Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on January 1, 2025 in Uncategorized

Happy New Year 2025 and

Welcome Back to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

01 January 2025

Post No. 385

The New Year’s Contents

• What Is New at the Start of the New Year and What Is On This January 2025?

• The 13^th Issue of Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change – In Focus: Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty

• Coming up This Winter: The New Year’s and Next Issue of FACS (The 86th Issue) to Be Titled as African Charities and Their Work on Economic Peace and Poverty Reduction

… And much more!

The New Year’s Key Messages

• What Is New at the Start of the New Year and What Is on This January 2024?

~ New Tool, New Relief and New Hope

We have got the following initiatives to look forward to this January 2025 at CENFACS:

√ Consume to Reduce Poverty (Edition No. 13) with a Focus on Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty

√ 2024 Year-end Financial Monitoring and Controls as Tools for Poverty Reduction

√ Financial Capacity and Capability Campaign 2025

√ Projects of Shared Prosperity (New)

√ Economic Inclusion Programmes for Household’s Resilience (New)

√ Programme of Land Restoration and Drought Resilience in Africa (New).

The above mentioned initiatives are amongst the ones we have selected to kick-start 2025. Apart from them, we shall take a moment to reflect on the poverty reduction landscape of 2024 and how we can move forward in 2025. In particular, we will be working together with beneficiaries on the following:

√ Review of Matching Organisation-Investor Programme and Reflection on New Projects that Will Make This Programme in 2025

√ Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning of the Themes Discussed in 2024 in the Context of CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum and Prospects for Africa in 2025

√ Humanitarian Relief Appeals with Six Identified Areas of Priority that May Need Lighting a Blaze of Hope (as announced last week) to help address unfinished businesses or potential crises or tension hotspot places in Africa

√ Ways of Implementing the Takeaways from Volunteering Winter e-discussion (or Action Plan for 2025) to keep pace with our volunteering action and poverty reduction.

To complete the picture about our working plan for the first quarter of 2025, we shall soon unveil the remaining selected initiatives making the Season of Light at CENFACS.

• The 13^th Issue of CRPCC (Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change) – In Focus: Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty

January is the month of Responsible Consumption for CENFACS. The initiative featuring this month is our resource entitled as Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change (CRPCC). In this first post of 2025, we have highlighted the contents this year’s edition of CRPCC – Edition 2025 or the 13th Issue.

The 13^th Issue of this resource will be on ‘Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty’. However, before giving the message about the 13^th Issue of CRPCC, let us briefly re-explain what normally happen in January.

• • January as a Month of Responsible Consumption within CENFACS

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

• • • What does happen in January?

January is the month we act against poverty due to the lack of consumption and we deal with measures of poverty reduction through consumption. It is also an opportunity to act to preserve a good relationship between the way in which we consume products on the one hand and the reduction of adverse climate change on the other.

Particularly, January is a climate reminder month as it is the month during which we raise awareness of the relationships between humans and the nature through sustainable consumption; that is consumption that does not destroy the nature or a change in consumption habits that are adjusted to human real needs and to chosen market options of promoting environmental conservation and social equality.

• • • What will happen this January?

This January, we will take an extra step by exploring the relationship between humans and mindful products and services, between humans and ways of reducing poverty linked to consumption, particularly the consumption of mindful products and services.

• • • What is Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change (CRPCC) ?

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

The FIB is an income-generating resource while CRPCC brings in a consumption-led look in our fight against poverty and negative climate change. The current Edition (Edition No. 13) of CRPCC deals with ‘Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty’ as mentioned above.

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

• • The 13^th Issue of CRPCC (Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change) – In Focus: Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty

Around this time of Festive celebrations or at any time of the year, not everybody cares about the mindfulness when it comes to consume goods and services. The busyness of some of the returns store/shop departments is one of the many indications about the items consumers and customers purchase without even thinking whether or not they need them. And if you are a poor consumer or buyer being mindless about what you consume or buy could be even worst.

Another thing is all this consumption which is not essential/mindful or we do not need can only impact land restoration. Yet, mindful consumption can restore and preserve land. But, what is mindful consumption?

The website ‘sustain.ubc.ca’ (1) explains that

“Mindful consumption is the practice of using awareness of sustainability issues to inform purchasing decisions from everyday items to long term investments”.

On the contrary, mindless consumption is, according to ‘lastobject.com’ (2),

“The excessive purchasing of products without considering their life cycle”.

The 2025 Edition of CRPCC is about Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty. Indeed, Mindful Consumption can support sustainable products, encourage regenerative agriculture, reduce other forms of consumption (like of meat), promote sustainable fashion, enhance reforestation and conservation, save renewable energy, etc. It can as well help reduce poverty as poor consumers can use awareness of sustainability to make informed decisions on their consumption.

The 2025 Edition of CRPCC is about working with users to support them on their consumption decisions they make and how their decisions can help restore land and reduce poverty. It is also about working with them so that they can reduce the stress associated with overconsumption and waste, foster a more peaceful and fulfilling lifestyles conducive to poverty reduction. It as well about how they can reflect these consumption decisions on their budget while respecting the 50/30/20 budgeting rule.

The 2025 Edition of CRPCC does not stop there. It provides tips and hints for those who would like to improve their mindfulness as far as mindless consumption-based poverty is concerned.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have further explained the theme of ‘Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty’.

• Coming up This Winter: The New Year’s and Next Issue of FACS (The 86th Issue) to Be Titled as African Charities and Their Work on Economic Peace and Poverty Reduction

African Charities contribute in many areas of life of those in need in Africa. One area of contribution or their work is peace, particularly economic peace. Their work on economic peace is what the 86th Issue of FACS is about. Before going any further, let us briefly explain economic peace.

• • What Is Economic Peace?

To understand economic peace, let us recall what ‘un.org’ (3) argues about peace, which is

“Peace is more than the absence of conflict; it is a catalyst for economic well-being, laying the foundation for societies to thrive for generation to come”.

The ‘un.org’ sees the intricate connection between economics and peace. This intricate connection allows to speak about peace economics. Peace economics can be defined in many ways. In its behavioural approach to peace economics, D. Roy (4) argues that

“Peace economics is a field of study that focusses on analysing the economic factors that contribute to peace and conflict resolution. It explores the connections between economics, politics, and psychosocial dynamics to understand how economic policies and conditions can influence the likelihood of violent conflicts and the prospects for peace”.

Taking the same line of reasoning, ‘usip.org’ (5) states that

“Peace economics is the branch of economics that studies the design of societies’ political, economic, and cultural institutions and their interacting policies and actions to prevent, mitigate, or resolve any type of latent or actual violent conflict within and between societies”.

The 86th Issue will refer to these two definitions of peace economics to explain how African Charities contribute to economic peace and poverty reduction in Africa.

• • What Topics Will be Covered in the 86th Issue of FACS

The 86th Issue will deal with peace economics, particularly how African Charities uses the principles and recipes of peace economics in order to further reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development for the project beneficiaries.

The 86th Issue, which comes at the appropriate time when we are dealing with the Festive Gifts of Peace, will draw from economic peace theories and how they can be applied the charity and voluntary sector settings and context.

The 86th Issue will as well refer to the Global Peace Index developed by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). According to the IEP (6),

“Sub-Saharan Africa recorded a fall in peacefulness on the 2024 Global Peace Index, with the average score in the region deteriorating by 0.89 per cent over the past year. Sub-Saharan Africa is the second last peaceful region behind the Middle East and North Africa, with three of the ten least peaceful countries in the world found in the region”.

With reference to what the IEP’s argument, the 86th Issue will look at the ecosystem of peace economics and how African Charities are trying to work with the problems their beneficiaries face during pre-crisis and post-crisis reconstruction periods. This will include the work of prevention and resilience they are undertaking so that their beneficiaries can build a stronger and sustainable peace.

More details about what the 86th Issue of FACS will be given this Winter. However, for those who would like to enquire about it before it appears, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

The New Year’s Extra Messages

• Gifts of Peace, Edition 2024-2025

• 2024 Year-end Financial Monitoring and Controls as Tools for Poverty Reduction

• New Year’s Structured Finance Activities/Micro-projects under Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme/Scheme

• Gifts of Peace, Edition 2024-2025

Gifts of Peace for Edition 2024-2025 will end on 31 January 2025. If you have not yet supported, you can still do something for poverty relief.

Although the deadline for the Season of Donation for these gifts is 31 January 2025, we will still accept any donations made after this deadline to enable those who will not be in a position to donate by this deadline to have a chance to donate after.

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

We know that many supporters of good causes have been affected by the polycrises of recent years. We are as well aware of the current economic situation of the UK economy, which was flatlined between July and September 2024 and which could complicate the way people donate to good causes.

However, for those who can please do not hesitate to support these noble causes of peace since the potential beneficiaries of them are trebly impacted by:

a) The lingering economic effects of previous crises (like the coronavirus)

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

c) The scars of the enduring high costs of living.

Every support counts to help reduce and end extreme poverty.

Please keep the Gifts of Peace in your mind as the giving season continues.

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

We look forward to your support. Thank you!

• 2024 Year-end Financial Monitoring and Controls as Tools for Poverty Reduction

Year-in-review accounts are one of the financial tools we would like to work and share with our users as we explained in our last post of 2024. They are part of year-end financial monitoring and control project or exercise which includes income boost and other financial tools making our year-end campaign to reduce and end poverty, particularly income poverty.

To understand year-end financial controls, it is better to know what financial controls are about. According to ‘corporatefinanceinstittute.com’ (7),

“Financial controls are the procedures, policies and means by which an organisation monitors, and controls the direction, allocation, and usage of its financial resources. Financial controls are at the very core of resource management and operational efficiency in any organisation”.

This definition of financial controls can be applied to households. Like any organisation, households need to have and implement financial controls framework to manage, document, analyse, and report household transactions. These financial controls can be directional or selective or on particular household financial statements like balance sheet, cash flows, income statement, etc.

For those (individuals, families or households) who need help to manage or close their 2024 year-in-review accounts, they can contact CENFACS prior to the end of 2024-2025 tax year or by the 5^th of April 2025.

• New Year’s Structured Finance Activities/Micro-projects under Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme/Scheme

We will be resuming Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme and Scheme, which we started in December 2024. We will available to work in hybrid mode with users via a Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme (FCCBP) or Scheme (FCCBS) so that they can start stronger in this New Year. Both FCCBP and FCCBS will help beneficiaries to reduce risks linked to financial incapacity and incapability while improving their intergenerational income and transfers.

These are exclusive New Year activities to maximise programme and scheme beneficiaries’ financial management and decision-making for a successful financial year. To practise FCCBP and FCCBS , we are carrying out structured New Year finance activities this January 2025.

• • New Year’s Structured Finance Activities as Part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme

FCCBP is a set of structured planned actions or events designed to help users to better manage financial aspects of New Year celebrations, to develop financial knowledge and skills, to make life-saving financial decisions and to invest in financial capacity and capability goals

As a result, we will be working on how people and families can be involved a series of the following structured New Year activities or small projects:

Activity 1: Investing in realistic goals about financial capacity and capability

Activity 2: Managing financial aspects of New Year events

Activity 3: Making financial knowledge and skills that positively impact on your financial behaviour

Activity 4: Taking sensible life-saving financial decisions

Activity 5: How to generate little extra income in order to reduce poverty.

These activities are run in the forms of advice, advocacy, e-discussion, workshop, focus group, survey, direct questions/answers, etc. More details about them can be obtained from CENFACS.

• • New Year’s Structured Finance Activities as Part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Scheme

FCCBS is a plan or system for achieving the goals of financial capacity and capability. It helps to work with users so that they can elaborate a systematic plan of future action about their financial capacity and capability for a week or month or year (2025). Through this exercise, we shall use some financial capacity and capability tools to work with users to design basic financial plans, policies, systems, strategies, etc. to deal with their problems. Under this scheme, we can organise together the following New Year activities:

Activity 1: Financial Capacity and Capability to make ends meet (e.g., coping and survival strategies)

Activity 2: Financial Capacity and Capability to plan head (plan and save for the future)

Activity 3: Financial Capacity and Capability to organise money management (e.g., money management plan)

Activity 4: Financial Capacity and Capability to make financial decisions and act through budgeting

Activity 5: Financial Capacity and Capability to control spending through spending plan.

Briefly, we will be working on how people and families having the issues of financial capacity and capability can work out systematic plans for future action to improve their financial capacity and capability, and where possible generate income in order to reduce continuing poverty and hardships. In particular, we will make sure about what scheme is workable or unworkable for them.

In the end, we hope that the financially incapacitated or incapable people and families can develop their own individual working FCCBP and FCCBS plans or policies to establish financial capacity and capability as well as generate little extra incomes through income generation plan. In doing so, they can improve their intergenerational economy and transfer accounts.

Need New Year’s advice or support to deal with the problems of financial capacity and capability you are experiencing, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

If you have financial planning problems, you can contact CENFACS so that we can work together on your financial planning needs and help you to start this New Year stronger and confident with a financial plan or a system or a policy.

Message in French (Message en français)

• À paraître cet hiver: Le numéro du Nouvel An ou le prochain numéro de FACS (le 86e numéro) qui s’intitulera «Les Organisations Caritatives Africaines et leur Travail sur la Paix Economique et la Réduction de la Pauvreté»

Les organisations caritatives africaines (OCA) contribuent dans de nombreux domaines de la vie des personnes dans le besoin en Afrique. L’un de leurs domaines de contribution est la paix, en particulier la paix économique. Leur travail sur la paix économique est ce que le 86e numéro de FACS traite. Avant d’aller plus loin, expliquons brièvement la paix économique.

• Qu’est-ce que la paix économique?

Pour comprendre la paix économique, rappelons-nous ce que le site web «un.org» (3) soutient à propos de la paix, qui est

«La paix est plus que l’absence de conflit; c’est un catalyseur du bien-être économique, jetant les bases pour que les sociétés prospèrent pour les générations à venir».

Le site web «un.org» voit le lien complexe entre l’économie et la paix. Cette connexion complexe permet de parler d’économie de la paix. L’économie de la paix peut être définie de plusieurs façons. Dans son approche comportementale de l’économie de la paix, D. Roy (4) soutient que

«L’économie de la paix est un domain d’étude qui se concentre sur l’analyse des facteurs économiques qui contribuent à la paix et à la résolution des conflits. Il explore les liens entre l’économie, la politique et les dynamiques psychosociales afin de comprendre comment les politiques et les conditions économiques peuvent influencer la probabilité de conflits violents et les perspectives de paix».

Dans le même ordre d’idées, le site web «usip.org » (5) énonce que

«L’économie de la paix est la branche de l’économie qui étudie la conception des institutions politiques, économiques et culturelles des sociétés et leurs politiques et actions en interaction pour prévenir, atténuer ou résoudre tout type de conflit violent latent ou réel au sein et entre les sociétés».

Le numéro 86 se référera à ces deux définitions de l’économie de la paix pour expliquer comment les organisations caritatives africaines contribuent à la paix économique et à la réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique.

• • Quels sujets seront abordés dans le 86e numéro de la FACS

Le 86e numéro traitera de l’économie de la paix, en particulier de la manière dont les OCA utilise les principes et les recettes de l’économie de la paix afin de réduire davantage la pauvreté et d’améliorer le développement durable pour les bénéficiaires de leurs projets.

Le 86e numéro, qui arrive au moment opportun lorsque nous traitons des cadeaux festifs de la paix, s’inspirera des théories de la paix économique et de la façon dont elles peuvent être appliquées dans les milieux et le contexte des secteurs caritatif et bénévole.

Le numéro 86 fera également référence à l’Indice Mondial de la Paix développé par l’Institut pour l’Economie et la Paix (IEP). Selon l’IEP (6),

«L’Afrique Subsaharienne a enregistré une baisse de la tranquillité dans l’Indice Mondial de la Paix 2024, le score moyen dans la région s’étant détérioré de 0,89 % au cours de l’année écoulée. L’Afrique Subsaharienne est l’avant-dernière région pacifique derrière le Moyen-Orient et l’Afrique du Nord, avec trois des dix pays les moins pacifiques du monde».

Le 86e numéro se penchera sur l’écosystème de l’économie de la paix et sur la manière dont les organisations caritatives africaines tentent de résoudre les problèmes auxquels leurs bénéficiaires sont confrontés pendant les périodes de reconstruction avant et après la crise. Cela inclura le travail de prévention et de résilience qu’elles entreprennent afin que leurs bénéficiaires puissent construire une paix plus forte et durable.

Plus de détails sur ce que couvrira le 86e numéro de FACS seront donnés cet hiver. Cependant, pour ceux ou celles qui voudraient s’informer avant qu’il n’apparaisse, ils/elles ne doivent pas hésiter à contacter le CENFACS.

The New Year’s Main Development

• The 13^th Issue of Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change (CRPCC)

In Focus: Mindful Consumption to Restore Land and Reduce Poverty

• • Key Highlights, Tips and Hints about the 13th Issue of CRPCC

The key highlights, Tips and Hints include the following:

∝ Key Terms

∝ Relationships between Mindful Consumption and Land Restoration, between Mindful Consumption and Poverty Reduction

∝ Approach to Mindfulness and Mindful Consumption Model

∝ Mindful Consumption Shopping Basket

∝ Mindful Consumption as Part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 15.2

∝ Mindful Consumption and the Growing Climate Economy

∝ Mindful Consumption in the Context of Changing Climate and Life-threatening Impacts of Climate Change

∝ Mindful Consumption and Crises

∝ Mindful Consumers and Their Affordability of Mindful Products

∝ Mindful Consumption Good Practices within the Community

∝ Demonstrative Projects of Mindful Consumption

∝ Tackling Barriers to Achieve Mindful Consumption Goals

∝ Budgeting for Mindful Consumption

∝ Mindful Consumption Indication on Products for Verification, Identity and Authenticity

∝ Mindful Security and Guarantee

∝ Looking for Help and Support on Mindfulness.

Let us consider these key highlights, tips and hints.

• • • Key Terms

There are five terms that facilitate the understanding of the 2025 Edition of CRPCC. These terms are: consumption-based poverty, mindful consumption, mindful spending, land restoration and the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. Let us briefly explain them.

• • • • What is Reduction of Consumption-based Poverty?

The reduction of consumption-based poverty is part of CENFACS’ 2020s Development Agenda and Poverty Reduction Programme (8). It relates to the second goal of this programme; goal which is Consume sustainably to reduce poverty and climate change.

To explain the reduction of consumption-based poverty, one needs to know consumption-based poverty.

Tara O’ Neil describes it on the website of ‘americanactionforum.org’ (9) in terms of measure by arguing that

“A consumption-based poverty measure assesses what people consume or purchase, regardless of how it was paid for (whether through income, tax credits, or non-cash benefits) to determine whether their needs are being met or not. In other words, this metric accounts for all types of benefits and aid that might be provided, as well as expenses”.

This measure can be to determine if, for example, the members of the CENFACS Community are experiencing poverty linked to consumption (including mindless consumption). From this information, we can support them to find their way to reduce mindless consumption-based poverty.

• • • • What is Mindful Consumption?

To understand mindful consumption, we are going to start by explaining consumption. Consumption is understood here from the definition given by Chris Park (10) as

“The process of using resources to satisfy human wants or needs” (p. 96)

From this definition, consumption is being perceived from the micro-economic perspective (from the point of view of individuals, households and firms), not at national or aggregate demand level. Consumption is here the use of goods and services by individuals or households. That consumption can be mindful or mindless.

The website ‘sustain.ubc.ca’ (op. cit.) explains that

“Mindful consumption is the practice of using awareness of sustainability issues to inform purchasing decisions from everyday items to long term investments”.

On the contrary, mindless consumption is, according to ‘lastobject.com’ (op. cit.),

“The excessive purchasing of products without considering their life cycle”.

In other words, mindful consumption is about satisfying human needs, whereas mindless consumption is about meeting human wants.

In this 13th Edition of CRPCC, we are interested in that part of consumption that is mindful or relating to essentials or real needs.

Mindful consumption is related to mindful spending or essential expenses. Like any spending or expenses, they are part of budgeting rule.

• • • • What is the 50/30/20 Budgeting Rule?

The website ‘thebalancemoney.com’ (11) argues that the 50/30/20 rule of thumb, which originates from the 2005 book written by US Senator Elizabeth Warren and her daughter Amelia Warren Tyafi, is

“A way to allocate your budget according to three categories: needs, wants and financial goals”.

According to this rule, you should spend 50% of your income on needs (essentials like food and rent). If one follows this rule, mindful spending is the one we are dealing with here.

• • • • What is Mindful Spending?

Mindful Spending relates to spending on real needs. There are various explanations of it. One of them comes from the website ‘bestegg.com’ (12) which argues that

“Mindful spending is a proactive to personal finance that emphasizes awareness, intentionality, and discipline. It is about being present in the moment, carefully considering each purchase, and aligning spending decisions with your values and long-term goals”.

To put mindful spending in practice, one can create a budget journal for it.

In the context of the 13th Edition of CRPCC, we are interested in the 50% of our users’ budget or needs or essentials or mindful spending. We are looking at if there is any relationship between mindful consumption/spending and poverty reduction and how we can work with the users of CRPCC to reduce consumption-based poverty, which could be linked with mindless consumption. Similarly, we are trying to identify if there is any connection link between mindful consumption and land restoration. But, before looking these two relationships, let us explain land restoration.

• • • • Brief explanation of land restoration

Our brief explanation of land restoration comes from ‘unu.edu’ (13) which opines that

“Land restoration refers to the process of halting degradation or rehabilitating degraded land, typically through activities like deforestation, soil conservation, and the protection of natural processes. It aims to enhance biodiversity, restore ecosystem services, and mitigate climate change impacts”.

The same ‘unu.edu’ adds that restoring land requires diverse approaches. It can involve measures such as planting native vegetation, implementing sustainable land management practices, establishing protected areas and adopting agroforestry systems to restore soil health and productivity. Restoring land can also be done by mindful consumption. This last restoration requires to investigate or establish the links between mindful consumption and land restoration.

• • • Relationships between Mindful Consumption and Land Restoration, between Mindful Consumption and Poverty Reduction

a) Relationships between Mindful Consumption and Land Restoration

There could be relationships between mindful consumption and land restoration.

Indeed, the way we consume can hugely impact land restoration. Mindful consumption can restore and preserve land. Because of that, one needs to support support sustainable products (for instance, choosing products that are sustainably sourced and produced, reducing demand for products and practices that harm the environment). One can take more initiatives to verify these relationships, initiatives such as encouraging generative agriculture, reducing waste (e.g., food waste to reduce pressures on agricultural land to produce more food than what is needed), supporting reforestation and conservation, promoting sustainable fashion, backing renewable energy, etc.

By taking the above mentioned-initiatives, one can discover that there is a link between mindful consumption and land restoration.

b) Relationships between Mindful Consumption and Poverty Reduction

There may be connections between mindful consumption and poverty reduction.

For instance, ‘borgenproject.org’ (14) argues that

“Mindful consumption is a cornerstone of zero-waste living that involves purchasing products that manufacturers produce ethically, sustainably and with the least amount of waste possible”.

The same ‘borgenproject.org’ points out that

“Zero-waste living alleviates poverty by uplifting small businesses that prioritize ethical, sustainable products and packaging… Zero-waste living can help alleviate poverty by rejecting fast fashion, which exploits workers in impoverished communities”.

The above arguments of ‘borjenproject.org’ suggest that those who would like to opt zero-waste, to shop or consume mindfully can pave their way to poverty reduction. To embrace and stay in this way, they may have to choose an approach and model to get them there.

• • • Approach to Mindfulness and Mindful Consumption Model

The 2025 Edition of CRPCC refers to the minimalist approach which considers quality possessions rather than a large quantity of stuff. The approach takes into account the interplay between the awareness of needs and wants, as well as how to focus on real needs rather than wants. By taking this approach, one will agree to consume less and care for repair, reuse and recycle.

Those using this approach will obviously adopt its underlying model and premises. The definition of this model is contained in the definition of mindful consumption itself. Sheth at al. (15) provides the definition that implies the model, theory and premises of mindful consumption. According Sheth at al.,

“Mindful consumption is premised on a consumer mindset of caring for self, for community, and for nature, that translate behaviourally into tempering the self-defeating excesses associated with acquisitive, repetitive and aspirational consumption”.

For them, mindful consumption is about moving from a centric approach or position to sustainability. This view of mindful consumption provides the model and theory that underpins it.

• • • Mindful Consumption Shopping Basket

Using the internet, e-mail, social networks and other communication technologies; it is possible to get enough information on how to go mindful and which products and services that meet mindful consumption while reducing poverty linked to mindlessness at the same time. It is as well possible to find resources and websites that compare these kinds of products, services and prices. People can then choose products and services that are good value for mindful consumption and add them to their online shopping basket or to make their shopping basket.

• • • Mindful Consumption as Part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 15.2

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 15.2 (16) is:

“By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally”.

As this goal target is written, mindful consumption echoes it. Mindful consumption reduces the stress associated with overconsumption and waste, foster a more peaceful and fulfilling lifestyles. In doing so, it helps demand for products and practices that do not harm forests and contribute to deforestation and overgrazing. Briefly, it reduces environmental foot print.

• • • Mindful Consumption and the Growing Climate Economy

The process of using resources in a frugal way to satisfy human wants and needs can goes hand in hand with an organised system for the production, distribution and use of goods and services that takes into account the changing weather conditions. In other words, consuming anti-wasteful and essential products and resources can help reduce adverse climate change.

As climate economy (that is, a system which attempts to solve the basic economic problem of climate) continues to grow, it can bring new climate educational opportunities, economic savings and improved well-being for the poor. These attributes of the Growing Climate Economy (GCE) can help them consume goods and services that are mindful/essential and have less or no harmful wasteful materials.

Research can continue to enlarge the scope of mindful goods and services that do not cause harms and wastes to the environment. Findings from this research can help boost the GCE.

• • • Mindful Consumption in the Context of Changing Climate and Life-threatening Impacts of Climate Change

Maybe enough has been said about the impacts of changing climate. If not, then one area of work could be for humans to rethink about the positive results that their mindful consumption can create and properly market or raise awareness of these outcomes or results. There are positive outcomes or results deriving for mindful consumption that need to be known by the members of the public and be part of their daily life.

At CENFACS, the Guidance Service on Mindfulness, which we will be running this January, is part of the efforts to support the members of our community who would like to stay mindful with their consumption and spending. By taking this mindful drive, this can help to reduce or mitigate the threats and impacts of the changing climate on them.

• • • Mindful Consumption and Crises

In times of crises, people are sometimes advised or decide by themselves to cut down on non-essentials. For example, in March 2023 ‘theguardian.com’ (17) reported that according to research from KPMG more than half of UK consumers cut back on discretional spending and nearly two-thirds chose to reduce amount they spend on eating out. Many of them did so because of fear about their financial security which they thought was under threat due to hikes in food and energy prices. However, before cut mindless consumption, people need first to assess the impact on both mindful and mindless items and decide which ones they want to keep or cut down in their budget.

Briefly speaking, crises and shocks (like the economic ones) could be a reminder of the benefits of mindfulness in our life.

• • • Mindful Consumers and Their Affordability of Mindful Products

Mindful consumption is not always the cheapest one. Not everybody can afford to buy mindful or essential goods as many of the people living in poverty have a low real disposable income. Not all the low-income families or households can afford to finance the basic necessities of life or to consume mindfully. Many of them need some support to supplement their real disposable income since many of have income below the international poverty line.

Giving them advisory support in terms how to increase your income, to make some changes in their expenses budget and find affordable mindful consumption goods and services should be a priority amongst other ones. In this respect, a list of where to find affordable mindful consumption goods and services in this CRPCC resource can be life-saving.

• • • Mindful Consumption Good Practices within the Community

Despite the problem of affordability of mindful consumption goods for low income poor people and families, there could be nonetheless mindful consumption good practices within our community. To back up these practices, the 13^th Issue of CRPCC highlights some cases of mindful consumption good initiatives undertaken by the CENFACS Community that underpins mindful consumption accounts as part of every day’s human life.

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

• • • Demonstrative Projects of Mindful Consumption

In mindful consumption economy, every shopper demonstrates the ability to follow the rules of consuming mindfully. There could be those consumers who do more by taking a proactive action to consume mindfully.

Likewise, there could be local projects (for example, local mindful charitable shops, mindful budget stores and community organisations) that could display demonstrative talents and skills in promoting mindful consumption goods, services and habits which are zero-waste or net zero.

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

• • • Tackling Barriers to Achieve Essential Consumption Goals

There could be some handicaps for people and families to achieve mindful consumption goals. One of the barriers is the lack of income or awareness or education that extremely poor people experience that could push them out of reach of mindful consumption products. Despite that in charitable world and economy in which no one is left behind, there could be still access for everybody to mindful consumption goods and services.

However, people and families do not like mindful consumption to happen to them in this way since they would like to work and pay for their mindful consumption. Because of the barriers they face in finding opportunity to work and earn decent income, their prospect for meeting their mindful consumption goals can become remote. This is without forgetting hikes in price of consumption goods and services, including the mindful ones.

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

• • • Budgeting for Mindful Consumption

It is a good idea for users to budget for mindful consumption goods and services as part of the overall of household budgeting process. This kind of preparation in terms of financial statement for any planned incomes and expenses for a particular period can help to maximise the use of resources and reduce wasteful spending in terms of what is mindful and mindless consumption. It can as well provide alternative to mindless consumption to reduce poverty and hardships due to waste.

• • • Mindful Consumption Indication on Products for Verification, Identity and Authenticity

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

• • • Mindful Security and Guarantee

When buying mindful consumption products and services (whether using online or a physical store), one needs to check, compare and contrast products, terms and conditions of business, buying terms, prices, etc. There is a need to check as well guarantees and safety policies for mindful features.

If you are buying online, before you sign up, add to your mindful consumption shopping basket and purchase an item; you need to read, discuss and check what you are agreeing on. You may even take more precautions when selecting items, filling up buying forms to enter your personal, financial information and sensitive details.

In today’s world of digital and artificial intelligence technologies (e.g., AI Chatbots), you can even ask these technologies your mindfulness questions to find answers for you.

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

• • • Looking for Help and Support on Mindful Consumption

For those users who are looking for help and support, we can work with them so that they can navigate their way out mindless consumption-based poverty. We can together explore the following options or tips to deal with mindful or mindless spending:

√ Improving their spending intent

√ Creating a budget to deal with emotional triggers

√ Pause before purchasing

√ Setting up cost cutting targets on budget items such as takeaways, eating out, clothing, etc.

√ Switching to cheap mindful retailers to save money

√ Trimming budget

√ Prioritising expenses

√ Setting up a policy not to borrow money for mindless expenses

√ Adopting cost-saving behaviour

√ Tracking their spending

√ Briefly, developing a strategy or policy for mindful spending.

We can even work with them on a project to write their budget journal for mindful spending.

The above-mentioned options or tools will help them to build confidence throughout 2025 and beyond.

For those users who would like to dive into the reduction of mindless consumption-based poverty, we can provide them with online and print resources relating to this matter. These resources highlight the mindful spending tips and hints.

There is a lot of online resources and websites they can sign up and receive advice on this matter.

The above are the key highlights, tips and hints about the 13th Issue of CRPCC, which we wanted to share with you.

For further details about Mindful and Responsible Consumption and to get the full 2025 Edition of Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change, please contact CENFACS.

_________

• References

(1) https://sustain.ubc.ca/resources/mindful-consumption-guide# (accessed in December 2024)

(2) https://lastobject.com/blogs/sustainability-101/mindless-consumption-what-is-it-how-can-we-reduce-it (accessed in December 2024)

(3) https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/economics-of-peace-interplay-between-stability-conflict-resolution-global-prosperity# (accessed in December 2024)

(4) Roy, D. D (2025), “Peace Economics: Behavioural Approach”, Chatterji, M., Chatterji, M. and Sharma, K. (Ed.) Conflict Prevention and Peace Management (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 34), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 83-92 https://doi.org/10.1108/S1572832320240000034020

(5) https://www.usip.org/publications/peace-economics-questions-and-answers# (accessed in December 2024)

(6) Institute for Economics and Peace. Global Peace Index 2024. Measuring Peace in a Complex World, Sydney, June 2024. Available from: http://visionhumanity.org/resources (accessed in December 2024)

(7) https://corporatefinancialinstitute.com/resource/career-map/sell-side/risk-management/financial-controls/ (accessed in January 2024)

(8) cenfacs.org.uk/2020/03/11/the-2020s-agenda-and-programme/ (accessed in January 2025)

(9) Hayes, T. O. (2021), Measuring Poverty in United States: Comparing Measurement Methods, American Action Forum at https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/measuring-poverty-in-the-united-states-comparing-measurement-methods/ (accessed in January 2024)

(10) Park, C. (2011), Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York

(11) https://www.thebalancemoney.com/the-50-30-20-rule-of-thumb-453922 (accessed in January 2024)

(12) https://www.bestegg.com/blog/mindful-spending/# (accessed in December 2024)

(13) https://unu.edu/ehs/series/land-restoration-is-key-elements-reviving-our-earth# (accessed in December 2024)

(14) https://borgenproject.org/zero-waste-living (accessed in December 2024)

(15) Sheth, J. N., Sethia, N. K. & Srinivas, S. Mindful Consumption: a customer-centric approach to sustainability. Journal of Acad. Mark. Sci. 39, 21-39 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-010-0216-3 (accessed in December 2024)

(16) https://sdgs.org/goals (accessed in December 2024)

(17) https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/apr/03/half-of-all-uk-consumers-have-cut-non-essential-spending (accessed in January 2024)

_________

• Help CENFACS Keep the Poverty Relief Work Going This Year

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

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

Additionally, we would like to inform you that planned gifting is always an option for giving at CENFACS. Likewise, CENFACS accepts matching gifts from companies running a gift-matching programme.

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support until the end of 2025 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

2024 Year-in-review Impact Report

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on December 25, 2024 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

25 December 2024

Post No. 384

The Week’s Contents of the Last Post of 2024

This year-end post, which is the 52^nd one, is about covering the events of the year 2024 from the perspective of recapping the year for CENFACS’ audiences, followers, users, beneficiaries and supporters; as well as from the point of view of CENFACS’ contribution to poverty reduction and sustainable development. It highlights the outstanding points of our year-in-review campaign and uses retrospective data. The main contents of this post are as follows.

• 2024 Year-in-review Impact Report

• Year-end Triple Action Giving: Peace, Hope and Difference

• Year-end Advice- and Guidance-giving Services

… And much more!

Festive Season’s Key Messages

• 2024 Year-in-review Impact Report

The above mentioned report is an evaluation of what happened in this ending year (2024). It is not an annual report or an annual return. It is CENFACS‘ performance highlights and lowlights as well as insights, outsights, challenges, wins/successes, learnings and areas of development throughout 2024.

The report, which is a brief summary of 2024, will help to learn what went well and what did not go well within and around CENFACS.

The report helps to communicate connections with all of you who worked with us and/or helped us in our beautiful and noble cause of poverty reduction. It is as well a summary of ongoing dialogue within CENFACS, and between CENFACS and its stakeholders.

The report is an impact report as it explains the effect or impression made by work we undertook – through a number of projects and programmes – with users and beneficiaries with the help of our supporters; effect or impression on those who needed support and help on their way towards relief or poverty reduction.

It is finally a forward-looking exercise to set goals for 2025 and explain how we can engage our charitable objects in 2025 and beyond.

Under the Main Development section of this post you will find key highlights of this 2024 Year-in-review Impact Report.

• Year-end Triple Action Giving: Peace, Hope and Difference

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

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

(a) to bring peace,

(b) to create hope

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

• • • Peace via the Gifts of Peace

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

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

For those who are looking for fundraising appeals or projects to fund as festive gifts over this festive time, Gifts of Peace as an appeal is a valuable proposal they could consider. They can try any of the 12 Gift Ideas to reduce poverty and sustain development, mentioned in the Gifts of Peace making our year-end campaign. They can unwrap their Gifts of Peace for those in need this festive Season.

To enquire about and or fund the Gifts of Peace, please contact CENFACS.

• • • Hope through the Gift of Light

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

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

• • • Difference by means of CENFACS’ Zero Waste e-Store

Shopping and donating goods at our CENFACS’ Zero Waste e-Store is the third giving. It is the festive difference that can be made through a CENFACS’ Zero Waste e-Store. It can be made via

σ Purchases to directly support CENFACS‘ noble and beautiful cause of poverty reduction

σ Goods donations to promote sustainability and reduce waste, including donors’ household circularity

σ Affordable gifts your can find for the festive occasion

σ Volunteering opportunities you can provide to volunteers through your good purchases and donations.

We are asking goods donors and buyers to DO SOMETHING MEANINGFULLY DIFFERENT THIS SEASON. To smooth the process of donating and buying goods, we are offering the following options:

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

∝ ‘Click and Collect’ facility for goods e-buyers.

Every time you shop at CENFACS’ Zero-Waste e-Store, you make a helpful difference to people in need over this festive time. Amongst these people are those who are trying to fight poverty induced by the high costs of living.

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

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

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

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

The above-mentioned Year-end Triple Action Giving or Year-end Fundraising Campaign continues until the last day, hour, minute and second of 2024.

For those who would like to donate to our End-of-year Asks and any other festive projects or campaigns or even causes before 2024 ends, please do not hesitate to donate. You can still make a helpful difference before the last second of 31/12/2024.

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

• Year-end Advice- and Guidance-giving Services

The Festive Season’s Arrangements below explain that we are in holiday break until the 5^th of January 2025. However, some of our projects and campaigns are either self-running or designed to run throughout the holiday season like the festive holiday. Two of these holiday projects are the Advice- and Guidance-giving ones. We are providing advice for project beneficiaries or users as well as guidance to donors/funders.

• • Year-end Advice-giving Service to Project Beneficiaries and Users

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

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

The service, which will help them navigate the above-mentioned challenges and hardships of the end of the year, includes all the elements of CENFACS’ Advice, Guidance and Information Service to users. We can as well provide advice on the following:

σ capacity building and development

σ financial planning for the coming year

etc.

If you are one of our members and facing serious hardship during the festive period, you can e-contact CENFACS for advice, guidance, information and support. We can work with you to smoothly transition into the New Year.

If you are not one of our members and would like to discuss this year-in-review advice project, please still e-contact CENFACS.

• • Year-end Advice-giving Service to Donors and Funders

In order to make the year-end giving process effective and meaningful for donors and funders, we are offering them guidance and support. The guidance service is on the way they can effectively support CENFACS‘ noble and beautiful causes of poverty reduction during this festive time.

This support to them is on the following

σ how to strategically plan so that donors’ and funders’ contributions align with their philanthropic goals and values

σ how to assess the impact of donors’ and funders’ donations

σ how to understand tax benefits through their donations (for instance, when they make Gift Aid Declaration).

If you are donor or funder and would like to give to CENFACS’ causes during the festive period, but need guidance to do it, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

Festive Season’s Extra Messages

• Festive Season’s Arrangements: from 23 December 2024 to 5 January 2025

• Help for Your Year-in-review Accounts

• E-discussion on Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model, and Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme

• Festive Season’s Arrangements: from 23 December 2024 to 5 January 2025

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

• • Queries and Enquiries

During the festive holidays, we will only handle online queries and enquiries until the 5th of January 2025. However, our All-in-Development Winter e-discussion on Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model is still on until the 5th of January 2025 as planned.

• • Opening Hours and Days: 24/7

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

• • Visits

You can only visit us online.

• • Festive Donations

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

Those who want to donate to our fundraising campaigns and projects (such as Gifts of Peace, Light and Transition) are welcome to do so.

Their festive support or donations will help bring a Blaze of Hope and Peace to those in need, particularly at this challenging time of the high costs of living.

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

All the above initiatives can create magical reliefs during this Festive Season and disturbing moment of the lingering effects of the high costs of living.

• • Season of Light

Although our Season of Light has just kicked off, some of our services and activities (such as advocacy, in-person fundraising events, etc.) as well as development campaigns are scaled down until the 5^th of January 2025.

• • What’s On from 23 December 2024 to 5 January 2025!

Since 23 December 2024 we broke for the festive holidays. However, there are projects that are essential including in festive times. Two of them are advice- and guidance-giving ones, which will still be run online.

This is because evidence shows that in any difficult moments of human history or crisis, the poorest always suffer. They also suffer during the happiest times of the festive celebrations. They do not have festive celebration as such, just as they could be the ones bearing the brunt of the most negative socio-economic effects of the festive celebrations. Many of them need support which includes advice at any time.

Additionally, it is important that those who want to help them or donate to CENFACS’ noble and beautiful causes of poverty reduction find ways of giving easy, not complicate. For this reason, we are also available for funders and donors to guide them to fund and donate easily.

• • Delays Regarding Call and E-mail Responses

People should expect delay from us in responding to their calls and e-mails. We heavily rely on volunteers for most of our services, who are sharing the Winter e-discussion with us during this Festive Time. Some of them are already on holiday.

• • Emergency and Exceptions

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

We apologize for any inconvenience or upset this may cause.

We thank you all for your invaluable and sustained support during 2024 and look forward to your continued and further support in the New Year.

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

• Help for Your Year-in-review Accounts

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

We do not only carry out our own accounts review. We also work with users to review their accounts at the end of each year. The review will help them gain insights into their financial matters, spot the areas of improvement and make informed decisions for 2025.

Year-in-review accounts for users or project beneficiaries involve a summary of their financial activities over 2024. These accounts help them assess their financial health and plan for the future. They include income summary, expense report, savings, investments, debt overview, financial goals, budget analysis and tax information.

It is theoretically known that the financial year closes in April and the State budget starts in April of each year. For example, the current tax year ends on 5 April 2025 in the UK.

It is a good practice to use the opportunity of the end of the civil year to start to work out the balances of one’s personal or family accounts.

To help those who are struggling to close their year-end accounts of 2024, we will be looking at, from the start of January 2025 when we return, how to successfully close your personal or family financial accounts and prepare your new accounts in the New Year.

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

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

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

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

• E-discussion on Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model, and Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme

• • E-discussion on Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model

Our Winter e-discussion about Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model has so far dealt with the following:

σ Volunteering to increase financial support for projects and programmes of CO2 emission reduction

σ Volunteering to mobilise climate funds and engage climate finance stakeholders and investors

σ Volunteering to find a new development model

σ Volunteering for climate finance transparency and accountability.

We have paused this e-discussion to give ourselves time to reflect on the planned areas e-discussed so far and to have a festive break as many activities are scaled down or close because of festive holidays.

After the reflection period and festive break, we shall resume our e-discussion on 04 and 05 January 2025, dates on which we will focus on Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning as well as Action Plan for 2025.

While our pause is going on, we are asking for support to CENFACS’ All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS).

• • Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme

For those who would like to support CENFACS’ All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS). There are many simple helpful and useful ways of adding great value to our voluntary work. Among them, are the 12-themed enhancers or ways of adding great value to CENFACS’ AiDVS, as highlighted in our post of 11 December 2024 (1).

These 12-themed enhancers or ways of adding great value to CENFACS’ AiDVS are:

1) Gift ideas for the best ways of monitoring, evaluating and reviewing projects and programmes in the New Year

They could include project management software, books and guides, evaluation tools, digital gadgets, free subscriptions to journals and publications, etc.

2) Money-saving and scrimping tips from scrimpers for AiDVS

Tips from seasonal scrimpers could be on budgeting wisely (to track expenses and set limits), grocery savings (e.g., donate coupons), reduction of utility bills, financial tools (like cashback apps), smart shopping, etc.

3) Festive deals and packages for AiDVS

For instance, one can offer New Year’s Eve Packages, discount codes and offers (seasonal discounts, package deals, early booking deals, etc.)

4) Festive free coupons, promo codes and vouchers for AiDVS

They include free vouchers from popular retailers or brands, percentage price off orders and saving on selected items, which can help AiDVS save on their holiday shopping.

5) Net-zero or low carbon economic products to protect the environment and nature

To name the few, we can mention energy-efficient appliances, renewable energy products, eco-friendly products, water-saving devices, sustainable food choices, waste reduction solutions, etc.

6) Digital and media support to better volunteer for a climate neutral and sustainable world

Options include online platforms and courses, digital tools for activism, volunteer matching platforms, youth engagement, etc.

7) Health and safety gifts for healthy and safe volunteering in the New Year

These gifts can include aid kits, personal protective equipment, hydration and nutrition, comfort and ergonomics, health and wellness, safety training and resources, emergency preparedness, etc. These gifts will help volunteers stay healthy and safe for their well-being and the success of their efforts.

8) Wintry and festive giveaways to volunteer for a net zero greenhouse gas emissions world

To illustrate, we can mention free products, gift cards, free tickets, etc.

9) Generative Artificial Intelligence volunteering tools to improve the efficiency of volunteering

Tools include personalised volunteer matching programme, automated consumption, content generation, data analysis and insights, training and onboarding, resource allocation, feedback and evaluation.

10) Festive price bundling for flexible volunteering

Ideas for bundling offers can include volunteer packages, discounted event tickets, gift cards and vouchers, free products and services, recognition and rewards, and flexible volunteering options.

11) Distance working and gift technologies

Amongst the examples, we can name cloud technology, volunteer management software, apps, virtual volunteering tools, apps for remote volunteering, virtual volunteer tools, gift technology for volunteers (e-gift cards, virtual recognition, tech gadgets, tablets, laptops, etc.)

12) Net-zero energy saving products to volunteer

We can mention home energy efficiency since many of our AiDVS work from home, renewable solutions, transportation (e.g., e-bikes), sustainable products, energy monitoring tools, etc.

The above-mentioned enhancers will contribute to streamline volunteer management processes, enhance volunteer satisfaction, and support a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions world.

The enhancers – which could be wintry and festive news, information and products – will assist volunteers (that is, short-term, episodic, regular, ongoing and virtual volunteers) to better help out CENFACS’ noble and beautiful cause of poverty reduction.

They will also assist in recruiting and easily managing volunteers while improving volunteer experience and the effectiveness of our work on poverty reduction.

Additionally, they will contribute in tracking volunteers and their work.

For instance, gift technologies could enable to automate volunteers’ tasks to free up resources and time as well as increase volunteer engagement in our poverty reduction work.

To support AiDVS with your wintry or festive gift, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

To e-discuss Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model, please communicate with CENFACS.

Message in French (Message en français)

• Rapport Rétrospectif et d’Impact de l’Année 2024

Le rapport mentionné ci-dessus est une évaluation de ce qui s’est passé au cours de cette année (2024) qui se termine. Il ne s’agit pas d’un rapport annuel ou d’un bilan social. Il s’agit des points forts et des points faibles de la performance du CENFACS, ainsi que des idées, des défis, des victoires/réussites, des apprentissages et des domaines de développement tout au long de 2024.

Le rapport, qui est un bref résumé de 2024, aidera à savoir ce qui s’est bien passé et ce qui n’a pas bien fonctionné au sein et autour du CENFACS.

Le rapport aide à communiquer les liens avec tous (toutes) ceux (celles) d’entre vous qui ont travaillé avec nous et/ou qui nous ont aidés dans notre belle cause de réduction de la pauvreté. Il s’agit également d’une synthèse du dialogue en cours au sein du CENFACS, et entre le CENFACS et l’ensemble de ses parties prenantes.

Il s’agit d’un rapport d’impact car il explique l’effet ou l’impression produite par le travail que nous avons entrepris – à travers un certain nombre de projets et de programmes – avec les utilisateurs (rices) et les bénéficiaires avec l’aide de nos sympathisant(e)s; sur ceux ou celles qui avaient besoin de soutien et d’aide sur le chemin de l’aide ou de la réduction de la pauvreté.

C’est enfin un exercice prospectif que de se fixer des objectifs pour 2025 et expliquer comment nous pouvons nous engager dans nos objectifs de bienfaisance en 2025 et au-delà.

Pour plus de détails sur le RapportRétrospectif et d’Impact de l’Année 2024 du CENFACS, veuillez contacter CENFACS.

Festive Season’s Main Development

• 2024 Year-in-review Impact Report

How the year 2024 has gone within and around CENFACS

The following contents make this report:

a)A brief Summary of the Year

b)The Theme of 2024 Year-in-review Campaign

c)How Did the Year 2024 Go through from within and around CENFACS?

d) 2024 Key Produce or Achievements

e)Looking Forward to 2025 (or Commitments for the Year 2025)

f) 2024 Gratitude.

Let’s look at each of these contents.

• • The Year’s Brief Summary

2024 has been a great year as volunteers continue to show their commitment to our noble and beautiful cause of poverty reduction. We have recorded some good performance regarding the work carried out by our Africa-based Sister Organisations for the projects they solely ran and for the humanitarian appeals (e.g., Burundi’s Flood Victims Ask for Your Aid) we made together with them.

However, we could have done more if we had enough funding. We could have engaged more not-for-profit investors to invest in more Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs). In this respect, the majority of Africa-based Sister Organisations suggested to scale up our Matching Organisation-Investor Programme so that it could bring in more investors to invest in poverty reduction in Africa.

Besides that, we worked with ASOs on private homeownership and secure land tenure as way of reducing poverty. This work showed that a good allocation of power on home and land to everybody could help further reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. We also worked with them on investment management. We learnt how African charities developed and applied their strategy to manage investment risks by spreading investments across asset classes and industries. Pension fund management was another area of work we carried out together. Many of them have pension schemes and defined contribution schemes that need improvement when considering pension funding risks.

For 2025, among other goals (like developing projects of land restoration, boosting drought resilience, and sharing prosperity with the poor in Africa), the goal will be to get more support for the Matching Organisation-Investor Programme.

• • Theme of CENFACS’ 2024 Year-in-Review Campaign

The theme for this review is celebrating the wins with a focus on highlighting the accomplishments made in 2024 by building forward better together – with beneficiaries and supporters – greener, cleaner, safer, inclusive and climate-resilient future within the context of squeezed household spending.

• • How Did the Year 2024 Go through from within and around CENFACS?

To underline the way in which the year 2024 went from within and around CENFACS, we are going to highlight the key takeaways of 2024 and the contributions we made.

• • • Key takeaways of the year

The points or facts to remember about 2024 from within and around CENFACS are as follows.

∝) 2024 as a year of transitions out of or away from poverty

2024 has proven to be a year of transitions, of using the notion of transition as tool to understand paradigmatic changes in the lives of those in need. We worked with our users through a series or set of interconnected transition tasks or activities (in total, we had 12 Transition Project episodes) with the aim of helping them to transition out of poverty. These tasks or activities were undertaken each month of 2024 within the requirements and limitations of CENFACS‘ existing and acquirable resources, capacities and assets.

∝) 2024 as a tricennial year with the Tricennial Celebration or the Tricennium or a celebration of the remarkable journey of CENFACS as an idea for good

It has been a remembrance of CENFACS for its four existential features, which are: a) CENFACS as a Sustainable Creation b) CENFACS as a Unique Creation c) CENFACS as an Inspiring and Transformative Creation d) CENFACS as a Creation for Hope and Future.

∝) 2024 as a year of raising awareness about private homeownership and secure land tenure to reduce poverty in Africa

Many of Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) noticed that the level of poverty due to homeless and landless was high in their areas of operations in Africa. ASOs worked with these homeless and landless people by helping them to find inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable settlements so that they could transition out of poverty linked to the lack of homeownership and secure land tenure.

∝) 2024 as a year of charity trade and investment

2024 has also been the year of working with poor and vulnerable beneficiaries in trying to create usable means to live off and push poverty away via trade and investment. It has been the financial year of working with ASOs that wanted to invest and make the most of their long-term funds and protect their charities’ income against economic events (such as the impact of inflation, geo-economic crisis). It has been about working with them so that they could find investment channels to generate better returns than simply holding cash with them.

∝) 2024 as a year of data and insight skills to manage your households

Using free frontline tools of poverty reduction from CENFACS‘ poverty reduction box, we conducted basic data analytics and empowered user households with data and insight skills. Through Data and Insights Advocacy and Skills project, we particularly worked with households making the CENFACS Community on the following: data storytelling and communication skills, financial plan updates, data and insight skills, financial resilience programme, and systemic resilience capacity rebuilding projects.

∝) 2024 as a year of system reset and change stories

Amongst the stories received, we had 2 great stories of changing our mindsets, 4 remarkable stories of seeing wholes, 3 amazing stories of understanding connections, 2 moving stories of building a genuine connection and one memorable story of creating a new system of poverty reduction

∝) 2024 as a year of following the direction of poverty reduction via aquatic foods and systems

We followed the direction of poverty reduction via aquatic foods by focussing on four variables as follows: 1) price (affordability of aquatic foods) 2) environment (low-climate impact of aquatic foods) 3) consumption (aquatic food and consumption poverty reduction) and 4) technology/production (low-cost technology to produce aquatic foods).

This follow-up enabled our users to understand how aquatic foods and systems can help reduce poverty.

∝) 2024 as a year of spatial analysis of poverty with the redevelopment of brown spaces

2024 has as well been a year of engaging space to deal with poverty induced or linked to brown space. It has been a year of addressing spatialisation of poverty. We explored with poor living in or around brown spaces ways of reducing or ending this type of poverty. Besides that, we made efforts with them to reduce health hazards from brown spaces.

∝) 2024 as a year of advocacy to save critically endangered fish species via Mbisi project

Through the ‘Mbisi‘ project and ‘A la une‘ (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) campaign, we tirelessly worked with the community and others outside our community to raise awareness of the upkeep of endangered fish species like

Bagrus meridionalis, Treur River barb, Sandfish, Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri, Haplochromis granti, Basking Shark, African Wedgefish (Rynchobatus Luebbert) and Barbel spp.

∝) 2024 as a second year of Matching Organisation-Investor Programme

We quarterly ran four matching 0rganisation-investor projects which were on the following four areas: property, charity shop, farming charitable loan and African art investment. These projects, which were the matching opportunities of the year 2024, offered to both ASOs and not-for-profit investors a chance to make their dream come true. In other words, there were occasions for ASOs to find the investment they were looking for and not-for-profit investors the organisation to invest in, and both of them could start the New Year with certainty.

• • 2024 Key Produce or Achievements

2024 has been a notable year of poverty reduction produce or accomplishments. It will be known as a tricennial year, a year of celebration of the thirty years of remarkable journey of CENFACS as an idea for good.

2024 has also been a memorable year as we reset and change our system of poverty reduction. It is a year of system reset and change to respond to the post-pandemic needs and aspirations of our users and ASOs.

2024 has finally been a year of wellness as we added wellness to our Summer Projects of Happiness and Healthiness. Wellness – that is, the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health, according to the Global Wellness Institute (2) – was the missing piece which many of our users needed and highly demanded in order for them to continue improve the quality of their lives.

The above are just the few selected accomplishments or produce we wanted to share with audiences and supporters in this year-in-review campaign. However, for those who would like get more insights into them and other achievements of the year 2024, they can let us know.

• • Looking Forward to 2025 (or Commitments for the Year 2025)

In 2025, we shall undertake the following:

a) Initiatives featuring the season of light like light (or energy) and energy transition projects, particularly these initiatives will be about finding finance to fund energy transition and a new development model to continue to reduce poverty

b) Projects relating to land restoration and boosting drought resilience in Africa to echo the messages and outcomes from COP16 held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (3); projects such as healthy soils, resilient crops, nutritious food, sustainable land management and land degradation neutrality will be developed

c) Projects of shared prosperity with the poor which will include two measures: the Global Prosperity Gap and the number of African economies with high inequality.

Besides that, we shall carry on with the financial empowerment programme of our users to reduce financial poverty and mitigate the lingering effects of previous and current crises with some of the initiatives (like Financial Monitoring and Controls in 2025).

We shall as well continue to develop household-focused and area-focused programmes to support poor and vulnerable households so that they can build their assets to overcome intergenerational poverty.

We shall finally carry on to light a Blaze of Hope for every place and everyone who will need it in our identified area of operation.

• • 2024 Gratitude

To end this year-in-review impact report, we would like to continue to thank our poverty reduction producers, enablers and supporters as we did in our last week’s post (4).

Looking back at 2024, we are filled with gratitude for them. 2024 has been a memorable year for CENFACS for those who inspired us in responding to local and African needs at the challenging time of the lingering effects of the high costs of living. We could not have made it through this year without their support.

We thank them for making possible 2024 as another meritorious year of poverty reduction and sustainable development, as well as for what we accomplished together. Let us make next year even better for those in need.

For further information or a full story of 2024 and to discuss any issues regarding this 2024 Year-in-Review Impact Report, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

_________

• References

(1) cenfacs.org.uk/2024/12/11 (accessed in December 2024)

(2) https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/what-is-wellness/ (accessed in July 2024)

(3) https://unccd.int/cop16 (accessed in December 2024)

(4) cenfacs.org.uk/bog/2024/12/18 (accessed in December 2024)

_________

• Help CENFACS Keep the Poverty Relief Work Going This Year

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support until the end of 2024 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

Season of Light 2024-2025

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on December 18, 2024 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

18 December 2024

Post No. 383

The Week’s Contents

• Season of Light 2024-2025

• Festive Giving, Gifting and Lifting

• Community Value Chains, the CENFACS Community

… And much more!

• 2024 Year-end and 2025 Year-start Calendar

Projects/Campaigns/Festive Resources: State of Running

a) Year-round/Triple Value Initiatives: closed as of 23/12/2024

b) Community Value Chains: active and continuous

c) End-of-year Donation Campaign and Support: active until 31/12/2024

d) Festive Income Boost: active until 31/12/2024

e) Gifts of Peace: active until 31/01/2025

f) Season of Lights: active until 21/03/2025

g) Online Discussion on Volunteering in Winter: active until 05/01/2025

• Year-end 2024 Thank You Message

As 2024 draws to a close, CENFACS would like to take a moment to express its gratitude to all of its supporters and each and every one of you for your dedication and commitment to its noble and beautiful cause of poverty reduction.

Thank you to all of you who produced poverty reduction with us and made poverty reduction possible for those in need and for us in 2024.

Key Messages

• Season of Light 2024-2025

On 22 December 2024, we shall move from Autumn Fresh Start to the Season of Light. As a result, Autumn Fresh Start projects and programmes including campaign will end to signal the start of the Season of Light within CENFACS.

• • End of the Autumn Fresh Start Season and Campaign

The Autumn Season will officially end on 22 December 2024. The momentum we have built from the beginning and throughout Autumn Fresh Start Season continues to galvanise our poverty relief action and is taking our relief journey into the Season of Light, which starts the 21^st of December 2024.

• • Start of the Season of Light within CENFACS

The Season of Light, which usually starts the 21^st of December of each year and ends around 21 March in the New Year, runs through the Festive Season, which is between 01 December of the ending year (here 2024) and 31 January in the New Year (2025). The Gifts of Peace, which keep on giving, normally feature the Festive Season.

During the Season of Light, we light up a Blaze of Hope for people and communities suffering from the effects and impacts of destructive wars and natural disasters in Africa.

In the coming weeks and months of the Season of Light, our Blaze of Hope will be extended to those who are continuing to suffer from the lingering effects of other crises (such as the cost-of-living, hunger and security crises).

The Season of Light will come with the Lights Appeal or Campaign, which is a set of poverty reduction projects that features the Season of Light.

• • Two Themes, Two Seasons and Two Gifts

The theme for the Season of Light is Hope which we try to bring through a Blaze, while the theme for the Festive Season’s Reliefs is Peace. During the Festive Season, we try to reduce poverty as a lack of peace via the Gifts of Peace; whereas in the context of the Season of Light we work through Lights Appeals/Gifts to relieve poverty as a lack of hope. Those who feel themselves hopeless need some hope/lights. They need some belief to attain the wish or desire of poverty reduction, to persist, to build trust in resources and to share hopes.

Under the Main Development section of this post, there is more information about the Season of Light 2024/2025.

• Festive Giving, Gifting and Lifting

As part of the season of giving and gifting as well as of lifting poor and vulnerable people out of poverty, we are asking supporters to go extra miles in replying to these two fundraising appeals which are: Festive Gift Set and End-of-year Support. To ease the understanding of these appeals, let us briefly explain Festive Giving, Gifting and Lifting.

• • What Is Festive Giving? What Is Festive Gifting? What Is Festive Lifting?

Festive Giving is the act of sharing joy, love and generosity with those in need during the Festive Season.

Festive Gifting is the practice of giving presents or donations to those in need during the Festive Season.

Festive Lifting is the act of lifting the spirits of people in need through gestures of kindness and generosity during the Festive Season.

So, with Festive Giving, Gifting and Lifting; we can express love, appreciation, kindness and generosity towards those in need who are looking for brightness. We can do it through Festive Gift Set and End-of-year Support.

• • Festive Gift Set

Festive Gift Set is a collection of items curated and packaged together to celebrate festive occasion. These sets are thoroughly designed to bring joy and festivity to the recipients. They are made of carefully selected items that compliment each other and create a memorable difference and experience for the recipients.

This Festive Gift Set can be given for the remaining thirteen days of this year starting from today as those of the last legacy of the Year 2024 as the ‘Transitions’ Year at CENFACS.

To mark the end of our ‘Transitions’ Year and Campaign, we are appealing to you to support CENFACS’ year 2024 through a ‘Transitions’ (‘t’) Gift or Year 2024 Gift.

Such a gift will help to undertake five changes as follows:

a) Change in terms of skills as the beneficiaries of this gift will develop new skills and gain new perspectives, and grow to further reduce poverty (a gift of growth)

b) Change as those in need will become more adaptable, resilient and better equipped to handle future changes and uncertainties (a gift of adaptability)

c) Change as beneficiaries will generate new ideas and approaches to better address poverty and enhance sustainable development (a skill of creativity)

d) Change as members of the CENFACS Community will come together to support each other via change and build stronger bonds (a gift of building community)

e) Change through togetherness as CENFACS users will work together to navigate new challenges, foster a sense of unity (a sense of belonging) and collaboration against poverty and hardships (a gift of togetherness).

With the ‘T’ Gift plus the Gift of Light plus the Gift of Peace; the three of them give you a Gift Set of £5 or more. What do these gifts express?

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

• • • • The Transition Gift represents the 12 Transition Project Episodes of the Year of Transitions Out of Poverty within CENFACS. It is a gift of transitioning out of poverty with the aim of providing meaningful support and resources that will empower those in need to improve their economic status and achieve long-term self-sufficiency. The gift will give both immediate relief and creative opportunities for long-term growth and self-reliance.

• • • • The Gift of Light is a form of lighting to peoples and communities without access to light. It symbolises hope, warmth and joy for the victims of multiple crises (i.e., the cost-of-living crisis, wars and natural disasters). It is also a donation programme that uses practical and meaningful means to meet the unique needs of transitioning from darkness to brightness, to guide or show way of reducing poverty.

• • • • The Gifts of Peace are initiatives to promote peace and conflict resolution in war-torn or conflict affected or disaster-stricken places, while providing aid and resources to those affected by changing climate, wars and conflicts while promoting stability in their communities. These gifts create long lasting relationships in a world without conflicts between humans as well as between humans and the nature (other living beings and things). At this time of the lingering effects of polycrises, the Gifts of Peace will enable to re-conquer the lost peace and get new form of peace from poverty induced by these effects. This is without forgetting the lack of peace brought by climate change events.

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

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

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

• • End-of-year Support and Appeal

End-of-year Support and Appeal are a great way to show appreciation and spread holiday sheer as 2024 is coming to an end. We would like to ask you to donate as a legacy towards CENFACS’ efforts to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

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

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

• • • Two ways of responding to this appeal

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

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

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

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

as a legacy for CENFACS’ work.

Please make a year-end contribution today to help us continue to deliver the work of CENFACS in the remaining days 2024 and beyond.

This Year-end Support is an inclusive relief sending a never-ending message from the giver that they are part of what we have achieved in 2024 and will do in the coming years.

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

• Community Value Chains, the CENFACS Community

CENFACS as a Community that Supports Its Members to Transition out of Poverty, which is the Closing Act of the 2024 Year, is being prepared and trended.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• • What Are Those Shared Values?

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

They could be life and work learning experiences, lifestyles, helpful differences, social responsibilities and principles that underpin them. At this time of the high costs of living, they could be all the little initiatives one has taken to care for each other in order to have access to economic means of copying and survival.

• • Sharing and Celebrating Our Wins or Impact via CVC 2024

CENFACS as a Community that Supports Its Members to Transition out of Poverty (or the Closing Act of the Transitions Year) will feature our Year-end Giving Campaign.

This celebratory theme for CVC’s 15^th Celebration of CENFACS as a Community is and will be the Closing Act of the Transitions Year and Project. This celebration or end-of-year sharing will be open to those who would like to share hopes about shared goals for a better future.

• • The 15^th Celebration of CENFACS Community as Way of Looking both Back and Forward

• • • Looking back on 2024

It will be about

~ how we mobilised support and resources to meet the community’s transition needs.

~ the work we carried out with the members of our community and Africa-based Sister Organisations via transitionary skills, styles and models to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development

~ how we approached crises and challenging situations to get the best outcomes for poverty reduction via transition skills, styles and models

~ how we used the fundamental principles of transition to work with users and project beneficiaries so that they could transition out of poverty

~ reflecting on beneficiaries’ journey out of poverty and how far they come to get valuable insights in terms of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

• • • Looking forward to 2025

It revolves around

~ making use of the findings from what we did not know and we now know about the needs and aspirations of the people in need making our community to build a better community

~ planning appropriate responses or new ways of working together with project beneficiaries in 2025 to meet unmet needs and demands

~ setting new realistic goals for 2025 and an action plan to achieve those goals.

For instance, we shall undertake planning for projects relating to land restoration and boosting drought resilience in Africa as well as poverty reduction projects linked to other aspects of desertification and drought. We shall as well develop projects of shared prosperity.

Regarding shared prosperity, the World Bank Group (1) argues that

“The pace of improvement in shared prosperity has slowed and (…) inequality remains high in Latin America, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa” (p. 105)

In this respect, looking forward will be about thinking of the direction and shape that the evolution of the community needs and aspirations may take in 2025 and how we can effectively and efficiently work with our members in 2025 in terms of improved course of action in the New Year.

Briefly, the 15^th Celebration of CENFACS Community will be a hybrid sharing of our transition work and knowledge on how the 2024 went on in everybody’s life in terms of the positive takeaways from it in order to build forward in 2025. In this hybrid sharing, the positive experience from the crises and shocks of 2024 will be welcome.

We want our community ends 2024 on a positive note or sharing despite the ups and downs of this year, especially with the disturbance that the high costs of living has caused and is continuing to cause on many of us. We would like as well our community to start 2025 with hope and positive belief.

• • Share, Spread & Tweet the Message

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

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

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

Whichever way or means you choose to enter this year-end sharing project, please reply by the 23rd of December 2024 so as to ease the end-of-year 2024 celebration/sharing and the start-of-year 2025 preparatory activities, projects and programmes.

For further details about this Closing Act of the Transition Year and Project as a ‘t’ Year, please contact CENFACS.

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

As part of the closure of 2024 and preparation for 2025, we are as well doing an inventory of skills and are registering the talents and skills of the CENFACS Community.

If you have not yet registered your skills to CENFACS’ Skills Data Bank, this is the opportunity to do it over this festive period. Your skills registration will be essential to ensure that all the skills and skilled people making our community are included in any future plans to improve our community support.

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

Extra Messages

• Income Generation Leads/Advice: Income Generators, Creators and Curators of the Month

• All Year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives): 2024 Verdict

• Festive Structured Finance Activities or Micro-projects as Part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme, and Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of Matching Organisation-Investor Programme

• Income Generation Leads/Advice: Income Generators, Creators and Curators of the Month

Our advisory service on leads to income generation is still on. Through this festive advice service, we are looking at and reviewing income generation plans or strategies for those who need a review. We are also trying to explore the different leads or avenues that those in need can use, depending on their personal circumstances; to find the appropriate means to generate little extra income.

In this income generation to reduce poverty, we are as well trying to enlist those who could be named as Income Generation Models or Income Generators, Creators and Curators of the Season. We are looking at their models or ways of generating little extra income. We are assessing whether or not their models of generating income are generalizable or duplicatable or just are exceptions to the general rule and to the CENFACS Community.

If anyone has managed to generate little extra income and finds that their way of doing it has an underlying good value that can be shared with the CENFACS CVC members, please do not hesitate to talk to CENFACS.

• All Year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives): 2024 Verdict

The week is finally an occasion to remind the need to report on All-year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives) which are: Play, Run and Vote projects for poverty relief and sustainable development.

As we are nearing the end of year 2024, it is now the time to report on our three All-year Round Projects – which are Play, Run and Vote.

We know that this year has been economically challenging for some of you to run some types of activities. However, for those who have managed to undertake and complete the above named projects, we would like them to share with us and others their experiences, stories and reports regarding these projects.

• • The Action-Results of 2024: Tell it!

You can feedback the outcomes or Action-Results of your…

… Run if you ran for poverty relief over the year 2024 (or organised a Run activity)

… Play if you played the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief

… Vote if you have already voted your 2024 African Poverty Relief and Development Manager.

We would be more than happier to hear your Action and Results to feature the State of Play, Run and Vote 2024, and conclude CENFACS 2024 Year as Year of Transition. Tell it!

• • What or Who We Want to Hear

We would like to hear from you about the Winner of CENFACS Virtual Trophy of the Year, that is one of the following Three Stars or Bests of the Year:

√ The Best African Country of 2024 which best reduced poverty

√ The Best African Global Games Runner of 2024

√ The Best African Poverty Relief and International Development Manager of 2024.

If you have not yet told us, have your say by 23 December 2024. The Verdict is yours.

• Festive Structured Finance Activities or Micro-projects as Part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme, and Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning of Matching Organisation-Investor Programme

During this month, we have been run the above-mentioned programmes.

Regarding Festive Structured Finance Activities or Micro-projects as part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme, they are closed and will be re-run in the New Year.

Concerning Matching Organisation-Investment Programme, we are now conducting Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (IMEL) after the last episode. This IMEL is on matching maths and statistics for both Africa-based Sister Organisation and Not-for-profit Investor. Those who may be interested in this IMEL, they can let CENFACS know.

For those potential not-for-profit investors who still need some guidance for impact to find investee organisation and Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisation looking for an investor, they can contact CENFACS to book an appointment for a match/fit test in the New Year.

Equally, for those households who still need support regarding their financial capacity and capability building problems, they can also communicate CENFACS with their queries or enquiries to book an appointment in/for the New Year.

Message in French (Message en français)

• Calendrier de Fin d’Année 2024 et de Début d’Année 2025

Projets/Campagnes/Ressources Festifs: État des Lieux

a) Toute l’année/Initiatives à triple valeur: fermé à partir du 23/12/2024

b) Chaînes de valeur communautaires: actives et continues

c) Campagne de dons de fin d’année et soutien: active jusqu’au 31/12/2024

d) Augmentation des revenus festifs: active jusqu’au 31/12/2024

e) Dons de la Paix: active jusqu’au 31/01/2025

f) Saison des Lumières: active jusqu’au 21/03/2025

g) Discussion en ligne sur le bénévolat en hiver: active jusqu’au 05/01/2025

• Remerciement de fin d’année 2024

Alors que l’année 2024 touche à sa fin, le CENFACS souhaite prendre un moment pour exprimer sa gratitude à tous/toutes ses sympathisant(e)s et à chacun(e) d’entre vous pour votre dévouement et votre engagement envers notre noble et belle cause de réduction de la pauvreté.

Merci à tous (toutes) ceux (celles) d’entre vous qui ont produit la réduction de la pauvreté avec nous et qui ont rendu la réduction de la pauvreté possible pour ceux ou celles qui en avaient besoin et pour nous en 2024.

Main Development

• Season of Light 2024-2025

The Lights Season at CENFACS kicks off with the theme of Hope as said above. We are going to deliver this Hope with projects and programmes adapted to the context of crises like the cost-of-living crisis. We are going to add to them projects relating to land restoration and boosting drought resilience in Africa as well as poverty reduction projects linked to other aspects of desertification and drought. Hope will also be provided by other initiatives like projects of shared prosperity, as mentioned above.

The following items make the contents of our Season of Light 2024-2025:

∝ What will shape the Season of Light?

∝ Two themes to bear in mind this Festive and Lights Time: Peace and Hope

∝ The Gift of Light that Keeps on Giving this Winter

Let us look at these contents.

• • What Will Shape the Season of Light?

The 2024-2025 Season of Light will be about working on the matters listed below:

b) Projects relating to land restoration and boosting drought resilience in Africa to echo the messages and outcomes from COP16 held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2); projects such as healthy soils, resilient crops, nutritious food, sustainable land management and land degradation neutrality will be developed

c) Projects of shared prosperity with the poor which will consider two measures: the Global Prosperity Gap and the number of African economies with high inequality.

The 2024-2025 Season of Light will be the case of harnessing transformational and structural changes in the context of increasing uncertainty and climate change so that those who are living in poverty can find the means, paces and spaces they need to navigate out of it.

Finally, we shall continue to develop household-focused and area-focused programmes to support poor and vulnerable households so that they can build their assets to overcome intergenerational poverty.

To realise the above mentioned projects, it requires Hope and Support.

• • Two Themes to Bear in Mind This Festive and Lights Time: Peace and Hope

The theme of Hope is the overall theme of the Season of Lights, while the theme of Peace will be dominant over the festive celebrations period.

• • • The theme of Hope

The theme of Hope is made of notes or pieces of land restoration, drought resilience and readiness, energy transition and shared prosperity. This Wintry season, we shall bring a glimmer of hope through these notes or pieces, while making sure that the poor people own the process and have equity in poverty reduction. Hope will help beneficiaries as follows:

~ to actively cope with everyday challenges and find the appropriate relief and comfort they need

~ to reframe negative situations or events in a positive portrait or mood

~ to cultivate positive engagements, experiences and emotions in life

~ to keep momentum towards a better future

~ to enhance early warning systems

~ to develop resilience initiatives and strategies

~ to engage in a proactive behaviour.

• • • The theme of Peace

The Gifts of Peace are included in the Season of Light. Peace is the festive theme we choose to spread the joy of Season’s Reliefs to those in need. We try to help their wishes and dreams of poverty relief become true through the Gifts of Peace that put a smile on poor people’s faces and lips with relief notes while hoping they will rediscover freedom from disturbance and disorder caused by crises and other painful events of 2024.

• • The Gift of Light That Keeps on Giving This Winter

What is the Gift of Light? It is as explained below.

• • • A gift of light for every person in need everywhere!

The Lights Season is the season during which we try to bring light or shine light to impoverished lives in the darkness. We try to bring clarity, brightness to people who need to see clearly and accurately about their life. It is about helping them see the light of relief so that they can see the world in a new relieved light or version.

• • • A gift of light that ignites and sparks the life of those in need!

This is why we have the Lights project at CENFACS; projects which enable us to bring lights to those in need and which identify the poverty reduction gaps in human systems and support those areas of these systems which do not receive support. Like the last Winter, this Winter 2024-2025, our Lights projects will focus on two parts or two waves of action:

1) post-coronavirus, post-war, post-economic crisis and post-natural disaster developments

2) current and emerging armed conflicts and environmental catastrophes as well as new waves of threats.

However, in these developments and waves, we shall take into account the changing contexts in Africa where there could be scaling down or changing types of crises (for example, the imperialist rivalries between the French and Russians in Africa with their impacts on poverty reduction, threat to international trade due to the current conflict in the Middle East and its implications for poverty reduction in Africa). To mention other crises where the work of poverty reduction could be needed, we can speak about hunger crisis and debt crisis which are still stubborn issues for many low income countries in Africa.

• • • A gift of light that helps people to navigate their own way out poverty with pride!

The Gift of Light is about helping people to help themselves. By using the light, they can find their own way out poverty and hardships, out of darkness instead of CENFACS telling them what do. They can act with self-esteem and self-respect. In this respect, the Gift of Light is a blessing of empowerment.

• • • A Blaze of Hope for post-life following crises (e.g., the cost-of-living crisis), armed conflicts and natural disasters

When there are environmental disasters and armed conflicts, there are pledges and commitments to end the effects of wars and disasters. For various reasons, some of these pledges do not always materialise. The post-war and post-disaster developments are sometimes left without support even until the conflicts and disasters return and or strike again.

The same situation can happen if the pledges – made at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) (3), which took place in Baku (Azerbaijan) to help channel “at least” $300 billion a year into developing countries by 2035 to support their efforts to deal with climate change – do not materialise in concrete actions.

As we cannot wait the return or repeat of the same wars and disasters; our first Blaze of Hope will go this Winter to the unfinished business of previous destructions and disruptions brought by crises (e.g., the coronavirus and the cost-of-living crisis), wars and natural disasters.

• • • • Examples of areas where a Blaze of Hope may be needed

Our Blaze of Hope will go to the following areas of African countries

~ that experienced overlapping crises that have slowed or stalled poverty reduction

~ not recovered from the poverty increase caused by the coronavirus pandemic

~ with slow, weak or lack of economic growth to enable poverty reduction to happen

~ with high inequalities that prevent poverty reduction to materialise.

• • • A Blaze of Hope for the eruption of any crises, armed conflicts and natural disasters

We always advocate for preventive development and we do not seek for destructive events to happen. However, our preparedness and readiness should make us to assemble as quickly as possible advocacy tools should any effects and impacts erupt from new waves of crisis, wars and natural disasters in Africa.

So, our second wave of intervention or Blaze of Hope will go this Wintry season to erupted effects of unexpected crises, armed conflicts and natural disasters in the areas of our interest in Africa.

With these two waves of action over this Wintry Season, we hope to enlighten the lives of those in pressing and emergent need.

• • • • Examples of areas where a Blaze of Hope may be needed

For this December 2024, we have initially selected or identified six areas of priority that may need lighting a Blaze of Hope, which are as follows:

a) Areas of countries severely affected by food insecurity or the socio-economic impacts of high food prices like in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinee, Congo, Madagascar, Mali and Senegal

b) Areas of vulnerable countries hit by or prone to torrential rains and cyclones that could cause enormous food insecurity such as in Chad, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo

c) Areas of countries devastated by other types of weather extremes (such as prolonged and severe drought, extreme temperature, etc.) like Burundi, Madagascar, Congo and countries of the Horn of Africa

d) Areas of countries that are the victims of a high level of persisting civil insecurity such as in in Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Mali

e) Areas of countries where innocent people are the victims of unfamiliar forms of civil insecurity (e.g. interpersonal violence, gang violence and insecurity due to the presence of private military company personnel) and forced displacement/refugee influx like in Congo, Mali and Burkina Faso

f) Areas of countries with neo-sovereignist or putschist States (in countries where there were putsch like in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger and Mali).

The above selection is an initial one, which may change depending how and where humanitarian events will unfold in Africa. The selection will help to start our Light advocacy and campaign.

The countries listed in this selection are also mentioned in the Crop Prospects and Food Situation of the Food and Agriculture Organisations of the United Nations (4). None of the above-mentioned countries is experiencing a single issue. Many of them can be subject to multiple issues. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing conflict in its north-eastern provinces, torrential rains in other parts the country and high food prices.

Also, our priority areas can change depending on the events in Africa. For example, if there is eruption of unpredicted or unplanned events (such as natural disasters, natural resource crises, environmental incidents, large scale involuntary migration, health crisis, international trade crisis, etc.), our Blaze of Hope will go to the victims of these erupted events.

For those who can support Light project, we can count on them to move forward this advocacy or campaign. And we would like to thank them in advance.

For any queries or enquiries regarding the Season of Light, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

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• References

(1) World Bank Group. 2024. Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024: Pathways Out of the Polycrisis. Washington, DC: World Bank. doi. 1596/978-1-4648-2123-3 (accessed in December 2024)

(2) https://unccd.int/cop16 (accessed in December 2024)

(3) https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop29-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-baku/ (accessed in December 2024)

(4) FAO. 2024. Perspectivas de cosechas y situatión alimentaria. Informe mundial trianual, no. 3, noviembre de 2024. Roma. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd3168es (accessed in December 2024)

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• Help CENFACS Keep the Poverty Relief Work Going This Year

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

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support until the end of 2024 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Permalink

Matching Organisation-Investor Programme via African Art Investment Project – Stage/Activity 4

Posted by ctsh@in2015 on December 11, 2024 in Uncategorized

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

11 December 2024

Post No. 382

The Week’s Contents

• Matching Organisation-Investor Programme via African Art Investment Project – Stage/Activity 4 (from 11 to 17/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Documentation with Investor’s View on Project Documentation

• Turning Things Into Festive Gifts (‘Festive Turns’)

• E-discussing Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model While Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS)

… And much more!

Key Messages

• Matching Organisation-Investor Programme via African Art Investment Project – Stage/Activity 4 (from 11 to 17/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Documentation (PD) with Investor’s View on PD

The last episode of our 4-week Matching Organisation-Investor Programme via African Art Investment Project is on Matching Organisation’s Project Documentation with Investor’s Approach to PD

Indeed, both parties [i.e., Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation (ASACO) and Not-for-profit (n-f-p) Investor] have made progress so far as they continue to score points; points which are enough to enable them to enter the final stage of the matching talks. They are excited and have started to dream to begin 2025 with a new investment for Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation (ASACO) and a new asset in portfolio for not-for-profit (n-f-p) investor. However, each of them still has some work to do to complete the matching process.

For ASACO, this Activity 4 is about having its application for investment in the form of project documentation. This application needs to be completed and to show coordination and collaboration in terms of its contents.

This last stage is an opportunity for ASACO to elevate its application in line with project planning theories, processes and practices. It is the stage at which ASACO has to sell its project unique point to stand out amongst competing projects and organisations, while highlighting impactful aspects of its project in terms of poverty reduction.

As to the n-f-p investor, it is about elevating its pitch in order to win an organisation in which to invest. In its approach to project documentation, n-f-p investor will look at qualitative (facts) and quantitative (numbers) data, metrics and indicators to help him/her in its investment decision or case. This insight will indicate to him/her whether or not to back the project and the ASACO that initiates this project.

Where the two (i.e., investee and investor) need support, CENFACS will work with each party to fill the gap.

More on Activity 4 can be found under the Main Development section of this post.

• Turning Things Into Festive Gifts (‘Festive Turns’)

This Festive Season, we are going to turn our time, effort, waste, shopping, etc. into donations and gifts. It is a Festive Season of turning things into something purposeful to reduce or end poverty and/or enhance sustainable development. It is about transforming items into festive gifts. You name them ‘Festive Turns‘. ‘Festive Turns‘ involve personalisation with personalised messages, seasonal add-ons, thematic and experience-based gifts, and eco-friendly options.

Examples of turning things into festive gifts include the following:

σ Turning your time and effort into helpful support for those in need this Festive Season

σ Turning waste into valuable resources that support those in need

σ Turning your festive shopping into life-changing gifts for others.

The above examples are just a few of ways of turning things into festive gifts or donations for those in need.

Those who would like to turn things or items into Festive Gifts, but are not sure or struggling to do it, they can work with CENFACS to make turning things possible. Equally, those who would like to donate to make this turning possible, they should not hesitate to donate.

To turn things into festive gifts and/or to donate to make this turning happen, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

• E-discussing Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model While Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS)

Our Winter e-discussion about Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model will enter its third planned area. In this area, the e-discussion will be on Volunteering to find a new development model; e-discussion which will be held on 13 and 14 December 2024.

While our Winter e-discussion is going on, we are asking for support to CENFACS’ All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS).

• • Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS)

It is possible to support CENFACS and its AiDVS from wherever you are (at home, work, away, online, abroad, on the go and move, etc.). Supporting us does not need to be magical and majestic. It can be in any thing or means that can advance the work of AiDVS.

Your support will help us to support others who need support during this festive time.

One can still enjoy a great festive season while supporting us to support others.

There are many simple helpful and useful ways of adding great value to our voluntary work.

Here are 12-themed enhancers or ways of adding great value to CENFACS’ AiDVS: