of these projects will be unveiled in the New Year.

So, we will be developing post-pandemic projects and programmes with contents of Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction; that is climate neutral projects to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

 

 

 

• • Two themes to bear in mind this Festive and Lights Time: Peace and Hope

 

While the theme of Peace will be dominant over the festive celebrations period, the theme of Hope is the overall theme of the Season of Lights. 

 

• • • The theme of Hope

 

The theme of Hope is made of notes or pieces of climate neutrality and energy transition.   In this sense that we shall bring a glimmer of hope through climate neutrality and energy transition under control by the poor over this Wintry season.

 

• • • The theme of Peace

 

The Gifts of Peace are included in the Season of Light.  Peace is the festive theme we choose to spread the joy of Season’s Reliefs to those in need.   We try to help their wishes of poverty relief become true through the Gits of Peace that put a smile on their faces and lips with relief notes while hoping their faces will become again uncovered in the post-coronavirus time.

 

• • The Gift of Light that Keeps on Giving this Winter

 

• • • A gift of light for every person in need everywhere!

 

The Lights season is the season during which we try to bring light or shine light to impoverished lives in the darkness.  We try to bring clarity, brightness to people who need to see clearly and accurately about their life.  It is about helping them see the light of relief so that they can see the world in a new relieved light or version.

 

• • • A gift of light that ignites and sparks the life of those in need!

 

This is why we have the Lights project at CENFACS; projects which enable us to bring lights to those in need.  Like the last Winter, this Winter 2021-2022, our Lights projects will focus on two parts or two waves of action: 

 

1) post-coronavirus, post-war and post-natural disaster developments

2) current and emerging armed conflicts and environmental catastrophes as well as new waves of coronavirus caused by new variants

 

However, in these developments and waves, we shall take into account the changing contexts in Africa where there could be scaling down or changing types of crises (for example, the policy of silencing the guns in Africa has changed the types of conflicts).  At the moment, there is a growing hunger crisis due to the drastic impacts of the coronavirus, economic slowdown and climate change.

 

• • • A gift of light that helps people to navigate their own way out poverty with pride!

 

The Gift of Light is about helping people to help themselves.  By using the light, they can find their own way out poverty and hardships, out of darkness instead of CENFACS telling them what do.  They can act with self-esteem and self-respect.  In this respect, the Gift of Light is a blessing of empowerment.

 

• • • A Blaze of Hope for post-life following coronavirus, armed conflicts and natural disasters

 

When there are environmental disasters and armed conflicts, there are pledges and commitments to end the effects of wars and disasters.  For various reasons, some of these pledges do not always materialise.  The post-war and post-disaster developments are sometimes left without support even until the conflicts and disasters return and or strike again. 

The same situation can happen with the coronavirus disaster if pledges made are not carried out by those who made them while letting the return of coronavirus-induced poverty to happen.  It can as well happen if the pledges made (at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties held in Glasgow between 01 and 12 December 2021) to help poor nations to transition towards net zero CO2 emissions world are not followed by concrete actions.

As we cannot wait the return or repeat of the same coronavirus, wars and disasters; our first Blaze of Hope will go this Winter to the unfinished business of previous destructions and disruptions brought by coronavirus, wars and natural disasters.

 

• • • A Blaze of Hope for the eruption of any coronavirus, armed conflicts and natural disasters

 

We always advocate for preventive development and we do not seek for destructive events to happen.  However, our preparedness and readiness should make us to assemble as quickly as possible advocacy tools should any effects and impacts erupt from new COVID-19 waves, wars and natural disasters in Africa. 

So, our second wave of intervention or Blaze of Hope will go this Wintry season to erupted effects of coronavirus, armed conflicts and natural disasters in the areas of our interest in Africa. 

With these two waves of action over this Wintry Season, we hope to enlighten the lives of those in pressing and emergent need.

 

• • • Examples of areas where a Blaze of Hope may be needed

 

For this December 2021, we have initially selected four areas that may need lighting a Blaze of Hope, which are as follows:

∝ Areas of countries severely affected by the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and its variants like in Madagascar, Cameroon and Burundi

∝ Areas of vulnerable countries affected by or prone to torrential rains and cyclones that could cause enormous food insecurity such as in Chad (where flooding affected almost 250,000 people last September), Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo

∝ Areas of countries devastated by killing diseases like in North Cameroon with cholera and malaria in DRC

∝ Areas of countries that are the victims of a high level of persisting civil insecurity such as in Burkina Faso,  Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and Niger

∝ Areas of countries where innocent people are the victims of new forms of insecurity (e.g. interpersonal violence and gang violence) and forced displacement like in Mali and Burkina Faso

The above selection is an initial one, which may change depending how and where humanitarian events will unfold in Africa.  The selection will help to start our Light advocacy and campaign.  

We know that many of our supporters have been affected by the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus and the prolonged impacts of lockdowns as well as the new restrictions due to the newly identified COVID-19 variant, Omicron.  Let alone the restrictions on travel and free movements in other parts of the world. 

For those who can support Light project, we can count on them to move forward this advocacy or campaign.  And we would like to thank them in advance.

For any queries or enquiries regarding the Season of Light, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

08 December 2021

 

Post No. 225

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Leafy Year/Project – The 12^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction: Leaf to Generate Income

• Structured Festive Activities or Micro-projects under Spending Limit Programme/Scheme

• All-in-Development Winter e-Discussion 2021/2022: Remote Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Leafy Year/Project – The 12^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction: Leaf to Generate Income

 

In a series of activities for the Leafy Year/Project (or the 2021 as a Year of Leaves) within CENFACS, we are undertaking the last activity this month.  This activity consists of looking at how leaves can help in offsetting the growing financial pressure on our household users’ budget and of working together with them so that they can undertake activities that could help them to generate a little extra income to tackle certain forms of poverty (like the coronavirus-induced poverty) over the festive period and beyond.

The continuing effects of COVID-19 are such that many earning capacities have dramatically collapsed while one can notice the soaring of COVID-19 debt burden for many poor households making our community.  To respond to this persisting challenge, the last episode of our series of the Year of Leaves is about finding a promising way of working with or empowering those poor beneficiaries so that they can remake their lost income earning capacity and where possible they can make a little extra income to make ends meet in a month of Income Generation within CENFACS.   In doing so, they can grow or develop a leaf to generate income and reduce poverty.

The details of this 12^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction or Leaf of Income Generation together with the previous Leaves of poverty Reduction can be found under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Structured Festive Activities or Micro-projects under Spending Limit Programme/Scheme

 

As part of Spending Limit Programme and Scheme Periods (01 to 07/12/2021 and 08 to 14/12/2021), we are available to work in hybrid way with users via a Spending Limit Programme (SLP) or Scheme (SLS) so that they can start stronger in the New Year.  Both SLP and SLS will help beneficiaries to reduce spending risks and improve their intergenerational income and transfers.  To practise SLP and SLS, we are carrying out structured festive activities for the two periods as indicated below. 

 

• • Structured Festive Activities under Spending Limit Programme (01 to 07/12/2021)

 

Under the SLP, we are currently running the following structured activities.

 

Activity 1: Spending Threshold

 

Through this activity, we can work together with the community so that users with spending limit problems can set up their spending threshold on their planned budget.

 

Activity 2: Respect for Spending Restriction

 

Through this second activity, we can work with users with spending limit problems to help them stay within the spending limit they planned/agreed themselves or agreed/imposed by third parties (like bank overdrafts).

 

Activity 3:  Little Extra Income Generation

 

Through this third activity, we can work with income poor users to explore any suitable means for them to create further income and reduce poverty as lack of income.

 

Need festive advice or support regarding your spending limit problems, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

If you have spending limit problems and missed any of the activities of the SLP, you can still contact CENFACS so that we can work together on your spending limit needs and support you to start the New Year stronger.

 

• • Structured Festive Activities under Spending Limit Scheme (08 to 14/12/2021)

 

We can work together with you and help you elaborate an action plan about your spending limit for a given period (e.g. a week or a month or a six months or a year).  Under this scheme, we can organise together the following activities.

 

Activity 1: Elaboration of an action plan for spending limit

 

Through this activity, we shall work with users with spending plan issues to produce an action plan or budget for spending limit that matches their financial circumstances and conditions of life.

 

Activity 2: Building and understanding cash flow statements or projections

 

Through this activity, we shall work with users with spending planning issues to write down their cash inflows and outflows as well as opening and closing balances so that they can start the New Year with confidence as far as their financial health is concerned.  

 

Need festive advice or support regarding your spending planning problems, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

If you have spending planning problems, you can contact CENFACS so that we can work together on your spending planning needs and help you to start the New Year stronger.

 

 

• All-in-Development Winter e-Discussion 2021/2022: Remote Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction

 

As the 2021 will come soon to an end at the end of this year, we need to start thinking about our voluntary work.  We need to do it, although we are still dealing with the post-coronavirus pandemic legacies.  

From 05 December 2021, we started  to think of it since CENFACS is a volunteering-involved and -based organisation; meaning that CENFACS heavily relies on volunteers in order to deliver its services and programmes.  It also means we need to start planning for this next year in terms of the way in which we would like to volunteer so as to continue to achieve CENFACS’ vision, mission, aim, objectives and charitable objects.  This planning process is even important as we are in a post-coronavirus and post-exit economic era. 

Indeed, the scale of the health and economic damages caused by the coronavirus disaster is colossal and will be still felt in the future in the living memory.  In addition, there are still COVID-19 variants (e.g. like newly identified Omicron variant) that are coming to apply more threats and damages to lives.  This is despite the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine and booster jabs.  These damages will be mostly felt by those who have not got any capacity and means to deal with them.  Amongst them, there are poor people.

It will be difficult to pay for the cost of these damages in the short and medium terms.  Volunteering will be much needed to help deal with some of the legacies of the coronavirus disaster.  

Likewise, the economic impact of the UK’s exit from the EU regional economic model of integration is still felt.  The cost of changing economic ties with the EU has led to some forms of adjusted volunteering for us to continue the work of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

In order to get ready, some preparations must be done.  We already started these preparations last and this years.  We are continuing these preparations and discussions through our All-in-Development Winter e-Discussion.  These Winter e-volunteering discussions, which already began since the 5th of this month, are briefly on Remote Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction.    

 

• • What is remote volunteering?

 

The National Centre for Voluntary Organisations (1) defines volunteering as

“Any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives. Central to this definition is the fact that volunteering must be a choice freely made by each individual”.

From the above definition, one can argue that remote volunteering is about volunteering at a time and location (that is, away from a usual workplace) that matches the volunteer’s needs while still making a positive impact on the life of those in need.  Such type volunteering requires specific types of means like distance-working technologies.

 

• • What is climate neutrality?

 

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat (2), climate neutrality refers to

“The idea of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by balancing those emissions so they are equal (or less than) the emissions that get removed through the planet’s natural absorption; in basic terms it means we reduce our emissions through climate action”.

 

From these two definitions, we are e-discussing on how volunteers can support CENFACS in the New Year in order to remotely help reduce poverty in the context of climate neutrality.  These e-discussions revolve around the following points.

 

• • E-discussion volunteering Points

 

The following points are scheduled to be part of the e-discussion:

 

√ How remote volunteers can help CENFACS to deliver an action plan for climate neutrality and poverty reduction in 2022 and beyond

√ How remote volunteers can assist CENFACS to use technologies (especially distance-working ones) to transform its volunteering operations

√ How remote volunteers can support CENFACS to deliver a strong impact digital volunteering experience in the post-pandemic age

√ How remote volunteers can effectively contribute in the situation of return of COVID-19 threats brought by its variants (like the newly identified Omicron variant)

√ How remote volunteers can deliver true value poverty reduction in the landscape of climate neutrality

 

The clarification about these points will help to determine remote volunteers’ involvement and engagement with CENFACS.  To put these points in practice, we are considering the following beyond volunteering theories.

 

• • Practical examples to remotely volunteer for climate neutrality and poverty reduction

 

The examples below are our way of engaging and involving volunteers in 2022:

 

a) Remote volunteers can help to measure or estimate their own or users’ CO2 emissions using a calculator (online carbon footprint calculator) in terms of energy consumption in Kwh/month.

b) They can as well measure heating energy source (i.e. coal, gas, wood, charcoal, electricity, etc.)

c) They can help encourage users to switch to green electricity provider, to walk or cycle.

In brief, they can help to estimate CENFACS Community’s CO2 emissions. 

 

There would be more examples and many ways of getting volunteers engaged and involved in 2022; examples which would be e-discussed. 

 

The above points are some of those issues we have identified so far which are being discussed and put to all our supporters to help us in providing their inputs.  

To add your views about Remote Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction, please contact CENFACS.   Also, for those who would like to know more about the organisation of All-in-Development Winter e-Discussion 2021/2022, they can refer to the timeline below.

 

 

 

The above timeline indicates that from 06 to 11 December 2021, we are e-discussing Remote Volunteering within CENFACS.  From 13 to 18 December 2021, we will be e-debating Volunteering for Climate Neutrality.  These two volunteering e-discussions would include poverty reduction as well. 

Between 19 December 2021 and 02 January 2022, we will break for festivity and end-of-year celebration like everybody.  It is also a time to digest what would have been discussed and start to think of new volunteering ideas and proposals for the New Year. 

Our e-discussions will resume on 03 January 2022.  From 03 to 05 January 2022, we shall work on 2022 Action Plan with key action points and policy recommendations on the direction of All-in-Development Volunteer Scheme.  In particular, the points to be highlighted will help to indicate how we can deliver a high impact volunteer experience in the post-COVID-19 poverty reduction world in 2022 and beyond.

   

 

 

• Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS) 

 

It is possible to support CENFACS and its AiDVS from wherever you are (at home, work, away, online, abroad, on the go and move, etc.). 

It is true that many people are still suffering from the health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic which have also affected the way in which they support good causes. 

However, supporting us does not need to be magical and majestic.  One can still support deserving causes like CENFACS while trying to recover from the health and economic effects of the coronavirus. 

Also, your support will help us to support others, like you, who have been affected by the same coronavirus crisis and effects. 

One can still enjoy a great festive season while they are supporting us. 

There are many simple helpful and useful ways of adding value to our voluntary work.

Here are some suggestions on ways of supporting with wintry and festive news, information and products:

 

√ Gift ideas for the best ways of monitoring, evaluating and reviewing projects and programmes in the New Year

√ Savings and scrimping for AiDVs

√ Festive deals, packages, coupons and vouchers for AiDVs

√ Distance working technologies for volunteering to make the world a better place for a low-carbon, COVID-19 free and sustainable future we all want

√ Low carbon economic products to protect the environment and nature

√ Digital and media support to better volunteer for a climate neutral   and sustainable world

√ COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment gifts for healthy and safe volunteering in the New Year

√ Wintry and festive giveaways for volunteering for a net zero CO2 emissions world

Etc.

 

To e-discuss Remote Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction, please contact CENFACS or just forward your comments, views and experiences to us.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Stepping up COVID-19 Campaign this Festive Season

 

The coronavirus rules have been recently strengthened in England due to the newly identified Omicron variant.  The booster programme is being expanded and face coverings have re-become compulsory in shops and on public transport.   Because of that, we are stepping up our COVID-19 Campaign during the festive period and in the context of the Phase 3 (Rehabilitation Phase of this Campaign).  We are as well stepping up the latest development of this campaign (End of Covid-19-induced Poverty) which is related to type of poverty generated by the coronavirus or Covid-19-induced Poverty. 

 

• • What does stepped-up COVID-19 Campaign mean?

 

A stepped-up COVID-19 Campaign means a number of actions for CENFACS’ two areas of operations (in the UK and in Africa) will be undertaken within the Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Phase.  This phase or stage includes the following sub-stages: recovery, repair, strengthened restoration and functional capacity. 

It also means that actions need to be taken for both the original and broad COVID-19 Campaign which mostly deals the health and economic issues posed by the coronavirus pandemic, and End of COVID-19-induced Poverty, which is a specific 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. 

 

• • • Actions relating to the operation in the UK

 

Stepped-up actions relating to this operation mean the following.

 

We are following to letter health advice and guidance from the National Health Service, the World Health Organisation and the UK authorities (both local and national) about the protection of ourselves, the community and the wider public.

We are wearing face coverings, sanitising our hands, applying social distancing rules and using personal protective equipment when it is compulsory to do so.

We are still working in hybrid format and where in-person service is unavoidable; we can intervene in a COVID-19 secure manner.

 

• • • Actions relating to the operation in Africa

 

We are continuing to follow the development of the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus pandemic and the newly identified variants in Africa where cases keep on increasing.  We are doing it via our shadowing model.

We are as well 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.   

Furthermore, we are continuing to advocate for the reduction and or end of COVID-19-induced poverty and hardships in Africa.

The above is our stepped-up and updated COVID-19 Campaign, particularly the 3^rd Phase of this campaign.  In this phase, we shall deal with the four sub-phases (i.e. recovery, repair, strengthened restoration and functional capacity) at the same time since these sub-phases are interlinked.

For further details about this stepped-up and updated COVID-19 Campaign, please check with CENFACS’ COVID-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction. 

 

 

 

• Cost Centre Project

 

This month, we are working with individuals and families with Spending Limit problems.  Because we are talking about spending limit and cash flow statements for individuals and families, we thought that this is also an opportunity to re-introduce our Cost Centre Project.  We first introduced it when we published the 73^rd Issue of FACS (entitled as The Economic Costs of Building Forward from the Coronavirus) last October.

The project will deal with organisations that have problems or are struggling to set up and manage all their costs under the same roof, and or those that would like to set up a systematic structure of managing their costs so that they can deliver on the outcomes of their poverty reduction work. 

 

• • What is a Cost Centre Project?

 

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. 

 

• • Project objectives

 

The Cost Centre Project will help organisational beneficiaries to aim at the following:

 

∝ Track expenses

∝ Align costs with allocated budgets

∝ Recover overhead expenses

∝ Create more opportunities for poverty reduction within their community

∝ Conduct data analytics

∝ Help them to sustainably grow

∝ Ensure optimum efficiency and effectiveness

∝ Enable accurate forecasting and estimations about costs

Etc.

 

• • Project activities

 

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 or organisational unit with the responsibility for the costs these organisations incur.  The setting up of costs via this project will be aligned with poverty reduction budgets and goals of those organisations.

 

• • Supporting this project

 

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

 

• • Want more information about this project

 

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

 

 

 

• CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum e-discusses the Link between Peace and Security on the one hand and Economic Growth and Sustainable Development on the other hand in Africa

 

The theme of festive season is peace within CENFACS.  To accompany those who are suffering from poverty and lack of peace and security in Africa, the be.Africa Forum is e-discussing Peace and Security versus Economic Growth and Sustainable Development (which also includes poverty reduction).

Indeed, there are those who are continuing to defend their thesis on peace and security first in Africa before anything else.  There are those who are opposing them by arguing that the only way you can have peace and security in Africa is if there are economic growth and sustainable development.  Between this opposition, there are those who believe that peace and security can be associated with economic growth and sustainable development.

For those who would like to e-discuss with us, they can contact CENFACS to let us know their thoughts and feelings on this matter.

To join the e-discussion, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

 

Redéploiement des outils de combat contre le COVID-19

Avec les menaces du nouveau variant de COVID-19, le variant Omicron, le CENFACS intensifie sa campagne contre le coronavirus.  A la suite de cette intensification, nous redéployons nos outils de combat contre ce virus, à savoir: le distanciel, les gestes barrière, les masques faciaux, les gants de protection, l’usage de gel hydroalcoolique, etc.

Nous espèrons que tout le monde dans la communauté essaie de faire la même chose. 

Nous espèrons aussi que ceux ou celles qui ne sont pas encore vacciné(e)s le feront pour l’intérêt communautaire. 

Enfin, nous prions à ceux ou celles qui manifesteront des symptômes de ce virus et/ou de ses variants de ne pas hésiter à se faire tester.

Pour plus de détails au sujet de la Campagne contre le COVID-19 de CENFACS et des différentes actions menées jusque maintenant au titre de cette campagne, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Leafy Year/Project – The 12^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction: Leaf to Generate Income

 

CENFACS dedicates every year to a particular subject or remembrance.  This ending year was and has been dedicated as a Year of Leaves.  As a result of this dedication, we set up a project to enable us to formalise and implement this Leafy Year; project that is called Leafy Project.  The following will help to explain our Year of Leaves and understand what went on throughout the year of this dedication.

 

• • 2021 as a Leafy Year and Project

 

2021 as a Leafy Year and Project means for us the following:

 

√ Leaves are ways of relieving us from pains or diseases

√ Leaves have some curative properties or healing power

√ Leaves can heal from illnesses or ill health or health poverty

√ We use a leaf as our logo, a leaf of poverty relief

√ We have been celebrating throughout 2021 what leaves can do for those living in poverty

√ We turned over a new leaf from the start of 2021; a year of resolve covered with poverty reduction leaves to do better for and with those in need in 2021 and beyond

√ Leaves can help us to make New Year’s Resolutions

To deliver on the above meanings, we set up monthly activities and events that have made our Year of Leaves of Poverty Reduction, a Leafy Year. 

 

• • Monthly activities and events in the context of Leafy Project

 

• • • 11 activities or leaves of poverty reduction performed so far as part of Leafy Year/Project

 

Since we started the delivery of CENFACS Leafy Year as a Project, the following eleven activities (or leaves of poverty reduction) have been conducted so far:

 

1^st Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

This activity was and has been about Responsible and Sustainable Consumption of leaves in order to keep harmony between human consumption of leaves and nature.

 

2^nd Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

Leaf of poverty reduction can be of sustainable development as leaves play a critical role in the Earth’s biosphere.

 

3^rd Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

This activity aided or has aided to take climate action to help in the reversal of new patterns and trends that conflict with the natural senescence of leaves or their seasonal course of cycles.

 

4^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

This activity was and has been about the protection of leaves from biological pest and herbivores in order to help leaves survival and reproduction while helping in the reduction of consumption.  This is despite the fact that leaves have own chemical defences.

 

5^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

The stories of poverty reduction and sustainable development can be related to leaves of poverty reduction and sustainable development.  In other words, we tried to identify the relationship between leaves and stories telling through poverty reduction and sustainable development.

 

6^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

Leaves were vital in developing creative capacities in the process of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

 

7^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

Leaves eased the process of discovery, interpreting and communication of meaningful patterns and trends in data about poverty reduction and sustainable development. 

 

8^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

Virtual or in-person visits of leaf projects and or activities to COVID-19-hit local people and communities facilitated the connection with real needs on the grounds. 

Equally, finding natural leaf trends in the contexts of leaf-related poverty alleviation and leaf-enhancing sustainable development contributed to the deepening of our understanding of leaves in practical poverty reduction and sustainable development lives.

 

9^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

Integrating leaves and advice to produce poverty reduction encouraged to achieve high impact experience within CENFACS.

 

10^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

The history of leaves of poverty reduction with CENFACS is not a new one.  Leaves of poverty reduction were and have been instrumental in helping to accomplish CENFACS’ mission and charitable objects.  They supported and continue to support us to find communicative, meaningful and powerful way of working together with those in need in the UK and in Africa to navigate their way to a sustainable poverty reduction and to enhance the quality of their lives.

 

11^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction (or Activity)

 

Skills and knowledge on leaves assisted us to work together with our users and Africa-based Sister Organisations to achieve more and better results in terms of poverty reduction and enhancement of sustainable development.    

 

More details about the above activities or Leaves of Poverty Reduction can be requested from CENFACS.

 

 

 

• • • The 12^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction: Leaf to Generate Income

 

The last leaf of poverty reduction will be about way in which one can use leaves in order to either set up an activity or grab an opportunity or develop an activity with leaves as an output in order to generate or boost their income.  In this respect, leaves can help to generate income to fight against poverty and hardships.

The 12^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction can assist poor people to generate little extra income in order to overcome income poverty.  Indeed, leaves can contribute to…

 

√ Address the root causes of multi-dimensional poverty (including intergenerational income poverty)

√ Poor people’s access basic needs of food, medicine, shelter, energy, etc.

√ Poor people to gain ownership of productive means, resources and capacities

√ People-centred approach to poverty eradication

√ The productive use of assets for income generation

 

All these elements or attributes can contribute to the increase of generational income for multi-dimensional poor children, young people and families to ensure their financial sustainability and address income poverty during the festive time and beyond. 

Briefly, there are about helping them to help themselves in generating some little extra income in the fight against poverty and hardships.

 

For further information about CENFACS Leafy Year and Project as well as the 12^th Leaf of Poverty Reduction, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

_________

 

• References

 

(1) https://www.ncvo.org.uk/policy-and-research/volunteering-policy (Accessed in December 2021)

(2) https://unfccc.int/blog/a-beginner-s-guide-to-climate-neutrality# (Accessed in December 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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

01 December 2021

 

Post No. 224

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• What’s on in December 2021: Festive Guide!

• Festive Shopping and Donations

• Festive Income Boost, In Focus for 2021 Edition: Spending Limit – How to live within your means

 

… And much, much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• What’s on in December 2021: Festive Guide!

 

To keep the festive month and season interesting as well as with healthcare against the rebound of the coronavirus pandemic, we have brought exciting offers and/or new developments which can be found in the Main Development section of this post.   

The above initiatives next to the key dates from CENFACS December 2021 Diary including those listed below are the ones that would make the festive month and the Season of Light at CENFACS.  They have been selected because of their special features which make them in tune with the season’s theme. 

They command the following features:

 

√ They are seasonally blended projects aiming at providing helpful, healthy and net-zero-CO2-emissions reliefs during the festive time and beyond.  

√ They are a stunning selection of poverty-relieving contents designed to help not only to reduce poverty but also to overcome the continuing health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns as well as the emerging new COVID-19 variants. 

√ They are about breaking down the traditional barriers to poverty reduction during the festive rituals while delivering high impact in terms of relief experience for the poor.  

√ They can facilitate the creation of a new life in the New Year and the post-pandemic development landscape.

 

• • Season’s Reliefs

 

The following are the selected December 2021 initiatives or Season’s Reliefs:

 

∇ Festive Income Builder, Booster & Calculator, In Focus for 2021: Spending Limit – How to live within your means

∇ Community Value Chains: The CENFACS Community and Leaves of Poverty Reduction

∇ Volunteering in 2022 with Remote Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty reduction

∇ Cost Centre Project for Africa-based Sister Organisations

∇ Thanking 2021 Year Makers & Enablers

∇ Gifts of Peace (Edition 2021/2022)

∇ Run, Vote & Play for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development (Action-Results 2021)

 

The above mentioned projects would make the first part of Season’s Reliefs as being announced above.  Some of them intertwine between our monthly and seasonal development calendars.  All will depend whether one is reading our development calendar on a monthly or seasonal basis.

To support and or enquire about Season’s Reliefs, please contact CENFACS. 

All these initiatives can be found in CENFACS Festive Guide.  This Guide for Festive Season is made of the following contents: festive services, gifts of peace and the theme of season’s reliefs.

For further details about the Festive Guide, read under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

 

• Festive SHOPPING and DONATIONS at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

• • CENFACS Charity e-Store

 

Go Relief with CENFACS’ Charity e-Store this Festive Season!

 

CENFACS Charity e-Shop is open for both online festive purchase and goods donations.  Under the current strengthened rules and approach to COVID-19 with the return of face coverings on transport and in shops because of Omicron variant in England, we are 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 re-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 and its continuing effects.

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

 

• • Festive season is an opportunity to do something against poverty

 

Every occasion or every season is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships.  The festive season, which is a great time to share precious moments with your love ones, is also a period to spread a little extra of that happiness to those who do not have. 

We understand that many people including our supporters continue to seriously suffer from the health and economic effects of the coronavirus and related lockdowns.  However, for people who are already living in poverty, these effects are even intolerable and unbearable for them.  There is a reason to support them during this festive season.   

You can give your unwanted and unneeded goods to CENFACS’ Charity e-Store, the shop built to help relieve poverty, including coronavirus-induced poverty.  You can buy second hand goods and bargain priced new items and much more.  Amongst the goods to donate, we are asking carbon neutral goods as well.

 

• • Donation of CARBON NEUTRAL GOODS this Festive Season

 

You can donate carbon neutral or net zero CO2 emissions goods to help reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and poverty, while creating an opportunity to save non-renewable natural resources.  This type of donation can boost the circular economy and improve the upkeep of the nature.

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

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

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

 

√ DONATE unwanted GOODS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Charity e-Store during the festive period and beyond

 

√ SHOP at CENFACS Charity e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief during the festive period and beyond

 

Your SHOPPING and or GOODS DONATIONS will help to the Upkeep of the Nature and to reduce poverty as well as the continuing health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

 

 

• Festive Income Boost, In Focus for 2021 Edition: Spending Limit – How to live within your means

 

The 2021 Edition of our Autumn ICDP (Individual Capacity Development Programme) resource, known as Festive Income Boost and which is designed to support Multi-dimensionally Income Poor Children, Young People and Families (MIPCYPFs) was already published at the beginning of November 2021. 

This year, our focus is on Spending Limit; that is on ways of Living within your means and earnings.  We have included it in these Key Messages as we are in the Festive Month.  Also, it is an occasion to remind the CENFACS Community that this resource or additional support is available for use during the festive season.

The resource is available as a booklet from CENFACS Charity e-Store.  It is normally free of charge but we will appreciate a donation of £5 to help us help reduce poverty and the cost of renewing and producing this resource on an annual basis. 

At this prolong time of the coronavirus and of huge challenge for those living in poverty, we need financial help like many voluntary and charitable organisations do to work with the most in need in the community.

To order and or find out more about the Autumn ICDP resource, please contact CENFACS with your mailing details.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign (this impact was scheduled for 29 and 30/11/2021)

 

Although we finished to compose the seven notes or themed activities of the “A la une” Campaign during our 7-week campaign, this campaign for the Upkeep of the Nature does not stop with these notes.  Our action for the Upkeep of the Nature continues. 

We are now carrying on with the collection and analysis of information regarding this 7-week campaign in order to get its impact or at least its output.  The findings from this Impact Monitoring and Analysis will help to figure out what has been achieved through this campaign and give us some flavour about the future direction of this campaign.

As part of this Impact Monitoring and Analysis exercise, we would like to ask to those who have been following our 7-week campaign to share with us their feelings and thoughts about these two areas:

(a) The overall “A la une” Campaign

(b) Any of the themed activities you/they followed with us during this campaign

 

By sharing with us your feelings and thoughts about “A la une” Campaign, this could suggest that you value our work and show interest in what we are trying to achieve as an organisation generally and or in respect to the Upkeep of the Nature specifically.  Your intervention could as well indicate that we share interest and concern regarding the health and wealth of the nature.

You can share your feelings and thoughts with us by:

 

∝ Phoning

∝ Texting

∝ E-mailing

∝ Completing the contact form with your feelings and thoughts

 

When sharing your feelings or thoughts on the matter, please do not make statements to only please us.  We do not expect people to please us.  Instead, we would like you to give an objective and fair opinion.

We would like to thank in anticipation those who will be giving their opinions about the “A la une” Campaign.

 

 

 

• Learning, Development and Action Plan from the Month of Economics of Education and Skill Formation (Skills Development Month)

 

Through November month of Skills Development, we focused on the following: planning skills, implementation skills, analytical skills, and income generation skills.

As part of keeping the culture of continuous learning and professional development within CENFACS, we are examining what the running of Skills Development and Skills Focus have brought and indicated to us.  We are particularly looking at the learning and development priorities and initiatives in the post-pandemic and post-exited economic development worlds.  In this exercise, we are considering the action points and plan we may need to make in order to improve or better change the way in which we deliver our services and work with users.

For those who have been following the running of the Skills Development Month with us, this is the time or opportunity they can add their inputs to our learning and development experience so that we can know the skills gap that need to be filled up in 2022 and beyond.  They can as well have their own action plans on how they would like to take forward the contents of Skills Development month.  And if they have a plan and want us to look at it, we are willing to do so.

Have an action plan for your skills development and want CENFACS to look at it, please do not hesitate to contact us.  To add your input to our exercise on learning, development and action plan; just contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Review of our Appeals for the Horn of Africa Region

 

• • What this review is about and how different it is 

 

This review is different from the one we did about Tigray in Ethiopia, which was about what specifically happened in Tigray.  The current review is instead about the greater Horn of Africa Region appeals we previously made to help the peoples of this region to help themselves to deal with drought and hunger they were experiencing.   

 

• • Why we are reviewing our previous appeals about the entire Horn of Africa Region

 

The Horn of Africa Region is under review within CENFACS as climate change is not doing justice to the poor people, fauna and flora there, particularly in the North of Kenya (in arid and semi-arid areas).  In this part of Kenya, thirsty and hungry humans and animals are looking for water and food as drought and aridity have destroyed crops and breeding.

According to the United Nations and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (1), 465,000 children of ages below 5 years and 93,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are suffering from malnutrition there.  Food insecurity touches almost 2.5 million people in the North of Kenya as they heavily depend on cattle breeding.     

The situation is so tragic that there are scenes of animals (such as okapis and others) killed by thirst of water and hunger while they were on the way of searching for water and food.  There could be an increasing risk that this life-threatening and –destroying situation could expand to other parts of the greater Horn of Africa (such as South Ethiopia, Somalia and North-Eastern Uganda).

Due to this alarming humanitarian situation, this week we are reviewing our previous appeals about the Horn of Africa Region for a new action plan for the region.  While we are reviewing these appeals, we would like to remind those who do not know that we are running a Humanitarian Relief Appeal this Autumn 2021. 

Through this appeal or campaign, people can donate at least £2 to create two benefits:

one benefit for humans and one benefit for other living beings (e.g. flora and fauna) in Africa. 

People can donate or gift aid or support otherwise, according their financial ability and capacity. 

 

• • Contacting CENFACS about this review and support

 

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

 

 

 

La saison de la lumière débutera ce 21 décembre 2021 et se terminera le 21 mars 2022. 

Pendant cette période, nous développerons des projets de lumière pour travailler ensemble avec et accompagner ceux ou celles qui souffrent ou continuent de suffrir des effets néfastes des événements suivants:

∝ des guerres civiles (comme dans le Burkina Faso et le Mali)

∝ le dérèglement climatique (tel qu’en Corne de l’Afrique)

∝ des désastres naturels (comme dans la République Démocratique du Congo avec l’éruption volcanique de Nyiragongo).

On peut espérer qu’à travers ce travail commun et cet accompagnement, les bénéficiaires retrouveront la lumière ou le chemin de la réduction de la pauvreté  et du développement durable.

Pour ceux ou celles qui veulent travailler avec nous sur les sujets susdits, veuilez contacter le CENFACS. 

 

Main Development

 

• What’s on in December 2021: Festive Guide!

 

• • Festive Guide

 

Inside this guide, there are three main listings: Festive Services, Gifts of Peace and Season’s Relief Theme.

 

• • • Festive Services

 

These services are made of two types of projects: regular and festive projects.

(a) Regular or on-going projects are continuous including during the festive period.  The project known as All-year Round Projects (Triple Value Initiatives) is one of them.

(b) Projects for the festive occasion only; projects which are specially designed for that occasion.   The project Community Value Chains is one of them.

Both types of projects are included in our December 2021 programme and planned to be delivered over the month of December 2021.

 

• • • Gifts of Peace

 

These are CENFACS Wintry Gift Appeal initiative to support people living in poverty in Africa.

CENFACS’ Winter Gift of Peace to Africa is indeed …

 

√ A festive life-sustaining support that helps to reduce poverty and bring sustainable peace  

√ A festive giving to acknowledge and do something about poverty over the festive period, which is also an occasion to trans-give and think of those who are not as fortunate as others

√ A festive means to support those who don’t have peace because of poverty, particularly in the developing regions of the world like Africa

 

As the world is still battling against the economic and health legacies of the coronavirus pandemic at multiple speeds, there are many of these people who desperately need support. 

However, we must acknowledge that this is a challenging time for both those who support and those who receive that support.  We have various situations like the following:

 

∝ There are those who are trying to build back from the coronavirus

∝ There are those who are trying to build forward from the same coronavirus

∝ There are those who are caught or threatened by COVID-19 mutation with its new variants

∝ There are those who are trying to build back and forward at the same time.

 

Because of this collective and differentiated challenge, we are going to make sure that our appeal reflects the circumstances of the post-pandemic time at various speeds.  This appeal (CENFACS’ Winter Gift of Peace to Africa) will be launched by the end of Autumn 2021.

In meantime, those who would like to have for more information about this Wintry appeal, they need to contact CENFACS.

 

• • • Season’s Relief Theme

 

The theme for Season’s Reliefs which would carry us throughout the entire festive period is Peace. The Festive Season, which is part of the worldwide celebration, kicks off in December for CENFACS and ends by the 31^st of January in the New Year.

During the Festive Season, we normally start the Season of Light.  The Season of Light is one of the four seasons of CENFACS Development Calendar.  It is the Winter season which goes on until March and is featured by Winter Lights and Light Projects or Light Appeals. 

During this Season of Light, we shall also do a lot of work about light (or energy) and poverty reduction since the global climate community has committed itself to phase down coal as source of energy whereas many energy poor people in Africa are coal-dependant.

 

 

• • What the Month December is about at CENFACS

 

December is a month of Income Generation, Record Tracking and Winter Lights at CENFACS.

 

• • • December as Income Generation Month

 

December is the Income Generation month according to CENFACS monthly development calendar and planner.  It is the month during which we advocate and provide tips, hints and other types of advisory support on how to generate additional income to cover shortage in regular income, by using other avenues within the boundaries of the law and order.

This additional income can enable multi-dimensional income poor children, young people and families (C, YP & Fs) to exercise their basic human right to celebrate the end of the year in their own way. 

However, this December 2021 will be mostly about Spending Limit as we highlighted in this year Edition of Festive Income Boost, rather than Income Generation.  This is to help C, YP & Fs to have a control over their spending in order to avoid poverty or further poverty because of lack of control over spending.

The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have created the collapse of many ways and capacities of earning income especially for the kinds of people we are trying to look for support.  Many of them have become further income deficit.  To help them live within their means and earnings/capacity, we will be working with them during the festive season to balance their household books via spending limit.

So, supporting multi-dimensional poor C, YP & Fs to explore ways of improving their spending habits, and where possible generating, building and boosting their incomes to exercise their human right to a decent end-of-year celebration is not only a one-off or seasonal business to make ends meet; but can also become an additional way of building and developing the capacity to reduce and end income poverty.  They are poor not only because of lack of income but also due to their failing capacities to control their spending as well as generate enough income to cover their needs.  

As part of festive support, our Edition 2021 Festive Extra Income Builder, Booster and Calculator would be available for those who need it.  We launched this resource earlier in Autumn in order to enable those in need of the resource to get the tips and hints they need to early start exploring ways of reducing their unneeded or not life-saving spending while finding ways of boosting their income and generational economy. 

This year, this resource focuses on Ways of Living within your/our Means as the means to overcome intergenerational income poverty and improve intergenerational transfer accounts.

Besides this resource, we planned two periods of work on spending limit programmes and schemes starting from this Wednesday as follows.

  

⇒ 01 to 07/12/2021: Spending Limit Programmes (SLP) Period

 

SLP is a set of initiatives designed to help users to set up a spending threshold on their entire budget (including billed and unbilled invoices) and stay within self-restriction and/or restriction agreed/imposed/suggested by third parties.

During the SLP period, we will be working on how people and families can set up and or be involved a series of structured activities or small projects to limit their spending without creating damages to their basic life-sustaining needs, and where possible to generate little extra income in order to reduce poverty.

For example: In the activity relating to Spending Limit Plan, it could be about what items of spending limit budget to cut or to cancel or to increase in order to maintain a healthy and affordable spending limit.  Fig. 2 gives an idea of Spending Limit Plan or Budget.  In this exercise, potential users will be remembered the following say from ‘raisingchildren.net.au’ (2):

“The key to budgeting is sticking to a basic rule – Spend less than you earn” 

 

Another example could be to help families to write their Cash Flow Statement like in Fig. 1.  Although, this Fig.1 does not show the opening and closing balances, it is nevertheless useful in understanding cash receipts and cash payments. We can as well lead project beneficiaries to a variety of resources on the matter such as online budget planners, builders and calculators, etc.

 

⇒ 08 to 14/12/2021: Spending Limit Schemes (SLS) Period

 

SLS helps to work with users so that they can elaborate an action plan about their spending limit for a week or month or year (2022).  Through this exercise, we shall use some tools to work with users.  In particular, we shall look at with them household or family cash flow projections or statements, particularly the spending side.  Again, during this exercise we shall focus on a spending limit plan that does not adversely impact the basic life-sustaining needs of a given household or family.  As it is said on the website tomorrow.me (3):

“Cash flow is a great tool to help you establish New Year’s Resolutions, but they can be done at any time”.

We shall work with family/household users to evaluate their financial health and better plan for 2022 via cash flow projections or statements.

 

 

In the Fig.2, the Grand Total Expenses could be your Spending Limit which you will try not go beyond in your plan in order to stick to the basic rule of spending less than you earn.

Briefly, during the SLS period, we will be working on how people and families with spending limit problems can find available systematic plans for future action to limit their spending without damaging their health and welfare, and where possible generate income in order to reduce continuing poverty and hardships; particularly what scheme is workable or unworkable for them.

Throughout and at the end of these two periods, we hope that people and families with spending limit problems can develop their own individual working SLP and SLS plans or policies to limit spending and generate little extra incomes not only for the festive period, but also beyond the festive time. In doing so, they can improve their intergenerational economy and transfer accounts.

 

 

• • • December as Record Tracking Month

 

December is also the time of record tracking on our All-year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives), particularly

 

√ CENFACS Poverty Relief League (The African Nations Poverty Relief League)

√ Run to Reduce Poverty in Africa in 2021

√ Vote your African Poverty Relief and Development Manager of the Year 2021

 

We expect those who took part and or organised activities on our behalf about these projects to come forward, report and share with us their actions, results and experiences about the three stars or bests of 2021 (Best Country, Best Runner and Best Manager). 

As these activities have been organised within the difficult contexts of enduring coronavirus pandemic which has taken almost two years and half, we can count on them to tell us their Winner of CENFACS Virtual Trophy of the Post-pandemic Year.

 

 

• • • December as the start of Winter Lights Season

 

As said above in our Festive Guide, December is finally the month we start CENFACS Winter Lights Season, the first season of our development seasonal calendar.  The Season of Light, which kicks off around Mid-December, includes the Gifts of Peace. 

Each year, we produce an edition of the Gifts of Peace that makes up our final fundraising campaign and last humanitarian appeal of the year.  This year, we are doing the same while taking into account the continuing health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic in our last humanitarian appeal or fundraising campaign of 2021.

Peace is the festive theme we choose at CENFACS to spread the joy of Season’s Reliefs to those in need, especially at this time of the post-coronavirus pandemic and post-lockdowns.  We try to help their wishes of relief become true with the Gifts of Peace, by putting a smile on their face with relief notes. 

With face coverings imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, many of them cannot find the smiles they need for relief.  One can hope that the Gifts of Peace will bring back the lost smiles.

To support the Edition 2021/2022 of Gifts of Peace, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • • CENFACS Community Value Chains Celebration

 

As part of the Season of Light is the CENFACS Community Value Chains celebration.  This celebration generally closes our seasons at the end of the year and concludes our yearly development calendar and planner, while marking the end of civil year at CENFACS. 

It is an end-of-year eventful project enabling us to look upon us again as a community of shared vision, values and beliefs which connect us as human chains with a purpose of reducing and ending poverty amongst us, and of enhancing sustainable development as well. 

This year we shall again focus on ourselves as a Community with its Leaves of Poverty Reduction.  It will be about re-purposing leaves of poverty reduction in face of the continuing health and economic damages brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

 

• • • Sustainable Volunteering: 05/12/2021 to 05/01/2022

 

To carry the CENFACS Community into the New Year, our discussion on Sustainable Volunteering is scheduled to take place from 05 December 2021 to 05 January 2022.  The discussion theme for this year is on Volunteering in 2022 with Remote Volunteering for Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction. 

 

• • • CENFACS into 2022

 

To take the other two domains (International and Fund) of CENFACS into 2022 and engage with stakeholders, we shall develop post-pandemic projects and programmes with contents of Climate Neutrality and Poverty Reduction.

For any enquiries or to support CENFACS in the month of December 2021 and in the New Year, please contact CENFACS.

 

Before closing this week’s post, we would like to inform all our readers and stakeholders that the above planned programmes, projects and activities are subject to the evolution of COVID-19 and its new variants.  If there are any significant changes in terms of this evolution and rules to combat any new threats from COVID-19, we shall revise our initial festive plan and activate our contingency plan.

 

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• References

 

(1) www.un.org & https://fews.net (accessed in November 2021)

(2) https://raisingchildren.net.au/grown-ups/family-life/managingmoney# (Accessed in November 2021)

(3) https://tomorrow.me/general-family-lifestyle/how-to-create-a-family-cash-flows-statement/

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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.