Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

11 December 2019

 

Post No. 121

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Capacity Development for Absorbing Climate Investment

• All-in-Development Winter e-Discussion: Volunteering in the 2020s

• Community Value Chains: CENFACS’ as a “Quadranscentennial” (“Q”) Community or the Closing Act of the “Q” Year and Project

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ Capacity Development for Absorbing Climate Investment (CDACI) project

 

Last week, we published our festive guide with exciting built-in poverty-relieving contents.  This week, we are going further mile in dealing with one these contents, which is CDACI project

CDACI is one of CENFACS‘ Starting XI projects for this Autumn 2019.  This project will help us to revisit our Capacity Development programme for Africa-based Organisations, individuals working in these organisations and their beneficiaries. 

CDACI is as well a response to enable at the same time individuals, organisations and their environment to put in place an organised system in order to welcome climate investment and use it responsibly without waste.

Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have provided more information about CDACI background, aim, objectives and expected outcomes or results.  However, for the full project proposals including budget, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS. 

 

 

~ All-in-Development Winter e-Discussion: Volunteering in the 2020s

 

Volunteering in the 2020s is CENFACS’ 9th Winter volunteering e-discussion since we launched in 2010 our discussion on Volunteering for Poverty Reduction in the 2010s.  These 2019 wintry discussions will focus on how we can reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development through Volunteering in the 2020s. 

As the 2010 decade will come to an end at the end of this year, we need to start to think about our voluntary work.  This is important as CENFACS is a volunteering-involved and based organisation, meaning that CENFACS relies much on volunteers in order to deliver its services and programmes.  It also means we need to start planning for this next decade or at least for the next year in terms of the way we would like to volunteer so as to continue to achieve CENFACS’ mission, aim, objectives and charitable objects.

Under the Main Developments section of this post, there is more information about this key content of Volunteering in the 2020s.

 

 

~ Community Value Chains: CENFACS’ as a “Quadranscentennial” (“Q”) Community or the Closing Act of the ”Q” Year and Project

 

The third key message of this week’s post is the start of our preparation for the end of the year 2019 through our December celebratory project the Community Value Chains, the CENFACS Community.  This end of year, this celebration will be carried out under the theme of CENFACS as a “Q” Community. 

CENFACS as a “Q” Community will be the 10^th theme of celebration of the CENFACS’ Community and the Closing Act of the “Q” Year and Project. 

Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have provided more information about this theme and year’s celebration.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ The 2010s Programme is nearing end of its life

 

As CENFACS’ 10 year programme (the 2010s programme) is nearing end of its life, some of the projects and activities making this programme will be closed by the 31st of December 2019. 

After 31 December 2019, there will not be any more activity and service updates, fixes, reviews and enhancements for the would-be closed initiatives.  Other activities that may deem to be worth keeping and still in demand within the community will transition to 2020.

Our preparedness for the new decade’s poverty relief programme continues as planned.  This month is the last one for anybody to add their input to the incoming 2020s programme.  To add you say, just fill the comments box on this website and submit your input, or contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

~ Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3: Madrid Makes It Work as a Working Theme

 

As said in our previous communications, we are following the climate talks in Madrid.  Our advocacy about making the climate talks work for African children is still in progress while the international climate community is deliberating about the climate issues at these talks. 

Last week, we released the Compendium of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy.  This resource (Compendium) highlights the talking points that we would like to see implemented in the new decade. 

One can hope this time; the climate community’s talks will not be a missed opportunity for the climate protection and stake of children in terms of decisions to be made and actions to be taken at the end of these talks.

From what will emerge from the Madrid climate talks as final outcomes, we shall decide the next step of our climate advocacy.  In meantime, those who want to discuss with us about our Climate Follow-up Talks project or any aspect of the Compendium of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy, they are welcome to contact CENFACS and we are more than happier to discuss with them.

 

 

 

~ Autumn Humanitarian Appeal 2019: Only 1 week and half remaining!

 

Our Autumn Humanitarian Appeal (AHA) 2019 will end soon.  You can support poor people, flora, fauna, communities and organisations in Africa before the official end of Autumn 2019.  Your support can make data change their lives.

With only £2, you can create 2 benefits: 1 benefit for humans and 1 benefit for other living beings.

For example, in times of serious risk of the extension of the African tropical bio-diversity, your £1 will be more than welcome to start reversing this risk.

To support and or enquire about AHA 2019, please go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

 

 

Main Developments

 

• Capacity Development for Absorbing Climate Investment (CDACI project) or Absorptive Capacity Project

 

Project Justification

To successfully apply and have a responsible spending capacity for any investment to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change, any organisation be it small or medium or even big needs to have the absorption capacity required for any amount of investment received or to be received.

They may need it to be able to smoothly absorb or channel the incoming climate funds (such as the Green Climate Fund, the Clean Air Fund, etc.) into their systems.  It is not enough for organisations to say for example “we need funding” or “when the funding will come, we will know what to do with it”.  So, having in place an absorption capacity or absorptive plan is better than thinking to decide later.

In concrete terms, let say an organisation may claim they need £1 million funding to tackle climate change.  The question is: do they have the infrastructures, structures, capacities, skills and knowledge to efficiently consume this seize of money on green or climate initiatives without wasting it?  Having an established absorption capacity or an absorption capacity in construction can help to respond to this question.

 

Project approach

There are many theories or approaches of absorption capacity (such as macroeconomic one through the balance of payments or business approach with absorption costing).  The approach taken in this project is basically about developing capacity (i.e. skills, knowledge and abilities) that would enable African organisations and individuals working in these organisations to be able to absorb any potential climate investment available in the market without waste. 

 

Project aim

CDACI aims at reducing poverty due to the lack of knowledge, infrastructures, structures and skills while enhancing the capacity of Africa-based organisations so that they can absorb any suitable incoming climate investment for climate change adaptation and mitigation.  In doing so, they will be in a better position to reduce poverty, particularly but not exclusively green poverty, within their community.

 

Project objectives

Amongst the objectives that can help to achieve the above aim are the following:

√ Develop skills, abilities and capabilities in the area of managing climate fund and investment

√ Integrate climate needs as an integral part of organisational budget

√ Develop realistic project proposals and activities to absorb this fund

√ Establish a clear link between climate fund and poverty relief outcomes

√ Able to measure investment received against poverty relief outcomes

√ Transform and equip organisational infrastructures and structures to become resilient and adaptable to the adverse impacts of climate change

√ Support the transition of these organisations from a linear economic model to a circular economic model

√ Spread the benefits of climate investment within their community and amongst their end users

Etc.

 

Project beneficiaries

The end beneficiaries of this project will be individuals working in Africa-based organisations as well as their end users.

The above potential beneficiaries can be part of the following identified recipients:

√ Workers and volunteers of skill-deprived Africa-based Organisations

√ Individuals working to reduce green poverty

√ Poor farmers and pastoralists who need climate investment

√ Training organisations, trainers, capacity builders and developers who will develop the capacity of others to absorb climate investment

√ The victims of the negative impacts of climate change (e.g. climate refugees and migrants)

√ Indirect beneficiaries such as women and children who will benefit from clean air, sustainable energy and so on

Etc.

 

Project outcomes

It is hoped that at the end of the project, the following generic outcomes will be achieved:

√ Reduction of green poverty by an acceptable percentage or rate

√ Reduction of skill deprivation in the area of absorption capacity

√ A good number of people or organisations will become capable of better absorbing climate investment

√ More poor farmers and pastoralists will have access to climate fund and will utilise it adequately

√ Project beneficiaries will become empowered with climate skills, knowledge and techniques

Besides the above generic benefits or outcomes, there will be specific outcomes (both in quantitative and qualitative terms) which will be generated at the level of each recipient of climate investment.  Each recipient of climate investment will be treated on their own merit as far as project outcomes are concerned.

Briefly, CDACI is the capacity development of Africa-based organisations, individuals working or making these organisations and their beneficiaries.  It is three cross-linked layers of capacity (i.e. individual capacity, organisational capacity and environmental capacity) that this project is dealing with.

To support or to request full project proposals, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

• All-in-Development Winter e-Discussion

 

• • Volunteering in the 2020s

 

A new decade could mean many things such as other ways of volunteering or just an improved way of volunteering.  As our work in CENFACS is mostly volunteering-based, we need to start to think about the roles, tasks and activities for our volunteers in the new year and new decade.

Their roles, tasks and activities will depend on the challenges we will face as an organisation; challenges both within and outside CENFACS.  If we can put it in marketing terms, we shall say the threats, risks, uncertainty and transition.  They will depend as well on opportunities and new spaces which the new year and new decade will bring along with them.

One of these factors or conditions could be the exit or non-exit of the UK from the EU.  This can make us to develop a policy to rise above these exiting or non-exiting challenges in order to keep our voluntary work running smoothly and delivers on poverty reduction outcomes for others.

There could be opportunities and open spaces for our work.  If so, how can we seize these new windows of opportunity and space to volunteer in a way that meet the needs of our users?

Besides this question, there are other factors such as the climate economy and energy transition.  These factors also demand that the make-up of our volunteers’ roles, tasks and activities have to be fitted for these types of economy and transition so that our service delivery and users’ expectations are not adversely affected.

The new decade is too crucial in terms of the pace and speed, including security and durability, that poor people will make to meet the United Nations Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030 by 2030, together with the package of the climate talks that have been held now in Madrid.  This additional factor requires us to further plan on the roles, tasks and activities to be undertaken by volunteers to help us successfully rise our work above the 2020s’ challenges and demands.

Therefore, our Winter e-volunteering discussion, which already started since the 5th of this month is briefly on the following:

√ The potential challenges of the 2020s as a new decade

√ The opportunities of the 2020s decade

√ Rethinking volunteers’ roles, tasks and activities in the light of the 2020s probable events and poverty relief and sustainable development architectures (For example: What the messages and signals of international calendars of events and forecasts or outlooks published by other organisations are sending to us in terms of poverty relief and sustainable development)

√ The needs of users in the 2020s: (How we can anticipate them, plan and develop services and activities to meet them? What the evidence and data especially the big data are telling us)

√ The 2020s volunteering budget and other resources

Etc.

 

The above points are some of those issues we have identified so far which are being  discussed and put to all our supporters to help us in providing their inputs.

To add your views about Volunteering in the 2020s, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

•• 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, on the go and move etc.). 

Supporting us does not need to be magical and majestic. 

You can still enjoy a great festive season while you are supporting us. 

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

Here are some suggestions on ways of supporting with wintry and festive news, information and products:

• Gift ideas for the best ways of monitoring, evaluating and reviewing projects and programmes in the new year and new decade

• Savings and scrimping for AiDVs

• Festive deals, packages, coupons and vouchers for AiDVs

• Technologies for volunteering to make the world a better place for a low-carbon and sustainable future we all want

• Low carbon economic products to protect the environment

• Digital and media support to better volunteer for a climate-friendly   and sustainable world

• Festive gifts for sustaining for voluntary work in the new year and decade

• Wintry and festive giveaways for volunteering for a better world, etc.

To e-discuss Volunteering in the 2020s, please contact CENFACS or just forward your comments, views and experiences to us. Likewise, to find out the previous themes of CENFACS’ Winter Volunteering E-Discussion since its inception in 2010, please contact CENFACS.

 

• Community Value Chains –

CENFACS’ as a “Quadranscentennial” (“Q”) Community or the Closing Act of the “Q” Year and Project

 

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

 

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

What one of our community members 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 community members could be aware of it and build a sort of chains of beliefs and community spirit/principles within our support network.

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

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

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 Relief and 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 things we do every day, which may have worked for us and could work for others as well.  

They could be life and work learning experiences, lifestyles, helpful differences, social responsibilities and principles that underpin them.

 

• • In focus for CVC 2019 Celebration:

CENFACS as a “Quadranscentennial” (“Q”) Community or the Closing Act of the “Q” Year and Project

 

This celebratory theme for CVC’s 10^th Celebration of CENFACS as a “Q” Community is the closing Act of the “Q” Year and Project. It is about uniting all our experience, knowledge and talents that made us a community of values and chains that lasted 25 years or so.

The poverty-relieving value and founding principle that guided us and underpinned our work since 1994 continues until today in making us to last 25 years.  This value helped us to build and develop a chain and a system of values and beliefs that made us a community we are today.

The “Q” aspect of our community is the lasting legacy of our work within the above period.  CENFACS as a “Q” Community will be remembered once more in 2019 in three ways as follows:

√ A community of poverty-relievers

√ A community of sustainable economic developers

√ A community of change makers

 

• • Share, Spread & Tweet the message

 

To enable us to build chains with you and others and to keep our support network alive, 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 en-of-year celebration, please let us know. 

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

Whatever way/means you choose to enter this project, please reply by the 23rd of December 2019 to ease the end-of-year 2019 celebration and the start-of-year 2020 preparatory activities, projects and programmes.

For further details about this Closing Act of the “Q” Year and Project as well as the previous Acts of 2019 as a “Q” Year, please contact CENFACS.  For the timeline of the themes that made the Community Value Chains so far, please contact CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

 

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.

 

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

04 December 2019

 

Post No. 120

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• December 2019 Programme: What’s On

• Festive Guide

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3, with Madrid Makes It Work as a Working Theme

 

… and much, much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ December 2019 Programme: What’s on

 

The initiatives inserted in the above image of December 2019 planner including those listed below are the ones that would make Festive Months and the Season of Light at CENFACS.  

They are seasonally blended projects aiming at providing helpful and smart reliefs during the Festive time and beyond.   They are a stunning selection of poverty-relieving contents designed to help not only to reduce poverty but also to facilitate the creation of a new life in the New Year.

The following is a list of selected December 2019 initiatives – Season’s Reliefs:

♦ Festive Income Builder, Booster & Calculator, In Focus for 2019: Little Extra Income Generation

♦ Community Value Chains: CENFACS as a Quadranscentennial ( “Q”) Community

♦ Volunteering in the 2020s

♦ Capacity Development for Absorbing Climate Change Investment

♦ Thanking 2019 Year Makers & Enablers

♦ Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3: Madrid Makes It Work

♦ Gifts of Peace (Edition 2019/2020)

♦ Run, Vote & Play for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development (Action-Results 2019)

The above mentioned projects would make the first part of Season’s Reliefs as being announced above.  Some of them intertwine between our monthly and seasonal development calendars.  All will depend whether one is reading our development calendar on a monthly or seasonal basis.

To support and or enquire about Season’s Reliefs, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

~ CENFACS Festive Guide

 

CENFACS Guide for Festive Season is made of the following contents: festive services, gifts of peace and the theme of season’s reliefs.

For further details about the Festive Guide, read under the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

 

~ Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 3, with Madrid Makes It Work

 

Our environmental season continues this week with the continuation of our climate campaign, which is on Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (Phase 3) with Madrid Makes It Work (MMIW) as a working theme for this year. 

CPSAC – P. 3 continues with our follow up of the climate change talks which started on 2 December 2019 under the sponsorship of United Nations and scheduled to end on 13 December 2019 in Madrid, Spain. 

The central goal of the Paris Climate Agreement is “keeping global average temperature rise this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius”

Last year, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP24 in Katowice (Poland), governments were set to agree the implementation guidelines of the Paris Climate Agreement.  Since then there are still outstanding issues about the Paris Climate Treaty.

CENFACS’ key demand to these global climate talks remains the same, which is: Implementation of climate protection and stake for African children; the African Children being a sample of our working climate advocacy model.  This demand is undertaking through the follow up of global climate talks like the on-going climate talks (COP25) in progress in Madrid, Spain.

Under the Main Developments section of this post, you will find the Compendium of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy, which we invite you to read.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Festive SHOPPING and DONATIONS at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

Every occasion or every season is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships.  The festive season, which is a great time to share precious moments with your love ones, is also a period to spread a little extra happiness to those who do not have. 

You can give your unwanted and unneeded goods to CENFACS’ Charity e-Store, the shop built to help relieve poverty.  You can buy second hand goods and bargain priced new items and much more.  Amongst the goods to donate, we are asking carbon neutral goods as well.

Donation of CARBON NEUTRAL GOODS this Festive Season

You can donate carbon neutral goods to help reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and poverty, while creating an opportunity to save non-renewable natural resources.  This type of donation can boost the circular economy.

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

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

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

√ DONATE unwanted GOODS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Charity e-Store during the festive period 2019

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

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

 

 

 

~ Autumn Humanitarian Appeal 2019: Only 2 weeks and half remaining!

 

Our Autumn Humanitarian Appeal (AHA) 2019 will end around mid-December 2019.  You can support poor people, flora, fauna, communities and organisations in Africa before the official end of Autumn 2019.  Your support can make data change their lives.

With only £2, you can create 2 benefits: 1 benefit for humans and 1 benefit for other living beings.

For example, in times of serious risk of the extension of the African tropical bio-diversity, your £1 will be more than welcome to start reversing this risk.

To support and or enquire about, please go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

 

 

Main Developments

 

• CENFACS Festive Guide

 

~ Festive Services

 

These services are made of two types of projects:

♦ Regular or on-going projects, which are continuous, even during the festive period.  The project CPSAC – P. 3 is one of them.

♦ Projects for the festive occasion only; projects which are specially designed for that occasion.   The project Community Value Chains is one of them.

Both types of projects are included in our December 2019 programme and planned to be delivered over the month of December 2019.

 

~ Gifts of Peace

 

These are CENFACS Wintry Gift Appeal initiative to support people living in poverty in Africa.  CENFACS’ Winter Gift of Peace to Africa is festive life-sustaining support that helps reduce poverty and bring sustainable peace.   It is a festive giving to acknowledge and do something about poverty over the festive period, which is also an occasion to trans-give and think of those who are not as fortunate as others, those who don’t have peace because of poverty, particularly in the developing regions of the world like Africa. 

For more information about this Wintry appeal, contact CENFACS.

  

~ Season’s Relief Theme

 

The theme for Season’s Reliefs which would carry us throughout the entire festive period is Peace. The Festive Season, which is part of the worldwide celebration, kicks off in December for CENFACS and ends by the 31^st of January in the New Year.

During the Festive Season, we normally start the Season of Light.  The Season of Light is one of the four seasons of CENFACS Development Calendar.  It is the Winter season which goes on until March and is featured by Light Projects or Light Appeals.

 

 

 

• What the Month December is about at CENFACS

 

December is a month of Income Generation, Record Tracking and Winter Lights at CENFACS.

 

~ December as Income Generation Month

 

December is the Income Generation month according to CENFACS‘ monthly development calendar and planner.  It is the month during which we advocate and provide tips, hints and other types of advisory support on how to generate additional income to cover shortage in regular income, by using other avenues within the boundaries of the law.

This additional income can enable multi-dimensional income poor children, young people and families (C, YP & Fs) to exercise their basic human right to celebrate the end of the year in their own way.  

Indeed, income poverty is one of the dominant features that characterize and number some of the world’s C, YP and Fs as poor or not.  One can imagine what life looks like when you are below the poverty line (that is an income below a minimal standard). 

It is even a painful and unbelievable situation that at the time of Festive Celebrations to mark the end of the year, tons of food and kilolitres of drink will be wasted and ended in bins in some of the most affluent places and households of the world while millions of C, YP & Fs in some of the deprived parts of the world will go hungry to bed in Festive nights, let alone without any celebrations once in a year life time. 

So, supporting multi-dimensional poor C, YP & Fs to explore ways of generating, building and boosting their incomes to exercise their human right to a decent end-of-year celebration is not only a one-off or seasonal business to make ends meet; but can also become an additional way of building and developing income capacity to reduce and end income poverty.  They are poor not only because of lack of income but also due to their failing capacities to generate enough income to cover their needs.  

As part of festive support, our Edition 2019 Festive Extra Income Builder, Booster and Calculator is available for those who need it.  We launched this resource earlier in Autumn than we usually do.  We did it to enable those in need of the resource to get the tips and hints they need to early start exploring ways of boosting their income. 

This year, this resource focuses on Little Extra Income as other vehicle to raise some basic income to overcome income poverty over the festive period and beyond. 

Besides this resource, we planned two periods of work on income generation programmes and schemes starting from this Wednesday as follows.  

04 to 10/12/2019: Income Generating Programmes (IGP) Period

During the IGP period, we will be working on how income deprived people and families can set up a series of structured activities or small projects to generate little extra income in order to reduce poverty.

11 to 18/12/2019: Income Generation Schemes (IGS) Period

During the IGS period, we will be working on how income deprived people and families can find available systematic plans of future action to generate income in order to reduce continuing poverty and hardships; particularly what scheme is workable or unworkable for them.

Throughout and at the end of these two periods, we hope that people and families can develop their own individual working IGP and IGS plans or policies to generate little extra incomes not only for the festive period, but also beyond the festive time.

 

~ December as Record Tracking Month

 

December is also the time of record tracking on our all year round projects, particularly

♦ CENFACS Poverty Relief League (The African Nations Poverty Relief League)

♦ Run to Reduce Poverty in Africa in 2019

♦ Vote your African Poverty Relief Manager of the Year 2019

 

We expect those who took part and or organised activities on our behalf about these projects to come forward, report and share with us their actions, results and experiences about the three bests of 2019 (Best Country, Best Runner and Best Manager). 

 

~ December as the start of Winter Lights Season

 

As said above in our Festive Guide, December is finally the month we start CENFACS Winter Lights Season, the first season of our development seasonal calendar.  The Season of Light, which kicks off around Mid-December, includes the Gifts of Peace.  Each year, we produce an edition of the Gifts of Peace that makes up our final fundraising campaign and last humanitarian appeal of the year.

Peace is the festive theme we choose at CENFACS to spread the joy of Season’s Reliefs to those in need.  We try to help their wishes of relief become true with the Gifts of Peace, by putting a smile on their face with relief notes. 

To support the Edition 2019/2020 of Gifts of Peace, please contact CENFACS.

As part of the Season of Light is the CENFACS Community Value Chains celebration.  This celebration generally closes our seasons at the end of the year and concludes our yearly development calendar and planner, while marking the end of civil year at CENFACS. 

It is an end-of-year eventful project enabling us to look upon us again as a community of shared vision, values and beliefs which connect us as human chains with a purpose of reducing and ending poverty amongst us, and of enhancing sustainable development as well.  This year we shall focus on ourselves as a Quadranscentennial or “Q” Community.

To carry the CENFACS Community into the New Year, our discussion on Sustainable Volunteering is scheduled to take place from 05 December 2019 to 05 January 2020.  The discussion theme for this year is Volunteering in the 2020s, in the new decade. 

To take the other two domains (International and Fund) of CENFACS into 2020 and engage with stakeholders, we shall develop projects with energy-based contents.

For any enquiries or to support CENFACS in the month of December 2019 and in the New Year, contact CENFACS.

 

 

• The Compendium of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy

 

This Compendium is a summary of what CENFACS and its beneficiaries would like the climate community (like the one gathering on annual basis to talk about climate change, the COP25) to achieve for children, particularly but not exclusively African children, in terms of outcomes.

The Compendium provides several main points shaping our key demand which is as follows.

The CENFACS demand to the global climate talks remains the same, which is: to give climate protection and stake for African children; the African Children being a sample of our working climate model.  This demand is undertaking through the follow up of global climate talks like the current climate talks (COP25) which started on 2 December 2019 in Madrid, Spain.

As said above, our demand is expressed through our Climate Talks Follow up project.  This project has been implemented under the sub-project entitled Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC).  There have three phases in this project. 

 

~ Phases of CENFACS’ Climate Talks Follow-up

 

The following are the phases making our Climate Talks Follow-up.

Phase 1: The First African Children Generation of the Millennium Development Goals and the Climate Stake

Phase 2: Climate Protection and Stake for African Children

Phase 3: Taking Climate Protection and Stake for African Children at the Implementation Level

Actually, we are in Phase 3, which is the implementation phase and which is about Taking Climate Protection and Stake for African Children at the Implementation Level (TCPSACI).

 

~ Key Points for the Compendium of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy

 

The campaigning points that we would like to see implemented in the final make-up of climate proposals include the following:

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

⇒ The children-friendliness of the package of the climate contents

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

⇒ Climate friendly modern solutions to child protection against climate change

⇒ Support of children especially those from poor nations to transit to a circular economy

⇒ Support to climate neutral projects that are children-friendly

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

⇒ Effective ways of distributing these packages amongst children in need  

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

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

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

⇒ The need for an increase of climate protection for children

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

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

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

⇒ The percentage of fund that finances climate educational needs of children

⇒ The setting up of climate plans that are children friendly

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

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

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

⇒ The political economy of negotiations for child protection against climate-induced poverty

⇒ Green and climate capacity building and education for child protection

⇒ Climate-friendly and children-friendly technologies for poverty relief

⇒ Climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes for children and future generations

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

⇒ The equity resulting from converted CTF debt to benefit children from poor nations as well

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

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

Many of these points are still pending.  That is why there is a need to keep advocating and following the climate talks.

 

For further details CENFACS’ CPSAC – P. 3 and or any query about this compendium, please contact CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

 

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

27 November 2019

 

Post No. 119

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 3, with working theme as Madrid Makes It Work

• Skills Development Month with Skills Focus for Week Starting 25/11/2019: Income Generation Skills

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign – In Focus between 27/11/2019 and 30/11/2019: Monitoring and Evaluation

… and much more!

 

Key Messages

 

~ Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 3, with a working theme as Madrid Makes It Work

 

Our environmental season has not yet finished.  This coming week, we are reviving or resuming our campaign on Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (Phase 3) with Madrid Make It Work (MMIW) as a working theme for this year. 

CPSAC – P. 3 continues with our follow up of the climate change talks which will be held under the auspices of United Nations Conference and which will take place from 2 to 13 December 2019 in Madrid, Spain.  The talks are held as the 25^th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25).

MMIW is both a specific follow-up as part of CPSAC – P. 3 and another example of the application of XX236.3 programme, CENFACS‘ monitoring and evaluation programme.

For more on next week’s climate follow-up talks, please read under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

~ Skills Development Month with Skills Focus for Week Starting 25/11/2019: Income Generation Skills Development

 

Riding on the heels of this week’s agenda is also the last skills focus of our Skills Development Month; skills focus which is on Income Generation or Skills to Generate Little Extra Income.  This Skills focus is also part of this Season’s theme from this year’s edition of Festive Income Booster, which is one of CENFACS’ Individual Capacity Development Programme resource.  For more details about this edition, please contact CENFACS.

Income generation has always been at the heart of poverty reduction and any development process.  Skills development or training for income generation is one of the vehicles to generate income and achieve poverty reduction outcomes and impacts or results.  Depending on people’s needs and demand, there are many types of skills one can develop to generate income. 

These skills can include production (e.g. skills to produce cosmetics, soaps, making clothes or sewing, etc.), marketing, sale, communication, job search, persuasion, trade, literacy skills, etc.  To that, one can add online income generation skills such as digital literacy, mobile money, online analytical skills, etc.  Skills can be basic to the very complex ones to generate income.

This week, the focus is on basic income generation skills; particularly those one needs to develop in order to generate some little extra income, as highlighted in the 2019 edition of CENFACS’ Festive Income Booster resource.  Next month, we shall expand more on income generation matters as December is the Income Generation month according to CENFACS development calendar. 

If one is particularly interested in a particular skill or has something to share about a specific skill, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

~ “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign – In Focus between 27/11/2019 and 30/11/2019: Monitoring and Evaluation

 

Like in any activity or project or even programme that has been run, to find out what went well and what went wrong; it is essential to carry out some monitoring and evaluation.

We have been systematically collecting and analysing information throughout the seven weeks of our nature notes.  We are now getting into the process of assessing what these notes are telling us in terms of the achieved results against expected ones and for future references of the “A la une” campaign.

As monitoring is a continuous process and evaluation an end of project assessment, we would like to hear as well from those who have been following our nature notes, which are seven in total.   We would like you to tell us in your own words and own numbers your feelings about the seven notes making the theme of upkeep of the nature.

You can post your Say to CENFACS via email or complete the comments box on this site and submit to us.

Please tell us what you think.  Thank you for your support.

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Women and Children FIRST Development Day: Feedback

 

Last week, we held our Development Day (DD) as planned.  What can we retain from the DD?  The following is the feedback.

The good news from the DD was we were able…

√ to re-communicate our poverty relief message 

√ to showcase what a DD looks like

√ to interact with the members of the public, who popped in the event place, about economic sustainability

√ to give away some clothes to support people, another local deserving cause like ours and the circular economy

√ to re-engage with stakeholders and raise awareness of CENFACS’ work in the community 

The setback was that we did not have a good number of people or attendees we were expecting to turn up.  Perhaps, one of the lessons we learnt from the DD is to try to increase the number of participants and volunteers for future references and events. 

In all, the overall outcome is that we were able to physically bring CENFACS back to the community again and the community to access CENFACS’ service for free.  This added some value to our online presence.  

We would like to thank those who supported us on the day, particularly to the Big Local Broad Green for allowing us to hold our DD at their space/place.  We would like as well to say thank you to an old lady who told us this: “You are doing a great job of helping to relieve poverty”.

 

~ Festive SHOPPING and DONATIONS at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

Every occasion or every season is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships.  The festive season, which is a great time to share precious moments with your love ones, is also a special period to spread a little extra happiness to those who do not have. 

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

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

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

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

√ DONATE unwanted GOODS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Charity e-Store during the festive period 2019

√ SHOP at CENFACS Charity e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief during the festive period 2019

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

 

~ The Upkeep of Africa’s Tropical Flora

 

As planned and mentioned earlier on, “A la une” campaign has entered the evaluation stage while we are continuing with the monitoring process.  This monitoring and evaluation will continue until the end of November 2019.  After that, our environmental season will carry on until mid-December 2019.

As part the environmental season, we have integrated “A la une” campaign with other similar environmental projects or campaigns.  We are as well extending the theme of the upkeep of the nature to consider the extinction risks and threats that Africa’s tropical flora is facing.  We are therefore advocating about and working on the reduction of the extinction of Africa’s Tropical Flora, as some current researches from well-placed sources suggested.

To enquire and or share your work on Africa’s tropical biodiversity, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main development

 

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 3, with Madrid Makes It Work as a Working Theme

 

• • Continuing to make our case for African Children through CPSAC – P. 3, with MMIW (Madrid Makes It Work) this year

 

Before starting the December 2019 CPSAC – P. 3 with MMIW, let’s see what last year’s follow up was about.

Last year’s follow up was about Katowice Implements Paris (KIP) as climate advocacy theme for 2018 that took stock of the previous climate talks follow up we did.

 

⇒ CPSAC – P.2 with KIP as stocktaking advocacy

 

Katowice Implements Paris (KIP) was the continuation of What Bonn Say (WBS), the Paris Summit on Climate Mobilisation (PSCM) and our previous works.  For more on WBS and PSCM, please read below the Review on our 2017 climate follow up works. 

 

⇒• What KIP meant

“Katowice Implements Paris” meant that we were following the Climate Change talks which took place from 2 to 14 December 2018, in Katowice, Poland. 

These talks were held as the 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24).

 

⇒• What following up COP 24 was about

One of the most important tasks of the 24th Session of the of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) was to work out and adopt a package of decisions ensuring the full implementation of the Paris Agreement, in accordance with the decisions adopted in Paris (COP21) and in Marrakesh (CMA1.1).

Moreover, COP24 would include the so-called Facilitative Dialogue intended to support the implementation of national commitments.  Our follow up of COP24 was about making sure that the full implementation of the Paris Agreement benefit all the future generations including the African children. 

 

⇒• Key Points to Remember about KIP advocacy

The key word for KIP was Implementation.

Our working areas of interest concerning KIP were on

√ What climate decisions for the protection and stake of children, especially those from poor nations, would be taken

√ The contents of the package to be implemented and children-friendliness of this package

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

There were other campaigning points that we wanted to see implemented in the final make-up of climate proposals, points such as:

√ Climate friendly modern solutions to child protection against climate change

√ Support of children especially those from poor nations to transit to a circular economy

√ Support to climate neutral projects that are children-friendly  

 

Because of the outstanding or gap issues in the Paris climate package in terms of its agreement and application, we will continue to advocate on the above mentioned points.

 

⇒ Continuity of CPSAC – P.3 with MMIW

 

The continuation of our case for Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) in Phase 3 with MMIW as theme for this year started in February 2019 with the following activities and action events:

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

<> Effective ways of distributing them amongst children in need  

<> Financial Need Assessment of the Costs of Climate Protection for Children to meet children’s climate protection needs (from the basic to the more complex ones); needs including those to reduce poverty and hardships,  financial and insurance requests to meet and address the adverse impacts and effects of climate change

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

<> Mapping of Climate Change Actions (i.e. activity that helped in identifying good actions taken locally and rating them)

The above are the selected points of CPSAC – Phase 3 that speak for our climate action this year.  Some of the points (unmet ones) will carry on in our December 2019 climate advocacy.

 

• • December 2019 Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 3 with MMIW (Madrid Makes It Work)

 

The new follow up is entitled Madrid Makes It Work (MMIW).  Our preparedness for Madrid Makes the Paris Agreement Work for Children and Future Generations (or MMIW) started since last Spring and is still part of CPSAC Phase 3.

The CENFACS demand to the global climate talks remains the same, which is: to give climate protection and stake for African children; the African Children being a sample of our working climate model.  This demand is undertaking through the follow up of global climate talks like the next climate talks (COP25) due to start on 2 December 2019 in Spain.

 

⇒ CPSAC – P. 3 with MMIW as stocktaking advocacy

 

December 2019 Climate Talks Follow up CPSAC (Climate Protection and Stake for African Children) – Phase 3 with Madrid Makes It Work (MMIW) as climate advocacy theme for 2019 takes stock of the previous climate talks follow up we did.

Madrid Makes It Work (MMIW) is the continuation of Katowice Implements Paris (KIP), What Bonn Say (WBS), The Paris Summit on Climate Mobilisation (PSCM) and our previous works.  For more on KIP, WBS and PSCM, please read below the Review on our 2017 and 2018 climate follow up works. 

 

⇒ What MMIW means

 

“Madrid Makes It Work” means make the climate talks work for African children.  It also a working slogan telling us that we are following the Climate Change talks which will take place from 2 to 13 December 2019 in Madrid, Spain.  Although, the slogan says that Madrid makes it work, we do not mean one city (Madrid) or country (Spain) alone can make the Paris Agreement works.  It is down to all the global community to make it work.  Madrid is our advocacy reference as where the climate summit will be held.

 

⇒ CENFACS’ Follow Up of CO25: MMIW entry points for December 2019

 

The working theme for the 2019 CPSAC – P. 3 is MMIW, and the slogan or key word will be Make-it-Work. 

To follow up COP25, we need to start somewhere to follow COP25.   Our provisional areas of interest and entry points concerning MMIW will be on the following:

√ How the climate community will close the Paris Agreement’s remaining gaps

√ Would be an increase of climate protection for children?

√ How the Summit will deal with international credit system for emission certificate (for example how an international credit system for carbon emission certificates will work for child protection)

√ Where the international climate community does stand about finance climate protection for children abroad (e.g. African children)

√ The issue of financial and technical assistance to children affected by climate change will it be resolved?

√ What is the percentage of fund that finances climate educational needs of children?

√ The setting up of climate plans that are children friendly

√ How the clean air fund is helping children’s health

√ How climate protection matters related to children of least developed countries (amongst them some African countries) will be dealt with

The above points are just for us to enter the follow up and engage with the Climate Summit.  When these talks start next week and throughout their running, there could emerge other climate matters.  In which case, we shall update our follow up accordingly.

Additionally, as we progress with the preparedness of next week’s and this year’s follow up of climate talks, those areas of interest will be shaped to take into account the final make-up of these talks, and the current and emerging needs of children victims, vulnerable and at risk of the adverse effects and impacts of climate change.

To support CSPAC – P. 3 and MMIW, please contact CENFACS

  

• Review of our 2017and 2018 climate follow up works

 

While we are looking forward to the next round of climate talks, our climate protection continues by looking back the climate talks (COP24) in 2018 in Poland and December 2017 Paris Meeting.

 

~ Looking back Katowice Implements Paris (KIP)

We have already reviewed KIP at the start of these main development notes.  We would like to simply add the following questions that made KIP:

√ What climate decisions for the protection and stake of children, especially those from poor nations, were at COP24

√ The contents of the climate package to be implemented and children-friendliness of this package

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

√ Climate friendly modern solutions to child protection against climate change

√ Support of children especially those from poor nations to transit to a circular economy

√ Support to climate neutral projects that are children-friendly  

Many of these points are still pending.  That is why there is a need to keep advocating and following the climate talks.

There was also Bonn Climate Conference, which we followed up under the banner of What Bonn Say (WBS).

Our follow up work on these talks was about what to expect from the climate change negotiations and representations at these talks to make the Bonn gathering a progress from the Marrakech talks and the Paris Agreement as pivotal regarding the protection of children against the adverse effects and impacts of climate change.

 

~ What WBS was about

WBS was our 2017 follow up regarding what climate change experts and participants said and decided at the Bonn Climate Change Conference regarding the 2016 issues in terms of progress made and outstanding climate issues. 

Just like KIP, WBS was both a specific follow-up as part of CPSAC Phase 2 and an example of the application of CENFACS‘ 2020-2030-2063 Follow-up (or XX236.3F) programme, which is our general follow up.  It is a Programme of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Climate Change Reduction, Halving Poverty, Sustainable Development Goals and Africa’s Development Agenda.

XX236.3FP is made of four follow-ups for monitoring and evaluation of the following: the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the Istanbul Declaration to halve poverty by 2020, the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals, and Africa’s Agenda 2063.   

So, this 4-Follow-up programme includes the four of them.  For more on XX236.3FP, contact CENFACS.  

WBS considered previous unsolved and pending issues as well as new ones from climate talks.  We kicked off WBS in March 2017 with following engaging points which were taken into the main Bonn Climate Change Conference:

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

√ The political economy of negotiations for child protection against climate-induced poverty

√ Green and climate capacity building and education for child protection

√ Climate-friendly and children-friendly technologies for poverty relief

√ Climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes for children and future generations.

The above sharing advocacy or campaigning points/contents are the ones that we have been monitoring besides the other issues which emerged from the Bonn Climate Change Conference. 

After WBS, we had another follow up with the Paris Summit on Climate Mobilisation.

 

~ CPSAC – P.2: The Paris Summit on Climate Mobilisation (PSCM)

The overarching goal of the PSCM was to mobilise public and private finance for projects to implement the Paris International Agreement on Climate Change.

The CENFACS demand to the global climate talks remains the same: to get climate protection and stake for African children.  This ask was undertaking through the follow up of the PSCM as global climate talks.

Our climate follow up of the Paris round discussions was on

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

√ The equity resulting from converted CTF debt to benefit children from poor nations as well

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

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

For more information on this review, please contact CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

 

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

20 November 2019

 

Post No. 118

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

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

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) Campaign – In Focus between 20/11/2019 and 26/11/2019: Natural Land Use, Sustainable Food System and Changing Climate Needs (Note 7)

• Skills Development Month with Skills Focus for Week Starting 18/11/2019: Skills to Survive Economic Transition

 

….  and much more!

 

Key Messages

 

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

 

After carrying out reviews of our humanitarian appeals this November, it has been resolved to launch an appeal under the umbrella of 3-Frontier Area to deal with the worrying developments regarding the insecurity situation in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.  In some parts of these three countries, civilians have been killed and displaced and there is no sign of peace. 

This November appeal, which is a variation of Light Projects, will introduce us to the Season of Lights, which is due to start in Mid-December.  More explanation about this year’s Light Projects will be provided in due course.  However, for further information about the 3-Frontier Area Appeal, please read under the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

 

~ “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) Campaign – In Focus between 20/11/2019 and 26/11/2019: Natural Land Use, Sustainable Food System and Changing Climate Needs (Note 7)

 

The 7^th Note of “A la une” Campaign will deal with three pitches as follows: Natural Land Use, Sustainable Food System and Changing Climate Needs.  The three of them are linked although we have treated them separately. 

Under the Main Developments section of this post, you will find more information about these pitches. 

 

 

 

~ Skills Development Month with Skills Focus for Week Starting 18/11/2019: Skills to Survive Economic Transition

 

A transition economy or transitional economy is an economy which is changing from an integrated economy within a regional economic bloc to an economy that is exiting (exited) from the bloc.  Any economic transitions bring along with them new types of needs or same needs but to be met by same or new skills and capacities as economies in transition face new realities.  The economies in transition we are talking about are those exiting from a regional economic bloc and those remaining in that bloc (like the EU).

This situation of matching skills with new realties happened in the history when eastern European economies delinked from the Soviet bloc in the 1990s.  They were faced with new and changing demands or the same demands but that could not be met with the same skills. 

There are many skills one can think of in this kind of situation.  To make the matter easier for our Skills development this week, we are focussing on two types of skills: adaptation and defensive skills to survive economic transition.  Adaptation skills are those developed to better suit to the changing and new environment, while defensive skills are those built to protect from the negative impacts of changing and new environment of economic transition.

For further details about this week’s skills focus, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Inequalities Reducer

 

The aim of this project is to reduce the differences in the level of poverty reduction within and between poor people, through a variety of means such as income generation activities, digital literacy training and education, advocacy (on institutional change, behavioural change or change of attitudes, tackling discrimination, etc.), mobile money transfer, creation opportunities for all, inclusiveness, fairness, etc.  This is done to further reduce intergenerational poverty while enhancing equality for all.

For the further details or the full proposals of this project, please contact CENFACS. 

 

~ Skills Development Month: Update of CENFACS’ Skills Data Bank

 

The month of Economics of Education and Skill Formation continues with CENFACS Data Bank of Skills, a repository of information containing skills of the CENFACS Community.

We are continuing to update our Database or Data Bank of Skills for the CENFACS’ Community.  Those who would like to register their skills to CENFACS’ Skills Data Bank; they are free to do so. 

Registering your skills to the CENFACS Community’s Skills Data Bank provides mutual benefits for CENFACS’ registrar and the registered person. 

The registration enables us to know who possesses what as skills, abilities and competences.  For the registered person, it gives them the possibility to tap into opportunities when they arise.

You can upload or email your skills to CENFACS to make the Skills Database or Data Bank at facs@cenfacs.org.uk

 

~ Integrating “A la une” campaign to other environmental campaigns

 

Although the seven notes or themed areas of work for this year’s “A la une” campaign have been covered as planned, our environmental season will continue until the official end of Autumn around mid-December 2019. 

We still have next week the Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (Phase 3) to campaign for prior to our intense follow-up of the climate change talks, which will take place from 2 to 13 December 2019 in Madrid in Spain.   

To continue “A la une” campaign, we are looking at similar campaigns on nature and the environment held by different organisations in the UK, Africa and elsewhere.  This is because to achieve a good upkeep of the nature, it needs a collective endeavour  

Amongst these organisations, we have our Africa-based Sister Organisations.  Besides them, we are this week trying to look at different environmental actions taken by local people to make the upkeep of the nature a local affair rather than only a global matter.

So, this week is an inclusive and integrative one.  It is the week of the integration of the notes or themed areas of work of the Autumn environmental action (i.e. A la une), of the local environmental campaign and of some Africa-based organisations’ environmental works.  This integration will lead to a monitoring and evaluation of “A la une” campaign at the end of this month.

To find out more about the integration between “A la une” Campaign and similar environmental campaigns, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Main Developments

 

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

 

~ What is the 3-Frontier Area

 

It is geographical area made of parts of three West African countries (which are Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) where there is some high levels of insecurity and threats to human life.

 

~ What this appeal is about

 

It is about supporting the victims of continuing insecurity and displaced persons in some parts of the above named three countries.  In these three countries, there has been a continuing armed conflicts between local armies and security forces on the one hand, and armed groups.

As a result, there has been a decline of the security situation, an increase in instability and ethnic violence.  According to local sources, more than 1,500 civilians have been killed in Mali and Burkina Faso, and more than 1 million internally displaced people.

 

~ CENFACS’ role in making this appeal

 

Our appeal is not to interfere in people’s and communities’ ways and rights of running their places, affairs or countries.   Our role is purely humanitarian especially where lives have been already taken and a considerable number of people have been displaced.  There is a growing number of risks (such as health, sanitation, violation of human rights, humanitarian crisis, etc.) if this situation continues.

 

~ What CENFACS wants you to do

 

CENFACS wants you to create a magic by providing life-saving gift to the victims of this insecurity without giving money.  How?

We are appealing to you to try to do something about what is happening in the 3-frontier area so that the poor civilians can enjoy peace and internally displaced people can safely return to their homes by the end of this year.

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

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

√ Networking, campaigning, responding to a petition, and so on can make a significant impact

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

√ Raising your voice about the crisis in the 3-frontier area at a peace talks or gatherings

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

Etc.

 

These kinds of simple things that one can do matter a lot for those whose life is at risk.  It is not surprising if Wangari Maathai said that “It is the little things citizens do that is what will make the difference” (Wangari Maathai, Environmental Activist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner). 

CENFACS hopes you will act upon this humanitarian November appeal and create the magic of life-saving gift without giving money so that the sufferers in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger can rediscover their way to sustainable and inclusive peace. 

Thank you for your readership and for considering delivering on this appeal.

 

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) Campaign – In Focus between 20/11/2019 and 26/11/2019: Natural Land Use, Sustainable Food System and Changing Climate Needs (Note No. 7)

 

The Note no. 7 of our “A la une” campaign is made of three pitches as follows: Natural Land Use, Sustainable Food System and Changing Climate Needs.   Let us deal with actions on them one by one.

 

~ Natural Land Use

 

This first pitch of the Note 7 is an action against the way in which land is occupied or managed for human purposes rather than in harmony with natural balance and habitat for living things.

“A la une” campaign on the use of natural or wild land, is against those commercial processes and human settlements that disturb or upset natural processes and interfere with living things’ habitats without care and observance of laws to protect wild lands and their habitants (like endangered species).

To discuss and or enquire about this pitch, please contact CENFACS.

 

~ Sustainable Food System

 

Before looking at this pitch of the 7^th note of “A la une” campaign, let’s try to make sense about food systems.

In its conceptual and framework about food systems, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation known as FAO (1) defines food systems as

“the entire range of actors and their interlinked value-adding activities involves in the production, aggregation, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of food products that originate from agriculture, forestry or fisheries, and parts of the broader economic, societal and natural environments in which they are embedded.  The food system is composed of sub-systems (e.g. farming system, waste management system, input supply system, etc.) and interacts with other key systems (e.g. energy system, trade system, heath system, etc.).”

The same FAO defines a sustainable food system as

“a food system that delivers food security and nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social and environmental bases to generate food security and nutrition for future generations are not compromised”.

 

(1) http: //www.fao.org/3/ca2079en/CA2079EN,pdf (accessed on 14/11/2019)

 

As this pitch is about sustainable food system, we are working on food security and nutrition.  So, the pitch is to advocate to secure food security and nutrition for the under nourished and hungry people.  The kinds of food security and nutrition we are campaigning about are the ones that respect the natural balance or care for the upkeep of the nature.

The approach used for sustainable food system in this pitch is of a broad perspective challenge; that is a holistic food systems approach which considers the food system in totality or entirety, instead of narrow approaches such as production-focussed approach, the value chain development approach or the market systems approach.

To discuss and or enquire about this pitch, please contact CENFACS.

 

~ Changing Climate Needs

 

With rising temperatures, sea levels and greenhouse gas emissions; there are new and emerging needs to meet this changing climate.  For example, with a long summer season there has been a need to adapt human food, nutrition, health, housing, travel, transport, etc. 

In the context of “A la une” campaign, the way in which we meet new needs to respond to changing climate should not at the expense of natural balance and nature in general.  Therefore, this pitch invites the sustainable development community to respect the upkeep of the nature while we are trying to adapt and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.

To discuss and or enquire about this pitch, please contact CENFACS.

For further details and to support this Note 7 and or the entire “A la une” campaign, please contact CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

13 November 2019

 

Post No. 117

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) Campaign – In Focus between 13/11/2019 and 19/11/2019: Extra protection from Wildlife Extinction (Note No. 6)

• Skills Development Month with Skills Focus for Week Starting 11/11/2019: Skills to Cope with Financial Pressure

• Coming Next Week: The 10th Women and Children FIRST Development Day – In Focus on 19/11/2019: Economic Sustainability

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature) Campaign –

In Focus between 13/11/2019 and 19/11/2019: Extra protection from Wildlife Extinction (Note No. 6)

 

The sixth note of “A la une” campaign, which is our stand against the sixth mass extinction or loss of biodiversity, is about the defence against harm or danger of wild animal.  The latter includes: mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, etc.    The campaign aims at maintaining the in-built capacity of the natural system.

This added protection is for endangered species (like elephants, okapis, rhinoceros, etc.); species that are still traded, in spite of international agreements against such as trade; agreements such as those passed through the triennial Summit of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 

It is also an extra protection for animals against pollution (such as water pollution) which is a threat to animals, just like for humans.

The 6^th note of the “A la une” campaign is further about an added protection of wild animal against illicit and exotic pet trade, illegal trade, pollution and mistreatment of animals.

The sixth note, which is a campaign to save wild life populations, is a stand against the decline of the planet’s natural life-support systems; against the destruction of nature, destruction that reduces wildlife populations;  and against illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade.

To enquire and or support the sixth note of the “A la une” campaign, please contact CENFACS. 

 

~ Skills Development Month with Skills Focus for Week Starting 11/11/2019: Skills to Cope with Financial Pressure

 

Our Skills Development month or the month of the Economics of Education and Skill Formation continues this week.   After looking at the Skills to Manage Economic Uncertainty in the first week of the Skills Development month, we are focussing on Skills to Cope with Financial Pressure this week.

To develop the skills to cope with financial pressure, it is better to know what financial pressure does or creates to people, especially to those living in poverty.  Financial pressure can cause a number of problems such as anxiety, psychological drain or pain, anger, conflict, illness, etc. 

Skills can be developed to deal with these issues.  There could a particular skill or a group of skills.  For example, we can have networking skills for anxiety, social skills for psychological problems, anger management skills for anger, peace-building or negotiation skills for conflicts, healthcare skills for ill people, job search skills for unemployed people, etc.

We can even give a more detailed example. Let’s take conflicts for example.  Developing advocacy, communication and negotiation skills can enable unhappy and deprived people or communities to overcome the idea of resorting to violence to deal with their problems.  They would rather use the tenets of virtuous advocacy, communications strategy and negotiation to bargain their power to change the conditions of their life than using violence.

Besides these skills, they are technical financial skills that could also be considered.  They include skills to deal with accounts, skills to write and understand a budget, skills to conduct cost-benefit analysis; financial literacy skills; debt management skills, household financial management skills etc. 

So, this week we are looking at ways of enhancing users with skills where they feel they lack relevant skills to deal with the impacts of financial pressure.

To support the Skills Development month or this week’s skills focus, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

~ Coming Next Week: The 10th Women and Children FIRST Development Day (WCFDD) – In Focus on 19/11/2019: Economic Sustainability

 

High on the next week’s agenda will be our 10th Development Day.  CENFACS’ Development Day is an additional opportunity to re-communicate its poverty relief message and other messages to support those living in poverty as well as re-engage with our stakeholders. 

For this year’s Development Day, we will be looking at ways of being or becoming more economically sustainable through the theme of economic sustainability.  In other words, how can we use the tenets of economic sustainability to further reduce poverty for ourselves and others in our community as well as enhance sustainable development?  This is a critical issue in times of climate emergency, economic uncertainty and transitional economy.  

Under the Main Development section of this post, there are further details about the Development Day.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ “Quadranscentennial” (Q) Skills

 

Our “Q” Year or Project continues this month with “Q” Skills.  These are the skills that enable CENFACS to function for the 25 years or so.  To keep an idea going on for 25 years, it requires some skills to keep modernising this idea and applying it to the modern or evolving setting.

“Q” Skills are like the hypothetical skills to learn to fish compared to the skills to give fish to someone.   They are the creative, maintenance and sustainable skills for the life of an idea, a project.  In other words, they are the skills to create an idea, to maintain that idea unique amongst other competing ideas, and to make it last for many years (in the case of the CENFACS idea for 25 years and beyond).

So, this month is the continuation of the CENFACS celebration as a product developed using creative, maintenance and long lasting skills.  It is the celebration of skills that keep CENFACS going in the last 25 years. 

 

~ Central African Republic: Autumn Appeal Review

 

After conducting appeal reviews for Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo, we are conducting now a third appeal review for this Autumn.  This third appeal review is about the environmental situation with floods following torrential rains that struck the Central African Republic (CAR).

Indeed, CAR’s capital experienced a rising level of water (reaching 1, 7 m) in the river which flew out of its normal course to the vicinity of the river at the end of last October.  As a result, thousands people and households were left their homes, 28,000 people were displaced and more than 10,000 stricken households were identified.  There is a serious concern about the following risks: health risks due to contaminated water, sanitation risks as water washed out toilet facilities, spread of illnesses (such as malaria, diarrheal, cholera, poludism, etc.).

There has already been an appeal for an international aid from the local authorities.  There has been some responses in terms of basic supplies and foods.  However, this is not enough to cover the emergency needs caused by rising water and floods.

As far as CENFACS is concerned, our review follows the Light appeals we launched about the people affected by environmental-disaster and or destructive wars in CAR.  The review is also part of our Autumn appeal reviews for the previous appeals of this kind we made this year.

The purpose of this review is therefore to check the progress made by our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) on the ground in alleviating the sufferings from environmentally disaster and destructive wars which CAR experienced in the last few years.  We are checking this progress against the goals and targets of appeals made in the light of previous and the current situation.     

This review will determine the kinds of gap that needs to be filled in terms of meeting the needs for the victims of these events and other poor people living in poverty there.  It will help to determine the effectiveness of our appeal work and of the work of ASOs.

To enquire and or find out more about this review, please contact CENFACS.

 

~ Charity e-Store: Festive SHOPPING and DONATIONS!

 

Every occasion and or every season is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships.  This coming festive season is one of them and is a great time to share precious moments with your love ones.  It is also a time to spread a little extra happiness to those who do not have. 

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

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

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

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

√ DONATE unwanted GOODS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Charity e-Store during the festive period 2018

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

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

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Coming Next Week: The 10^th Women and Children FIRST Development Day – In Focus on 19/11/2019: Economic Sustainability

 

This year, the DD will be centred on the idea and theme of Economic Sustainability.  This concept may appear too technical for some people.  To facilitate its understanding, we are going to define it in two stages: firstly, we will define sustainability and secondly, we shall explain what economic sustainability is.

 

• • Understanding economic sustainability

 

There are many definitions of sustainability.  In the context of our DD, we have chosen the following dictionary definition as provided by Chris Park (1).

“Sustainability is “a concept used to describe community and economic development in terms of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (p. 439)

Knowing what sustainability means, economic sustainability is one of the dimensions of sustainability; the other dimensions being social and environmental.  Economic sustainability has also many definitions.  In the context of our DD, we have selected the following definition given by the University of Gavle (2)

“Economic sustainability is an integrated part of sustainability and means that we must use, safeguard and sustain resources (human and material) to create long-term sustainable values by optimal use, recovery and recycling.  In other words, we must conserve finite natural resources today so that future generations too can cater for their needs”

The above two definitions tell us three basic but important things which are:

The long term conservation of resources

Living on the returns of the Earth’s natural resources

The concern about the present and future value of natural resources

 

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

(2) https: //www.hig.se/Ext/En/University-of-Gavle/About-the-University/Environmental-Work/What-is-sustainable-development-at-Hig/Economic-sustainability.html

 

• •  Putting the concept of economic sustainability into practice

 

As it appears, economic sustainability may seem to be a technical concept or idea. In our DD, we will work out ways of making it practical and understandable to everyone who will take part to the day.  To do that, we will run three specific activities which are: advice, art and design, and clothes recycling as an example to end clothing poverty.

a) Basic free ADVICE on economic sustainability will be about some suggestions and opinions on the use of economic sustainability to help reduce poverty and hardships

b) ART and DESIGN will be some creation of works and skills to portray economic sustainability and convey the economic sustainability message to a wider audience.  There will be as well some drawing, plan and model activities to show how one can achieve economic sustainability in real life

c) Good quality second hand CLOTHES SALE (at £1 only per item) will contribute to clothes recycling while raising money to help reduce clothing poverty.

There will extra activities such as questionnaire and forms filling, economic sustainability stories sharing, etc.

All these activities will be framed in such a way of learning or re-learning to be economically sustainable.  To do that we will do the conversion of these ideas into the practice of economic sustainability:

√ Environmentally friendly forms of development

√ Human use of environmental resources and interference with environmental systems

√ Resource use and depletion

√ Over-use of environmental resource

√ Ways of becoming economically sustainable

√ Things to do to help achieve economic sustainability in the community and local life

√ Our understanding of genuine progress indicator

Briefly, our DD will try to put into practice the elements of the above definitions, even if one may disagree with them.  In doing so, economic sustainability will become a real life situation in our daily life, but not a rocket science.

 

• • Joining the Development Day

 

You can pop in on 19/11/2019 at:

Big Local Broad Green, The Hub Broad Green, 38 Keely Road, Croydon  CR0  1TF

Between 11 am and 2pm

For any of the following:

√ Free advice

√ Art and design

√ Buy good quality second hand clothes at £1 only per item

√ Share your story or experience of economic sustainability

√ Or just support us to keep CENFACS’ poverty relief work going

 

This DD will be conducted under CENFACS’ Women and Children Sustainable Development projects.

 

• • WCFDD Timeline: 2010 to 2018

 

Since its inception in 2010, the WCFDD provides an opportunity and scope to communicate CENFACS’ anti-poverty work/message and the need to develop new ideas and proposals, and improve practices to enable us to enhance the quality of life of multi-dimensionally-deprived women/mothers and children. 

In 2010, the WCFDD was devoted to AWARENESS on SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO & PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGIES

In 2011, CENFACS’ WCFDD tackled the challenging issue of BARRIERS TO POVERTY REDUCTION, with a special emphasis on one particular way of overcoming them, which is participation.  Women & Children’s Participation was looked at within the context of Race in the Road to Poverty Reduction.

In 2012, our Development Day in Putting Women and Children FIRST went further with the sub-theme of participation as it was organised around the theme of IMPROVING WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION IN THE RACE TO REDUCE POVERTY. 

In 2013, WCFDD at CENFACS extended and deepened the idea of more and better participation by focussing on Infrastructures for Women’s and Children’s contribution to poverty relief.  The theme for 2013 was “INFRASTRUCTURES FOR A POSITIVE ECONOMY TO REDUCE POVERTY”.

In 2014, we guesstimated and compared the cost for acting to the cost for inaction to reduce poverty.  The theme of COSTING DOING NOTHING FOR POVERTY RELIEF improves our understanding on an early prevention that helps reduce costs and avoid escalating or detrimental effects for poor Women and Children.

In 2015, WCFDD was dedicated to MAKING THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WORK FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN (W&C).  This was the local community response from the W&C of CENFACS to the 2030 Global Agenda and Goals for Sustainable Development.

In 2016, The theme for our Development Day was ENSURING HEALTHY LIVES AND PROMOTING WELL-BEING FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN.  This was the continuation of 2015 development day.  Ensure-Healthy-Lives-and-Promote-Well-being is itself Goal no.3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  One day of development thoughts does not make the 2030 Agenda works as we need more times and days. But it helped to look at Goal 3 (G3) as both global and local concept, G3 as a practical response and G3 as Protection for W&C in the CENFACS’ Year of Protections. 

In 2017, ENDING POVERTY IN ALL ITS FORMS EVERYWHERE FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN was our working theme for the WCFDD

In 2018, We thought ways of working together to come out of the linear model that consists of make, use and dispose goods and resources; to embrace the circular economy

 

Note: For your information,

 

3W (What Women Want) is a CENFACS support network scheme to enhance the lives of multi-dimensionally deprived women/mothers and families.

PPS (Peace, Protection & Sustainability) is a CENFACS child and environmental protection programme to support multi-dimensionally vulnerable children, young people and families

W&CSDP (Women & Children Sustainable Development projects) – a CENFACS amalgamation of 3W and PPS projects

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

06 November 2019

Post No. 116

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Skills Development Month, In Focus: Skills to Manage Uncertainty and Financial Pressure

• “A la une“ (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign, Note No. 5 – In Focus between 06/11/2019 and 12/11/2019: Options to Adapt and Change Habits

• Festive Income Booster with Little Extra Income Generation

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ Skills Development Month, In Focus: Skills to Manage Uncertainty and Financial Pressure

 

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

It is also the training implementation month during which educationally related projects or projects that involve training, skills development and acquisition of new knowledge to help users and our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) to empower themselves with the educational tools and training resources they need to further help reduce poverty.  One of the skills development project planned to support ASOs is Skills for Value Chains.

We all know that poverty is not only material or the lack of monetary income; it is even more the lack of knowledge, skills, know how and technologies than anything else.   Therefore, knowing and learning a skill can help to further reduce poverty and set one on the right course of the development process. 

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

The November 2019 focus will be on enhancing skills to manage uncertainty linked to exiting economies (or economies in transition) and festive financial pressure

To find out and or support the November 2019 skills development month, read the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

~ “A la une“ (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign, Note No. 5 –

In Focus between 06/11/2019 and 12/11/2019: Options to Adapt and Change Habits

 

Our Autumn running theme of the upkeep of the nature is still in progress.  After campaigning for sustainable trajectories for the nature (note 1), balanced diets (note 2), biofuel crops and new forests (note 3), and the reduction of coastal extreme events (note 4); we are now working on the options to adapt and possibly change habits (note 5).

For further the current campaigning note of the upkeep of the nature, please read the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

~ Festive Income Booster: Little Extra Income Generation

 

The next issue of our Autumn ICDP (Individual Capacity Development Programme) resource, known as Festive Income Boost and which is designed to support Multi-dimensionally Income Poor Children, Young People and Families (MIPCYPFs); will focus on little extra ways of generating income.  This year, our focus will be on some of the casual jobs and creative ways of generating some little extra incomes that poor people and families may embark on to make ends meet around the festive period.  

More information about this year’s edition of Festive Income Booster has been provided under the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

Besides the above selected initiatives for your readership and engagement, we have added for this week the following. 

 

~ CENFACS Charity e-Shop: GOODS DONATIONS & SHOPPING

 

Like any organisation running a shop over the Season’s special occasions, CENFACS needs GOODS DONATIONS and SHOPPING at its e-store over the festive time. 

We would very much appreciate if supporters could help either by providing GOODS as DONATIONS or SHOPPING at CENFACS e-Store or both.  This way of supporting can further help reduce poverty over the Festive season and beyond.  

To find out details about items to donate and / or to donate GOODS, go http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

To buy donated goods, go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

Thank you to those who wish to support our e-store!

 

~ DRC Appeal: Autumn Review

 

As a result of two on-going developments on the grounds in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we are reviewing our Happiness Appeal we launched during the last Summer.  The two developments are the same issues that DRC is facing: Ebola virus and conflicting situation in the province of Kivu.

According to the DRC official source, 2,185 people have died so far from the Ebola virus disease out of 3,274 screened cases.  246,310 people have been vaccinated in the stricken-disease province.  At the same time, there has been a rising level of armed violence and attacks against health personnel dealing with the Ebola virus and the sick.  There are as well extremist and fundamentalist militants who are fighting against the regular Congolese army and the locals in the same part of the country.

Because of these facts and data, we are reviewing our previous appeals about the DRC.  We are at the same following the development on the grounds in the remote and conflicting zones.  We are particularly trying to find out about the safety of vulnerable and poor people, and among them women and children.

One can hope that the wisdom will prevail so that peace, which other Congolese people are enjoying in other parts of their country, will be the same in the conflicting and Ebola-stricken areas; peace from health and security points of view.

In meantime, CENFACS will continue to appeal to all sides to keep working for peace and health in the interests of poor people in DRC.

 

 

 

~ Skills Data Bank

 

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

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

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

 

 

 

Main Developments

 

• Skills Development Month –

In Focus: Skills to Manage Uncertainty and Financial Pressure

 

This year, for the Skills Development Month, we are going to focus on two areas where difficulties can come from for those in need.  These areas are:

1) The prolong uncertainty linked to the exit or non exit from a regional economic bloc like in the case of the UK searching ways of exiting or not exiting the EU economic bloc

2) The financial pressure to cover the expenses of the end of the year’s festivities for families on very modest incomes

The two issues require those in most pressing life-sustaining needs to develop skills to meet them.  Our Skills Development Month will therefore concentrate on the skills and capacities that those living in poverty need to less painfully manage uncertainty linked to exiting economies and the festive financial pressure.  This is our general focus for this 2019 November Skills Development.

Besides this general November interest, we have planned weekly skills focus.  In other words, each week of November 2019, we shall have skills set to focus on.  The following plan is our weekly skills focus:

Weeks                                                            Skills Focus

Week 1 (starting 04/11/2019):                    Skills to manage economic uncertainty

Week 2 (starting 11/11/2019):                    Skills to cope with financial pressure

Week 3 (starting 18/11/2019):                    Skills to survive economic transition

Week 4 (starting 25/11/2019):                    Skills to create little extra festive income

 

All these management, survival, coping and creative skills will make our November Skills Development; skills revolving around the need to make ends meet during the economic uncertainty and festive period.  This is despite the fact we know that there could be a gap between the time people learn a particular skill on one hand, and  the time they apply this skill to solve their poverty and hardship problem on the other.

These November 2019 skills are as well those that can be used beyond these two specific circumstances, particularly in other conditions of life when they are required to meet the challenge of poverty.

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

 

• “A la une “ (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign, Note No. 5 –

In Focus between 06/11/2019 and 12/11/2019: Options to Adapt and Change Habits

 

Adaptation to changes and change of habits are personal decisions to any human beings.  However, due to the impacts of climate change, both adaptation and change of habits cannot always be regarded as a personal matter.  One has to act for the sake of the common goods. 

The impacts of climate change and climate related risks and challenges require a diversity of bold options to adapt to changes and to change habits.  This diversity lies in human ability to make adjustments of their systems of functioning or conditions of life from vulnerability and improve their own ability to survive in a changing environment like of climate change.  To do that, there is a need to adapt and change.

 

• • Options to adapt

 

⇒ Adaptation approaches for the common goods

There are different adaptation approaches or strategies that can suit each individual’s, organisation’s and country’s own pace.  These include technological and engineering options to adapt, eco-system-based or nature-based approaches etc.

However, with the growing adverse impacts of climate change one needs to try to match the speed of the changing climate if one is serious in doing something about the nature before it is too late to reverse the rising trends of climate adversity.

 

⇒ Adaptation options for “A la une” campaign

Our “A la une” campaign related to the options to adapt will be broadly about the following:

√ Options to adapt to changes (adaptation approaches or strategies)

√ Options to change habits

√ Funding capacity to adapt

√ Institutional support for adaptation

√ Development of adaptive capacity

 

In practical terms, we are campaigning for the following:

√ Short term change (psychological and behavioural adaptation)

√ Long term change (genetic adaptation)

We will as well take into account the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) clusters adaptation options which consist of structural and physical, social and institutional options.

 

• • Options to change habits

 

As far as the option to change habits is concerned, we shall deal with the following:

√ Strategies from breaking bad habits for the upkeep of the nature

√ How to build good habits that create peace with the nature

√ Ways of building new habits for the good health of the nature

To support “A la une” campaign and to request further details, please contact CENFACS.

 

• Next Issue of Autumn ICDP Resource (Festive Income Booster): Little Extra Income Generation

 

The next issue of Autumn Individual Capacity Development Programme (ICDP) resource (Festive Income Boost) will be on Little Extra Income Generation as the Season’s theme.

Indeed, some income poor families can find more convenient to use traditional means of generating a little extra income.  Others may be forced by the events or may try to grab the opportunity of the festive season to seek for temporary or the festive season’s jobs to generate a little extra income to meet the end of year bills.

In fact, just before, during and just after the festive season, many businesses need help to cope with the pressure of the Season’s demand for goods and services.  This is the same for MIPCYPFs who need income to meet their basic life-sustaining needs over the festive period.  This is a particular time of the year when their respective needs can intersect; businesses’ needs of labour and poor families’ supply of labour can meet.  Businesses need extra people to hire while poor families need extra income to cover the financial pressure of the Season.  And if businesses can offer them casual jobs to make the little extra income, this could be good to reduce their financial pressure.

 

What this year’s Festive Income Booster is about

The Festive Income Booster is CENFACS’ Autumn ICDP and poverty-relieving resource that provides some income generation leads and tips.  As the focus for this year’s edition is on Festive Little Extra Income Generation, the resource will include the following: temporary festive jobs, end of year earning opportunities, seasonal self-employment, petit jobs as some may call it, fundraising events etc.

 

Who it is for

Festive Income Boost is for Multi-dimensionally Income Poor Children, Young People and Families (MIPCYPFs) and it is designed to support to them throughout the entire the festive season.

 

What the Festive Income Booster covers

The resource covers some ways of dealing with casual job interview questions, seasonal job search techniques (for both online and print searches), job search engines and leads, guidance on job applications and CV, reference building techniques, job ads, credit history or score, diary of job fairs and events, job matching to person specification and profile etc.  It goes further in exploring e-skills and steps that poor families can take to skill up themselves.

The resource also covers security and protection matters when trying to generate a little extra income to make ends meet.  In this respect, it tells again the new general data protection regulations, child protection and safeguarding issues for jobs where these requirements apply.

The resource goes further as it includes online job scams and job advert scams which sometimes could increase in a hot period like of festivities, from now to the end of year festive celebrations.

 

What’s more?

The resource also reminds us the areas of law or legal requirements in terms of whatever we do to try to raise additional household income to reduce poverty.

 

How to access this resource

The resource will be available as a booklet from CENFACS e-Store.  It is normally free of charge but we will appreciate a donation of £5 to help us help reduce poverty and the cost of renewing and producing this resource on an annual basis.

To order and or find out more about the Autumn ICDP resource, please contact CENFACS with your contact details.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

30 October 2019

Post No. 115

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature), Note No.4 – In Focus between 30/10 and 05/11/2019: Reduction of the Impacts of Coastal Extreme Climate Events

• History to Skills Development

• Skills for Value Chains Project

… and much more!

 

Key Messages

 

~ “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature), Note No.4 – In Focus between 30/10 and 05/11/2019: Reduction of the Impacts of Coastal Extreme Climate Events

 

Extreme weather or climate in coastal areas has serious impacts like coastal flooding, rising sea level and erosion; especially in the low-lying parts of the coast.  To reduce the negative impacts of coastal extreme weather, there is a need to act together.  We need to act to both protect vulnerable people and coastal ecosystems while keeping peaceful relationships with the nature.   

To do that, there is a number of actions that can be taken.  Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have given further information about this note and the kinds of action that can be taken.

 

~ History to Skills Development

 

Our History month is ending tomorrow together with this year’s Making Memorable Difference project.  We had the opportunity to re-read African Health History.  Both the Understanding and Legacies (Gifts) Days helped to push the frontiers of what we already know about African Health History and to acquire further knowledge on what we were not aware of.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped in their own way to the History month and to the Making Memorable History project.

After re-reading Africa’s Health History, we are now going to use what we learnt about it to inspire ourselves to try to develop the skills we need for ourselves, for our community and our organisation to further help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

This transition from history re-reading and making memorable difference to skills development will be done this week.  So, the month of November will be of Skills Development as usual. 

 

~ Skills for Value Chains (Skvach) Project

 

Skvach project was part of the notes making the theme of the 63^rd Issue of FACS; issue which was about Economic Value Chains in Africa, what they can reveal for those in need.

In the context and focus of the theme of the Issue no. 63, we tried to find various approaches that could reveal the needs of those living in poverty in Africa and ways of responding to those needs through the creation of poverty-relieving value.

To embrace and survive economic value chains, Africa-based Sister Organisations need to develop some skills related to the types of industry they would like to be part of the chains.  These skills are the operational and functional skills such as sale, production, management, fundraising, advocacy, outreach, creative, accounts, administrative skills, above the skills to further reduce poverty.

Under the Main Developments section of this post, you will find the aim and scope of this project.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ “Quadranscentennial” (Q) Historicité: CENFACS-Community Groups

 

The last episode in a series of October 2019 looking back the relations that CENFACS had with other organisations during its 25 years, will be its links with community groups, particularly but not exclusively with the Black and Minority Community Organisations.

In the first episode, we carried out some historical analysis of CENFACS’ model of working with Africa-based organisations.  In the second episode, we scrutinized CENFACS’ links with African Diaspora organisations in the UK.  In the third episode, we historically evaluated CENFACS’ relations with Non Governmental organisations.

In this last episode, we are conducting a historical justification of the links CENFACS had with community groups.  The purpose of this justification exercise is to find out the following:

⇒ How right or not right the link between CENFACS and these groups was

⇒ To what extent the idea of working with multi-dimensional poor and vulnerable people living in deprived wars warranted the means of linking CENFACS with community groups, especially from black and minority ethnic background.

⇒ How historical heritage of CENFACS was and has been linked to that of community groups.

 

To enable to better search on this historical justification, we shall deal in dept with the following matters:

⇐ Similarities and dissimilarities of way of approaching and responding to issues affecting ethnic minority people

⇐ The share of best practices between CENFACS and these community groups

⇐ The level and health of networking activities and platforms sharing

⇐ Ways of approaching community problems and the philosophy behind actions carried out

⇐ Complementarities of actions to tackle ethnic poverty and hardships.

 

For further details about this last episode and the previous episodes, please contact CENFACS.

 

~ Vulnerability testing Week

 

How vulnerable are you (as an individual or organisation) to poverty?

This week, we are working to find out how vulnerable are our users and Africa-based Sister Organisations in terms of poverty and what can be done to reduce their level of vulnerability to poverty.  This work is carried out in the context of CENFACS Analytics Dashboard.  

We all are vulnerable to something.  Those who may experience or are experiencing poverty may even be more vulnerable than anybody else.  In this respect, Vulnerability Testing Week is meant to help them help themselves in understanding and sorting out their conditions of life from vulnerability or vulnerability system.

To check or work with CENFACS about your vulnerability issues linked to poverty and hardships, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

~ The Twenty-twenties (the 2020s) Programme

 

Our conversation about CENFACS’ 2020s programme which will replace the 2010s programme has entered the Autumn phase.  In the Spring and Summer phases of our discussions on the 2020s programme, we dealt with the goal, purpose and outputs of this programme.  In the Autumn phase, we are working on the activities of this incoming programme in the new year.

To add your voice and or ideas about the 2020s programme, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Main Developments

 

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature), Note No. 4

In Focus between 30/10 and 05/11/2019: Reduction of the Impacts of Coastal Extreme Climate Events

 

“A la une” campaign will cover the following three broad areas of interest regarding the reduction of adverse impacts of coastal extreme weather events:

√ Preparation against these events through technologies and educational programme

√ Weather change-related planning in terms of emergency situations and rescue services

√ Warning with systems to do it.

 

The purpose of the Upkeep of the Nature is not to explain the impacts of climate change or the functioning of the nature.  Its purpose is to take action to reduce adverse impacts from humans and non humans on the nature, in doing so to develop friendly relationships with the nature so that it can be in existence with its balance.  So, the reduction of these impacts is within the context of our theme of the Upkeep of the Nature.

Besides the above, there should be action on coastal management.  This could include engineering schemes which could be hard or soft or even both, action to protect coastal habitat for both humans and living things. 

Finally, this fourth note echoes the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 related to climate action, that is taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts; and goal 14 which is Life below water.  The target 2 of goal 14 recommends sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts.

To support or enquire about  “A la une” campaign, please contact CENFACS.

  

• Skills for Value Chains (Skvach) Project

 

The aim of Skvach Project

 Skvach project aims at reducing poverty linked to is to reduce poverty linked to poor or incomplete skills, knowledge, information and capacities amongst African organisations and those who are running these organisations living in deprived areas and anxious improve their skills in order to enable them to meet the poverty relief challenges of their users and beneficiaries while developing themselves. 

This week, we are going further with this project or model of developing skills by dealing with activities related to training, adult education, supporting information and workshops to support these African organisations.

 

The scope of SKvach project

Skills for Value Chains can help Africa-based Sister Organisations to diversify their activities between primary and support ones so that they can add value to their product in the chain as well as create poverty relief value.  Their own benefits could be incomplete unless there are gains for the poor and vulnerable people.  In this respect, the development of these provides a good understanding on how poor people and communities can gain from low cost as well as economies of scale and scope that result from organisations engaged in improving their value chains. 

Skills for Value Chains project will kick off the Skills Development month or the month of Economics Education and Skill Formation.  Logically, we should have developed healthcare skills to follow the logic of the contents of this year’s History month.  We are not going to do that.  Instead, we are going to deal with Skills for Value Chains project which is one of our Autumn Starting XI projects.

For full project proposals about the Skills for Value Chains project, please contact CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

23 October 2019

Post No. 114

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• FACS, Issue No. 65, Autumn 2019 – Key Summaries

• “A la une” Campaign, Note No. 3 (between 23 and 29/10/2019) – In Focus: Biofuel Crops and New Forests

• Coming soon: Making Memorable Difference project, In Focus: African Health History

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ FACS, Issue No. 65, Autumn 2019 – Key Summaries

 

The 65^th Issue of FACS, CENFACS’ Bilingual Newsletter, is ready and available for request. The Issue is about the Development of Micro-Industrial Activities by Africa-based Sister Organisations to Integrate Voluntary Economy into Regional Value Chains.

The key message of this Issue is the outputs created by Africa-based Sister Organisations from the voluntary sector can help create a not-for-profit value that can, in return, help in a series of connected values at regional level; values able to reduce poverty and hardships.

An abstract regarding this Issue was already given at the beginning of this Autumn.  Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided summaries making this Issue.

 

 

~ “A  la une” Campaign, Note No. 3 (between 23 and 29/10/2019) – In Focus: Biofuel Crops and New Forests

 

Our third note of the “A la une” campaign is on Biofuel Crops and New Forests.  Let’s see these two pitches the third note.

 

Biofuel Crops

Biofuel is defined from dictionary (1) as an alternative fuel that is produced from biological materials including crops (especially trees) and animal (waste), (p. 48).  Biofuels are fuels directly or indirectly produced from organic material and can be primary or secondary.  They can as well be in the forms of bioalcohol or biodiesel.  They are a way of reducing consumption of fossil fuels.  Biofuel crops are simply fuels made from plants and crops (such as corn, soybeans and sugarcane).

In relation to “A la une” campaign, we will be exploring further biofuel crops as an alternative fuel in terms of its advantages and disadvantages, costs and benefits, affordability for the poor and those in most incomes. This is despite the problem of competition they pose with food crops for land and their prices.

We shall as well work for its relatively measured impact on the Upkeep of the Nature, the theme of this third note.  It is understood that biofuels burn cleaner than fossil fuels, releasing pollutants and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

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

 

New Forests

This is our second pitch of coordinated activities in order to achieve the theme of the Upkeep of the Nature.  Our operation in this pitch is to support and campaign for afforestation (forestation or reforestation), the creation of new habitats for wildlife and the general upkeep of the nature. 

The campaign will go further in dealing with the following:

√ The development of new forest skills

√ The restoration of lost habitats

√ The celebration of forest culture

√ Techniques for inspiration of the current and future generations about the soundness of forests, etc

To find out more and or support “A la une“ Campaign, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

~ Making Memorable Difference project: African Health History

 

A celebration of African Abilities, Talents, Skills and Gifts to Africa and the world

This year’s dedicated two days (27 and 28 October 2019) are of historical study, analysis and skill recognition and celebration of the legacies left by Africans in the Health History in Africa.  We will search on the African Health History during these two days in the following ways. 

27 October 2019 will be an Understanding Day of African Health History in relation to epidemics and viruses

The first day is about learning more about the kinds of epidemics and viruses that Africa went through in pre-colonial and post-colonial times.  This health history will be done in scale and scope.  References will be given about the places where these epidemics and viruses happened, knowing that there were not enough health facilities at that time.  This understanding will also be expanded to the health knowledge at that time while making some incursions about poverty linked to poor health situation.

 

28 October 2019 will be the Legacies and Gifts Day of African Epidemics and Virus Healers

This second will therefore help us to find out how good or bad Africans were in healing epidemics and viruses.  It is as well the day of learning the coping strategies in terms of healing these deadly diseases.  In doing so, we will try extirpate their legacies and gifts as healers and doctors on their own ways against deadly epidemics and viruses.  Finally, the day will help to draw historical parallel with what is happening now in places like the DRC and others in terms of deadly diseases. 

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

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ “Quadranscentennial” Historicité: History Evaluation of CENFACS – Overseas Development Non Governmental Organisations

 

We are continuing our investigation about the links between CENFACS and other development organisations.  Last week, we scrutinised the links between CENFACS and African Diaspora Organisations, particularly with African Diaspora Voices for Africa’s Development.

This week, we are assessing the worth of the membership of CENFACS with Non Governmental Organisations, particularly with BOND, in terms of the relevancy of CENFACS’ needs during the membership period and thereafter.  We are more carefully looking at to consider the merits and legacies of this membership.

In this history evaluative process, we shall for example try to respond to the following questions:

What did motivate CENFACS to become member of NGOs?

What were the legacies of this membership?

Did this relation strengthen or weaken CENFACS?

What did CENFACS bring to these organisations?

Did this relation advance CENFACS’ networking platform?

What historical lessons can be learnt for CENFACS’ future and future membership development policy at CENFACS?

 

~ Art and Design for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development

 

As part of Art and Design Project for poverty relief and sustainable development, we are asking supporters to illustrate their ideas of Africa’s Health History into artwork.  You can post your artwork related to Africa’s Health History to CENFACS to share and make memorable difference in your own way.

 

~ Micro-Volunteer doing Smart Tasks with Smart Tools

 

We have started to use micro-volunteering by doing smart tasks with smart tools and techs (such as smart phones, tablets, development of gadgets, tech fixes, etc.) to re-engage with our supporters. 

Smart tasks are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound tasks and activities to generate and increase support towards our good and deserving causes.

These tasks briefly include the following: prospecting potential supporters, running questionnaires, recruiting new supporters, engaging with supporters, sending and receiving messages from supporter, following the leads etc.

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

To support CENFACS with Smart Tools and techs to Micro Volunteer doing Smart tasks, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

What the 65^th Issue is about

What we are interested in is the outputs created by voluntary organisations through the manufacturing or construction of goods (using small manufacturing facilities) from no direct inputs of natural resources.  The literature on manufacturing says that manufacturing is a proven development model for job creation, poverty reduction, income generation and sustained prosperity.

We are arguing about processes or activities carried out by Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) undertaking micro-industrial activities and belonging to the voluntary economy; processes and activities that create value for their beneficiaries and members.  They add value to an article at all stages of production, marketing and after delivery.

The notion of value often refers to business models that create profit margin between value created and captured on one hand and the cost of creating that that value on the other (with profit margin).  In the model depicts in this Issue, this difference does not create profit; it creates social impact (with zero margin).  If there is a positive margin; this will be reinvested without being redistributed amongst board members and other stakeholders.

The most important in this mechanism is that the development of these activities by ASOs enables them to make up their local voluntary economy and integrate it into regional value chains.  In doing so, this will make job creation, poverty reduction and other benefits even bigger.      

The following summary pages making this Issue expand on what we have just described.

 

 

Micro-industrial development and its impacts on poverty reduction in Africa (Page 2)

Industry as a particular way of organising production and a constant process of technical and social change can increase society’s capacity to produce a wide range of goods (p. 6), as argued by these three editors: Hewitt, Johnson and Wield (2).  It can as well enhance society’s capacity to reduce poverty.  This can happen whether it is about micro or meso or even macro-industry.  This impact can happen in any place of the world. 

Because we are dealing with Africa, this process of social and technical change can happen there at the level of small scale industrial activities run and developed by individuals, families, communities and organisations to come out poverty.  This is possible despite the limits of such approach to eradicate local or national poverty. 

For example, a small clothes maker can help reduce clothing poverty as it may be closer to the poor although a garment making factory can employ a hundred of thousands people may have more or a significant impact as a clothing industry.

(2) Hewitt, T., Johnson, H. & Wield, D. (1992), Introduction in Industrialisation and Development, edited by them for an Open University Course Team, Oxford University Press, Oxford in association with The Open University, Milton Keynes

 

Identification of micro-industrial activities of voluntary Africa-based Organisations (Page 3)

Often, when reference is made to the voluntary or not-for-profit organisations, activities that portray them are those of advice, aid provision, training, education, skills development, humanitarian relief, etc.  This reference suggests that there is not a process of transformation or manufacturing going on in these organisations.  This reference is often related to service sector because of the not-for-profit nature and status of these organisations.  Only few references are made about their industrial capacity and credentials.

The identification of micro-industrial activities by voluntary organisations shows that voluntary Africa-based Organisations (VASOs) are engaging in a number of activities that manufacture or construct goods in areas such as textiles, clothing making, wood, metal products etc.  They can process textile; make clothes; produce wood-based products, etc like some of VASOs in CENFACS areas of operation in Africa. 

 

Relationships between the voluntary economy and domestic value chains via micro-industrial activities by Africa-based Sister Organisations (Page 4)

The voluntary economy is this part of the economy that is represented by volunteer-involving organisations.  Value chain is a set of activities that an organisation can undertake to create value for its clients according to Michael Porter in book published in 1985 and titled ‘Competitive Advantage’.  If we follow Porter’s framework of analysis, we would have primary activities (i.e. inbound and outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales, service) and support activities (procurement, human resource management, technological development and infrastructure). 

Because we are talking about voluntary organisations, we would rather say the value created for beneficiaries.  The voluntary economy is based on not-for-profit value.  Value chains theory or analysis as described above is about value creation.  If the not-for-profit value created by voluntary Africa-based Sister Organisations making the voluntary economy can be part of domestic value chains, then there could be a relationship between the voluntary economy and domestic value chains via micro-industrial activities by Africa-based Sister Organisations.  However, the direction and the level may depend on the quality of this relationship.

 

Relations between micro-industrial activities and voluntary economy in the African context (Page 4)

The reading of economics literature and the experiences found on the grounds tell us that voluntary economy is a system which attempts to solve the basic economic problem of the allocation of scarce economic resources (e.g. natural resources, labour, capital, etc.) amongst infinite human wants with no expectations of financial reward.  This type of economy is made with unpaid workers but supported by freely given donations and tends to be labour-intense.  This type of economy can be found anywhere in the world including in Africa. 

Micro-industrial activities are any specific actions taken to manufacture or construct goods.  If these actions are carried out without any expectations of financial rewards by unpaid workers, then one can argue that there is a link between micro-industrial activities and the voluntary economy like we have seen in some of the voluntary African-based Sister Organisations.

 

 

 

L’intégration de l’économie volontaire dans des chaînes des valeurs (Page 5)

L’essentiel des rapports de nos collègues africains sur le terrain en Afrique suggère que l’une des questions à résoudre porte sur la mesure dans laquelle une bonne intégration de cette fraction de l’économie représentée par des organisations du secteur volontaire ou associatif dans des chaînes de valeur régionales et locales.  Car, ils jugent que cette intégration peut améliorer ou contribuer à la réduction de la pauvreté, sans oublier la possibilité d’un rehaussement de la qualité de la vie.

Puisqu’on parle des activités micro-industrielles, cette intégration sera, bien sûr, sur la capacité d’utiliser ce genre d’activités pour réaliser plus de résultats sur la plan de réduction de la pauvreté.  Des exemples avec des organisations combattant la désertification, la déforestation et la sécheresse démontrent que cette économie volontaire, si elle est bien poursuivie, peut avoir un effet déclencheur ou multiplicateur sur des chaînes de valeur entre des organisations et économies de ayant les mêmes objectifs qui sont ceux de combattre la désertification, la déforestation et la sécheresse. 

 

Réduire la faiblesse du tissu micro-industriel africain pour créer la valeur ‘réduction de la pauvreté’ (Page 6)

La réduction de la pauvreté passe par plusieurs moyens.  Dans le cadre de cet article, nous abordons cette réduction à travers le développement du micro-industriel tissu.

En effet, point n’est besoin de souligner que l’industrie en général a des effets sur l’agriculture et le service secteurs.  Plus le secteur industriel est fort et dynamique, plus ses effets seront considérables.  Plus ce secteur et son tissu sont faibles, plus leurs effets seront peu déterminants et donc peu influents pour réduire la pauvreté. S’il y a encouragement ou incitation de petits industriels du secteur associatif de produire plus, on peut s’attendre à des effets accrus sur la réduction de la pauvreté.  Car, ce secteur et ses produits (biens et services) sont proches de ceux qui vivent dans la pauvreté.

En restant dans le cadre de notre travail avec les organisations africaines du secteur associatif, particulièrement celles qui sont investies dans les activités micro-industrielles, on peut dire qu’il y a lieu de continuer à embrasser la micro-industrie pour résoudre la pauvreté d’aujourd’hui et de demain.  De notre part, nous allons les encourager sur ce chemin.

 

 

 

The industrial capacity of the voluntary economy through its powers and limitations to integrate regional value chains (Page 7)

The voluntary economy is this part of the economy related to the voluntary sector represented by organisations whose key aim is to create social impact rather than profit making.  Generally, they provide services which are part of the service sector and can be the lifeline of the economy.

In this Issue, we are talking about micro-industrial activities or manufacturing of products (goods) in small quantities using small manufacturing facilities.  These activities are run by voluntary Africa-based Sister Organisations (VASOs) although profit making organisations can also set up a voluntary arm.

The VASOs we are dealing with are those that produce small scale goods in the voluntary or third sector.  They try to change inputs into outputs to create poverty reduction value.  Due to the size of the VASOs, the volume of their activities as well as what they can produce (sometimes sale at concessional charges); there are limitations in integrating local and regional value chains. 

 

African women in micro-industrial activities and the voluntary economy (Page 8)

There are numbers of African women involved in income generating and micro-industrial activities in Africa.  These activities are in many areas of life-sustaining needs such as food production, clothes making, house building or construction, etc.  An example is the transformation of cassava or manioc roots into flour using local methods and basic industrial equipment.

Through their activities they create value to feed their families and communities; value that can be added to make local value chains.  Investing in micro-industrial activities run and developed by these women in Africa can even create more value chain effects and help to reduce poverty further.

 

Basic Survey about CENFACS’ Advice Service (page 8)

September is CENFACS’ month of advice for individuals and organisations.  In order to help us improve the way in which advice is organised and delivered, particularly our Virtual Advice Open Days and Hours, it will be good to tell us what you think about the way in which advice service is run by CENFACS. 

You can comment on our advice service via email and or by filling the comment box on our website.

Thank you for your support!

 

Skills for micro-industrial development and integration (Page 9)

To run micro-industrial activities and to integrate any value chains, it requires the development and upgrade of skills and capacities.  Particularly, this is even important for low- and medium-skilled workers as well as for skill-deprived organisations and areas. It is also relevant to meet changing demand of skills.

Amongst the skills to be developed, there are:

Cognitive, basic computer literacy, vocational, creative, trade, light manufacturing skills; as well as skills for various stages of goods production and to promote regional development etc.

 

Industrial skills auditing (Page 9)

This is a systematic examination and assessment of the quality and effectiveness of the skills of voluntary Africa-based Sister Organisations (VASOs) with the aim of finding out their appropriateness to the need of delivering micro-industrial development.  It is indeed an inspection of skills, knowledge and capacity to conduct micro-industrial activities.

To develop micro-industrial activities, VASOs need to have a certain level of skills (both in quantity and quality) which they may already have and need improvement if they do not possess them.  Then, these skills need to be developed or upgraded amongst their work force. 

To be able to know the skills they have and the ones they do not have, some skills auditing need to be undertaken.  Skills auditing will determine the skills gap they need to bridge in terms of skills set or base they require.  This audit will provide the necessary information and leads about the kinds of training on industrial skills development they need.

 

Environmental-friendly Micro-industrial Project, e-f m-i Project (Page 10)

This is an income generating project that aims at reducing poverty and hardships through the production of life-sustaining light micro-industrial goods from no direct inputs of natural resources while having a small environmental impact (by using renewable materials and consuming green items) and bringing a BIG impact on poverty reduction.  It is a volunteer-involving project that will create value that can be added to make up local value chains.

For further details (proposals) about this project and to support, please contact CENFACS.

For a paper copy of the 65th of FACS, please contact CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.

 

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

16 October 2019

Post No. 113

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign, Note No. 2 – In Focus (between 16 and 22/10/2019): Balanced Diets

• Autumn Humanitarian Appeal 2019 Launched!

• All-year round Projects, Edition 2019: Play, Run and Vote Projects

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign, Note No. 2

In Focus (between 16 and 22/10/2019): Balanced Diets

 

The second note of our theme of Upkeep of the Nature is Balanced Diets.  A balanced diet is mostly talked or discussed in the context of healthy life for the body, the mind and happiness.

From the perspective of our theme of Upkeep of the Nature, Balanced Diets will be approached from the view on how we can keep healthy life for our body and mind while reducing pressure on the nature through the foods and drinks we consume.

Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have provided further information about this second note.

 

 

 

~ Autumn Humanitarian Appeal 2019 Launched!

 

Our Autumn Humanitarian Appeal (AHA) 2019 was launched last week and can be found at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

It covers the following five projects: Skills for Value Chains, Save Flora and Fauna projects, Inequalities Reducer, Righters of financial deprivations and Hardship After Summer Holidays.

CENFACS is appealing to you to donate £2 to create 2 benefits (1 for humans and 1 for living things) as you wish to achieve one last benefit/relief. 

Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have provided further information about this Appeal.

 

 ~ All-year round Projects: Play, Run and Vote Projects

 

The three components of our all-year round projects (that is Run, Play and Vote) are back this Autumn.  As we are heading towards the end of the year 2019, one can hope progress has been made for these projects; records have been taken since these projects started in January 2019.

Under the Main Developments of this post, we have summarised what needs to be done for those engaged with these projects.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Micro-Volunteer doing Smart Tasks with Smart Tools

 

Last week, we provided you with some of the new ways we would like to add to our traditional ways of getting support.  This addition to our usual way of getting support we have called it as no direct cash donations support. 

Taking the same path in embracing the changes that are happening in the way charities get support, especially as we are increasingly in a mobile society, we will be using mobile technology and campaign to reach out to our supporters.  As a result, we have started to use micro-volunteering by doing smart tasks with smart tools (such as smart phones, tablets, etc.) to re-engage with our supporters. 

Smart tasks are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound tasks and activities to generate and increase support towards our good and deserving causes.

These tasks briefly include the following: prospecting potential supporters, running questionnaires, recruiting new supporters, engaging with supporters, sending and receiving messages from supporter, following the leads etc.

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

To support CENFACS with Smart Tools to Micro Volunteer doing Smart tasks, please contact CENFACS.

 

~ Burkina Faso Appeal Review: Feedback –

A Call for the Restoration of Life Normality

 

After reviewing the lack of peace and insecurity situation in Burkina Faso last week, it has been resolved to continue to follow the situation and development on the grounds as well as the peace initiative run by the G5 and the Burkinabe people themselves. 

Depending on the outcomes and evolutions on the grounds, we will make a judgement as to whether or not to launch a fresh humanitarian appeal.  The data we got so far does indicate that the insecurity situation is severe, but it has not reached a critical level there.

We are not waiting for the situation to reach a critical level to act nor are we wishing any humanitarian crisis to happen.  We are instead calling for the prevention of any further escalation of the situation that could lead to humanitarian crisis.  We are calling for peace, security and support for the displaced persons, amongst them women and children.  Our call is a call for the restoration of life normality for them.

We hope that our readers will take our message or call seriously while expanding their voices so that poor and vulnerable people in the displaced areas can find peace, return to their places and run their normal lives.

For any more elements about this call, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

~ “Quadranscentennial” (“Q”) Historicité: History of CENFACS-African Diaspora Organisations

 

This week, we are scrutinising through “Q” Historicité the links between CENFACS and the African Diaspora Organisations.  In particular, we are conducting some research in order to find out the answers to the following questions:

Why CENFACS got involved in the work and the shaping of African Diaspora Voices for Africa’s Development?

What were the outcomes and impacts on CENFACS and on these organisations?

Was a link with these organisations of convenience or a genuine model of working together to advance African matters? 

Would have been better for CENFACS to stay away from them?

Did this link strengthen or weaken CENFACS?

For any query regarding “Q” Historicité and any reactions about the history of CENFACS in its links with African Diaspora Organisations, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Main Developments

 

• “A la une” Campaign, Note No. 2 – In Focus (between 16 and 22/10/2019): Balanced Diets

 

In the context of “A la une” campaign, we are refereeing to balanced diets to deal with adverse impacts of climate change.  The message through our second note is about how we can help to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change through our diet. 

It is about adding to the classical model of balanced diet (which is of 50 per cent of carbohydrates, 20 per cent protein, 15 per cent or less fat, and 15 per cent fibre) a climate dimension.  Therefore, balanced diets will be approached from environmental and climate perspectives.  It is a diet that is environment-friendly as well.

 

~ What is an environment-friendly balanced diet?

 

We will be working on the right balance between for example plant-based products and meat consumption, between plant-based and sustainably-produced animal-sourced food.  This note is about improving our diet so that we can reduce the pressure on the environment regarding the foods (nutrients) and drinks (fluids) we consume. 

An environment-friendly balanced diet can contribute to our minds, bodies and happiness.  This is despite the fact that one can raise the issue of the cost of balanced diet.  Yet, the cost of destroying the nature through human diet could be higher than the cost of having a balanced diet, let one the catastrophe on the humanity.

 

~ What is finally a balanced diet within the context of climate change?

 

It is diet programme that enhances health while helping to reduce the life threatening impacts of climate change. 

It is about having a diet that does not upset the natural balance or balanced state of living things. 

It is diet that reduces pressure on the environment (for example reducing the killings of animals for meat consumption). 

It is a diet that can help to meet our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own consumption needs.

For more on this note, please contact CENFACS.

 

• Autumn Humanitarian Appeal 2019

 

~ What AHA2019 is about

 

It is about supporting life-sustaining needs of poor people, flora, fauna, communities and organisations in the context of life-threatening impacts of climate change in Africa.

We would like those who can to support this appeal which tackles both life threat and sustenance.

 

~ Why to support it?

 

Apart from our own findings and reports from colleagues and Africa-based Sister Organisations on the grounds in Africa, there is a number of data and facts that provide the reasons for one to support the above beneficiaries. 

One of these reports has been provided by UNICEF (1) which argues that

“Special attention is needed for sub-Saharan Africa, where child mortality rates are the highest in the world while population growth continues at a rapid pace (p.24)”.

UNICEF continues by saying that

“In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 2.8 (2.6, 3.1) million children under age 5 died – 52 per cent of all under-five deaths” (p.12)

To materialise this special attention and help reduce the uneven burden of child mortality in SSA, CENFACS is asking those who can to do something about this, particularly to donate £2.

The two pounds will be allocated to humans (£1) and to living things (£1).  The one pound for living things will help to reduce the threats of extinction to flora and fauna.

 

~ What your donation can do in the case of child mortality

 

£1 can help achieve any of these three outcomes:

√ Reduce a risk of death of children

√ Reduce the disparities or differences in rates of under-five mortality rate in Africa

√ Achieve an improved outlook of child sustainable development goals indicators

On the support page of this website (at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/), we are provided more supporting evidence and data for potential donors and funders to act and make the data change the life of the above stated beneficiaries.

Please visit this page at  http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/ and take action

 

~ How to take action about AHA2019

 

You could carry out one of the following actions:

√ Visit CENFACS’ e-Store at  http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

√ Donate £2 for this appeal

√ Take our AHA 2019 campaign forward

√ Recommend a friend to support this campaign

√ Talk around you about CENFACS’ AHA 2019, products and services

√ Put into practice the 8 Non Direct Cash Giving Options listed in our last post on this website

(1) UNICEF (2019), Levels and Trends in Child Mortality – Report.  Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation

    

• All-year round Projects: Best Country, Best Runner and Best Manager of 2019!

 

The three components of our All-year Round Projects – which are Play, Run and Vote – continue to be active during this Autumn.  One can hope that progress has been and every step has been taken to undertake actions and get the results or outcomes at the end of the year 2019.

To refresh memories, we would like to repeat the following.

If you are Playing the CENFACS Poverty Relief League (the World’s League without relegation) and its sub-project Le Dernier Carrẻ, there are 16 team countries in this African Nations Poverty Relief and Development League playing each 32 matches/games each against the other.  Around this time of the year, there should be only eight countries remaining or qualifying in the games.

If you are Running for Poverty Relief and Development, you can do it alone or as a group.  Whether you are doing it alone or as a group, make sure you have in place a reliable system to record and monitor what you are doing. 

If you are casting your Vote for an International Development and Poverty Relief Manager of 2019, there are two and half months remaining until the end of the year.  Again, do have in place a reliable system to record and monitor what you are doing.   

Whether you are Gaming or Running or even Voting for Poverty Relief and Development, please keep a track record (including the facts, data, videos, reviews and images) of your Autumn activities to make and share your story with us and others.    

To keep your track record, you do not need sophisticated technologies or a specialist third party.  With your mobile phone only – if you have one – you can text, record voices, make a video, take pictures, make a short film, phone etc. to capture and communicate the impacts in your own words and numbers of any event or activity you are doing or taking part in this Autumn. 

Also remember, the final results or outcomes of any activities and actions from the All-year round projects, which are a summary of what would have happened during the entire year (meaning from January to the end of the year).   

At the end of this process and of the year, one should be ready to announce the 2019 Action-Results for either of the project: Run or Play or Vote.

The final Action-Results consist of finding out the following:

 

√ The Best African Countries of 2019 which best reduced poverty

√ The Best African Global Games Runners of 2019

√ The Best African Development and Poverty Relief Managers of 2019

 

If you have not yet thought about it, start thinking now and have your say about it!

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

09 October 2019

Post No. 112

 

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Giving no direct cash donations

• A la une (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Themed Activities

• Making Zero Hunger Africa

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ 8 No Direct Cash Donations: You can support CENFACS without directly giving cash

 

Ways of supporting charities have changed.  We too at CENFACS have been implementing these new ways of giving and generating incomes.   There are many ways that one can use to support CENFACS without directly given cash.  One can unlock barriers to no direct cash donations for CENFACS. 

Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have listed eight ways of giving no direct cash donations.    However, if you choose to donate cash, CENFACS will still accept your cash donations. 

 

~ “A la une” Themed Areas of Work

 

Our environmental campaign “A la une” has already started.  The selected composed notes or themed areas of work that would work together to shape the central topic or theme of “A la une” (theme which is Upkeep of the Nature) this Autumn have been given under the Main Developments section of this post. 

The first themed area of work is Sustainable Trajectories for the Nature (STN); themed area which kicks off from today the 09^th of October 2019. 

STN, which is our advocacy for nature’s rights, is a sustainable development initiative rooted in a deep need of the upkeep of the nature.  It helps us not only to advocate but also to put into action measures to keep the trajectory of rising temperatures below the goal of 1.5 degrees C in accordance to the Paris Climate Change Treaty.

Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have provided the periods and titles of composed notes or themed areas of work on “A la une” campaign.

 

~ Making Zero Hunger Africa in the Context of Life-threatening Impacts of Climate Change  and of Armed Conflicts

 

Making Zero Hunger Africa (MZHA) is one the CENFACS XI Starting Projects for this Autumn.  MZHA has to be placed in the context of the United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, Zero Hunger being Goal number two (i.e. Achieve Zero Hunger target by 2030) among them.  MZHA is also in line with similar global projects working to eliminate hunger across the world and Africa. 

We had to keep advocating against hunger in Africa as hunger is on the rise there.  In a joint report published this year by the FAO and other agencies (1), they state that

“Hunger is on the rise in almost all sub-regions of Africa, where the prevalence of undernourishment has reached levels of 22.8 percent in sub-Saharan Africa (p. XVI).

The number of undernourished population reached almost 260 million people in 2018, with more than 90 percent living in Sub-Saharan Africa (p.XIX)”.

As we are operating in the context of life-threatening impacts of climate change, we will include in the MZHA the needs of people and communities sensitive to weather events (such as drought) and those affected by armed conflicts. 

The same joint report points out the following:

“Drought-sensitive countries in sub-Saharan Africa in sub-Saharan Africa have seen the prevalence of undernourishment increased from 17.4 to 21.8 percent over the last six years (p.7)”.

“In conflict-affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of undernourished people increased by 23.4 million between 2015 and 2018 (p.8)”  

For more about the MZHA, please contact CENFACS. 

(1) FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2019: The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 – Safeguarding against economic slowdowns and downturns, Rome, FAO.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Feedback about Climate Action Summit Follow up

 

After following up the Climate Action Summit held last September by the United Nations, we have looked at the list of announcements and commitments made at the end of this Summit.  Particularly, we have examined the extent to which they will affect the people and organisations we work with.  We have identified three key areas of interest which include the following:

√ New climate investment platform that will mobilise US$1 trillion in clean energy investment by 2025 in 20 least developed countries

√ Transition from brown to green energy and its implications for the poor and poor people budget

√ Transition from the grey to green economy and its consequences for poverty reduction

These three key areas will be included in our future advocacy work while we are keeping an eye on future discussions and developments on the two transitions and investment platform.

To add your inputs and or find out more, please contact CENFACS.   

 

~ Burkina Faso Appeal: Review & Discussion

 

This year, we made an appeal regarding the insecurity situation in Burkina Faso.  Some efforts and initiatives were made through various platforms including the G5 to secure a peace deal in Burkina Faso and the region surrounding it.

Since the insecurity is continuing, insecurity expressed by an increase in attacks by armed groups and self-defending militia, we are reviewing and discussing the insecurity situation in Burkina Faso this week.

According to the local source, nearly 300,000 people have been so far displaced.  People are fleeing violence and civil attacks, and amongst them are women and children who are trapped in this insecurity.

There is a threat of State collapse with possible damaging ramifications and contagion in the neighbouring countries. 

We are therefore reviewing and discussing our previous appeal on Burkina Faso in the light of the current difficult moments that ordinary and civilian defenceless people in Burkina Faso are undergoing in face of this insecurity and daily threat or attacks.  

To enquiry about this appeal review and discussion, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

~ “Quadranscentennial” (“Q”) Historicité: CENFACS in History

 

Our history month continues with the “Q” Historité, which is the study of historical character of CENFACS as a “Q” organisation.  This week, we are still unfolding the history of CENFACS by looking at the timeline of CENFACS and trying to analyse the key features, moments and the types of organisations CENFACS worked with throughout the last 25 years..

To engage to the above work, contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Main Developments

 

• A la une Composed Notes or Themed Areas of Work

 

During the following periods within this Autumn and “A la une” season, CENFACS’ advocacy on environment will focus on the following areas from the beginning of every Wednesdays (starting from 9 October 2019) to the rest of November 2019.

 

Periods                                 Titles of notes or themed areas of work

09/10 to 15/10/2019              Sustainable trajectories for the nature

16/10 to 22/10/2019              Balanced diets

23/10 to 29/11/2019              Biofuel crops and new forests

30/10 to 05/11/2019             Reduction of coastal extreme events

06/11 to 12/11/2019               Options to adapt to changes and change habits

13/11 to 19/11/2019               Extra protection from wildlife extinction

20/11 to 26/11/2019               Land use, food system & climate needs

27/11 to 30/11/2019             “A la une” monitoring and evaluation

 

In total, there are seven themed areas of work starting from the 9^th of October 2019 and thereafter every Wednesdays until the end of November.  These activities will help us to re-communicate our environmental message for the upkeep of the nature in existence as well as triggering changes with our leaves of action.  At the end of these notes, we shall carry out monitoring and evaluation.

To engage with “A la une”, contact CENFACS. 

 

• Eight No Direct Cash Donations: Other Ways of Supporting CENFACS this Autumn and Beyond

 

Ways of donating to charities have changed.  We too at CENFACS have embraced this change or evolution in our way and pace of getting support.

Those who would like to support CENFACS by using other means than directly giving cash, they can consider the following.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The above is just the few examples of ways of helping that one can think of or come across with to support CENFACS without having to directly give cash.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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.

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.

With many thanks.