Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

09 September 2020

 

Post No. 160

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Back-to-school Poverty

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

• Coming in Autumn 2020: The 69^th Issue of FACS Newsletter, to be entitled as The Post-coronavirus Poverty Relief Restructuring

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Back-to-school Poverty

 

The 160^th post of our blog page goes further in discussing the back-to-school poverty as the first key message and main development.  This key message and main development deals with back-to-school challenge, poverty issue, support that CENFACS can provide during the back-to-school period, expenses budget and the particularity of this year’s back-to-school; back-to-school which is happening in the middle of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Back-to-school poverty is what we are trying to help reduce or eradicate within our back-to-relief programme this Autumn 2020.  We are discussing it while carrying on back-to-relief programme and services. 

Back-to-school is a challenging time for many families and parents especially for those on low income brackets or just poor.  It is even extremely difficult for many of them as we are in an exceptional time of the coronavirus pandemic which has added more pain to these families and parents.  This pain is whether we talk about project beneficiaries here in the UK or in Africa.

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

 

 

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

 

Our protection work on Oceans, which we conducted last September 2019, is continuing this year with the theme of “Blue Spaces”.  The protection of Oceans was an environmental case.  This year, the theme of “Blue Spaces” goes beyond environmental protection as the emphasis is put on the blue development and poverty relief. 

Indeed, we are trying to look at the extent to which the “Blue Spaces” together with the blue economy are helping people in Africa and elsewhere to alleviate or escape from poverty.   This is what one can call “blue poverty relief“.

We are as well revisiting the sustainable development goals by re-exploring the role and place that the “Blue Spaces” are playing in capacitating poor people’s sustainable development.  This is what one can term as “blue sustainable development“.

To materialise what we have just said, we have planned three key notes which deal with the environmental health, poverty-relieving and developmental aspects of our work on the “Blue Spaces”.  These notes are as follows:

(1) The coronavirus-induced Impacts on the “Blue Spaces”

(2) The contribution of the “Blue Spaces” to poverty reduction

(3) The place of the “Blue Spaces” in sustainable development in Africa

 

Let’s summarise the first notes of our September 2020 work on waters; notes which started from 07 September 2020.

 

• • Week beginning 07/09/2020: The Coronavirus-induced Impacts on the “Blue Spaces”

 

As mentioned in our communication of last week, we are dealing with the “Blue Spaces” (that is visible surface waters like rivers, ponds, lakes, canals, fountains, etc.).  These first notes of the “Blue Spaces” theme are on the indirect impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the different types of “Blue spaces”.   

In these notes of our water theme, we are trying to look at how the crippling effects of the coronavirus pandemic could have reached some of the “Blue Spaces”.  We are in particular gathering information and discussing through data based evidence how new products to protect humans against the coronavirus and the methods used to produce them are impacting the environmental health of waters and of humans and other living beings (plants and animals).

For example, we are searching if products such as disposal face coverings, personal protection equipment, gloves, cleaning products and so on are not ending in the “Blue Spaces” as waste disposal.  If they are ending in waters, there is a need to step up an awareness and educational campaign to stop the pollution of waters and air with the coronavirus protection products after their use.

The above is a summary of our first notes for the “Blue Spaces” campaign.  To enquire about this campaign and to add your input to it, just contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Coming in Autumn 2020: The 69^th Issue of FACS Newsletter

 

The Autumn Issue for our bilingual newsletter FACS will be entitled as follows:

The Post-coronavirus Poverty Relief Restructuring

The following is an abstract about this Issue and the kinds of contents that will make it. 

 

• • Abstract for the 69^th Issue of FACS

 

One of the lessons to learn from the coronavirus pandemic is that the business of poverty reduction will not be the same as it was in the pre-coronavirus period.  There will be a need to restructure the way in which poverty relief work is conducted. 

This restructuring is also an economic one.  The classification of economic activities between essential and non-essential, between healthy and unhealthy many need to be pursued so that one can exactly determine what economic activities are useful and helpful in reducing poverty and hardships, perhaps in ending them in Africa and elsewhere. 

Likewise, within the charity and voluntary sector there could be a need to remap activities and make them fit into the post-coronavirus emerging poverty relief and development landscapes.  The constituent organisations of this sector can reorganise their poverty reduction work in order to improve the poverty reduction outcomes.  This restructuring is not only economic one in terms of cutting costs, efficiency and generating more income; but it is mostly about delivering poverty-relief lasting value for the service provided so that one can see the end of poverty.

Our Africa-based Sister Organisations cannot be exempted from the restructuring storm.  Each organisation may need to reappraise and restructure its activities and operations in the light of the realities of the post-coronavirus development world.  This is not simply about labelling services or activities Covid-19 proof or secure.  Poverty Reduction Restructuring is more than that.  Then, what is it?

Poverty Relief Restructuring is deep like economic restructuring.  It is a total rethinking and rethought of our philosophy on the way we approach poverty issues.  Since the world is experiencing a global health crisis, Poverty Relief Restructuring is about integrating sanitation and health at the heart of the process of relieving poverty in both a specific and wider contexts.  Re-contextualise and re-conceptualise poverty reduction in this way will help to deliver service value for an end to sanitation poverty and poverty in general. 

The Post-coronavirus Poverty Relief Restructuring is about the kinds of changes that can be made to the constituent parts of the poverty relief architecture so that it reflects and provides the results that those in most need want.

The Post-coronavirus Poverty Relief Restructuring is a journey towards finding new ideas, practices and ways of relieving poverty in the newly reshaped development landscape while trying to rework some of the pre-coronavirus development paradigms of poverty reduction so that one can make them relevant to the post-Covid-19 world. 

The Post-coronavirus Poverty Relief Restructuring is also a move together with our local people and beneficiaries in finding better approaches to pull out poverty and hardships those who are still lagging behind in the cohort.  The Post-coronavirus Poverty Relief Restructuring is a theoretical shift from a conventional economic model to a coronavirus-free economic base or a pro-poor based economic model.        

The Post-coronavirus Poverty Relief Restructuring is more than just a tactical issue or make up.  It is about strategically rethinking on how to build and develop lasting poverty relief systems while taking into account the coronavirus pandemic and other threats or dimensions (like the climate change).   

The above gives a bit some flavour or idea about the next issue of FACS, the 69^th Issue of FACS Newsletter. 

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

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• 2020 September Advice service continues…

 

as planned for both UK and Africa projects.  We have provided below basic activities making the contents of advice services.  While this Advice-giving support is running, we are collecting and discussing Summer 2020 Reports or Tales as well.

The following are the areas covered by CENFACS‘ September 2020 Advice-giving Activities. 

 

• • Areas of Advice for Individuals we cover

 

We can provide advisory support on a wide range of issues which includes:

post-regional economic integration and economic transition skills, financial literacy and information, consumption and buying information, conversion of technical skills, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS awareness, education and training, educational development of children, cultural barriers, knowledge and respect of the British rule of law, opportunities for enterprises and credit access, social integration and behaviour, self-help development projects, coronavirus-induced poverty and hardships etc. 

 

• • Areas of Advice for Organisations we cover 

 

We can provide advisory support on the following areas:

project planning and development, investment in capacity building and development, resource mobilisation for African Sister Organisations for the Post-REI (Regional Economic Integration) and post-coronavirus times, sources of international fundraising, climate finance and digital finance, online fundraising strategies, etc.

You can request advice online by just filling an advice form at www.cenfacs.org.uk/services-activities and by posting it to CENFACS and CENFACS will get back to you.

 

  

• Virtual Open Day and Hours (VODHs): How They Work

 

Our Virtual Open Day, which is every Fridays of September 2020, is held from 10 am to 2 pm.

You can access VOHs by contacting CENFACS.

You do not need to register with us.

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

 

 

  

• Summer 2020 Reporting in Your Own Words and Numbers

 

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

From this week until Saturday the 19^th of September 2020, we are simply asking those who can to share with us and others their Summer experiences; experiences about what they did during the Summer break and think that it is useful for sharing. 

The 2020 Summer Experiences Reporting activity is a further experience of reporting, sharing, learning and development opportunity for those who have not yet informed us about the outcomes of projects; projects pending for reporting, personal experiences to be shared, lessons to learn and development trends to spot.

 

• • Sharing Development Experiences, Stories, Tales and Reports about Summer 2020

 

As we are nearly reaching the end of Summer 2020, we would like our users and supporters as well as those who sympathise with CENFACS’ cause to share with us and others their experiences, stories and reports about the following:

√ Run, Play and Vote projects (Triple Value Initiatives): You can feedback the outcomes or Action-Results of your Run, Play and Vote projects.

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

√ Summer programmes: Healthiness and Appeal projects: You may prefer to report on your use of Healthiness projects and your response to our Humanitarian Relief Appeal projects.

√ August 2020 Trending Activities: You can as well report on your experience of following the direction of poverty reduction through socials and virtual worlds.

√ Other Experiences and Stories Reporting: You can feedback on any moving experience or transformative story you have had during Summer 2020.

√ “Mission” Activities: As we are in CENFACS’ “Mission” Year, we would be more than happier to hear any stories related to this year’s dedication.

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

Thank you for supporting us with your Summer 2020 experience, story and report In Your Own Words and Numbers.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Back-to-school poverty

 

Our discussion revolves around the following matters: back-to-school challenge, poverty, back-to-school disrupted by the coronavirus and back-to-school budget and support.

 

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

 

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

This year’s back-to-school is even more challenging as the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have disrupted the normal preparation of back-to-school.  This disruption starts since the lockdown began, from the purchasing of what pupils and students need to the format or formula of the school start.

 

• • Back-to-school disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns

 

This year’s back-to-school is special as the crippling effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns continue to disrupt the entire organisation of the back-to-school for this September school entry 2020/2021.   

The coronavirus pandemic has completely changed the way in which back-to-school has to be approached in many aspects by including enhanced health and safety measures such as social distancing rules, disinfection of educational materials and establishment, daily number of people allowed by square meter in any educational infrastructures, etc.

The coronavirus pandemic has introduced new items while increasing the level of spending for other existing items in the back-to-school budget.  It has brought new social rules such as the wearing of face coverings and the regular use of sanitising products.  This can only affect the togetherness and school community life. 

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the patterns and habits of working life and socialisation while introducing or reinforcing the virtual and online dimensions in the back-to-school preparation and delivery. 

Briefly, due to the coronavirus pandemic the all health and safety policies and practices have to be redesigned and tested against the pandemic.  While this has been done, some of those parents and families who do not have enough for their children can find themselves in a back-to-school poverty with them.  They could be in the back-to-school poverty while still struggling against sanitation poverty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

 

• • Back-to-school poverty

 

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

This incapacity can include other expenses that compete against or with educational materials; expenses that are school fees, living expenses to start a new school year, transport cost to travel to schools, food, a place to study at home, family relocation, etc.

Besides these universal costs, there are new costs due to the coronavirus.  They can include the following: buying soaps and often wash children’s clothes to disinfect them from the traces of the coronavirus, preparing special lunchboxes with items to disinfect hands and tools before eating, providing to each child personal school utensils to avoid any exchange with other school mates, etc. 

Families and parents living in poverty or on a tight family budget may not be able to afford these additional expenses budget.  They are forced to currently deal with two types poverty: back-to-school poverty and sanitation poverty.  The first type of poverty is related to the start of the new school year whereas the second is caused by the pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.  There could be support for some of the vital educational and sanitation needs to be met; just as there is no support for others.

 

• • Back-to-school support at CENFACS

 

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

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have enhanced health and safety aspects in this programme.  We are also providing support related to the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown on those who are looking for this type of support.  Although our support to fight both back-to-school poverty and sanitation poverty is small and limited, it can nevertheless help beneficiaries to get something and keep moving towards of a BIG relief.

Since the battle against the coronavirus pandemic is not yet over, there are limitations on the ways our support can be accessed.  It can be accessed as follows:

√ Only virtually on a no face-to-face physical basis, but on a one-to-one basis or as a group

√ Over phone

√ Via e-mail

√ and by filing the comment box on our website saying the type of support you need. 

 

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

Where a physical meeting with beneficiaries is unavoidable, extra precautionary health and safety measures will be taken before the advice can happen.

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

 

• • Back-to-school Special Budget

 

The 2020/2021 Back-to-school Special Budget is a special one for many parents and families as they have to cost and integrate the aforementioned aspects of protection related to the coronavirus pandemic into the educational budget of their children. 

Although young children may not be wearing face masks, there are still some levels of investment that parents and families may have to do to keep the education of their children to an internationally agreed standard.  They may have to proceed with the following initiatives:

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

√ Improve their access to internet and broadband supplies

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

All this type of investment will create additional costs in the back-to-school plans, although some of these will not be at the start of the school.    

For poor families and parents, it is even more difficult for them to keep the educational level of their children to a good standard unless they get financial support to their back-to-school budget. 

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

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

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.

  

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

02 September 2020

 

Post No. 159

 

 

Welcome Message

 

Before starting the contents of the blog and post of this first week of September 2020, we would like to welcome all those who are returning this month. 

We are welcoming the following:

– All those who are returning from the coronavirus lockdown

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

– Those who are or have been working during the Summer time 

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

This welcoming message applies to both our UK and Africa Development programmes. 

Welcome back to all of you and healthy return! 

 

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

  

• Back-to-relief Programme: Programme for Pre-autumn Season 2020

• Unlock your Summer Holiday Data and Tell your Story

• September: Advice-giving Month

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

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

 

• Back-to-relief Programme: Programme for Pre-autumn Season 2020

  

Back-to-relief Programme is a set of related activities and services with an aim of reducing poverty amongst multi-dimensionally poor children, young and families (MDPCYPFs) by working with them to meet their needs after a long summer break and Covid-19 lockdown so that they can start September without or with less hardship.   

The programme is made of a number of supportive elements such as capacity and skills development, advice, advocacy, translation, information, guidance, support to child educational needs in Africa, signposting etc.  The programme is generally run around September and can be extended to October depending on the needs in the community.

This year’s programme is a bit special since there has been the coronavirus pandemic which led to lockdowns.  Many of our project and programme beneficiaries have experienced many months of economic inactivity since the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown began.  Now that some of them are returning or resuming their outdoor activities, they may need some advice to adjust their lives with the new normal imposed by the coronavirus and subsequent lockdown.

The Back-to-relief 2020 programme has been designed to include the need of these returnees from the lockdown.  It is also conceptualised to anticipate any changes of situation due to any potential spikes of Covid-19 and lockdown resumption as the battle against the coronavirus has not been yet won. 

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

 

 

 

• Unlock your Summer Holiday Data and Tell your Story

 

Throughout our July and August 2020 communications, we have been asking everybody to store and keep their Summer data so that when we all return we can report back or share parts of our Summer experiences that are shareable.

Now some of you are back, we can try to feedback our poverty-relieving and development experiences of using Healthiness projects and of the gradual reopening of the economy as well as of the coronavirus restrictions and rules over the Summer period.

One can also feedback of any creations made, of any interaction in the virtual worlds, of any community experiences and any volunteering stories, if they volunteered, over the last two months.  One can report back a personal Summer experience as well. 

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

• September: Advice-giving Month

 

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

We provide advice to both individuals and organisations as mentioned above.  Advice can be given in the context of Back-to-Relief Programme and outside this context.  When Advice is given in the context of Back-to-Relief Programme, it becomes constituent part of this programme like other elements making this programme.

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

 

 

 

Extra Messages

  

• The African Sahel and Lake Chad Basin Appeal against Extreme Poverty

 

After reviewing the situation in the African Sahel and Lake Chad Basin as well as the previous appeals launched for them, it has been noticed that very little has been done on the grounds to deal with the following:

– to reduce extreme poverty and internal displacement

– to improve poor people’s security and resilience

– to stop the life-threatening and destroying impacts of the climate change in these two areas. 

As a result, we are re-appealing for peace, security and extreme poverty alleviation in these two areas of Africa. 

To support or enquire about this re-appeal, please contact CENFACS.   

Likewise, our Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal projects are still running and will end this September.   

To donate or support otherwise, please go to:   http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

   

 

• Back-to-relief Activities in a September of Covid-19 Compliance

 

Our call for Covid-19 Compliance continues this September.   Many people would have wished the fight against the coronavirus pandemic to finish by now; unfortunately the coronavirus pandemic is still around with its side effects and threats.

Because of that, we have made efforts in the design of these Back-to-relief Activities to test the Covid-19 impact on them and to make them Covid-19 secure.  In other words, we have included the recommended measures of health and safety against the coronavirus in these activities.  In practical terms, social distancing rules, the use of sanitising and disinfection products as well as personal protective equipment will be fully compliant during the running of these activities.

For further discussions on Back-to-relief activities in a September of Covid-19 Compliance, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Covid-19 Campaign Update

 

The Campaign for Resilience against Covid-19 (or the Covid-19 Campaign) is now between its phases 2 and 3. 

Phase 2 has been about Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of Covid-19 on our system of poverty reduction.  It seeks to answer a specific cause-and-effect question about changes directly attributable to Covid-19.  In this phase 2, we have been looking at the causality and attribution approach regarding the overall impact of Covid-19 on CENFACS’ work and system of poverty reduction. 

Phase 3 is the Post-Covid-19 Rehabilitation Strategies, which are processes of planning and conducting restoration in order to bring back our programmes, projects, activities, services and products to their original or normal condition.  It is a restoration or build-back campaign.  

We understand that economies cannot be shut down for ever.  Because the economy keeps reopening, we too are gradually moving to the Phase 3 of our Covid-19 Campaign, which is of Post-Covid-19 Rehabilitation Strategies. 

By speaking about Post-Covi-19 Rehabilitation Strategies, we do not mean that the coronavirus pandemic is over.  We just mean that in our mind set Covid-19 is a reality but not a fiction.  We have to understand it and live in the Covid-19 environment until a medicine and vaccine are found against it. 

So, the idea of the existence of Covid-19 has been already passed in our mind set.  What we need to do is to develop strategies to restore our work while taking into account the new coronavirus-led environment or reality.  In this respect, we are trying to Build Back Better our lives through a Build-Back-Better Campaign.

Some of you may have noticed that in our Covid-19 Campaign, there are two strands of thought. There are initiatives that we took that are related to our work in the UK.  There is a set of campaigning initiatives that have been linked to our work in Africa.

Regarding the Covid-19 Campaign in relation to our work on Africa, the Covid-19 extra message of this week is that we are continuing following the development of the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus pandemic in Africa where cases keep on increasing.  This increasing trend of the “epi-cruves” can only mean to us to keep up shadowing them (“epi-curves”) while motivating our Africa-based partners to carry on in rebuilding health systems to keep tight control on the Covid-19.  We continue to monitor the development of the “epi-curves” in Africa and respond with our shadowing model accordingly.        

To support and or to enquire about the Covid-19 Campaign update, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Back-to-relief Programme: Programme for Pre-autumn Season 2020

 

• • Back-to-relief Projects 

 

As previously mentioned, most of our projects and programmes are organised to take into account the lives and needs of our beneficiaries; supporters as well.  Some of them will be back this week after the coronavirus disruption.  They are back for the New Academic Year and New Relief, year for which we have prepared projects and programmes to meet their existing, challenging, changing and coronavirus-emerging needs – the back-to-relief projects and programmes in a September of Covid-19 Compliance.

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

 

=> Virtual Open Days under Back-to-Relief Programme

 

Due to the health-threatening impacts and other crippling effects of the coronavirus pandemic, many of our services are virtually and online run.  Besides that it is not always easy for people, especially those who have some physical handicaps and parents with small kids, to physically move and meet service providers if this service provision cannot come to them even if the need is pressing. 

This is why we are organising these virtual days to enable those in need to virtually access services despite the coronavirus disruption and any physical inconvenience they may have.

Virtual Open Days are a back-to-relief initiative organised by CENFACS during this September 2020 to enable people in need to access our advice service and other similar services in order to reduce or end poverty linked to their situations or conditions of life.

For more on CENFACS’ Virtual Open Days and how they work, contact us.

 

=> Support for Children of Conflict- and Climate Change-affected Areas in Africa in this September

 

Another back-to-relief initiative for this September 2020 is Support for the Children of Conflict- and Climate Change-affected Areas of Africa in this September and beyond.  This initiative relates to the humanitarian appeals we launched this year (such as the 3-Frontier Area, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the African Sahel and Burkina Faso).  All these appeals were launched under the Light projects.   

The appeals were related to countries with displaced persons and victims of conflict (e.g. Burkina Faso); undergoing peace and institutional rebuilding work (e.g. DRC); children victims of conflict (e.g. the 3-Frontier Area); under armed attacks (e.g. African Sahel).

While one can still ask the progress made to save and rebuild lives in these stricken countries and areas, one can also question about the support that the children of the affected areas within these countries are receiving and/or received, especially at this difficult time of the coronavirus pandemic. 

This questioning is relevant as we are in September when a new school or academic year starts in many parts of the world.  This questioning is even founded at this time where educational systems in many countries have been affected by the adverse impacts of the coronavirus and subsequent lockdowns.  This negative effect is even greater for children from poor places in developing countries (like of Africa) where educational opportunities have been denied to many of them regardless of the coronavirus situation. 

So, during this September we will be working on this back-to-relief initiative to explore ways of keeping education alive for these unfortunate children living in those stricken areas or places.

For further details about this initiative, contact CENFACS.  

 

• • Back to the Upkeep of the Nature this September 2020

 

September is also the month we resume our advocacy work on the upkeep of the nature.  Normally, this advocacy starts from the protection and care of animals in Africa from illegal killings, extinction and poaching.  In the last week of September 2020, we shall focus on saving endangered animal species through our “Big Beasts” advocacy, which has already kicked off.

In September 2019, we worked on the Protection of the Oceans (particularly the waters surrounding Africa and the rivers and lakes in Africa) as well.  This September, we would like to carry on with the advocacy on waters through the theme of “Blue Spaces”.  We shall have a 3-week water protection work on “Blue Spaces” starting from the 7^th of September 2020.  To conclude the month, we will have some e-discussions on circular economy.

Briefly, Back to the Upkeep of the Nature this September 2020 will include the “Big Beasts” advocacy, the Protection of the “Blue Spaces” and an e-discussion on circular economy.

 

• • Back to Advisory Support this September 2020

 

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

 

=> Advice service for Individuals

 

Some of you are aware that most of CENFACS services in the UK are designed to support multi-dimensionally poor children, young people and families (CYPFs).  After the long summer break and the Covid-19 lockdown, many of them will come back to start their life again.  From September onward, they will go back to school for CYPs and to work and training for parents and guardians. 

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

√ Finding a new school or a nursery for children

√ Registration to health services

√ Finding accommodation or relocating

√ Accessing training opportunity or employment for those who lost their job due to the Covid-19

√ Looking for a new occupation to deal with the economic effects of the coronavirus and lockdown

√ Finding help to adjust their life after the lockdown

√ Looking for direction in a gradually reopened economy

Etc.

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

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

  

The types of help we provide include: 

√ Translation (English to French and vice versa)

√ Interpreting

√ General advice

√ Guidance

√ Signposting

√ Referral

√ Advocacy

Etc. 

As we are in a digital era, we adapted the provision of this help while still retaining its essence. 

In the last months, we have even gone far with our Advice service as we were trying to deal with the coronavirus pandemic effect.  We have included the coronavirus restrictions and rules into our Advice service. 

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

 

=> Advice service for Organisations 

 

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

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

√ Capacity building and development

√ Project planning and development

√ Fundraising and grant-seeking leads

√ Income generation and streams

√ Sustainable development

√ Monitoring and evaluation  

 

Since we have set up a CENFACS Analytics Dashboard, it is even better to deal with problems.

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

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

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

26 August 2020

 

Post No. 158

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• CENFACS Annual Review 2019/2020

• Trending in Poverty Reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance – In Focus from Week Beginning 24/08/2020: Social Virtual Worlds as Means to Online Interaction to Reduce Reduction

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

…. and much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• CENFACS Annual Review 2019/2020

 

CENFACS Annual Review 2019/2020 is a snapshot of what we did between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.  As it is stated, it is neither a statutory annual report nor an annual return.

It is a summary of the year 2019/2020 in the life of CENFACS that reports back to our supporters, users and other stakeholders the impact we have made; impact through stories, quantitative and qualitative data. 

It highlights accomplishments made and recollects milestones for the above stated year.

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

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

 

 

 

• Trending in Poverty Reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance – In Focus from Week Beginning 24/08/2020: Social Virtual Worlds as Means to Online Interaction to Reduce Reduction

 

The last episode in our trending series in poverty reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance is about the impacts that Social Virtual Worlds can make on poverty reduction.  This week, we are following the social virtual world trends in their capacity of reducing poverty for those who are interacting in a virtual world environment.

Although the objective of virtual world is interaction in the world, it is still possible to check if poor gamers can use the opportunity of being in the virtual world to reduce poverty.  For example, one can try to check if poor gamers who are playing those massively multiplier online games (such as Fortnite, League of Legends, Pokémon, etc.) are finding any windows of opportunity to reduce poverty through those games. 

Before, going any further, let us say a few works about virtual worlds.

 

=> What is virtual world?

 

There are many online and print definitions of virtual worlds.  To make things easy we have selected the following online definition of virtual world which is this:

‘A virtual world is a computer-simulated representation of a world with specific spatial and physical characteristics, and users of virtual worlds interact with each other via representations of themselves called “avatars.”…

The objective of virtual worlds is to continue participating in the world, interact with other users, and gaining more status or experience within the virtual world’. (1)

Although this definition is technically restrictive and is telling us that playing in a virtual world is an end itself, we are interested in virtual world that is purpose-built for social or socialisation.  We are interested in social interaction-based virtual worlds through our process of following the direction of poverty reduction.

 

=> Following the direction of poverty reduction via social virtual worlds

 

We are looking at how interaction-based virtual worlds can help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  In other words, we are trying to find out if playing online video games like World of Warcraft can help their players or gamers to go beyond the interaction in the world by finding windows of relief from poverty and hardships, especially for those gamers of poor background. 

 

=> Poverty-relieving experience via social virtual worlds 

 

Although the objective of a virtual world is interaction in the world, it is possible for people engaged in the MMOGs to do their own assessment to find out whether or not social virtual worlds are helping them to reduce poverty and enhance aspects of sustainable development in their lives. 

The purpose here is that being in a virtual world is primarily for social interaction in the world.  However, if you are poor being in any world whether virtual or non-virtual should be also an opportunity to find ways of escaping from poverty and hardships.  This is regardless of what those who designed their world in which you are they may think of. 

For example, joining a computer-based online community environment is it poverty-relieving in itself?  If not, what can you do to make your journey in the virtual world an experience of relief from poverty and hardships?

The above is our way of following the direction of poverty through social virtual worlds. 

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

 

(1) https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/cs181/projects/2007-08/virtual-worlds/history.html

 

 

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

 

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

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

After analysing the information that the respondents provided and looking back what happened in the last financial year, we would like to share with you, through this report, some key information from the preliminary findings about your say and our look at last year’s poverty relief work.

 

Report on feedbacks from Individuals and Organisations

 

=> Aims

 

This report aims at examining and informing what you told us from the feedbacks we asked about the experiences you had with the programmes and projects we selected to monitor, evaluate and review last July.  In particular, it aims …

√ To get the experiences that project supporters and users had with the programmes and projects selected for monitoring, evaluation, review, assurance and analysis

√ To know the views of project supporters, users and other stakeholders on how they perceived and interacted with CENFACS’ products and services

√ To find out where things went well and where they did not

√ To reflect the needs of Africa-based Sister Organisations in future programmes and projects development

√ To improve the way we work with them.

 

=> Findings

 

Our findings from what you said are as follows:

√ To put a time limit on campaigns

√ To make the voices of the users resonate and visible in our advocacy materials and publicity

√ To get more data and further access to data about work in Africa with Africa-based Sister Organisations

√ To narrow the scope of appeals to match CENFACS’ mission, aims and objectives

√ To make the Individual-Capacity-Development-Programme resources reachable and accessible by all users

 

=> Recommendations

 

The report recommends the following:

 

√ To undertake a better advertisement or reach out in the future so that many people can turn out and contribute to children and women projects

√ To communicate the outputs and outcomes of each campaign at their different stages of delivery

√ To insert users’ description (e.g. quotes, comments, etc.) in the published advocacy materials

√ To reduce the gap in data availability and access as far as African projects are concerned

√ To ensure that appeals reflect specific and clearly defined needs of users and beneficiaries with specific aims and objectives to achieve

√ To improve the coverage of Individual-Capacity-Development-Programme resources to reach all the users while explaining all the technical jargons by making them understandable to our diverse audience

The report concludes that every effort will be made within CENFACS so that the wishes of supporters, users and African organisations as expressed in their feedbacks could be translated into tangible action in the future.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• ‘Mission’ Activity for August 2020: Find 6 Social Trends in Health Poverty Alleviation

 

Our link of ‘Mission’ Year/Project to the month of Track, Trip and Trending via ‘Mission’ Activity continues this week.  The ‘Mission’ Activity of this week is to search and find 6 Social Trends in Health Poverty Alleviation and health-enhancing aspects of sustainable development.

We would like to ask to those who are doing it or decide to do it to share their experience about this ‘Mission’ Activity.  Thanks!  

To communicate or share your experience, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• The Review of the African Sahel and Lake Chad Basin Appeals

 

There are similarities and dissimilarities about what is happening in the African Sahel and Lake Chad basin.  The commonality of these situations is insecurity, human displacement, climate change issues, etc.    People have been internally displaced, there are in- and out-of-camp refugees, there is a low level of resilience, extreme poverty is prevailing in the two areas, etc.  This is despite the fact that the two areas have a low number of Covid-19 cases.  Because of the poverty situation in both areas, we are reviewing the two appeals we previously and separately launched for them. 

The purpose of this review will be to evaluate these appeals in the light of the current situations in these two areas.  The review will also tell us whether or not there has been any progress since we first launched these appeals.  There will be stages in this review:  evidence-based process, information, verification of the information provided, analysis, etc.  At the end of this review, we shall decide whether or not to renew our appeal for the two areas.

To discuss or share your views about the African Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• CENFACS Poverty Relief League: Team Countries Replacement Window

 

For those who are playing the CENFACS League of Poverty Relief, please note that there is only little time left for those who want to change or swap the teams.  This is because it takes time to complete the game and decide your best country that has best relieved poverty.

If one wants to change or swap team countries because they are having problems to get the poverty data, especially at this difficult time of the coronavirus pandemic, it is better to do it by the end of this Summer.  This will enable them to still have enough time to get data, analyse them, test them and decide their best poverty-relieving country by the 23^rd of December 2020.  

If anyone has any concern or query about Team Countries Replacement, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Annual Review 2019/2020

 

This review aims at explaining to those who are interested in the work CENFACS does to get a glimpse of what happened during the financial year 2019/2020.  It is a summary of our activities, performance, achievements and accounts for the financial year 2019/2020. 

However, before starting this review we would like to mention three factors which were at play during the above stated period and which made the context of our poverty relief work.  They are: life-threatening impacts of climate change, economic uncertainty linked to the exit of the UK from the EU regional economic integration model, and the life-threatening and destroying impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

• • The Contexts of Poverty Reduction of the 2019/2020 Financial Year

 

There are three key factors which affected or impacted our resources, plans and the way we conducted our poverty reduction work, which are:  the changing climate, economic uncertainty and transition, the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.  Like any organisation that could face this type of challenges, we had to develop a strategy or plan on how to approach our work differently during the year knowingly or unknowingly that events beyond our own control were going to happen.

We decided to choose the theme of changing climate since climate change was the dominant factor from the beginning of our financial year.  We did it while still having in mind the economic uncertainty linked to the exit situation of the UK from the EU.  The two factors (climate change and economic exit) were the prevailing external factors of the first part of our financial year. 

The second part of our financial year which literately started from January 2020 was dominated by the economic transition since the economic exit of the UK became clear with the new Government.  Then, the coronavirus pandemic came to largely influence our poverty reduction agenda in the last four months or so. 

Although we organised this review according these three key contexts, one should not think that the factors making them are separate or exclusive.  Let us explain.  When we speak for example about poverty reduction in the context of Covid-19, it does not mean that the climate change factor has disappeared.  We just want to mean and put emphasis on the dominant factor or the factor that impacted us the most at a particular time. 

Having clarified the contexts of work, let us now review our financial year 2019/2020.

   

• • Activities Review

 

This summary covers CENFACS’ financial year 2019-2020, which we started with a July 2019 consultation of our supporters and users about what we did in the last 11 months and two weeks preceding the above named financial year.

 

=> Poverty Reduction Activities in the Context of Changing Climate

 

While this consultation was going on, we organised our usual Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions, the Seven Days of Development in July.  The Festival of Thoughts was about “How Democratic Transition Can Transform Poor People’s Lives in Africa”.

The Festival helped us to spot the signs of hope for poverty reduction that could be brought by the democratic transformations that were happening in Africa in 2019.  It also gave us the opportunity to think about how the transformations or the change of political climate could make our poverty reduction and the work of our African colleagues easy or stay the same.

We continued to develop CENFACS’ Analytics Dashboard as a project by making it an effective management tool of tasks for our system of poverty reduction.  We did it while delivering other areas of our programmes. 

The year was also about the best response that could be brought to support children living in conflict-stricken and climate change-affected areas in Africa, particularly in the new school year.  Our response was to launch an appeal to support them; which we did.

The context of life-threatening impacts of climate change and of armed conflicts continued to claim more hungry people in Africa.  As a result, we had to step up our Making Zero Hunger Africa campaign.  Likewise, we could not stay silent with what was happening in the 3-Frontier Area of Africa (made of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) where people were displaced and fleeing from insecurity and violence in the area.  We set up an appeal for peace and stability to deal with this situation. 

As climate change was and still is an unavoidable factor in any of our work, especially with regard to its impacts on children, we continued to follow up the United Nations Climate Talks.  In December 2019, we followed the Madrid Climate Talks through our Climate Talks Follow-up Project under the advocacy of “Climate Protection and Stake for African Children, Phase 3”with “Madrid Makes It Work“, as our working theme.  To enable us to better follow up these talks in the future we agreed and set up our guiding principles which we summarised in what we called “The Compendium of Climate Advocacy”.  

Since 2019 was dedicated as a “Quadranscentennial” Year at CENFACS, we carried on delivering other areas of the “Q” Project in the last months of the year 2019.

2019/2020 was also the year of the discussions about the Twenty twenties (2020s) Programme.  This is a programme that took over the Twenty tens (2010s) Programme.  We started with these discussions in 2019 and finished them in the early 2020 with a new programme. 

 

=> Poverty Reduction Activities in the Context of Economic Transition

 

As we entered the new decade, there was still the problem of economic transition related to the confirmed exit of the UK from the EU after the election.  This transition affected the way we do our development work and poverty relief work in particular. 

Since our programme of the last decade ran out, we had to make sure that the new programme which was in discussion became a reality.  We had as well to develop new tools to fight poverty in the new decade.  

As a result, we set up the 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme and Development Agenda.  We also assembled various tools of poverty reduction system into a box to make up a Poverty Relief Tools Box.  In doing so, this would help us to deal with poverty reduction more effectively than in the situation where these tools are used separately.

 

=> Poverty Reduction Activities in the Context of Life-threatening Impacts of Covid-19

 

While we were trying to deal with economic transition of the UK’s exit from the EU, a new global economic and health threat emerged, the coronavirus pandemic.  This pandemic with the lockdown it has generated forced us to reorganise all our work like everybody did in the sector. 

We had to entirely go out our way to reinvent new tools to fight the coronavirus-induced poverty and vulnerability.  As a result, we developed a Cube of Protection against the coronavirus.  The cube contains most our munitions against the life-threatening and destroying impacts that the coronavirus has posed and still poses.  Besides that we had to stage a new campaign, the Covid-19 Campaign (or the Campaign for resilience against the Coronavirus Pandemic).

As part of our emergency and contingency plans, we had to reorganise both the Spring and Summer 2020 themes of our poverty relief work.   Life-salvation and healthiness came to dominate the Spring and Summer agendas respectively. 

We started the 2019/2020 financial year with democratic transitions as hopes for freedom from poverty in Africa, and we ended up the same year with healthiness as we continued to deal with sanitation poverty and the other far-reaching impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in our poverty reduction work and the lives of beneficiaries.

 

• • Achievements

 

We would be indebted if we end this review without mentioning or adding to the above summary of work carried out these three achievements:

 

(1) A new poverty reduction programme and development agenda

 

The 2020s Development Agenda is a series of processes and tools defining the 2020s development framework that will enable CENFACS deliver its poverty reduction goals.  It is also a summary and coherent list of the issues and challenges that poor people are facing in 2020 and will face throughout the 2020s; issues and challenges that need to be addressed in order to reduce and end poverty in Africa.

CENFACS’ 2020s Poverty Reduction Programme, which is a group or package of related projects and activities organised in a coordinated fashion to reduce and possibly end poverty, aims at identifying and reaching out to extremely poor and help them out of poverty through sustainable development means. 

The new agenda and programme will take into account the needs of our users and beneficiaries in the new development landscape and in the new Age of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

(2) CENFACS’ Compendium of Climate Advocacy

 

This Compendium is our guiding principles that are summarised in terms of what CENFACS and its beneficiaries would like the climate community (like the one gathering on annual basis to talk about climate change, the Conference of the Parties) to achieve for children, particularly but not exclusively African children, in terms of outcomes.

 

(3) CENFACS’ Cube of Protection against the coronavirus pandemic

 

This Cube brings together coronavirus-related initiatives that are intended to help poor, vulnerable people and incapacitated Africa-based organisations.  

 

• • Performance review

 

In terms of our performance this year, we would like to let you know that our cash funds continue their upwards trend passing from 22% in 2018/19 to 33% in 2019/2020 financial year.  However, in this net improvement there is a mix story picture brought by the coronavirus in our finances in the last four months of our financial year 2019/2020.  On one hand, we made some savings; on the other hand there is a different type of costs that have appeared. 

Because of the coronavirus and the lockdown effects, we were able to save on our payments accounts on items such as physical networking and meetings, transport and travel, postage stamps, outreach, printing and photocopying.  While these savings were made, there was appearance of other types of costs which were existing since we went digital a few years ago, but which became more pronounced by the end of our financial year 2019/2020. 

This appearance and increase was attributable to online and virtual way of working to counteract the adverse impacts of the coronavirus.  This led to additional investment in online and virtual technologies and infrastructures as we were trying to respond to an unprecedented health crisis and finding other ways of still helping to reduce poverty and hardships. 

In all, the savings made were higher than the increase in online and virtual costs.  We managed to control our finances despite the coronavirus-led economic and health adverse effects.  We did what we could in the midst of the pandemic to meet our key performance targets and indicators. 

  

• • Thank you

 

The work of CENFACS is a collective endeavour that relies upon the voluntary contribution of others, a key to our success.  As such, there is a number of people and organisations who contributed to the realisation of our financial year 2019-2020. 

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

Furthermore, we would like to acknowledge those who posted their comments and responded to our advocacy appeals and other development campaigns. 

We would like to thank all of them for their unwavering commitment and impactful support for helping us to voice and bring once again our poverty reduction message into the world in development, especially at the very difficult time of the coronavirus pandemic and economic recession.

Many thanks for making 2019-2020 another deservingly memorable year at CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

19 August 2020

 

Post No. 157

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• The Continuation of Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects

• Summer Triple Pack is Still Running

• Trending in Poverty Reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance – In Focus from Week Beginning 17/08/2020: Social Health as Enabler of Poverty Reduction

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• The Continuation of Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects

 

The remaining four projects of our Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal are now open for public support.  We have made them Covid-19 secure after conducting a planning review and test on them.  

Under the Main Development section of this post, there are key summaries about them.  CENFACS is willing to provide the full project proposals to those potential supporters who may request them.   

To support and or further enquire about them, just contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

• Summer Triple Pack is Still Running

 

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

 

=> Social distancing Track to help reduce sanitation poverty

 

This activity of the pack is about social distancing running for about 2.5 miles (almost 4 km) to help reduce poverty in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance.

For those who have completed their 2.5 miles of running, please do not hesitate to share with us your experience.  This activity is also performed under this August 2020 Mission Activity.

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

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

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

In all cases, Covid-19 restrictions, rules and guidance must be observed.

 

=> Virtual Trip to Covid-19 hit locals

 

As part of ‘Mission’ Activity of the month, we have suggested to virtually visit 3 projects related to Covid-19 hit local people and communities. 

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

√ The way in which Covid-19 hit people or communities, particularly those who are undertaking coping and survival strategies to eradicate Covid-19-induced poverty and vulnerability

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

√ What lessons that can be learnt and shared from their coronavirus pandemic experience

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

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

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

 

=> Online Trending in health poverty reduction

 

The focus for this third part of our Summer Triple Pack is on social health and social wellness.  Under this activity of the pack, we are following the direction of poverty through socials and virtual world.

After dealing with Social Distancing Rule as Life Protector and Saver in the first week, and Social Networking as Connector for Poverty Reduction in the second week; we are now working on Social Health as Enabler of Poverty Reduction.  The notes about this third activity are just below.

In all this Summer Triple Pack, Covid-19 restrictions and rules must be followed, respected and maintained.

 

 

• Trending in Poverty Reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance – In Focus from Week Beginning 17/08/2020: Social Health as Enabler of Poverty Reduction

 

Social health can enable to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  But, what is social health?

 

=> Understanding social health

 

There are many definitions of social health.  In these many definitions, we have selected the following definition that has been given by Health Insurance Fund (HIF) of Australia on its website.  The HIF and Tammy George of HIF (1) define social health as

‘our ability to interact and form meaningful relationship with others’   

The HIF and Tammy George further argue that

‘social health is related to how comfortably we can adapt in social situations’

From the above definition, it is possible to follow the direction of poverty reduction through the ability of people to interact and form meaningful relationships with others.  In other words, it is possible to track the route of poverty reduction to check if social health is enabling people to reduce poverty or not.

 

=> Social health as enabler of poverty reduction

 

A good social health can enable poverty reduction and lead to happiness.  With reference to the successive World Happiness Reports edited by Helliwell et al. (2), one can argue that social health is part of the six key variables or predictors that explain happiness differences among countries which include: income (Gross Domestic Product per capita), healthy life expectancy at birth, social support (having someone to count on in times of trouble), generosity, freedom to make life choices and trust (perceptions of corruption).  

Social health can mean social support, that is one has someone to count on in times of trouble.  For example, one can look at how people in the CENFACS Community are socially healthy and well enough during the times of Covid-19 and lockdown.  Are they engaging with others (virtually or online or via phone) in the community to look after each other?

 

=> How do we measure the contribution of social health to poverty reduction?

 

We are as well looking at the measures of social health and wellness including the multi-dimensional measures of well-being, while following the direction of poverty linked to poor social health.  One of the measures could be the number of people engaged with in the CENFACS Community.

We are also trying to deal with the social dimensions of health and illness.  In this respect, it is worth to understand what is ill-health? 

In the Oxford Dictionary of Sociology written by J. Scott and G. Marshall (3), ill-health is defined as

‘a bodily or mental state that is deemed undesirable’ (p. 302)

So, following the direction of poverty reduction via social health can help us to understand ill-health from the social and sociological points of view.  It can as well help us to understand our own social health (social state of being) and our social wellness (social state of living a healthy lifestyle), especially at these times of Covid-19 and repeated lockdowns.    

For further details and to follow the direction of poverty via social health, please contact CENFACS.

 

(1) https://blog.hif.com.au/mental-health/what-is-social-health-definitions-example-and-tips-on-improving-your-social-wellness (accessed August 2020)

(2) Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J. (2017, 2018 & 2019), World Happiness Reports (2017, 2018 & 2019), New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network

(3) Scott, J. and Marshall, G, (2009), Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, Oxford University Press Inc., New York

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Summer TRIPS to volunteer for needy people and communities in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

These are the kinds of experiences we expect people to do over the Summer period especially for those who want to spend their Summer time differently, particularly but not exclusively, by doing something about poverty.  These experiences include field service activities carried out when visiting a project and which people can report their findings. 

We recommend this type of experiences under our volunteering scheme known as All in Development Volunteers Scheme (AiDVS).   Under CENFACS’ AiDV Scheme, one can take seasonal opportunities like of Summer to volunteer or do some internship on poverty relief and sustainable development. 

Where the person decides to go far away to visit needy communities or volunteer to our Africa-based projects, CENFACS would facilitate and liaise with its Africa-based Sister Organisations where the projects are based to smooth the volunteering process or visits to the projects under mutually agreed arrangements and conditions.

This Summer has been particular with the risk of the coronavirus pandemic.  It is difficult for many of those who planned to undertake volunteering trips.  The Covid-19 lockdown and the related travel restrictions are not making things easy.  Many of All in Development Volunteers and self-funded volunteers could not travel or simply cancel their Summer volunteering plans because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

For those who still manage to volunteer or visit projects according their plans, one can hope that everything is going to their plans.  Most importantly, one could expect them to stay safe and healthy. 

In order to fill up the volunteering gap, we have advised people to undertake virtual trips to the need and community for projects that are open during this difficult time and where things can be virtually organised between the virtual volunteers and the organisation/project to be virtually visited.   In this respect, Covid-19 hit people and communities could be obvious one to virtually visit.    

For details about AiDVS, contact CENFACS.  If you have visited or volunteered for projects recently and would like to share with us your experience, please contact us as well.

 

 

 

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 3, with Glasgow Steps It Up as our working theme

 

It is known that the 26^th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which was initially scheduled from 9 to 20 November 2020, will be held from 1 to 12 November 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Despite this postponement, our CPSAC – P. 3 continues.  We have rescheduled our plan and work so that we can still follow it through our working theme of “Glasgow Steps It Up”.  Also, this postponement gives us an opportunity to take into account and clearly assess the Covid-19 impact on CPSAC – P. 3.  In particular, we hope to collect more data about the Covid-19 and climate impacts on children.

In meantime, we are continuing to follow any meaningful climate discussions prior to the COP26, while working on the various aspects of our CPSAC – P. 3 as stated in the Compendium of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy.  A new schedule of activities for the key points of this Compendium will be set up as we move towards the COP 26 in the next year.

For further information about the CPSAC – P. 3 and the Compendium of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy project, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

• The Great Beasts Campaign

 

The Great Beasts campaign (GBC), which extends Big Cats campaign, aims at helping to protect endangered species such as African elephants, rhinoceros from extinction and exploitation.   This protection is even relevant at the Covid-19 time as the economic effects of this virus pandemic do not only hit humans.  They also impact on animals’ living and welfare. 

Like humans, animals need shelter, food, drink, healthcare, protection, etc.   At this difficult time of economic recession led by the Covid-19, the Great Beasts (that is elephant, rhinoceros, leopard, lion and buffalo) could be neglected or simply be exploited despite the various international conventions on the protection of endangered animal species.  In addition to Covid-19 economic effects, there is still the impact of climate change that continues to threaten the Great Beasts in Africa and elsewhere, their life and habitat. 

So, as part of our Great Beasts Campaign, we are working on the economic effects of Covid-19 as well as the climate change impacts on the Great Beasts of Africa.  This GBC will be carried on until we restart our ‘a la une’ (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) campaign this coming Autumn.

For further about the Great Beasts Campaign, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects

 

• • Projects making this appeal

 

The following are the remaining Summer Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects which we would like people to consider for support: 

All Gifts for All Coronavirus-affected Poor in Africa, International Networking and Protection against Covid-19, Iconic Young Carer for a Coronavirus-free Environment and ‘Covid-19 Secure’ ELCLASSICO International.

We have included in them the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

• • • All Gifts for All Coronavirus-affected Poor in Africa

 

AG4ACP, which stands for All Gifts for All Coronavirus-affected Poor in Africa, is the holiday makers’ and travellers’ free and voluntary contribution to poverty relief in Africa via CENFACS. 

Many people around the world (in both developed and developing countries) have been affected by the various impacts of Covid-19 and lockdowns.  However, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown are disproportional on and between people and communities.  In Africa, this disproportionality is big as those who are poor may not receive the support they need at this difficult time.

AG4ACP is an appeal to give a gift to the coronavirus-affected poor people in Africa. 

For those who can, we are asking them to support our appeal to give a gift in kind or money to support those poor people suffering from the astronomic effects of the Covid-19 and lockdown.  Your gift can help them to buy products (like personal protective equipment) to protect against Covid-19 or just access the basic necessities to survive during this difficult time.

 

• • • International Networking and Protection against Covid-19

 

INPC (International Networking and Protection against Covid-19) is designed to help and support vulnerably poor children to escape from HARMS, THREATS, ATTACKS, EXTREMISMS, RADICALISATION and RISKS of any forms of exploitation, neglect and abuse in Africa.  At this time of the coronavirus crisis, these threats and risks are higher than ever before.

To win the fight over the above dangers children in Africa and elsewhere are facing, it requires winning the battle of communication via the flow of information.  Likewise, the fight against Covid-19 requires an international collaboration and exchange of information between all those who are working on poverty relief and sustainable development.  Furthermore, defence against harms, danger and threats from Covid-19, is being done internationally as Covid-19 is a global issue.

You can support this appeal by helping in networking and protection equipment to enable Africa-based Organisations to better access information about Covid-19 to protect people and communities.  Your support can help to raise awareness and take action against the forces of exploitation and destruction of children.

 

• • • Iconic Young Carer for a Coronavirus-free Environment

 

IYCCC (Iconic Young Carer for a Coronavirus-free Environment), which is a deserving cause that supports poor children and young people who prematurely become African caregivers and labourers because of poverty, aims at improving the quality of life of young caregivers and labourers by responding to their basic needs and human rights.

A Covid-19-free environment requires the efforts of everybody.  In these collective efforts, young carers have been forced to take this role side by side with adults.  They are often doing it free and without any financial help.   These young carers deserve support as well.

So, supporting these young carers mean both fighting Covid-19 and preserving the lives of future generations. 

You can donate whatever you can to support these iconic young carers for a coronavirus-free environment in Africa.  Your donation can help to pay for the educational and developmental costs of these poor children who prematurely become young caregivers and labourers.

 

• • • ‘Covid-19 Secure’ ELCLASSICO International

 

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

To organise any sports development activity and sustainability activity for children, these activities must be ‘Covid-19 Secure’ and child protected.  It means that in the preparation of these activities, some Covid-19 and child protection tests must be conducted.  So, integrating Covid-19 restrictions and rules will help to protect these activities and everybody involves in them.   

It is known that at the moment, most of sporting events like the ones related to the ELCLASSICO International project are banned or postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic; just as children activities have been banned at the moment for the same reason.  Concerning the sports development part of ‘Covid-19 Secure’ ELCLASSICO International, it is on hold.  However, the sustainability part may be continuing.

You can support this project to rehabilitate the physical part of this project while enabling the sustainability aspect to function under the Covid-19 rules and restrictions where this project would be implemented. 

Your giving will have a triple effect:

√ Protection of children, young people and their families from Covid-19

√ Their sensitisation about climate change and environmental issues

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

 

• Donation or Giving in Kind Regarding Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects

 

Due to the Covid-19 and lockdown effects, there is no limit in terms of minimum and maximum amount to donate. 

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

CENFACS will accept any amount to be given or donated.

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

Thank you in anticipation for your willingness to make helpful difference to these poor children, young people and families at this difficult time of Covid-19.

For more details about ways of supporting the above initiatives and other ones, please go http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

12 August 2020

 

Post No. 156

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• FACS, Issue No. 68: Essential Economy That Relieves Poverty In Africa

• Trending in Poverty Reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance, In Focus from Week Beginning 10/08/2020: Social Networking as Connector…

• Planning Review of Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• FACS, Issue No. 68: Essential Economy That Relieves Poverty in Africa 

 

The top content of this week’s post is the Essential Economy That Relieves Poverty In Africa. This top content makes the 68^th Issue of FACS, CENFACS’ bilingual newsletter.

 

Introductory Notes to the 68^th Issue of FACS

 

The 68^th Issue starts by clearing the way in making the difference between essential economy and the essentialist vision of the economy in Page 2.  In doing so, it sets clear the goalposts or the direction of travel in helping us to understand how essential economy as a revived economic model can help reduce poverty in Africa.

It then goes on in highlighting the role of Africa-based Sister Organisations in the essential economy, especially in the restoration of local production and in helping reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development at the time of the coronavirus pandemic.  It also stresses the importance of charitable activities in the post-Covid-19 recovery period.

The issue shows us that although essential economy is not an end of itself, it can be a solution to poverty problems in Africa if a pan-African supply chain of essential commodities can be established.

As usual, we have our two pages (5 & 6) in French.  The two pages are a kind of digest of the Newsletter FACS (of the 68^th Issue) in French as they condense what is said in English by retelling it in French in a few and other words. 

Page 5 highlights the essentialness of networking and the renewal of engagement by African organisations to their project beneficiaries via essential economy. 

Page 6 speaks about the role of essential economy in the process of building back better Africa in the post-coronavirus era, while looking at essential economy as a way of connecting people to the local essential.

Our coverage of the 68^th Issue also includes the caring attributes of essential economy as an economy that serves the poor and does not leave anyone behind.  An essential economic project (“Essentia” Project) concludes this Issue in Page 10.

Besides these introductory notes to the Issue, there are key summaries of the pages making the 68^th Issue of FACS, which can be found under the Main Development section of this post.  They shade more lights about this lead content.

 

 

• Trending in Poverty Reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

In Focus from Week Beginning 10/08/2020: Social Networking as Connector for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development

 

To run this second note of our trending activity, we will start with the definition of social networking.  To define it, we are going to use a simple online and non-academic definition given by the website www.investopedia.com.    

This website defines social networking as

“the use of internet-based social media sites [e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Instagram] to stay connected with friends, family, colleagues, customers, or clients” (1)

One can refer to this definition and follow the social purpose of social networking. 

For example, one can follow how people are trying to reduce poverty and hardships they are experiencing through the use of social media platforms.  Likewise, people could share poverty relief stories, sustainable development opportunities, tales about recycling items, etc.  They can exchange information about jobs and accommodation while improving their skills about healthcare by following the Covid-19 messages or videos to protect against the virus.   

One can do their own evaluation of the use of social networking to find out if what they exchange with others has to do with poverty reduction and sustainable development or not.  In other words, they can assess if their social media connection leads to poverty reduction and sustainable development or not.     

These are the kinds of experiences that are interesting in following the social networking as a connector from the perspective of our trending activity.  It can connect those in need to a variety of information and resources to help them reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

So, we are continuing in following the direction of socials through social networking in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance. 

To follow this trend with CENFACS or to discuss it, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Planning Review of Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects

 

We are now nearly ready to add these projects to our Summer Humanitarian Relief Appeal Campaign as their planning review has been completed.  These projects include the following:

 

√ All Gifts for All Coronavirus-affected Poor

√ Iconic Young Career for a Coronavirus-free Environment

√ International Networking& Protection against Covid-19

√ ‘Covid-19 Secure’ ELCLASSICO International

 

They are now Covid-19 proof.

For further details and to support any of them, just contact CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Online TRACK to CENFACS e-charity Summer Shop for Summer Goods Donations and Buys

 

Every season is an opportunity to do something about the environment and poverty.  You can recycle or donate your unwanted or unused goods and presents to do something about the environment and or poverty.  You can also buy goods to meet the same ends.

This Summer you can online track CENFACS e-charity shop to help the environment and poverty relief.  If you are a fun of online tracking and shopping, you can take an online course of action or online path or even course of travel to save the environment and reduce poverty with CENFACS.

Instead of you physically going to physically shop or donate your goods, you can from the comfort of your home buy or donate goods to CENFACS e-charity shop to help the deserving cause of poverty relief and sustainable development.

To support us either by shopping or supplying us with products or goods you no longer want or use so that we can sell and raise the money for the good cause of poverty relief, please go http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

 

 

• Virtual Trips for Field Research

 

Trips to the local need this week include as well those travels made or to be made to conduct field work research in Africa and anywhere else in the context of poverty relief and sustainable development projects. 

Because of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns it has generated, we recommend to those who want do trips for field work research to only do them virtually.  In exceptional circumstances whereby people have to physically visit coronavirus-affected people or related projects, it is in the interest of everybody that they wear appropriate personal protective equipment to protect themselves and others against the Covid-19.  They should also follow local, national and international rules related to the protection against Covid-19 such as social and physical distancing rules, personal hygiene (washing of hands with soaps at least 20 seconds), disinfecting of their own properties if they have been in any site, etc.

These field work researches or practical experiences to gain knowledge and skills could be of varying forms such as observation and collection of raw data, interviews, group discussions, practical activities to support overseas development projects, etc. 

If you are a researcher and did or are doing some field work research on sustainable development and poverty reduction, and think that your work can enhance CENFACS’ work, you could share with us your experience, research findings or outcomes.

To share the experiences and results of your field work research, just contact CENFACS and CENFACS will get back to you.

 

 

 

• Mission Activity about Social Distancing Run to Reduce Poverty in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

As part of CENFACS’ Mission Activity, you can virtually run or walk from any location you choose, including home.  You can run, jog, or walk on the road, on the trail, on the treadmill, at the gym or on the track (or even at another race).  You can run your own race, at your own pace, and time it yourself.

Again, one should follow the Covid-19 restrictions and guidance in order to protect themselves and the members of the public and those around them.

All we are asking in this Mission Activity is to complete 4 Km Run wherever you want to do them.  To do it, you need to wear the recommended personal protective equipment and to observe the social distancing rules.  Before doing it, please let CENFACS know.

 

 

Main Development

 

• FACS, Issue No. 68: Essential Economy That Relieves Poverty in Africa

 

• • Page summaries (p. 2 – p. 10)

The following are the key summaries of each page making the contents of the 68^th Issue of FACS.

 

The difference between essential economy and essentialist vision of the economy in the fight against poverty (p. 2)

 

The literature review about essential economy shows that there are no many definitions about it.  There are definitions of essential economy that are linked to the situation of lockdown.  Some use a pragmatic or circumstantial definition to define essential economy as ‘any economic activity that has been allowed to stay open and functioning during the period of lockdown of the economy linked to the coronavirus pandemic’. 

The above politically-oriented definition has some anomalies or irregularities as it is restrictive and timely limited.  Essential economy should not only be defined with reference to the lockdown as this was an exceptional or temporary situation.  Yet, essential economy is the economy of everyday.  We heard it from people saying this: buy only what is essential.  But what does essential economy really mean?

Understanding essential economy

To understand essential economy, we are going to refer to a dictionary definition of the economy and link this definition to the word essential.  This definition has been chosen because not everybody making CENFACS’ audience is an economist or understands complex economic jargons. 

Collins English Dictionary (2) defines economy as

‘the system by which the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services is organised in a country or community’ (p. 267). 

This system can become essential if it is based on absolutely important or indispensable goods and services for life sustenance.  This system can then operate at any time and does not need the time of lockdown to be made relevant.  Because it is based on what is essential or fundamental to maintain any life, it is close to those who are in most need to maintain their life, the poor and neediest.

Essential economy is different from the essentialist economic view

Arguing about the need of essential economy is different from having an essentialist view of the economy.  Essential economy is different from essentialist vision of the economy, just as one should make a difference between protection and protectionism. 

Indeed, the essentialist thinking of the economy is the belief or doctrine that the different entities or components of the economy have their attributes that make them what they are or their essence.  This kind of way of thinking can lead to status quo.  If one thinks like this, there will not be any progress in the reduction of poverty. 

In order to reduce poverty, one needs to remove both ideological or mental and material barriers that keep poor people always poor.  If one wants to reduce and end poverty, one needs to make progress in their thinking or mind set. 

So, we are approaching essential economy from the perspective of reducing poverty and sustainable development while recognising positive aspects of the essentialist theories or bodies of analysis.    Our approach is an economic and sustainable development one in the fight against poverty and hardships.  In this respect, our view lies in the progress of the essential economy in its capacity to pull out people out of poverty.  It is this view which has been reflected in the different parts of the contents of the 68^th Issue of FACS.

Below you find more contents about this Issue.

 

 

Africa-based Sister Organisations, Essential Local Production and Natural Resources (p. 3)

 

The experience of Covid-19, which is still to come, in restricting local people to shop locally and in accessing products, is in itself a call for Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) working in the field of production to have a local focus, while preserving natural resources in the fight against poverty and hardships.

Some people can see it as a post-coronavirus strategy.  However, in a realistic world local production should be part of any efforts to reduce and end poverty.  Whether it is part or not of a post-coronavirus strategy, ASOs can work with their beneficiaries to restore essential local production sometimes destroyed or disregarded because of a number of reasons or factors such as armed conflicts, environmental decay, climate change, pressure from global businesses (like multinational corporations, etc.) in search of sources of natural resources.  They can do it while working on the preservation of natural resources in the fight against poverty and hardships.        

There are many examples whereby ASOs are trying to restore essential local production in rural areas while helping local people to stay home during the lockdown in many African countries.  These examples of local production include: home-made facial masks, craft-made soaps and sanitising products to slow the spread of the coronavirus and protect local community health.  In this process, they involve the preservation of natural resources by using only what is essential for this type of local production.

For further details and examples about this ASOs model of restoring local essential production while caring for the environment, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS. 

 

Sustainability of Essential Charitable Activities Run by Africa-based Organisations in the Post-Covid-19 Era (p. 3)

 

The question that one may be asking and trying to answer could be this one: How to maintain essential charitable activities in order to stay open and sustain locally in the post-Covid-19 era?

Charities are part of the essential economy, especially those working for the relief of poverty and hardships.  Many of them run essential activities such as helping …

a) the homeless

b) the poor to access safe drinking water, primary healthcare and education

c) those in most need of food and drink

d) the unemployed people, refugees and asylum seekers, etc.  

During the lockdown, there has been a soaring level of financial hardships and charities that work on financial advice can enormously help with advice. 

During the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown, there have been a lot of discussions about what is essential and what is non-essential.  Given what has been said earlier, many of the activities run by charities are essential as they are absolutely important for the lifeline of those in need of them and who need them the most.  Yet, many of their activities have been shut down because of the adverse effects and impacts of Covid-19 and the lockdown. 

One could hope that in the post-Covid-19 area, the deserving activities that charities (like those of ASOs with charitable status) will be properly appreciated in keeping their place within the essential sector or economy.

 

The Supply Chain of Essential Commodities and Progress on Poverty Relief in Africa (p. 4)

 

Covid-19 has exposed the extreme vulnerability of Africa to the international supply chains of goods and services including those on which poor people depend upon.  Redeveloping the continental supply chain of essential and critical commodities that poor people can access and improve their life outcomes and chances will help progress the relief and end of poverty. 

In this respect, the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement needs to include a great deal of essential economy.  This African model of continental free trade agreement could have that part of the economy that is closer to the poor and those in most needs.  As many studies suggested, this model of working together can have trade corridors that allow the free flow of essential economic commodities (or goods and services) to both mitigate the Covid-19 impacts and poverty.  This continental free trade model would be better than the temporary lifting of tariffs on essential products and services. 

So, the supply chain of essential goods and services can be improved under a wide model of working together so that poor people can access essential goods and services at any time (Covid-19 and no Covid-19 times).  This way, progress on poverty relief in Africa can be made widely and regardless of the Covid-19 situation. 

Further discussion on this topic can be addressed to CENFACS.

 

Making Essential Economy as a Solution to Poverty Problems (p. 4)

 

There are many discourses and models or solutions to poverty.  In the context of this Issue, solving the problem of poverty could mean providing to poor people essential economic means to fight and sustain against poverty.  These means could include: essential education, health, housing, employment, energy, income, consumption, skills, knowledge, opportunity, etc. 

In all these matters, it is all about what constitutes the essence of them.  Let’s take essential health, what is the essence of it or what is absolutely important for people to enjoy the kind of health that can be called indispensable.  Let’s take another example like of essential housing: what constitutes essential living.

So, essential economy can provide solutions to poverty by providing to people essential accommodation, level of education, monetary income, sanitation, skills to find jobs, etc.  It is an economy that has a real essence like in the theories of modalities.  It is possible to make essential economy as a solution to poverty and hardships.

 

Is Essential Economy a Gender Affair in Africa? (p. 4)

 

Where our Africa-based Sister Organisations operate, essential economy does not choose between men and women.  Both men and women make up the essential economic system.  There is no such difference being a man or woman trying to produce and consume within this system.  In this respect, essential economy is not gender-biased.  

However, one can hear some saying that these activities are essential for women or for men.  This could be related to the gender role in the society rather than a difference by virtue of essence of the economy.  In other words, by essence the essential economic system is not engendered to create difference between men and women in Africa.  If there is any gender disparity, it is not because the essential economy in itself is a gender affair by essence or nature.  In fact, one of the virtues of essential economy is the caring of others.  If one cares about others, they would not create a disparity against them.

Briefly, it is possible to argue that the essential economy does not discriminate between men and women as both need essential goods and services.  If there is a gender disparity as far as the essential economy is concerned, this will not be to do with the nature of essential economy, but will be to do with humans’ own makings and behaviours. 

For those who would like to further discuss this matter of essential economy and gender disparity, they can let CENFACS know.

 

Organisations africaines et leurs engagements sur l’économie essentielle  (p. 5)

 

L’une des leçons à tirer du coronavirus est sur la capacité des organisations africaines à renouveler leurs engagements respectifs avec les bénéficiaires sur le plan de l’économie essentielle.  Ce renouveau des engagements aura des effets bénéfiques pour les deux parties (organisations et projet bénéficiaires). 

Le renouvellement des engagements à travers le modèle de l’économie essentielle peut permettre de réaliser plus de résultats en matière de réduction de la pauvreté et de faire des avancées sur la réalisation des objectifs du développement durable. 

En effet, la crise du coronavirus a montré les limites de l’économie non-essentielle sur beaucoup de plans surtout sur celui de réduction de la pauvreté.  Ces limites sont entre autres  le non-essentiel qui pousse au gaspillage des ressources, et en particulier celui des ressources naturelles et rares.  Ce non-essentiel ne fournit pas toujours des biens et services utiles à la réduction de la pauvreté. 

En gros, en revalorisant le modèle de l’économie essentielle auprès de leurs usagers, cela permettre de préserver ensemble les acquis et réaliser davantage de résultats sur la réduction de la pauvreté.  Cette  revalorisation passera par la préparation ensemble des projets économiques essentiels visant à la réduction de la pauvreté.

 

Les organisations africaines, le réseautage en ligne et la réduction de la pauvreté (p. 5)

 

Il y a plusieurs manières d’appréhender le concept de « réseau ».  Dans le cadre de cet article, nous l’appréhendons à  travers les flux d’informations et de données que les organisations africaines échangent avec les autres membres de leurs réseaux. 

L’établissement et le développement des flux d’informations et de données sur les réseaux sociaux avec les mêmes parties participantes à ces réseaux peuvent permettre de réaliser davantage de résultats collectifs sur la réduction de la pauvreté.  Etant donné que nous sommes dans une situation de la pandémie de coronavirus, des tels flux et liens intégreraient le facteur sanitaire lié au Covid-19, si l’on veut qu’ils soient efficaces.  Ces réseaux d’échange et de partage des informations et données sur le Covid-19 et sur les expériences en matière de réduction de la pauvreté seront un cadre idéal dans un monde et une Afrique où les distanciations sociales et confinements causés par le coronavirus ont démontré les limites du modèle de réseaux basé sur les contacts humains physiques.

En bref, les organisations africaines peuvent utiliser les vertus du réseautage en ligne pour non seulement échanger des informations entre elles, mis aussi pour se protéger contre le Covid-19 et partager des expériences de réduction de la pauvreté qu’offre le secteur essentiel.  

 

Mieux reconstruire l’Afrique après le Covid-19 (p. 6)

 

Mieux reconstruire l’Afrique de l’après Covid-19 implique l’inclusion de l’économie essentielle aussi.  Pendant la crise du coronavirus et la période du confinement, l’économie essentielle est devenue l’économie courante ou la règle du jeu de tous les jours du confinement.  L’économie non-essentielle quant à elle, elle a été reléguée au banc des économies d’exception ou des réserves. 

Si les organisations africaines veulent vraiment mieux reconstruire l’Afrique après le Covid-19, alors il y a lieu qu’elles pensent à rehausser la place et la valeur de l’économie essentielle au même piédestal que les autres économies.  En effet, l’économie essentielle a fait ses preuves par exemple en matière d’approvisionnement des produits et services essentiels pour toutes les catégories de revenus (modeste, essentiel, moyen, élevé, etc.).  Elle a su démontrer qu’elle est une économie pour tout le monde et qu’elle ne laisse personne derrière. 

Pour qu’elles le fassent, cela implique qu’il faudrait développer une stratégie et des politiques pour l’économie essentielle.  Au niveau de nos sœurs organisations africaines, il y a lieu qu’elles montent aussi des politiques et projets de réduction de la pauvreté afin qu’elles prennent des opportunités offertes par la démonstration que l’économie essentielle a faite.  Cela nécessite des créations et des innovations sur les manières de réduire la pauvreté fondées sur les vertus de l’économie essentielle. 

En résumé, mieux reconstruire l’Afrique après le Covid-19, c’est aussi mieux composer avec l’économie essentielle.   

 

L’économie essentielle et la connexion à l’essentiel local  (p. 6)

 

Comme toute économie, l’économie essentielle regorge des aspects positifs et négatifs.  En s’attelant sur ses aspects positifs, on peut citer notamment la connexion à l’essentiel local.  L’un des aspects positifs de cette économie est le recours et la revalorisation des ressources locales pour résoudre des problèmes locaux. 

S’agissant par exemple de la connexion à l’essentiel local, on a vu l’augmentation de l’intérêt aux installations locales ces derniers mois.  La plupart des personnes et familles ont tenté de connecter avec la nature locale, les parcs locaux et jardins publics, les magasins locaux, etc.   Alors que pendant la période d’avant le confinement, il y avait peu d’intérêts pour certains aux ressources locales.  Le local et l’essentiel sont ainsi devenus proches d’eux pendant le confinement. 

Les organisations africaines peuvent utiliser cet attribut de l’économie essentielle pour résoudre les difficultés que leurs usagers rencontrent en matière de réduction de la pauvreté.  Des difficultés qui sont de plusieurs ordres tels que les pénuries alimentaires, le manque d’accès aux produits de première nécessité, l’absence d’éducation essentielle, le manque de santé et de salubrité, le déclin de la connexion au local, ainsi de suite. 

On peut conclure que l’utilisation des aspects positifs de l’économie essentielle (tels que la connexion à l’essentiel local) par les organisations africaines peut avoir des effets bénéfiques pour la réduction de la pauvreté.

 

 

The Essentialness of the Poverty Reduction in Africa in the Age of Covid-19 (p. 7)

 

The quality of poverty reduction being essential is not only a matter of the usual known income poor people.  Indeed, having a poor health as a result of someone catching or being contaminating by Covid-19 is in itself a sign of poor health or poor sanitation.  This raises the question of the relativity or subjectivity of poverty rather than of the objectivity of it. 

An income rich person can also be a poor from the health point of view.  Covid-19 does not choose between the rich and the poor.  If this is the case, then it is essential to reduce any forms of poverty whether those who have been threatened by any of these forms are income poor or rich.  In this respect, Covid-19 is a reminder of the essentiality or essentialness of poverty reduction regardless of income status. 

For example, the essentialness of the poverty reduction in Africa in the Age of Covid-19 has gained its cause when rich and poor had to rely on the same essential domestic health systems and services as there were lockdowns everywhere.

In short, the essentialness of the poverty reduction in Africa in the Age of Covid-19 is about telling us the reduction of poverty (here sanitation poverty caused by Covid-19) is not only beneficial for the poor.  It is in everybody’s interest, rich or poor.

 

 

Care and Essential Economies That Help to Save and Protect Lives (p. 7)

 

One of the attributes of essential economy is that it provides space to care for others.  By only producing, consuming and using essential products and services, this shows that we care for others who also need the same goods, services and opportunities like us.  The other ones could be those in most needs, the ones who need more care and help in our society than anybody else.  In this respect, essential economy and care economy can intersect at certain point or area whereby essentiality could mean caring for others.

For example, one could have noticed during the lockdown how the store advertisement message of buying only what you need as essential was combined with the other message of caring for each other through social distancing rules.  This shows how close essential economy is to care economy.

Briefly, a caring and essential economy can help to protect and save lives, especially at this time of Covid-19 during which many lives are at risk. 

 

Sustainable Essential Economy and Poverty Reduction (p. 8)

 

Sustainable essential economy (SEE) is the absolutely necessary and sustainable management of available and scarce resources that can help to solve the basic economic problem of poverty and hardships.  SEE can help avoid the depletion and waste of natural resources while caring for the generations to come in terms of the resources which will be available for them.  In this respect, sustainability and essentiality go hand in hand as both can help to reduce poverty.

For further details and discussions on sustainable essential economy and poverty reduction, please contact CENFACS.

 

Essential Economy, Environmental Impacts and Poverty Reduction (p. 8)

 

Environmental impact is defined in the Dictionary of Environment and Conservation written by Chris Park (3) as

‘any positive or negative impact or effect that any activity, project and programme may have on natural resources and the environmental system’. (p. 152) 

Because of the nature of the essential economy, which is based on the essence of a thing and essential use of natural resources, the environmental impact from the essential economy can be lower than what one would expect, on what is extremely important and necessary. 

The essential economy will tend to use few natural resources and will stop waste.  This tendency can positively impact the reduction of poverty if poor people are able to save on the use of resources.  The saving made can help improve their essential gross domestic product per capita.

For any further discussion about the environmental impact of the essential economy, please contact CENFACS.

 

Survey on Essential Economy: Reconnection to the Essential Local (p. 9)

 

As part of its survey about people’s experience of using the essential economy during the lockdown, CENFACS is running a questionnaire for people to say what they think about their reconnection to the essential local in order to survive during the lockdown of the economy.

To take part in this survey and or to tell your feelings about your reconnection to the essential local, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

The Essential Economy as the Economy that does Leave No-one Behind (p. 9)

 

Those who have only basic or essential solvable income can be left behind.  They may not have the disposable income to purchase goods and services at a certain price due to the income constraint. 

The Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns have shown how those who live only on basic or essential monetary income could not even afford to cover the extra costs of disinfection and sanitation brought by Covid-19 in their household budgets.  The financial bailout of those poor in some parts of the world is in itself the evidence of the lack financial means due to the suddenly change of cost of living for them.

In idealistic world where everybody has a basic or essential income to live, they can at least afford to buy essential goods and services.  Because the essential economy is based on essential activities, it tends to be inclusive of everyone who is looking for essential goods and services like we have seen during the lockdowns.  This inclusiveness and embodiment of the essential economy makes no-one to lag behind in the fulfilment of the needs of sanitation and health products to fight the coronavirus pandemic for example.

Despite the asymmetrical effects of lockdown between people, the essential economy itself does not differentiate people unless those who are running this economy choose to do so.  This feature of the essential economy makes it as a lasting system of production, consumption and distribution of goods and services that connects people including the poor to what really is indispensable for their life and survival.  This takes away from what is non-essential for everyday life.

For any query or enquiry about the inclusivity of the essential economy, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.   

 

The Essential Economy as the Economy that Serves the Poor (p. 9)

 

Serving the poor, under-served and un-served could mean a lot of things.  In the context of this writing, it simply means helping them to get out poverty and hardships.  Again, helping someone to get out poverty and hardships could also mean different things to different people. 

Getting out poverty and hardships could mean creating the conditions that are favourable to them to use their abilities and talents to resolve the basic problem of the allocation of scarce and limited resources to unlimited wants and needs.

However, creating those conditions may not be enough if only few of those in need are the only ones able to access them.  To make those created conditions useful, it is good to widen the entry to many of them as well as to work with them so that they can have the essential tools, means and capacities to access the conditions and environment created for them.  This will help them to succeed in the process of getting the service they need to escape from poverty and hardships.

This is one of the many ways of serving the poor.  It is also helping them to help themselves.  Because the essential economy is also a caring one, it can serve them in this way without putting a plate, cutlery and a glass on the table for them.

For further details and discussions about how the essential economy can serve the poor, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

“Essentia” Project (p. 10)

 

The “Essentia” project is a poverty-relieving initiative that uses the tenets and attributes of the essential economy in order to help people and communities in need to escape from poverty and hardships.  The project connects these people and communities to essential activities while motivating them to use non-polluting ways of resolving their long standing problems of poverty and hardships.

The project will be run by local organisations in Africa in alliance with CENFACS.

To support and or for full project proposals, please contact CENFACS.

For a paper copy and or enquiry about the 68th Issue of FACS, contact CENFACS.

 

(1) www.investopedia.com (accessed August 2020)

(2) Collins English Dictionary (2007), HarperCollins Publishers, Glasgow (www.collins.co.uk)

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

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

05 August 2020

 

Post No. 155

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Track, Trip and Trending in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

• Mid-Summer 2020 Review and Update

• Happiness under the Constraint of Face Coverings

 

…. and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Track, Trip and Trending in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

August is CENFACS’ Track, Trip and Trending month.

We do Track at CENFACS as we think that every one of us can undertake basic physical activity of running or racing to help reduce poverty. Our project known as Run to Reduce Poverty is designed to meet that end.

This Summer, we are going to do Social Distancing Track.  This is due to the coronavirus and its associated impacts and effects.

August is also the month we carry out some Trips to our projects. We visit our projects all over the year, but August is the time we highlight this. It is the month of the year we walk again and reach out to the need, to the people, communities, organisations and livelihoods in need.

This Summer, we are going to undertake Virtual Trips.  This is also due to the coronavirus pandemic and its associated impacts and effects.

We thirdly deal with Trending in August as we spend time looking at what we can call Trendy Development.  Trending in Poverty Reduction helps us to follow the direction of poverty reduction work. This August we are going to follow this direction via ‘Social’ and ‘Virtual World’ in reducing sanitation poverty and enhancing health and safety aspects of sustainable development.

Again, due the coronavirus pandemic and its related impacts and effects, we are going to follow this direction via online, video, phone, screen and digital technological means of communication rather than on papers (print) or physical visits.

This Summer has been all about Covid-19 and its impacts.  Therefore, we are going to integrate Covid-19 and the theme for Summer into these three activities of August as follows: Track, Trip and Trending in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance.

More details about CENFACS’ Track, Trip and Trending month for this year is given under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

 

 

• Mid-Summer 2020 Review and Update

 

This is a review and update about what has been happening within CENFACS in terms of the running of activities, projects and programmes.  The review and update cover the period from the 1^st of July 2020 until now and is divided into areas of work dealing with the CENFACS Community, Africa-based Sister Organisations and the two of them.

 

=> Areas of work dealing with the CENFACS Community

 

Regarding the CENFACS Community, we would like to mention the following.

We have reopened the Charity e-store while following to letter the restrictions and guidance related to the control of Covid-19 .

Our Covid-19 Campaign continues with the mantra of “STOP COVID-19 NEGATIVE IMPACTS AND SURGE”.

There are advisory sessions on holiday, happiness and healthiness budgets to be accessed by the community via an appointment.

We have unveiled our 6 Healthiness Projects for poor children, young people and families; projects that are run under the theme of a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance.

We have recently set up a Covid-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction as a point of collection and treatment of CENFACS’ work and information on Covid-19-induced poverty and hardships.

We held the 12^th edition of our Summer Festival of Thoughts with a focus on Health Economics.  This festival was a wonderful and unique opportunity to look into the issue of Covid-19 as being at the same time an economic and health threat, especially as the world is the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic.

The above is not just a list, but it is what has been going on so far since the beginning of July 2020.  To find out more about this review and update, please contact CENFACS.

 

=> Areas of work dealing with the Africa-based Sister Organisations

 

Concerning the Africa-based Sister Organisations, we would like as well to keep you inform by stating the following.

We heard the African Voices about the areas of improvement in the work we do together as some of you have expressed it in our consultation related to All-in-one Impact Feedback.  Where possible and within our capacity, improvement will be initiated.  We will set up an improvement plan to that effect.

The survey about the impacts of Covid-19 shock is still running.  We are asking to those who have not yet responded to do so.  It is in our mutual interest to respond to the survey.

The Rebuilding Africa Advocacy has been held with a focus on rebuilding healthiness in the phases of low spread and growth of the epidemiological curves of Covid-19 in Africa.

Data Analytics and Impact Activities have been carried out as scheduled.  However, due to the delay in getting all the feedbacks or reports from various sections of CENFACS, we are a bit held behind compared to our initial plan.

The African Sahel Humanitarian Corridors Appeal (that is an appeal to end food insecurity, water shortage and income decline exacerbated by Covid-19) is now trending.

 

=> Areas of work with the CENFACS Community and Africa-based Sister Organisations

 

To both the CENFACS Community and Africa-based Sister Organisations, we would like to add the following to what is trending within CENFACS.

We are still working in making CENFACS’ 2020s Development Agenda, Poverty Reduction Programme and Tools Box Covid-19 secure.

Under the project known as African Children and Sustainable Development Goals (Generation Global Goals or 3G Project), we are as well continuing to work on the Impact Analysis of Covid-19 Shock on African Children’s realisation of climate and sustainable development goals.  

We have recently embarked on the Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of CENFACS’ 2019-2020 Humanitarian Appeals for Africa, which we conducted.

 The two parts of our Summer Programme (i.e. Appeal and Healthiness projects) are still running.   If there is any query about these projects and / or any of our projects, please contact CENFACS.

To support the Appeal projects, let CENFACS know at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

To access Healthiness projects, contact CENFACS at facs@cenfacs.org.uk and or by completing the comment form on our website.

We hope that this Mid-Summer 2020 Review and Update will give you a glimpse and the state of improvement of our activities, projects and programmes.  It is our way of keeping you informed and engaged around the Summertime.

We also hope that everybody is looking after each other in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance while enjoying the Summer weather.

For those who are in holiday during this Summer, we wish them a healthy holiday time.

For those who are working this Summer, we also wish them well with their work and whatever they are doing.

For those who are planning to go for holiday, we would like as well to wish them well with plans.

 

 

 

• Happiness under the Constraint of Face Coverings

 

Our Season of Happiness is still on track as we are trying to discuss and find answers about the difficulty that some members of the CENFACS Community are facing in covering the cost of buying masks or coverings, let alone the cost of hygienic and cleaning products to disinfect households.

The usual happy face with a smile that represents our Season of Happiness has been taken away by Covid-19.  Covid-19 has forced us to wear face masks or coverings instead of keeping our face and mouth free with a smile.  We are therefore asking the following questions.

What is happiness today in this context of Covid-19 adding more costs to our health budget while taking away our smile?

How can we find true enjoyment and joy with a smile under the Covid-19 restrictions?

What relieves better sanitation poverty: is it a face mask to protect us against Covid-19 or a smiling free face that gives us natural breath and a deep feeling of relief?

To discuss about Happiness under the Constraint of Face Coverings, please contact CENFACS. 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Track, Trip and Trending in a “Mission” Year and Project

 

As part of CENFACS’ “Mission” Year and Project and of the month of Track, Trip and Trending; we would like those who can and want to proceed with either of the following “Mission” Activities:

√ Social Distancing Run 2.5 miles (nearly 4 km) for the relief of sanitation poverty or just poverty this month

√ Undertake Virtual Visits or Tours of 3 projects or activities related to Covid-19 hit local people or communities

√ Do online search to find 6 Social Trends in health poverty alleviation and health-enhancing aspects of sustainable development

The above three types of “Mission” Activities are our way of linking our “Mission” Year/Project and the month of Track, Trip and Trending together.

To undertake any of the above mentioned “Mission” Activities, please let CENFACS know. 

CENFACS will be pleased if you could share with us, your experience in undertaking these “Mission” activities.

 

 

 

• Record your Summer Telling Moments to Report Back

 

Whether one has a Summer break or is working over this Summer, it is always a good idea to record your telling moments or just what you are doing.

After Summer, we often ask people or the community to report their Summer experience back.  If you record what you are doing this Summer, after Summer it will be easier to share what you may judge is a shareable part of your Summer experience or story. 

If you decide to record your Summer activities or experiences, please do not forget to take photos and pictures, make a video, record your voice, podcast etc.    It is also useful to write down dates, places and names of people involved in your projects or experiences.  You can plan the way you want to report back whether you want to use words or numbers or tables or graphs, figures, etc.

Reporting back your experiences can sometimes inspire others, especially if your experiences contain poverty-relieving elements.

We hope you will take our message of recording to report seriously.  Thank you any way!

 

 

• Integration or Factorisation of Covid-19 Impacts into Le Dernier Carré (the Last Square of Poverty Relief)

 

The Last Square of Poverty Relief (or le Dernier Carré) is CENFACS’ four step model of poverty relief that deals with four types of poverty: income poverty, consumption poverty, energy poverty and in-working poverty.  It is also the square of escape or inescapability from poverty, a four-dimensional poverty. 

Multi-dimensional poverty requires multi-dimensional approach to tackle it.  CENFACS’ Le Dernier Carré (the Last Square of Poverty Relief) model is an example of multi-dimensional approach to poverty reduction.  The model is mostly in action when using CENFACS’ League of Poverty Reduction as it enables to classify team countries according to their efforts in reducing poverty.   

Covid-19 and its associated impacts do not leave our four step model of working on poverty untouched.  We are looking at the best possible of integrating or factorising the coronavirus pandemic impacts into this model.  This integration or factorisation could mean taking into account sanitation poverty or health poverty in the Last Square of Poverty Reduction.

To find out more or get the progress about this process of integration or factorisation of Covid-19 into the Last Square of Poverty Reduction, please contact CENFACS. 

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Track, Trip and Trending in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

Our thematic and working model of Summer of Healthiness in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance will continue this month through the three activities of

1/ Social Distancing TRACK to help reduce poverty

2/ Virtual TRIP to Covid-19 hit local people

3/ Online TRENDING in health poverty alleviation

 

• • Track, Trip and Trending 2020 Activities

 

(1) Social Distancing Track to reduce poverty in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

This is delivered through the project Run to Reduce Poverty, Gaming to Reduce Poverty and Vote your African Manager of Poverty Reduction. These are All-year Round Projects or Triple Value Initiatives.

However, because of the weather conditions (sunshine) and nature of August (holidays time for many of our supporters) we put a particular emphasis on the Run aspects of these all-year round projects, over this month. 

This Summer, this emphasis has changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Because of that, one can only do physical run out and indoor if they respect the coronavirus guidance in terms of social and physical distancing rules.   

We expect those who sign up to the Run element to take actions and run it by themselves while following to letter the UK Government restrictions, the NHS advice and the World Health Organisations guidance.  After summer, they can report back to us or at any convenient time before the end of the year.

 

(2) Virtual Trip to the needs in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are restrictions and travel bans about non-essential trips although some parts of the world are easing the lockdown.  For those who cannot physically visit projects on the grounds, arrangements can be made between the physical visitors and the organisations to be visited so that they can organise a virtual trip or viewing. 

This requires that the visitors and visiting organisations have the technology that enables this virtual tour to happen.  If this is possible we expect and advise our supporters to virtually visit some of projects and initiatives whether in the UK or in Africa during and around the month of August.  Because of the circumstances we are all in at this time of Covid-19, it could be a good idea if this trip can be done to Covid-19 hit areas, people and communities. 

Since we cancelled all non-essential physical trips, CENFACS All in Development Volunteers can do virtual trips.  These virtual trips can still help us to check if we are on the right track at helping to reduce poverty and at tracking our records for the work on the ground.

Because the theme of trending for this Summer is about Socials, we are going to link Trip to the need with social and virtual world.

 

(3) Online Trending in Health Poverty Reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown effects, it has been noticed that market economy has scaled back while the state economy and social economy have remarkably increased their size through the financial bailout and various socio-economic measures to protect the health systems and the economy. 

Additionally, there has been an increase in the ways of e-working, remote working, e-education and so on via the virtual world.  Because of that, we are going to add to our trending activity the virtual world. 

During this August we are dealing with online Trending in health poverty reduction by following the direction of Social and Virtual World and their capacity of lifting people out poverty. We mean by that we are following the direction of poverty reduction by using social.  This social can include: social media, social networking, social skills, social responsibility, social sciences, social distancing rules, etc.   

We will be observing what social and the social sector are doing to hep to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  We will be looking at the extent to which social can be poverty reducer. 

We will be doing it while integrating the Covid-19 as it affects the way we are happy or not happy, we eat, we entertain ourselves, we pass our summer holiday, we dress, we socialise, etc. to reduce health poverty.

So, social and its respective impacts on health poverty reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance are what will be trending at CENFACS, as given below.

 

• • August 2020 Trending Activities/Programme 

 

=> Week beginning: Monday 03/08/2020:

Social distancing rules as life saver and protector

=> Week beginning: Monday 10/08/2020:

Social networking as connector for poverty reduction and sustainable development

=> Week beginning: Monday 17/08/2020:

Social health as enabler for poverty reduction

=> Week beginning: Monday 24/08/2020:

Virtual world as a means to online interaction to reduce poverty

 

If you are interested in this trending programme, please share with us your experience or comments about it.

Further explanation about this August month’s activities can be obtained from CENFACS.

 

• • Socials as our Online Trending in Health Poverty Reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

In focus from Week beginning 03/08/2020:  

Social distancing rules as life saver and protector

 

With what is happening now with the measures against the spread of Covid-19, one can hope everybody understands what Social Distancing Rules (SDR) mean. 

SDR are simply the guideline to keep a safe space between non-members of the same household in order to avoid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.  It is a disease control tactics.   SDR help to protect and save lives against the threats, harms, damages and dangers posed by the Covid-19.

As a life-protector, a SDR is a social and physical defence against the life-threatening and damaging impacts and effects of the coronavirus pandemic.  In this respect, the practice of SDR contributes to the maintenance of healthy conditions of life for all and specifically for the most vulnerable and people at risk of catching the Covid-19 disease.

As a life-saver, a SDR is a social and physical gesture that can preserve or rescue lives from the Covid-19 disaster.  In this respect, the practice of SDR is a way of taking care of each other in the difficult times of Covid-19.  By taking care of each other, this contributes to the prevention of mass life tragedy or fatality that can be brought by Covid-19. 

What is more is that SDR as life-saver can enable to stop the threat of extinction of a generation like the one we have seen with Covid-19 whereby the 65 plus generations have been the most vulnerable.     

In the context of our Online Trending in Health Poverty Reduction in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance, we are following the direction of health poverty through social distancing rules.  What does it mean?

It basically means that we are trying to observe how people are applying this rule (the social distancing rule) in order to either stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic or escape from sanitation/health poverty. 

Indeed, one can look at how people are trying to comply with this rule in order to protect and save their own life and the life of others.  On can as well observe how the same people or other ones are trying to use this life-protecting and –saving rule in order to reduce or end sanitation/health poverty. 

The above is our trending activity for this week; activity which has already started. 

To follow with us the direction of sanitation/health poverty reduction via social distancing rule, please contact CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

29 July 2020

 

Post No. 154

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Essential Highlights of Healthiness Projects in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

• Happiness and Healthiness Budgets 2020 – Holiday Budget Deficit: How to Sustainably Manage Budget Deficit in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

• The African Sahel Humanitarian Corridors Appeal Continues…

 

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Essential Highlights of Healthiness Projects in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

Last week, we introduced the theme making the second part of our Summer 2020 Programme, part which consists of Healthiness Projects.  This theme is Healthiness in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance.

This week, we are giving essential highlights of the Healthiness Projects.  These highlights can be found under the Main Development section of this post.  The full details of these projects are also available on request from CENFACS, including ways of accessing and using them. 

To access and or support them, just contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Budgets 2020 – Holiday Budget Deficit:

How to Sustainably Manage Budget Deficit in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

We are continuing our tips and hints on Happiness Budget by looking at holiday budget deficit.

A deficit is generally defined as the amount by which expenditure is greater than real income.  In terms of holiday budget deficit, it simply means that one’s holiday expenditure is more than holiday income.  It is a negative balance which could suggest that there could be a need to finance it (here holiday budget deficit). 

Yet, speaking about holiday budget deficit could seem bizarre since we are talking about poor people or those in need.  These are the people who often struggle to make ends meet.  They are the ones who often are short of money to tie the knots of the two ends of the month.  Despite that any sensible humans should do some budgeting, here holiday budgeting. 

Budgeting is forward thinking process that can help to coordinate the different areas of household life while defining responsibility and delegating powers within the same household.  It is indeed an instrument for household control as well as a basis for decision making process and changing plans where there is a need to do so.

We will be working on the budgeting process on the budgeting process with those who are struggling to make ends meet.  We will be working on how to avoid and sustainably manage holiday budget in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance. 

For those who are familiar with online tools, they can find countless examples of family/household budgets sometimes in the form of Microsoft Application Spread sheets.  For those who are not familiar with these free available online resources, they can use CENFACS’ line of financial advisory support.

With the particularity of this Summer during which the Coronavirus is still threatening lives, there is a need to take into account the Covid-19 in dealing with budget deficit.  So, we will be checking with them on which part of this deficit is attributable or not attributable to Covid-19.  This exercise enables to take into consideration the way in which Covid-19 is affecting their holiday budget in what they eat, drink, cover or uncover their body, entertain, shelter, etc.

To learn or seek support on how to avoid and sustainably manage holiday budget deficit or negative budget balance in Summer of Covid-19 dominance, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• The African Sahel Humanitarian Corridors Appeal (The African Sahel Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal by CENFACS)

 

Our Appeal for Humanitarian Corridors for the Peoples of African Sahel continues this week.  The Appeal is about asking to establish channels of communication and transportation for dispatching relief goods and services to the peoples of the African Sahel who are suffering from the lockdown effects.  It is about reducing the trade threatening and destroying effects resulted from the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. 

We understand that tough measures have to be taken to control the life-threatening and destroying impacts of Covid-19.  However, precaution has to be taken to avoid the situation in which one virus (here Covid-19) is being fought while the method used to fight it creates another virus which is even more deadly or claims more fatalities than the first one. 

As many humanitarian organisations on the grounds are pointing out, the African Sahel is moving from the coronavirus to the hunger virus.  Therefore, creating and sustaining humanitarian corridors to insure the supply of foods, drinks, medicine and other essential items in the African Sahel is life-saving act.

There is a possibility to help for this to happen.  There are ways of helping this to be achieved.  How?

One way of doing it is through the online and virtual technological means.  Indeed, when one speaks humanitarian people always think it is about asking money.  In this case, CENFACS is not asking you to donate money.  CENFACS is simply asking to use the same technology that helps many to e-work, to e-educate, to join a video conference meeting, etc. in order to challenge the adverse impacts of Covid-19, to create humanitarian corridors in the African Sahel. 

CENFACS is asking to those who can to use the same technology to reach those who have the key to the situation on the grounds so that humanitarian corridors can be open to safe lives in the African Sahel.

It is possible to use online and digital technologies to effectively communicate like many have brilliantly shown it during the lockdowns to distance work and stay connected to bring down the barriers of misery for the peoples of the African Sahel.    

Additionally, we always argue that to save lives one does not need to do grandiose things.  They can just do little things that create BIG IMPACTS.  Reaching out to those who have the keys to the situation on the grounds can be done via a mobile phone, video conference meeting, email, text messages, etc.  Seriously speaking, these are not a big deal; but they can have a BIG IMPACT such as saving lives from hunger and tragedy.

To support this Appeal or mobilise online resources to help, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages 

 

• Feedback on Virtual Summer Festival 2020 (the Seven Days of Development in July 2020 Festival): Health Economics – How to make health economics work for the poor and neediest

 

Our Summer 2020 Festival of Thoughts and Actions is now closed. 

We would like to thank all those who made contributions.  Seven days were many days to think but if we want to do something about sanitation poverty and transform lives into healthy ones, we need more times and days to work.

We would like as well to apologise to those who wanted to attend or join our virtual sessions, but were denied the opportunity to interact with us through video conference meeting.  We hope that in the future, the technology will be on all sides to allow us to implement our virtual sessions as scheduled.  We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused. 

Although the Festival is closed, we would like to ask you again to provide a feedback about the experience you have had with it.  You could also say if you can, something about the previous Festivals so that we can improve the ways these days of thoughts and actions on poverty relief and sustainable development are prepared and run. 

As part of this improvement, this year we have tried to run virtual sessions, but we were unlucky that our plan did not go as thought.  Despite this setback, we managed to achieve our event aim and goals while re-communicating our anti-poverty message as usual.

We will continue to work with you to make our Summer Festival and future events of this kind as an opportunity for better change, for adding our thoughts and voices for the building of the world as a better place for everybody, especially for those in most need. 

Our feedback formula remains the same as for the Analytics month.  It consists of you using your own words and numbers to tell and share what you think of the Festivals.  We would like you to keep your freedom to tell us what you think. 

You can feedback via email at facs@cenfacs.org.uk and or by completing the comment form on our website. 

 

 

 

• All-in-one Impact Feedback: Only Two Days to Go!

Supporters’ and Users’ Experiences, and Africa-based Sister Organisations’ Voices

 

Our Analytics month of bringing light to what worked, what did not work and of measuring what we achieved in our last financial year is coming to an end in two days.  We are for the fourth time appealing to you to tell us in your own words and numbers your perceptions, feelings and experiences about the programmes and projects we ran in the last 345 days preceding the beginning of July 2020.

Although we have selected 12 initiatives for Impact Feedback One and 9 ones for Impact Feedback Two for monitoring and evaluation purposes, we are not expecting people to provide feedback on all of them.  People can only feedback on the project(s) and programme(s) they benefited from, supported, recommended users to us or interacted within.  We again suggest picking up ONLY 1 or 2 initiatives for feedback.

Please feel free to say what you experienced.  

Again, thank you for your experiential support!

 

 

 

• Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects

 

Our Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal campaign is made of five projects, which are:

(1) Distress-free Life from Coronavirus in Africa

(2) All Gifts for All Coronavirus-affected Poor

(3) Iconic Young Carer for a Coronavirus-free Environment

(4) International Networking and Protection against Covid-19

(5) ‘Covid-19 Secure’ ELCLASSICO International      

 

We have already launched one of these Humanitarian Appeal Projects to support poor children, young people and families over this Summer of Covid-19 Compliance.  The launched project is the Distress-free Life from Coronavirus in Africa.

As a humanitarian reliever, Distress-free Life Coronavirus in Africa brings hopes and dreams to multi-dimensionally distressed children, young people and families in dire need of help in Africa by enabling them to move out poverty in the summertime and beyond.

You can donate any amount that you can afford to help relieve the continuing pressing needs in Africa at this time of Covid-19 Compliance.

To donate, just contact CENFACS at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

As far as the other four remaining Summer 2020 Humanitarian Relief Appeal Projects are concerned, we are conducting a project planning review for them.  This review is meant to integrate the coronavirus factor into them so that they can be Covid-19 proof.  Once this review is completed, they will be actively added to our Summer Humanitarian Relief Appeal campaign.

For enquiries about this review, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Essential Highlights of Healthiness Projects in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

CENFACS Healthiness Projects include:  1) Healthy Summer Break 2) Holiday without Coronavirus 3) Summer Harmony with Nature 4) Hot Barriers against Covid-19 5) Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against Covid-19 6) Community Care and Health Responsibility for Covid-19 Control.

As argued last week, there is a link or relation between the six projects.  We can briefly present them one by one as follows.

 

• 1) Healthy Summer Break (Family Healthiness Mini-Guide)

 

Being healthy means running a healthful lifestyle to reduce the possibility or risk of getting disease.  Having a good rest over Summer can help achieve that. 

Healthy Summer Break (HSB), which is CENFACS’ Family Healthiness Mini-Guide, is designed to this disease-free healthful lifestyle to happen.  HSB is an effort to keep our diet, lifestyle, and ways of consuming goods and using services healthy.  It means healthy life in foods, drinks, hobbies, entertainment, etc.

To find out more and or get this Family Healthiness Mini-Guide, please contact CENFACS.

 

• 2) Holiday without Coronavirus (Holiday & Covid-19 Information Manager)

 

One of the concerns for many people and families is how to pass this Summer without getting infected by Covid-19; Covid-19 as a life-threatening disease and economic threat.

Holiday without Coronavirus or Covid-19 Information Manager is CENFACS’ resource that adds value to the health and hygienic support to the already known World Health Organisation guidelines, the UK Government’s rules and the NHS guidance on the protection against the coronavirus pandemic. 

This Covid-19 Information Manager helps to practise, comply and reinforce the exiting anti-coronavirus restrictions and measures in a user-friendly manner.  It is a Covid-19 compliant support in a user-friendly way.

For further details about this Covid-19 Information Manager, please contact CENFACS.

 

• 3) Summer Harmony with Nature (Summer Campaign over Nature)

 

Summer of Healthiness is also of accord with nature with its creatures.  Keeping a harmonious relationship with plants, animals, landscapes and surrounding natural species (like trees, plants, waters, parks, etc.) and resources adds a great value to our healthiness. In other words, it is about equating our needs of healthiness to those of the nature.

Living in harmony with nature means that we do not need another spike of Covid-19 outbreak or a lockdown to happen in order to be silent by the nature.  Humans can pre-emptively take the lead by keeping their relationships as harmonious as possible for future virus or lockdown not to happen.

 Need to keep harmony with nature, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

• 4) Hot Barriers against Covid-19 (“Barrier-gesture” Project)

 

Since there is no vaccine or specific medicine against Covid-19, it is important to keep tight control of fences or barriers to stop or prevent the circulation of Covid-19.  Removing our elevated barriers against Covid-19 can open up the possibility of Covid-19 spikes within any community.

Hot Barriers against Covid-19 or “Barrier-gesture” Project is a life-saving and sustaining gesture for our own and public interest and goods.  Barrier-gestures (like physical and social distancing) must be kept elevated during this Summer as the Covid-19 threat is still around.

To find out further about this Healthiness Project, please contact CENFACS.

 

• 5) Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against Covid-19 (Covid-19 Social Media Platform)

 

It is not enough to carry out our individual actions against Covid-19 unless we sum up them by coming together in the form of social connections as human chains.  Such connections or network will help to exchange information and data for the mutual interest.

Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against Covid-19 or Covid-19 Social Media Platform is a means to access and facilitate the flows of information about the protection and safeguarding against Covid-19.  Through this means, one can receive and pass on protective and safeguarding information about Covid-19 within a networked community.

To network for protection and safeguarding against Covid-19, please let CENFACS know.

 

• 6) Community Care and Health Responsibility to Control the Virus (Personal/Family Healthcare Plan)  

 

Community Care and Health Responsibility to Control the Virus (CCHRCV) is a combination of the support to people to live with care and dignity in our community on the one hand, and our shared responsibility for the public health on the other.

Through CCHRCV, we will try to reduce lifestyle-induced diseases for ourselves and others while promoting our own health without adversely impacting the health of others and future generations.  Health care and responsibility imply as well whatever we do we must comply with Covid-19 restrictions.  For example, when we do physical exercising we must maintain Covid-19 restrictions.

We can use this Healthiness initiative to create a Covid-19 Proof Wellness or Healthcare Plan.  Such a plan will include the following: health vision and goals, lifestyles habits, follow-up tips and checks.

For further details about the CCHRCV, please contact CENFACS.

The above six interlinked ways/projects of creating and sustaining Healthiness in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance are not an end for themselves.  They do not replace any good advice and practice (like the ones produced by statutory health organisations on Covid-19 matters).  They just add value to what it is already in place.  They are to be used in conjunction with the existing health and safety measures.

For further details about any of them, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS. 

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

22 July 2020

 

Post No. 153

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Healthiness Projects in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

• Virtual Summer Festival (Seven Days of Development in July 2020) – In Focus for this Year: Health Economics – How to make health economic work for the poor and neediest

• Happiness and Healthiness Budgets 2020

 

… and much more!

 

 

 Key Messages

 

• Healthiness Projects in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

Healthiness Projects are the second part of our Summer Programme; the first part being Appeal Projects.  The Appeal Projects are currently running under the banner of Humanitarian Relief Appeal to Africa.  One of these Appeal Projects is Distress-free Life from Coronavirus in Africa.

CENFACS’ Distress-free Life from Coronavirus in Africa, which is a Health-enhancing Appeal, will help to alleviate distress and hardship by bringing hopes and aspirations to the distressed Children, Young People and Families in dire need of help during this turbulent time of Covid-19 and beyond.

Further information about this Health-enhancing Appeal and the way of supporting it can be found at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

As to the Healthiness Projects, we have integrated the Covid-19 constraint in them.  This integration implies that each of the projects making healthiness this Summer will be Covid-19 secure and compliant.

For more on the 2020 Healthiness Projects, please read them under the Main Development section of this post. 

 

 

 

• Virtual Summer Festival (Seven Days of Development in July 2020) – In Focus for this Year: Health Economics – How to make health economics work for the poor and neediest

 

The 12^th Edition of our Summer Festival is starting today as scheduled.  This week’s five days of the Summer Festival starting from today will be devoted to the following:

Day 1: Understanding of Health Economics (22/07/2020)

Day 2: Formulation of the argument that Covid-19 is a health and economic threat (23/07/2020)

Day 3: Evidence or data gathering about Covid-19 induced poverty and hardships (24/07/2020)

Day 4: Argument testing (25/07/2020)

Day 5: Healthcare policies and poverty (26/07/2020)

 

Part of the Festival will be set for virtual sessions.  We have planned to have virtual sessions on the 22^nd, 23^rd, 24^th, 27^th and 28^th of July 2020.  On the 25^th and 26^th of July 2020, there will not be online video meet-up or virtual sessions.  However, the Festival will be still open for participants to provide their thoughts and comments via e-mail, contact form and text messages.

For those who are making any contributions in the form of thoughts and comments, it will be good to stick to the daily themes as planned.  Likewise, it makes easier for the good running of the festival to be short and precise in making thoughts or comments.  This will allow to quickly capturing the impact they will be making.   This will facilitate to measure the Festival’s aim and objectives as well.

People can still join the thoughts at any time and day once started.  They can as well share the festival views with those who may be interested in. 

Thank you!

 

 

 

• Happiness and Healthiness Budgets 2020 – 

Budgeting and Delivering Happiness and Healthiness in a Summer of Covid-19

 

In our project planning process of Summer of Healthiness Projects, we started a few weeks ago by budgeting Summer Holidays with what we call Happiness Budget.  In that process, we included the Covid-19 effects into a family budget.  We publicised two examples of budget planning: a Covid-19 Family Protection Expenses Budget, and a Covid-19 Secure and Happiness Budget for an Ordinary Family.  

This week, we are continuing the budgeting process while starting to deliver on other parts of the Happiness Projects as Summer Holiday has just begun for most children, young people and families.  In this continuing process, we are going to take into account other economic factors (like inflation, currency price, the effect of economic recession, purchasing power parity, etc.) when constructing your Happiness and Healthiness budgets. 

We understand that not everybody does understand some of the complex jargons and the mechanics of household financial statements like balance sheet, profit and loss account, budgets, etc.  Likewise, we appreciate that not everyone can grasp all the financial information on the other financial documents they receive (such as bills, receipts, bank statements, etc.). 

This is why we are available to discuss people’s Happiness or Healthiness or Summer Holiday Budgets for those who want us to do so.  For those who are struggling with their Happiness or Healthiness Budgets especially the numerical aspects, CENFACS is prepared to look into their Summer Budgets. 

We can handle all of the areas or items of their Happiness Budget.  However, we will put a particular emphasis on the following six areas of Happiness Budget which are: income, health, lifeline support, giving or recycling, credit payments and refunds, and unrestricted (freedom) payments and receipts.

The above six accounts cover the six items of happiness which make our Season of Happiness. Where possible, the effects of climate change will be included to reflect a budget of a changing climate as well. 

Those who would like to discuss with us their Happiness or Healthiness Budget, please feel free to contact CENFACS.  

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Covid-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction

 

CENFACS’ Covid-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction is a newly set up point where most of CENFACS’ work on Covid-19-induced poverty and hardships will be regrouped.  The new hub will hold and provide information and serve as a directory of inquiries about CENFACS’ work on Covid-19 for both internal and external purposes.

For those who would like to know the state of progress about CENFACS work on Covid-19 (such as the Campaign for Resilience against Covid-19); they can check it through CENFACS’ Covid-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction. 

For further details about Covid-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction, please contact CENFACS. 

 

 

• All-in-one Impact Feedback: Only One Week to Go!

 

We have almost one week left for our Analytics month.  We are for the third time appealing to you to tell us in your own words and numbers your perceptions, feelings and experiences about the programmes and projects we ran in the last 345 days preceding the beginning of July 2020.

Although we have selected 12 initiatives for Impact Feedback One and 9 ones for Impact Feedback Two for monitoring and evaluation purposes, we are not expecting people to provide feedback on all of them.  People can only feedback on the project(s) and programme(s) they benefited from, supported, recommended users to us or interacted within.  We again suggest picking up ONLY 1 or 2 initiatives for feedback.

Please feel free to say what you experienced.  

Again, thank you for your experiential support!

 

• Building Back Better Africa in Happiness

 

Covid-19 may have disrupted happiness in Africa.  To be happy and healthy in Africa may have changed in the new Age of Covid-19.  Africa may need to build back better with happiness in the post-lockdown period.

So, as part of our Season of Happiness in a Summer of Healthiness, we are questioning and searching ways in which Covid-19 has affected happiness in Africa and how Africa can build back in happiness.  There could be some changes in happiness in Africa due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Before the coronavirus pandemic stroke; there were debatable arguments about happiness in Africa.  For example, Helliwell et al. argue in their 2020 World Happiness Report (1) that

“Sub-Saharan Africa is not only the areas in the world with low happiness scores, but also a region in which happiness differences between the city and countryside are most pronounced in favour of city life” (p. 40)

The report goes on in explaining that African countries with most pronounced urban-rural differences in life evaluation include: Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Central African Republic, South Africa, Gambia, Niger, Liberia and Egypt.

Now that Africa is battling Covid-19, what is the state of happiness in Africa?

Building Back Better Africa in Happiness implies taking into account the variables of predictors of life evaluation.  One of these predictors is healthy life expectancy.  Making sure that the components of healthy life expectancy are part of the strategy for building back better Africa could help to insure happiness in Africa today and tomorrow.

To enquire or make queries about Building Back Africa in Happiness, please contact CENFACS.

 

(1) Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J. & De Neve J. E. (2020), World Happiness Report (2020), New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Healthiness Projects in a Summer of Covid-19 Compliance

 

• • Understanding CENFACS’ Healthiness Projects

 

Covid-19 has challenged our perception of happiness and healthiness.  It has shaken the fabric of our poverty-relieving systems.  Happiness and healthiness can have different meanings for those in most in need and poverty in today’s prevailing conditions of Covid-19.

Despite that, it is possible to find health relief and happy fulfilment while still controlling the Covid-19 factor this Summer 2020.  It is possible to make the conditions of being physically, mentally and socially sound better this Summer.   

This Summer, we are going to focus on ways of finding this health relief, on Healthiness in a Summer of Covid-19.  In other words, our centre of interest is on what will keep children, young people and families healthy (or unhealthy) over Summer and beyond in the conditions of Covid-19, especially its far-reaching and adverse effects on many aspects of life.  In order to keep them healthy, there is a need to budget and deliver Healthiness or Healthiness Projects.

CENFACS’ Healthiness Projects are poverty-relieving responses to bring freedoms from diseases (including epidemics, virus like Covid-19) while reducing misery for poor children, young people and families over the summer period and beyond. 

The underlying principles or philosophy of these life evaluation projects are in line with the main factors or indicators that define happiness as both a social and personal concept as explained in successive World Happiness Reports edited by Helliwell et al. (2). 

These editors distinguish the social foundations of happiness from personal happiness, although the two are complementary.  They argue that the science of measuring and understanding subjective well-being and happiness indicates that to be happy, one needs to meet the following six key variables or predictors that explain happiness differences among countries which include: income (Gross Domestic Product per capita), healthy life expectancy at birth, social support (having someone to count on in times of trouble), generosity, freedom to make life choices and trust (perceptions of corruption).  

When talking about key determinants of happiness and misery, they again argue that happiness is caused by factors such as income, employment, health and family life.  

CENFACS Healthiness Projects address the issues encapsulated inside the above variables and factors, particularly healthy life expectancy in this Summer 2020.  The projects will help to keep in mind the needs of the CENFACS Community in terms of healthiness. 

Keeping people healthier is to reduce as much as possible health and sanitation poverty and misery among them.   Healthiness is about ending poverty and misery.   As we have brought in the exceptional sanitary circumstances the world is facing with Covid-19, Healthiness is finally about ending poor health and poor sanitation amongst children, young people and families in an era of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

(2) Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J. (2017, 2018 & 2019), World Happiness Reports (2017, 2018 & 2019), New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network

 

• • Delivering Healthiness with 6 Projects for 3 Beneficiaries

6 Projects to bring Healthiness to 3 beneficiaries: Poor Children, Young People and Families

 

Summer is a holiday season of the year during which most of the schools are closed and families with children and young people in much needed help are forced to stay with them and or use this time of the year to take holiday.  The usual routine of educational/academic establishments with their recreational activities is scaled down. 

This Summer is even special since many children, young people and families (CYPFs) were and have been forced to stay home during the lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak.  Yet, these CYPFs are in need of seasonal activities and programmes for improving their well-being, healthiness and happiness. 

There are ways of ensuring that summer stays an interesting and enjoyable period for Multi-dimensionally Poor Children, Young People and Families.  There are things that can be done to make summertime a season of Happiness, Peace, Vulnerability-free, Healthiness Protection and Sustainability.  There should be projects that can help them to adapt and mitigate the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The following CENFACS suite of summer 2020 initiatives can help in achieving some healthful and helpful summer plans, goals and outcomes in the new Age of Covid-19. 

CENFACS Healthiness Projects include: 

1) Healthy Summer Break 

2) Holiday without Coronavirus 

3) Summer Harmony with Nature

4) Hot Barriers against Covid-19

5) Networking for Protection and Safeguarding against Covid-19

6) Community Care and Health Responsibility for Covid-19 Control

There is a link between these six initiatives.  For example, in order to have a holiday without coronavirus one may need healthy break, build harmonious relationships with the nature, keep human barriers of protection against Covid-19, network for protection and safeguarding and act in a responsible way in the interest of their own health and public health.

These projects are the combination of skills, knowledge, resources, tools, tactics,  boosters and tasters for the relief from Covid-19-induced poverty and hardships.  In the preparation of our Summer 2020 programme for CYPFs, we have considered the effects of Covid-19.  The consideration of the effects of Covid-19 all across is what makes Summer 2020 so special.  All the six Healthiness Projects will be Covid-19 Secure and Compliant.       

This is done to help improve life evaluation while taking actions to enhance the same life in the context and constraint of Covid-19 dominance.  In this way, Summer can be a season of Healthiness NOT of Misery for un-served and under-served children, young people and families who are at the same time victims of the adverse and far-reaching effects of Covid-19. 

They are the victims of adverse and far-reaching effects of Covid-19 because Covid-19 is an economic and health threat.  It has taken them economically and healthily in hostage by affecting the way they dress, eat, house, educate, entertain, care for their health and body, look after their homes, and above all the way they pass their Summer holiday. 

For details about CENFACS Healthiness Projects 2020 and to access them, contact CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

15 July 2020

 

Post No. 152

 

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Virtual Summer Festival (Seven Days of Development in July 2020) – In Focus: Health Economics

• Coming out this Summer 2020: The 68^th Issue of FACS Newsletter, Issue to be Entitled as Essential Economy That Relieves Poverty in Africa

• July 2020 Data Analytics and Impact Activities

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ Virtual Summer Festival (Seven Days of Development in July 2020) – In Focus: Health Economics – How to make health economics work for the poor and neediest

 

Last week, we explained that this year’s Seven Days of Development in July (7DDJ) will be about further exploring the CENFACS argument that the coronavirus pandemic is both an economic and health threat.  This exploration will be done through Health Economics.  In other words, we are going to refer to Health Economics in order to grasp and further think about the CENFACS’ argument.

Our thoughts will focus on the way health economics can work for the poor and neediest while still having in our mind set the CENFACS argument about Covid-19.

The Festival will prolong our Campaign for Resilience against Covid-19.  In this respect, if one wants to stop the negative effects of Covid-19, then they need to know what kind of threats Covid-19 has posed and will pose.

This week, we are given more information about the make-up of the 7DDJ.  This extra information can be found under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

 

~ Coming out this Summer 2020: The 68^th Issue of FACS Newsletter, Issue to be Entitled as Essential Economy That Relieves Poverty in Africa

 

The following is the abstract of the 68^th Issue.

Abstract of the 68^th Issue –

When the coronavirus pandemic stroke many people in need in Africa and elsewhere rediscovered the true nature of the economic systems they rely upon to make their ends meet, as well as the state of their health systems.  They also found how their every day’s economies were full of non-essential activities and goods that do not always help them to meet their essential life-sustaining needs.

However, for these ordinary people and in most needs what is important was not so much the rediscovery of the essentiality of their economies and the state of their health systems.  But, what is in their interest was the possibility and opportunity that the rediscovered essential economy can work for them during the pandemic time and afterwards. 

Following on their interest, the 68^th Issue is a quest for the rehabilitation of our current organised systems for the production, distribution and consumption or use of material goods and services to bring in essentiality, particularly meaning in terms of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

The 68^th Issue of FACS will deal with the reduction of poverty in Africa via essential economy.  But, what is exactly essential economy?

It is the absolutely necessary and careful management of available and scarce resources that can help to solve the basic economic problem of poverty and hardships.  It does it while saving expenses, time, energy, the environment and natural resources.  It is indeed a revived economic paradigm which is deep-rooted in sustainable vision of development and which deals with the problem of scarce resources to be allocated to unlimited wants via essentialist approach.

Through the 68^th Issue, we are going to explore ways of making essential economy as an economy that serves the poor and vulnerable people as well as the generations to come.  By arguing this, it does not mean that other types of economy cannot help the poor nor the poor should solely rely on essential economy.  It just means that the essential economy could be an appropriate response to poverty and hardships in Africa and elsewhere.

By centre staging essential economy in the fight against poverty, this raises some stakes on the prospects of improving this economy so that it can be not only a poverty reducer, but also a poverty finisher and a sustainable development enhancer.

Essential economy has many attributes and qualities.  As J. L. Pratt (1) of Sweet Water Foundation puts it in the following terms:

“Most importantly, Essential Economy restores our connection to that which is essential in our daily lives – building, caring for others, growing food, making art, and engaging in community and culture”.

Using these qualities of the essential economy, we are going to approach poverty reduction in Africa via this perspective while acknowledging the work carried out by Africa-based Sister Organisations and local people in Africa in identifying those positive aspects of essential economy that can help them further relieve poverty and hardships.

The 68^th Issue will lay down an approach to essential economy that seriously takes the needs and aspirations of those in most needs, especially in the Age of Covid-19.  Although, it will not specifically treat Covid-19, it will increase our understanding of sustainable development subjects related to Covid-19 and particularly its relationships with poverty reduction.

In the light of the experience that Africa has having with the Covid-19 Outbreak, the Issue will help come out from the broad and national definition of the word economy to embrace it at the micro-economic level of charitable organisations.  In doing so, the Issue will hope to provide some foundations to extirpate the poverty-relieving capability and power of this economy. 

The Issue will also show that the essential economy has always been there.  But, it has for long time been ignored in terms of its potentials, credentials, capacity and power to relieve poverty and change lives for a better one. 

It is in the recognition of the essential economy and its poverty-relieving ability that the Issue will look at how this revived economy will score within the charitable sector in responding to poor people’s urgent and acute needs and aspirations for relief. 

Without anticipating the contents of the articles and other materials that will make the 68^th Issue, let us simply conclude that the essential economy is the economy of everybody, the economy that does not leave anyone behind.       

The above is a brief statement of the main points that will shape the 68^th Issue of FACS.  For any enquiry or query about the above statement and the entire Issue, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

(1) Jia Lok Pratt (2020), It’s Time for the Essential Economy, Sweet Water Foundation, Chicago, USA (https://www.sweetwaterfoundation.com/stories/2020/4/2/welcome-to-the-essential-economy – Accessed 08/07/2020)

 

 

~ July 2020 Data Analytics and Impact Activities

 

Our work on User-generated Analytics Data which started last 8 July 2020 continues this week.  While we are doing it, we have started Covid-19 Data Gatherings.  Both User-generated Analytics Data and Covid-19 Data Gatherings are part and parcel of our July 2020 Data Analytics and Impact Activities as scheduled for this month. 

Additionally, we are carried on our Impact Activities which include the following: Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2019-2020 Programmes and Projects, Impact Assessment of Covid-19 on CENFACS and Impact Feedback of XX236.3F Programme.  As said earlier, these activities are supposed to be running throughout the whole July 2020.

For any query and or enquiry regarding the progress about both the Data Analytics and Impact Activities, please contact CENFACS on this website.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2019-2020 Humanitarian Appeals for Africa

 

As most of you know, analytics is a forward and backward process.  While some of you are feeding us with analytics information, we are as well processing the information we have already received and interpreting data we previously collected and throughout the 2019-2020 financial year. 

As part of this forward and backward process, we are working on humanitarian appeals we made for and on behalf of Africa during the above stated financial year.  The appeals are amongst programmes and projects making our All-in-one Impact Feedback II and which we have asked Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) to give their Voices or Opinions.  They are as follows: 

 

√ The DRC Happiness Appeal

√ Support for Children of Conflict and Climate Change-affected Areas in Africa in the New (September 2019) School Year

√ The 3-Frontier Area Appeal to Support the Victims of Insecurity and Displaced Persons in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger

√ Burkina Faso Appeal 2020: Bringing and Lighting a Blaze of Hope for the Victims of Armed Attacks in Burkina Faso and its Neighbourhood

√ Halving Poverty for and with the Congolese Children

√ Burkina Faso Appeal (February 2020) for the Support of Human Protection and Humanitarian Relief

√ Coronavirus Spring Project

√ Distress-free Life from Coronavirus for Children, Young People and Families in Africa

 

Giving opinions or comments on them will help very much in this forward and backward process of Analytics.  For those ASOs that would like to be heard regarding the above appeals, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS with your Voices. 

For further information about this Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of 2019-2020 Humanitarian Appeals for Africa, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

~ Covid-19 Secure Summer SHOPPING and DONATIONS at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

Every occasion or season is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships.  Summer, which is a Happiness season at CENFACS, is a marvellous time to spread a little extra happiness to those who do not have.  Amongst them are all those sufferers of the severe consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. 

You can give your unwanted and unneeded goods to CENFACS’ Charity e-Store, the shop built to help relieve poverty.  You can buy second hand goods and bargain priced new items and much more. 

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

As you told you in our previous communications, we have gone out of our way an extra mile by taking exceptional precautions to keep your SHOPPING and DONATIONS SAFE and Covid-19 COMPLIANT.

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

You can make this Summer to be of Healthiness for the Covid-19 and lockdown sufferers.

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

√ DONATE unwanted GOODS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Charity e-Store during the summertime and or any time of the year

√ SHOP at CENFACS Charity e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief during the Summer and lockdown period.

Your SHOPPING and or GOODS DONATIONS will help to shine the lives of those living in poverty with happiness and healthiness.

 

 

~ All-in-one Impact Feedback: Only Two Weeks to Go!

 

We only have two weeks left for our Analytics month.  We are for the second time appealing to you to tell us in your own words and numbers your perceptions, feelings and experiences about the programmes and projects we ran in the last 345 days preceding the beginning of July 2020.

Although we have selected 12 initiatives for All-in-one Impact Feedback One and 9 ones for Feedback Two, we are not expecting people and organisations to provide feedback on all of them.  People or organisations can only feedback on the project(s) and programme(s) they benefited from, they supported, they recommended users to us or interacted within. 

For the effectiveness and efficiency of this feedback exercise, we suggested ONLY select 1 or 2 initiatives for your feedback.

Please feel free to say what you experienced.  

Thank you for your experiential support!

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

Virtual Summer Festival (Seven Days of Development in July 2020) – In Focus for this Year: Health Economics – How to make health economics work for the poor and neediest  

Welcome to the Seven Days of Development in July 2020 Festival,

CENFACS’ Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions on Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development!

This year’s event feature is Health Economics 

 

THINK   ♦   ACT   ♦   SHARE    ♦   ADD VALUE    ♦   SPREAD

 

Before speaking about the make-up of the Virtual Summer Festival, let us briefly re-introduce it and make some clarifications.

 

• Brief Re-introduction and Clarification

 

Our Festival is about the following key elements: applied health economics, the poor and neediest.  In this respect, we are going to think on how poor people make decisions about healthcare and use it. 

Although we will be referring to the theoretical elements of health economics in the presentation of our Summer Festival, our approach in planning this festival is based on applied economics of health in decision making process.  Health economics as a science will be approached in practice, particularly in terms of how it can work for the poor and neediest. 

From the above perspective, our days of thoughts and actions will take into account the application of health economics in terms of the cost-effectiveness of healthcare provision to the poor.  We would like to anticipate some productive thoughts about economic evaluation of healthcare services for the poor and neediest in terms of inputs and outcomes. 

Because we are talking about economics, we also expect that they will be some contributions in the form of the increase in the health benefits to the poor population, population that is normally served from a limited amount of scarce healthcare resources.

The Festival will indeed be about how to allocate limited health resources in order to meet poor people’s demand for and need of healthcare services.  

Finally, there will be some thinking about how to get positive health outcomes amongst the poor and neediest under the Covid-19 and income constraints.

Having said that let us look at the make-up the Festival.

  

• Event Guide & Programme

 

• • 7DDJ Registration: FREE!

 

The entry to the 7DDJ2020 is FREE. 

For those who are busy and who can remotely and directly respond to the daily themes from their technological devices (e.g. laptop, desktop PC, tablet, phone, etc.) without having to attend any online sessions, there is no need to register. 

For those who will have the opportunity to join our online sessions (or video conference), they may be notified about the days and times these sessions may happen.  They will need to sign into their Google accounts to join if everything remains the same.

 

• • Daily Themes

 

Daily Themes (DTs) provide a daily opening thought or starting point of the broad topic/issue of Health Economics.  Each DT will last all day and the only day it is planned.

 

• • Responses to 7DDJ Contributors

 

Each respondent will receive a reply to their contribution in the form of either an acknowledgement of their participation or a reaction expressed as an argument to their responses or even both.  Also, they will be entitled to receive the summary report on this annual event.

 

• • Lead Thoughts

 

Lead thoughts are a general idea on the thought of the day.  There are designed to lead to or generate more thoughts, potential research paths or investigative grounds that can be further explored to shade some lights to our Summer Thoughts.  They are not an end for themselves.

 

MAKE YOUR IDEAS AND COMMENTS COUNT!

 

• • Daily Contents

 

Day 1: Understanding of Health Economics

The theories of production, efficiency, disparities, competition and regulation in helping us to understand the cost-effectiveness of health resources for the benefits of the poor

Lead thought: Day 1 will be about understanding health economic theories and models, and how they can help us to think about the argument that Covid-19 is both an economic and health threat for the poor.

(For example, how one can apply specific economic theories to explain the presumed economic and health threats Covid-19 is posing or one may argue Covid-19 is just an exception to the general theory in the explanation of potential threats)

   

Day 2: Argument formulation

CENFACS’ Argument is that Covid-19 is both an economic and health threat

Lead thought: The examination of the formulation of the argument about the coronavirus pandemic that it is both an economic and health threat.

(For example, some thoughts will revolve around the meaning of economic and health threats and ways of diminishing them.  Other thoughts could be about a comparative analysis of similar threats from an historical perspective)

 

Day 3: Evidence gathering

Accessing information, knowledge, facts and data institutions about the economic and health impacts and effects of Covid-19 to help build patterns in data collected as well as a reliable data bank and evidence

Lead thought: There is a need to collect enough evidence in terms of data in order to support or refute the above argument.

(For example, those who have data about Covid-19 in terms of its economic and health effects, they can use this 3^rd Day of the Festival to provide or publicise those data to stimulate further thoughts to the Festival) 

 

Day 4: Argument testing

Modalities and conditions of the workability of Covid-19 being a threat

Lead thought: From what is known so far about Covid-19, it is possible to accept, modify and refute the argument that Covid-19 is both an economic and health threat. 

(For example, those who have done some studies on Covid-19 can choose this 4^th Day of Festival to disseminate the findings of the research work to the Festival) 

 

Day 5: Healthcare policies and poverty

Promotion, protection and improvement of the health of the poor through better policies

Lead thought: Tackling policies that affect the health of the poor disproportionately in some areas like sanitation, education, housing, water, nutrition, etc. can help reduce the unknown effects of potential diseases, epidemics and viruses like Covid-19.

(For example, those who have applied healthcare policies in the context of poverty reduction can find the opportunity of this 5^th Day of the Festival to share their experiences in the areas of healthcare policies and poverty) 

 

Day 6: Relation between health economics and poverty reduction

The allocation of limited health resources to meet poor people’s demand for and need of healthcare services

Lead thought: Health economics as that part of economics dealing with aspects of health may or may not have some relations with poverty reduction.

(For example, those who worked in healthcare decision making process can intervene on the 6^th Day of the Festival by telling us how decision making process can improve the allocation in healthcare resources to the poor and neediest in different places like in Africa)

 

Day 7:  Effects of trade in health services

The effects of trade in health services are not neutral on the health and well-being of the poor

Lead thought:  It is possible to mitigate the adverse effects of trade in health services on the health of the poor and neediest in Africa

(For example, one may look back the effects of lockdown on the trade in health services and see if Covid-19 has trade creation or diversion amongst countries and people.  One can as well look at the impacts of money remittance services to the poor if the later could not access local health services because of the effects of Covid-19 and lockdown on money remitters).

 

• Supporting the 7DDJ2020 event

 

• • 7 Ways of Supporting 7DDJ2020

 

You could

√ Directly forward your thoughts, comments and views on any themes and topics of the event

√ Pass the message onto interested persons

√ Feedback on previous 7DDJF events

√ Promote the event around you and/or by using other means available to you and at your convenience

√ Help us re-cover the expenses of the event specifically and/or the running cost of CENFACS’ work generally

√ Regularly support CENFACS to enable us to continue our work

√ Support our new initiative about Health Economics for the Poor

 

• • 7 Ways of Proceeding with your Wish

 

Please choose below the kind of support you want to provide and let us know

√ Promote the event  

√ Feedback CENFACS on previous events

√ Spread the news about the event

√ Help in the recovery of 7DDJ 2020 expenses

√ Fund CENFACS for its deserving work              

√ Provide helpful and supportive comments/views

√ Support CENFACS in your own way

Please mail your intent to support and or support to CENFACS

Closing date for reply: 05/08/2020 

Please read the above event supporting information and mail us your comments and views (on the themes of your interest) to facs@cenfacs.org.uk

Thank you for your continued support.

With best wishes and full of inspiration and creativity throughout our dedicated days of Festival of Thoughts and Actions on: Health Economics – How to make it work for the poor and neediest

The 7DDJ2020 Events Team

 

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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 furture.

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

08 July 2020

 

Post No. 151

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• All-in-one Impact Feedback: Tell It in Your Own Words and Numbers!

• Coming this July 2020: Virtual Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions with a Focus on Health Economics

• Rebuilding Healthiness in the Phases of Low Spread and Growth of the Epidemiological Curves of Covid-19 in Africa

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ All-in-one Impact Feedbacks: Tell It in Your Own Words and Numbers!

 

Our July Month of Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review, Assurance and Analytics has already started with Impact Feedbacks. 

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

 

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

 

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

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

They can give us a feedback in the form of rating (numbers) and statement (words). This Say is about how they perceived and interacted with the products and services we presented to them over the last 345 days.

 

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

 

There are initiatives that we ran in the last financial year; initiatives that directly or indirectly aimed at supporting Africa-based Organisations or just advancing poverty reduction and sustainable development agendas in Africa.  These initiatives were in the form of humanitarian appeals, fundraising and Covid-19 campaigns, advocacy work, etc. 

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

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

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

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

The selected 2019-2020 programmes and projects for the purpose of feedback making our Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review and Analytics are listed in the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

 

 

~ Coming this July 2020: Virtual Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions with…

Seven Days of Development in July (7DDJ)

In focus for this year’s 7DDJ: Health Economics

How to make health economics work for the poor and the neediest

 

Since the CENFACS argument about the coronavirus pandemic is that Covid-19 is an economic and health threat, we would like to further explore this argument through our Seven-Days-of-Development-in-July event.  In particular, we shall look at how health economics as part of economics that deals with aspects of health can be used to better help the poor and vulnerable, those in most need of our societies. 

As usual, they will be seven themes for thoughts for seven days, one theme per day, starting from the 22nd to the 28th of July 2020.

The seven days of development in July are the days of thoughts and actions against poverty. The seven themes will be the entry points in order to stimulate thoughts and actions.

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

 

 

 

~ Rebuilding Healthiness in the Phase of Low Spread of Covid-19 and Growth of Epidemiological Curves of Covid-19 in Africa

 

In our post no. 138 of 8 April 2020, we argued about saving and rebuilding lives in Africa, particularly by saving and rebuilding destroyed lives and the victims of the coronavirus pandemic.  We explained that there would be three waves of advocacy campaigns for saving and rebuilding lives in Africa during Spring 2020.  These waves were saving and rebuilding lives at the times of rise, peak and decline of the coronavirus pandemic in Africa.

At the moment, we are still at the time of rise of the coronavirus pandemic in Africa.  Covid-19 is slowly spreading and the epidemiological curves (“epi-curves”) of the same Covid-19 in different countries of Africa are differently growing.  However, the pandemic has not yet reached its peak in Africa.

After three months from 8 April 2020, we are still in the first wave of our planned campaign and shadowing model.  Yet, we are in Summer and talking about the Season of Happiness in a Summer of Healthiness. 

Given the slow spread and growth of the “epi-curves” of Covid-19 in Africa, there is a need to rebuild healthiness (or the capability of Africans to be or stay healthy) in Africa.  This can be done while still staying resilient and keeping the momentum in the fight against Covid-19.  In other words, it is possible to rebuild healthiness by shadowing the “epi-curves” of Covid-19 in Africa in the above mentioned phase.

To discuss and or enquire about rebuilding healthiness in Africa, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ The Impact Analysis of Covid-19 on CENFACS 2020 (s) Poverty Reduction Tools, Development Agenda and Programme

 

We are continuing the process of reassessing CENFACS 2020 (s) Poverty Reduction Tools, Development Agenda and Programme to make them adaptable to the new world of the coronavirus pandemic since we are in the situation and era of Covid-19 dominance. 

We have already initiated the adaptation process by protecting the CENFACS Community and others, by following the anti-coronavirus measures and guidance, by cancelling any physical events or activities,  and by producing our own virtual protective tools (such as facial masks, anti-bacterial hand gels, gloves, toilet rolls, etc.).

We also adjusted our advice service to take into account the changing needs of the CENFACS Community and the side effects of Covid-19 on poor and vulnerable people. 

What’s more, we designed a suite of six cubes of protection against the coronavirus pandemic.

We have introduced some elements of protection (such as physical and social distancing rules and protective equipment, etc.) into our All Year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives).

All the above taken steps are meant to adapt ourselves as an organisation and mitigate the negative outcomes from the coronavirus pandemic, while making our systems of poverty reduction and sustainable development Covid-19 compliant.

In these adaptation and mitigation processes, we are now continuing the analysis of the Covid-19 and its impacts on CENFACS 2020 (s) Poverty Reduction Tools, Development Agenda and Programme.  After completion of these processes, we hope these upgraded tools, agenda and programme will be Covid-19 secure and compliant.

We will be progressively doing this impact analysis while prioritising the Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review, Assurance and Analytics of the last financial year for this month.

To find out about the current progress on the Impact Analysis of Covid-19 on CENFACS 2020 (s) Poverty Reduction Tools, Development Agenda and Programme; please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

~ Covid-19 ASOs Survey: a Survey for Africa-based Sister Organisations regarding the Impacts of Covid-19 Shock

 

It is known that the Covid-19 Shock is impacting everybody and sector.  In order to be more specific in the way is affecting Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) we are conducting a survey regarding the economic health of these organisations.

The survey is about finding how Covid-19 is impacting each ASO, particularly but not exclusively, those ASOs working on mining, ecological and sanitation issues.  The survey has the following three objectives:

(1) Finding out how (strongly or averagely or weakly) Covid-19 is impacting individual ASO and their users

(2) Development of ways of mitigating issues found and brought by Covid-19

(3) Starting gathering data for the preparation of the post-Covid-19 recovery strategies

As part of this survey, we are questioning ASOs to openly tell us, by using their own words and figures, the way in which the Covid-19 is affecting them.

They can directly answer to CENFACS by using our contact details on this website.

 

 

 

~ The Impact Analysis of the Covid-19 Shock on African Children’s Realisation of Climate and Sustainable Development Goals

 

We are as well pursuing another piece of work on the way Covid-19 is affecting African children, in particular in terms of the realisation of climate change and sustainable development goals.  We are doing it while recognising the issue of lack of data or data poverty regarding the Covid-19 impacts on children.  The lockdown situations and other measures to fight Covid-19 in many African countries do not make easier to get data as well. 

We need to remind our readers that although we are doing this impact analysis, the priority for this month of July remains the Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Review, Assurance and Analytics of the last financial year.  The Impact Analysis of the Covid-19 Shock on African Children will be done beyond the month of July 2020 as Covid-19 lasts.

To know about the progress of this impact analysis, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

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

 

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

 

We are still routinely gathering information on all aspects of these programmes and projects related to the above named period.  Likewise, we are assessing what these programmes and projects have achieved in relation to the overall objectives we set up for them.  Also, we are critically examining, reappraising or reconsidering our objectives and policies to achievements, and figuring out whether there is any progress or set back.

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

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

In meantime, we are inviting supporters and users as well as Africa-based Sister Organisations to engage with us in responding and reacting to our poverty relief work in their own words and numbers.  They can rate and or provide a statement about these programmes and projects.

 

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

 

There are many types or models of feedback.  In this exercise of feedback about the 2019-2020 programmes and projects, we are referring to impact feedback.  The latter is about giving feedback from the perspectives of users and African organisations by describing the programmes and projects delivered by CENFACS from their points of view.  It is an observation, but not an evaluation from their part.  They will try to describe the impact these programmes and projects have on them and what they like to be different. 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

There are 12 selected initiatives for Feedback I as follows:

 

CENFACS Analytics Dashboard (1)

The Great Beasts Campaign (2)

Back-to-relief Programmes and Projects (3)

Making Memorable Difference with a focus on African Health History (4)

Digital and Social Media Campaigns (5)

CENFACS 2020 Poverty Relief Tools (6)

EcoBio Days Event (7)

The Twenty-twenties (2020s) Development Agenda and Poverty Reduction Programme (8)

Women and Children Projects: Virtual Reflection Day (9)

CENFACS’ Cube of Protection against Coronavirus (10)

Rebuilding Africa by shadowing the “epi-curves” of the Coronavirus Pandemic (11)

Research and Development on Covid-19 (Covid-19 as a cause of poverty; Covid-19 as a delaying or preventive factor from sustainability) (12)

 

 

 

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

 

We have selected 9 initiatives for Feedback II as follows:

 

The DRC Happiness Appeal (1)

Support for Children of Conflict and Climate Change-affected Areas in Africa in the New (September 2019) School Year (2)

Making Zero Hunger Africa in the Context of Life-threatening Impacts of Climate Change and of Armed Conflicts (3)

The 3-Frontier Area Appeal to Support the Victims of Insecurity and Displaced Persons in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger (4)

Burkina Faso Appeal 2020: Bringing and Lighting a Blaze of Hope for the Victims of Armed Attacks in Burkina Faso and its Neighbourhood (5)

Halving Poverty for and with the Congolese Children (6)

Burkina Faso Appeal (February 2020) for the Support of Human Protection and Humanitarian Relief (7)

Coronavirus Spring Project (8)

Distress-free Life from Coronavirus for Children, Young People and Families in Africa (9)

The above selected 2019-2020 programmes and projects may seem a lot for a feedback purpose. However, what we have done is to give to people and organisations the opportunity to choose or pick the one (s) they know or associate with to feedback.  For the effectiveness of the feedback, we suggest that people or organisations to pick only 1 or 2 initiatives to give their feedback.  Also, it is better to be concise when making your feedback.

 

• How do you provide your feedback?

 

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

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

b/ in your own words and numbers.

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

You could rate (by using numbers or percentages or ratios) these programmes and projects or provide a statement (by using words) or even both. This is aptly up to you.

Remember, we can only help reduce poverty and do the changes we all want if you tell us what you think.

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

This feedback is due by the end of July 2020.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going in 2020.

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 furture.

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.

With many thanks.