Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

24 July 2019

Post No. 101

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Happiness Projects 2019 in a Changing Climate

• Summer Festival, Seven Days of Development in July 2019 – Days 1 and 2

• Happiness Budget 2019 

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ Happiness Projects 2019 in a Changing Climate

 

Happiness Projects are the second part of our Summer Programme; the first part being Appeal Projects.  The Appeal Projects are currently running under the banner of Humanitarian Relief Appeal to Africa.  Further information on them and the way of supporting them can be found at

As to the Happiness Projects, we have integrated the climate element or changing patterns of climate in them.  This integration implies that each of the projects making happiness this Summer will have a climate content in it.

For more on the 2019 version of Happiness Projects, please read them under the Main Development section of this post.  

 

 

 

~ Summer Festival, Seven Days of Development in July 2019 – In Focus for this Year:

Can Democratic Transition Transform the Lives of Poor people in Africa?

 

The 11^th Edition of our Summer Festival has started since Monday the 22^nd of July 2019 as scheduled.  The first two days have been devoted to Life transformation (Day 1) and Democratic transition experiences (Day 2) respectively.

For those who are making any contributions in the form of thoughts and comments, it will be good to stick to the daily themes as planned.  Likewise, it makes easy for the good running of the festival to be short and precise in making thoughts or comments.

This will allow to quickly capture the impact they are making.   This will as well in this way enable us to measure the Festival’s aims and the difference that it will make to the lives of those who are looking into democratic transitions to address their needs.

For those who have not yet engaged with Festival, they can still join the thoughts.  There are still four days to go and topics to think about.  They can as well share the festival views with those who may be interested in. 

Thank you!

 

~ Happiness Budget 2019 – 

Budgeting and Delivering Happiness in a Changing Climate

 

In our planning process of Summer of Happiness Projects, we started a few weeks ago by budgeting Summer Holidays with what we call Happiness Budget. 

This week, we are continuing the budgeting process while starting to deliver on other parts of the Happiness Projects as Summer Holiday has just begun for some children, young and families. 

We are still available to discuss people’s Happiness or Summer Holiday Budgets for those who want us to do so.  For those who are struggling with their Happiness Budgets, CENFACS is prepared to look into their Summer Budgets. 

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

The above six accounts cover the six items of happiness which we mentioned last week. Where possible, the effects of climate change will be included to reflect a budget of a changing climate. 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Happiness Projects 2019 in a Changing Climate and “Quadranscentennial” Year

 

To the theme of Happiness in a Changing Climate for this year’s Happiness Projects, one needs to add that we are in CENFACS’ “Quadranscentennial” (“Q”) year.  Because of this, we may need to deliver Happiness Projects in a Changing Climate while being in a “Q” Year.  In other words, we can ask ourselves what makes poor children, young people and families happy (or unhappy) over Summer and beyond in the conditions of continuing change in climate like in recent times.  Likewise, questions should be asked and answered about what can be done for their happiness lasts longer beyond Summer, let say for at least 25 years or more?

This is our “quadranscentennialisation” of happiness projects in a changing climate.  However, maybe the climate may stop changing as the world is working hard (under the Paris Climate Treaty and each country’s own climate change goals) towards the reduction of adverse effects of climate change by 2050.  Before this happens, let us keep thinking and working together with these project beneficiaries for the well-being and welfare.

 

 

 

~ CENFACS Analytics Dashboard: Poverty Relief Diagnostics

 

We can work together with Africa-based Organisations (ASOs) to diagnose their poverty relief systems to find out if there is any fault or not.  We can carry out diagnostic tests or assessments on their poverty relief systems or models of working with others.

Poverty relief diagnosis is the discovery and identification of poverty relief issues from the examination of symptoms.

CENFACS’ Poverty Relief Diagnostics is a platform for data diagnosis to support ASOs to establish sound poverty relief practices and systems.  In our diagnostic process, we take the following steps.  We do the history of the poverty issue, examine it, conduct tests, confirm these tests and compare them to the defined cases. 

To take a trial to our Poverty Relief Diagnosis and or to enquire, please contact CENFACS.

 

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

 

We only have one week left for our Analytics month.  We are for the third time appealing to you to tell us in your own words and numbers your perceptions, feelings and experiences about the programmes and projects we ran in the last 345 days preceding the beginning of July 2019.

Although we have selected 22 projects for monitoring and evaluation, we are not expecting people to provide feedback on all of them.  People can only feedback on the project(s) and programme(s) they benefited from, they supported, they recommended users to us or interacted within.  Please feel free to say what you experienced.  

Again, thank you for your experiential support!

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Happiness Projects 2019: Happiness in a Changing Climate

 

~ Understanding CENFACS’ Happiness Projects

 

This year, we are going to focus on Happiness in a Changing Climate.  In other words, our centre of interest is on what keeps children, young people and families happy (or unhappy) over Summer and beyond in the conditions of climate change, especially its adverse effects.  In order to keep them happy, there is a need to budget and deliver Happiness or Happiness Projects.

CENFACS’ Happiness Projects are poverty-relieving responses to bring joyful lives while reducing misery for poor children, young people and families over the summer period and beyond.  The underlying principles or philosophy of these life evaluation projects are in line with the main factors or indicators that define happiness as both a social and personal concept as explained in World Happiness Reports edited by Helliwell, Layard and Sachs (1). 

These editors distinguish the social foundations of happiness from personal happiness, although the two are complementary.  They argue that the science of measuring and understanding subjective well-being and happiness indicates that to be happy, one needs to meet the following six key variables that explain happiness differences among countries which include: income, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on in times of trouble, generosity, freedom and trust.  

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

CENFACS Happines Projects address the issues encapsulated inside the above variables and factors while keeping in mind first the needs of the CENFACS Community.  This is because we think the way to keep people happier is to reduce as much as possible poverty and misery among them.   Happiness is about ending poverty and misery.   As we have brought in the concepts of changing climate into our happiness projects, happiness is finally about ending poverty and misery amongst children, young people and families in an era of changing climate.

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

 

~ Delivering Happiness with 6 Projects for 3 Beneficiaries

 

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

 

Summer is a holiday season of the year during which most of the schools are closed and families with children and young people in much needed help are forced to stay with them and or use this time of the year to take holiday.  The usual routine of educational/academic establishments with their recreational activities is scaled down.  Yet, these families are in need of seasonal activities and programmes for improving their well-being and happiness. 

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

The following CENFACS summer 2019 initiatives can help in achieving some joyful and helpful summer plans, goals and outcomes in a changing climate. 

CENFACS Happiness Projects include: 

 

1) Happy Summer Break 

2) Holiday with Relief 

3) Removing Vulnerability Peacefully 

4) Sustainable Summer 

5) VISIBLENESS and ONUS (Concept projects) 

6) Networking for Protection & Safeguarding. 

 

The above Happiness Projects may have kept the same names like in the previous Summers, but their contents have to be placed in the context of happiness in a changing climate this year.  Last year, our Summer content was about the Locals since we were in the Local Year at CENFACS.  This year, the content revolves around the changing climate.

These projects are the combination of skills, knowledge, resources, tools, boosters and tasters for poverty relief.  We have considered the effects of climate change all over our Summer 2019 Programme.  The consideration of the effects of climate change all across is what makes Summer 2019 of its kind. 

Previously, this consideration was mainly and only made for Sustainable Summer project.  This year all the six Happiness Projects will have a green and sustainable content.   They will be a climate changing content in them.    

This is done to help improve life evaluation while taking actions to enhance the same life in a changeable climate.  In this way, Summer can be a season of Happiness NOT of Misery for unserved and under-served children, young people and families who are at the same time victims of the adverse effects of climate change. 

They are the victims of adverse effects of climate change because climate change affects the way we dress, eat, house, educate, entertain, care for our health, and above all the way we pass our Summer holiday. 

For details about CENFACS Happiness Projects 2019 and to access them, contact 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!

17 July 2019

Post No. 100

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

  

• “Quadranscentennial” Year and Project – In Focus on 20/07/2019: CENFACS As Analytical Centre (Act No. 4)

 

• Summer Festival, Seven Days of Development in July 2019 – In Focus for this Year: Can Democratic Transition Transform the Lives of Poor people in Africa?

 

• Coming out this Summer: The 64^th Issue of FACS Newsletter, Issue Entitled as Inequalities of Poverty Reduction – Make Them Disappear

  

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ “Quadranscentennial”  (“Q”) Year and Project – In Focus on 20/07/2019: CENFACS As Analytical Centre (Act No. 4)

 

Our “Q” Year and Project continues this week and month with the fourth Act, which is CENFACS as Analytical Centre – the Analytics Act.  This Act is about the analytical work of CENFACS in its capacity to analyse poverty situation as well as examine the responses brought to poverty over the last 25 years.

It is also about the working tools, indicators, theories, models and frameworks we have been using over the last 25 years in order to measure poverty, results in terms of poverty reduction and prospects for policy development as part of the analytical work. 

We have assembled the various elements making this fourth Act for your readship, information which you can find under the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

 

 

~ Summer Festival, Seven Days of Development in July 2019 – In Focus for this Year: Can Democratic Transition Transform the Lives of Poor People in Africa?

 

The 11^th Event of our Summer Festival, known as the Seven Days in Development in July (7DDJ), will focus for this year on Democratic Transition in Africa and its Transformative Effects on Poor People there. 

This year, Africa is undergoing a new political landscape whereby some countries would hold elections for the first time after so many years or decades of democratic vacuum.  This is the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo that is transiting to democratisation processes.  Other African countries would have enhanced their democratic processes with improved elections like Nigeria.  Others (such as Algeria) are still keeping on arguing on the best possible terms and conditions for their democratic process. 

Whether they reconnected with democracy through their first elections since sometimes or improved their electoral process or even are still discussing their idealistic electoral system; all these countries are in the process of democratic transition until they reach a full democracy model.  Democracy is unfinished business cycle that has different stages: a beginning, improvement, peak and maturity. 

However, in this democratic trajectory or experience there are expectations and demands to meet.  One of them is life transformation for or the needs of poor people.  Can these democratic processes which have started or been improved or even been in discussion deliver life transformation for poor people?  

This is main menu of our Summer Festival of Thoughts, Actions, Shares and Spreads for this year.  It is our Seven Days of Development in July 2019.  This Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions against poverty and for sustainable development will be held between the 22^nd and the 28^th of July 2019.  

For more on this year’s Summer Festival including how to participate, please read the notes under the Main Developments section of this web post.

 

 

 

 

~ Coming out this Summer: The 64^th Issue of FACS Newsletter, Issue Entitled as Inequalities of Poverty Reduction – Make Them Disappear

  

For various reasons, support, services and products directed to reduce poverty do not always reach people in need in the same way, pace, speed, time and value everywhere.  This concerns as well the institutions, infrastructures, opportunities, resources, assets and systems to deal with poverty.  This can create inequality in poverty reduction wittingly or unwittingly.  This is not only between men and women. 

The 64^th Issue of FACS, CENFACS bilingual newsletter, will be dealing with the lack of equal support to the poor in the process of ending the lack of income, of material possession, sufficient consumption and energy, education, housing, etc.   

The Issue deals only with poverty issues created and exacerbated by economic  inequalities of support, institutions, infrastructures, opportunities, services, products, access etc.  These issues make the reduction of poverty slow, difficult and sometimes impossible.  The Issue does not deal with affluent people seeking more rights to maintain their lifestyle, image and social status. 

The Issue will discuss possible ways out by making these economic inequalities to disappear.  As it is said, these probable ways will be discussions and exploratory paths but not ready-made solutions to inequalities which are very complex matters, especially in developing societies like of Africa.

More about the Issue’s contents will be released in due course.  However, to enquire and or reserve a copy, please contact CENFACS.

 

        

 

Extra Messages

 

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

 

We only have two weeks left for our Analytics month.  We are for the second time appealing to you to tell us in your own words and numbers your perceptions, feelings and experiences about the programmes and projects we ran in the last 345 days preceding the beginning of July 2019.

Although we have selected 22 projects for monitoring and evaluation, we are not expecting people to provide feedback on all of them.  People can only feedback on the project(s) and programme(s) they benefited from, they supported, they recommended users to us or interacted within.  Please feel free to say what you experienced.  

Thank you for your experiential support!

 

 

 

 

~ CENFACS Analytics Dashboard: Key Performance Indicators

 

Besides Poverty Relief Metrics, we can as well measure the relationships of inputs to outputs, of support to outcomes and impacts as instruments giving information about the level of achievement in poverty reduction work.

We can work with Africa-based Organisations to measure their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) whereby we can together define and establish a set of KPIs to track and measure.

We can even green their KPIs by also tracking their sustainability and green indicators.  This could help them improve their green and sustainability policies on the road of reducing carbon print or emissions.

Measuring what they receive or buy to what they produce can enhance their organisational value as poverty-relieving and sustainability-enhancing organisations.  This can create or increase trust and further support for them.

   

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

 

Every occasion or every season is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships.  Summer, which is a Happiness season at CENFACS, is a marvellous time to spread a little extra happiness to those who do not have. 

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

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

You can do something different this Summer 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 summertime and or any time of the year

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

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

 

 

 

 

Main Developments

  

• CENFACS as Analytical Centre

 

Our project of celebration of CENFACS’ 25 years since existence continues this month by looking at the analytical aspects of CENFACS.  This is the fourth Act of the “Quadranscentennial“ (“Q”) Year and Project (Analytics Act).

In the previous Acts (Acts 1, 2 and 3), we took an historical and storytelling approach to travel back to year 1994 to explain what made CENFACS an organisation it is today.  These were the Protection, Volunteering and Creation Acts respectively.

In this fourth Act, the Analytics Act, our approach will be explanatory and analytic while still keeping history in our mindset.   This July Act will be about how CENFACS as a centre analysed the poverty conditions of people in need we worked with and their organisations, poverty data as well as what we tried to do about these issues.

To proceed with the Analytics Act, we will be dealing with fourth areas of analytical remembrance: analytical attributes of CENFACS, the way in which CENFACS made patterns in data to speak and work for poverty reduction, data sharing and making sense of patterns in data management.

 

• • Analytical attributes of CENFACS

 

There are five as follows.

 

1) CENFACS as an analytical centre

 

Over the last 25 years, the particularity of CENFACS was and remains to be able to do research, interpret and communicate the findings and significant patterns in data (whether they are small or big ones) and applying these patterns towards effective decision making process in poverty relief matter.

CENFACS dealt and deals with a set of data that follows a recognizable form.  In other words, a series of data that repeats in a knowledgeable form.  In doing so, we tried to find out whether or not there was a link between two variables, whether or not certain groups have attributes.

In this process, we used and continue to use basic mathematics or numeracy, statistics, accounting, development theories and paradigms, models for planning and forecasting, learning and development to find patterns in data.  We produced charts, tables, metrics, reports and other analytic tools as part of dealing with patterns in data.

As a matter of fact, we analysed and summarised patterns in data about poverty issues in Africa.  We analysed for example the patterns in data of African children as international migrants.  We noticed there was a recognizable or common form in them regarding the migration reasons.  One of the reasons was the search for better life or as some may call it the syndrome of better life.

These analyses and summaries can be found in our newsletter titled FACS and in our various publications including our website.  Some of them are put in the public domain while others are designed for in-house purpose only.   We also used these findings in data to produce and conduct our advocacy work.  This is because to speak on behalf or with people, we need evidence (sometimes hard one) in the form of data.

 

2) CENFACS as a data researcher

 

Over the last 25 years, we researched and collected data as well as consolidated them into a single place that can be easily retrieved and instantly evaluated.  As a researcher, CENFACS did systematic investigation to collect information on meaningful patterns in data on poverty and sustainable development issues.

This is why research and development are central in what we do as an organisation.

 

3) CENFACS as a data interpreter

 

We did not only collect data.  We also made and continue to make sense to numerical data we collected while analysing them before presenting them.  In this process, CENFACS explained the meaning of patterns in data used for poverty relief and sustainable development as well as to formulate policies and enhance good practices.

An example of this use over the last 25 years was our ability to use data in our translation service (French to English and vice versa) to convey users’ idea of the meaning of poverty relief.  In this respect, our translation service was and continues to be a valuable tool for poverty relief. 

 

4) CENFACS as a data communicator

 

CENFACS was (and will remain) the place to be for the exchange of data from one place to another via computers, posts, e-mails, phones, digital messages etc.  We exchanged the data and information we analysed to make known the patterns in poverty relief.  We exchanged them within CENFACS, between CENFACS and other stakeholders (such as Africa-based organisations, African Diaspora organisations, UK non-governmental organisations, voluntary and community organisations, funders etc.).

It is not by chance that CENFACS won the Communication Awards in 2007.

 

5) CENFACS as a data decision maker and applying organisation

 

CENFACS did not only find patterns in data in the last 25 years, it also applied these patterns in data to complete its decision making process on poverty relief and sustainable development. 

Examples of this application can be found in most of our advocacy work where we constantly used patterns in data to guide and shape our advocacy.

 

• • Making patterns in data speak and work for poverty reduction

 

CENFACS did not let the data speak for themselves.  On the contrary, we made them speak and work for the poor.  We did it in alliance with them.  CENFACS made sure that the order or model of data was fitted for the purpose of poverty relief and sustainable development.

Examples of making patterns in data speak and work for poverty reduction include the ones we collected and analysed about the civil war in Rwanda in 1994, the wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s and the 2000s, floods crisis in various parts of Africa etc.

In this process of giving meaning to data, where we did not produce data ourselves we did not only rely on what organisations that produced them said about them.  We verified their data and analyses while comparing them with others from other reliable sources.

However, one of the drawbacks in dealing with data (both primary and secondary) was that we noticed repetitive lacks of available statistical apparatus or the lacks of local structures to produce reliable data in Africa, especially in situations where we were unable to produce our own statistics.

Sometimes, we had to rely on stories from local people, particularly on issues related to gender matters.  This is why we are recently looking for new forms of data in places of wars and environmental disasters where children have been affected to find out whether or not they are meeting sustainable development goals.

 

• • Data sharing and storage

 

The “Q” Project is also a celebration of data sharing.  We used both primary and secondary data.  Most of our primary data came from projects we run in the last 25 years.  For secondary data, we used statistics produced by multilateral agencies (such as the United Nations’ agencies), Africa development agencies, community and voluntary organisations and non-governmental organisations.  We also got data supplied by our own Africa-based Sister Organisations with whom we shared data.  We finally borrowed data from various academic sources working on similar issues like ours.

Our programme entitled “Building Bridges Building Bonds” is about working in harmony with other organisations for mutual understanding on issues of poverty while sharing experiences and through that sharing data as well. 

In 2005, we embarked on advancing Africa’s cause and poverty issues by networking with African Diaspora and civil society organisations through ADVAD (African Diaspora Voices),  AFFORD (African Foundation for Development), Connections for Development and BOND (British Overseas NGOs for Development) and other community organisations from the Black and Minority Ethnic background.  This networking enabled us to access data and to pass on our data as well. 

Since then, we continued to share data and information with organisations working on similar issues while being mindful of the previous and new general data protection regulations.  

Our celebration is finally about data storage through our Skills Data Bank for the CENFACS Community.  Thanks to the various projects we ran in the past 25 years, we installed a data system whereby people or the community can voluntarily register their skills, abilities and talents so that when opportunities arise from the market we can match their skills to the market occupational opportunities offered. 

So, our “Q” Year is a remembrance of both data sharing and storage.

To sum up, the Analytics Act is the celebration on how CENFACS dealt with patterns in data in order to respond to its own need and the needs of those living in poverty in Africa and the UK. 

More on CENFACS’ analytical work will be given on the 20 July 2019.  In meantime, we would like to thank all those who helped us in our analytical journey until today. 

Thank you very much for their support.

 

  

• Summer Festival, Seven Days of Development in July 2019 – In Focus for this Year: Can Democratic Transition Transform the Lives of Poor people in Africa?

  

Welcome to the Seven Days of Development in July 2019 Festival,

CENFACS’ Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions on Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development

 

This year’s event feature:

Can Democratic Transition Transform the Lives of Poor people in Africa?

 

THINK   ♦   ACT  ♦   SHARE    ♦   ADD VALUE    ♦   SPREAD

 

We have already introduced this Summer Festival.  We would like to add only the following.  This Summer Festival is about how poor people and their organisations (especially those from the voluntary and community sector) can use the space provided by democratic transition in Africa to meet the basic life-sustaining needs of education, shelter, food, health, sanitation, environment etc.

 

The focus will be on poor people and their representative organisations although other areas of democratic transition will make part of our thoughts. 

  

• • Event Guide & Programme

 

~ 7DDJ  Registration

 

Entry to the 7DDJ2019 is FREE.  There is no need to register.

 

~ Daily Themes

 

Daily Themes (DTs) provide a daily opening thought or starting point of the broad topic/issue on Democratic Transition.  Each DT will last all day and the only day it is planned.

 

~ Responses to 7DDJ Contributors

 

Each respondent will receive a reply to their contribution in the form of either an acknowledgement of their participation or a reaction expressed as an argument to their responses or even both.  Also, they will be entitled to receive the summary report on this annual event.

 

~ Lead Thoughts

 

Lead thoughts are a general idea on the thought of the day.  There are designed to lead to or generate more thoughts, potential research paths or investigative grounds that can be further explored to shade some lights to our Summer Thoughts.

MAKE YOUR IDEAS AND COMMENTS COUNT!

 

• • Daily Contents

 

Day 1: Life transformation

Life transformation under democratic transition: From democratic transition to poverty reduction in transition

Lead thought: Day 1 will be about the expectation that transition to democracy can rise in terms of the improvement of people’s life including the reduction and ending poverty to an extent that there could be hope of poor people’s life transformation.

 

Day 2: Democratic transition experiences

Democratic transition experiences in Africa: Learning and development for poverty relief

Lead thought: Democratic transition opens up some spaces for freedoms and capabilities  for everybody to improve their own lives.  There could be something to learn from people who experienced this as well as something to look forward.

 

Day 3: Links between democracy and poverty reduction

Relationships between democratic liberalisation processes (or liberal democracy) and poverty reduction in societies in mutation

Lead thought: Theoretically speaking, it could be argued that there is a correlation between transition to liberal democracy and poverty reduction.  In practice, it will be advisable to check this link in case of African societies

 

Day 4: Poor people’s democratic experiences

Poor people’s lessons and experiences of local democracy in Africa:  How poor people can make democracy work for them

Lead thought: There are examples and legacies of local democracy across and in many parts of Africa including in deprived and poor areas.  It will be interesting to know the experiences of poor people in making them meet their ends and needs

 

Day 5: Rule by poor people

Rule by the poor people as a transformative force: its scopes and limits

Lead thought: By definition democracy is the rule by people.  Again, it will be interesting to know poor people, who are sometimes been assumed to be powerless, use their democratic power to transform their own lives for good.

 

Day 6: Poor People’s democratic aspirations

How democratic transition can or cannot achieve poor people’s aspirations for freedom from poverty and hardships

Lead thought: It could be simplistic to assume that every time there is a democratic transition, the meeting of the aspirations of poor people will follow.  It could be a good idea to investigate the conditions under which any form of democratic transition can help materialise the democratic aspirations of poor people. 

 

Day 7:  Democratic services and products by African organisations

How Africa-based Organisations can use the windows of opportunity created by democratic transitions to provide democratic activities, services and products to further reduce and or end poverty in Africa

Lead thought:  Democratic transition can come along with it a wealthy window of opportunities.  It could be worth to look at how African organisations use the new political space to provide democratic services and goods to tackle poverty and hardships

 

• • Supporting the 7DDJ2019 event

 

7 Ways of Supporting 7DDJ2019

You could

√ Directly forward your thoughts, comments and views on any themes and topics of the event

√ Pass the message onto interested persons

√ Feedback on previous 7DDJF events

√ Promote the event around you and/or by using other means available to you and at your convenience

√ Help us re-cover the expenses of the event specifically and/or the running cost of CENFACS’ work generally

√ Regularly support CENFACS to enable us to continue our work

√ Support our new initiative about Democratic Services and Goods for Poor People in a Changeable Political Landscape in Africa

 

7 Ways of Proceeding with your Wish

Please choose below the kind of support you want to provide and let us know

√ Promote the event  

√ Feedback CENFACS on previous events

√ Spread the news about the event

√ Help in the recovery of 7DDJ 2019 expenses

√ Fund CENFACS for its deserving work              

√ Provide helpful and supportive comments/views

√ Support CENFACS in your own way

 

Please mail your intent to support and or support to CENFACS

Closing date for reply: 05/08/2019 

Please read the above event supporting information and mail us your comments and views (on the themes of your interest) to facs@cenfacs.org.uk

Thank you for your continued support.

With best wishes and full of inspiration and creativity throughout our dedicated days of Festival of Thoughts and Actions on: How Democratic Transition Can Transform the Lives of Poor people in Africa

The 7DDJ2019  Events Team

 

 

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!

10 July 2019

Post No. 99

 

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• All-in-one Impact Feedback: Tell It in Your Own Words and Numbers!

• Summer Festival, Seven Days of Development in July Festival: How Democratic Transition Can Transform Poor People’s Lives in Africa

• Analytics Month Continues…

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ All-in-one Impact Feedback: Tell It in Your Own Words and Numbers!

 

Project Supporters’ and Users’ Experiences

Our Analytics month continues with this week’s Say by Project Supporters and Users telling us the experiences they have had with the programmes and projects we have selected to conduct monitoring, evaluation and review.

We are asking Project Supporters, Users and other stakeholders to provide their views using their own words rather than we asking them to respond to open or close questions.

They can give us a feedback in the form of rating (numbers) and statement (words). This Say is about how they perceived and interacted with the products and services we presented to them over the last 345 days.

This feedback does not include the “Quadranscentennial” Project or Project 25 as this project is being monitored independently. We are separately carrying out the monitoring of the three Acts delivered so far for this project.

The selected programmes and projects for the purpose of monitoring, evaluation and review are listed in the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

 

 

~ Summer Festival, Seven-Days-of-Development-in-July Festival

 

This year’s theme is How Democratic Transition Can Transform Poor People’s Lives in Africa

With a number of elections taking place this year in Africa, many development experts and observers are questioning the impacts of these elections (or democratic transitions for some) on Africa’s development.

CENFACS alike is asking the impacts or simply the outputs or outcomes of these elections on the poor people’s lives in Africa.  In other words, CENFACS will be thinking on how democratic transition can or cannot transform poor people’s lives in Africa.

As usual, they will be seven themes for thoughts for seven days, one theme per day, starting from the 22nd to the 28th of July 2019.

The seven days of development in July are the days of thoughts and actions against poverty. The seven themes are the entry points in order to stimulate thoughts.

We shall soon publish the daily themes and supporting information regarding this year Summer Festival of Thoughts and Actions.

 

~  Analytics month continues…

 

Last week, we said that the name of the July game at CENFACS is Monitoring, Evaluation, Review and Analytics.  In other words, July is the month during which we conduct our monitoring, evaluation, review and analytics of the projects and programmes we delivered during almost last 11 months and 2 weeks.

We are still routinely gathering information on all aspects of these programmes and projects related to the above named period.  Likewise, we are assessing what these programmes and projects have achieved in relation to overall objectives we set up for them. Also, we are critically examining, reappraising or reconsidering our objectives and policies to achievements, and figuring out whether there is any progress or set back.

Besides the above three activities (monitoring, evaluation and review), we are working to find out, interpret and communicate patterns in data in a meaningful way to the work of CENFACS, as part of the analytics activity.

Once we have completed the July monitoring, evaluation, review and analytics, we shall communicate the findings to our respondents and any vested interested parties.

In meantime, we are inviting supporters and users to engage with us in responding and reacting to our poverty relief work in their own words and numbers.  They can rate and or provide a statement about these programmes and projects.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Humanitarian Appeal to Africa in a Changing Climate, and DRC Happiness Appeal

 

Our Summer Humanitarian Relief Appeal in a Changing Climate together with the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) Appeal are still active in our Summer campaign trail.

Our Appeals to help the Incapacitated Children and the Victims of Ebola virus as well as those at risk of it to live in happiness continue this week. Incapacitated Children are just a sample of those many children who desperately need happiness through any support they can receive this Summer.

Living in happiness for these children (in the DRC for example or somewhere else) could mean many things. However, we can agree that ending Ebola virus in their lives and communities in DRC could be the most wanted and precious relief.

The other things are to be happy in achieving the key variables of happiness which are: income, social support, healthy life, freedoms to make life choices, generosity and their perceptions of corruption.

You can support these Appeals by working together with CENFACS to deliver happiness to the incapacitated children in Africa as well as to the victims and those at risk of the Ebola in DRC.

To support, please contact us at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

~ Feedback in a Changing Climate

 

As you can notice from the above, our Summer theme of happiness in a changing climate is still on course. Our perception of happiness can also be affected by the climate change.  So do, the ways we can comment or feedback on programmes and projects that affect us and or others.

In the feedback regarding for example CENFACS programmes and projects, it is possible to say or add what is one’s feeling as well as how these programmes and projects affected one ‘s happiness in a changing climate.

To be more specific, let’s choose CENFACS’ Winter initiative of Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change. Inside this initiative, we speak about responsible consumption. If someone has to report or feedback, their feedback may be impregnated by the way in which the idea of low carbon print has affected what is sustainable or unsustainable consumption.  One can report on anti-pollution consumption.  So, the changeable climate can affect the way in which we perceive consumption as well as production.

 

 

 

 

~ CENFACS Analytics Dashboard: Poverty Relief Metrics and Africa-based Organisations

 

We can use our Poverty Relief Metrics (PRM) to measure the way in which our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) are trying to reduce poverty and hardships amongst their people.

This measurement can concern any levels of poverty (severe or acute, moderate, etc), any types of poverty (income, consumption, in-working, energy, gender, etc), and any other approaches to poverty (multi-dimensional, generational, human rights based etc.).

If you are an Africa-based Organisation and would like us to analyse your work on poverty relief, we can use our PRM to determine your efforts about poverty reduction.  This measurement can help boost your score as poverty-relieving organisation as well as attract more and better support towards your goals, business plan and work.

To request CENFACS’ Poverty Relief Metrics, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• All-in-One Impact Feedback: Tell it in your own words and numbers!

 

This exercise is meant to enable Supporters and Users (you might be one of them) to share with us and others the outcomes and learning experiences resulting from the use/application of the projects we have chosen from our Programmes for feedback purpose.

Please seize this opportunity to provide your own lines of thought for improvement, adjustment and development by sharing with us and others the outcomes and/or experiences resulting from the communications we have had with you and or your use/application or participation/support concerning the programmes and projects below.

We would like to know how effective and efficient did you find in these programmes and projects, and what lessons, experiences did you learn and development for the future of our poverty relief work in coming years.

We would very much appreciate if you could provide us a feedback (via e-mail, text, phone, web comments or reviews etc.) in your own words and numbers regarding the way in which the named programmes and projects below have affected you and/or the people you recommended to use them.

You could to rate (by using numbers or percentages) these programmes and projects or provide a statement (by using words) or even both. This is aptly up to you.

Remember, we can only help reduce poverty and do the changes we all want if you tell us what you think.

Please consider our request for feedback and for your report.

 

8 EIGHT SELECTED PROGRAMMES AND 22 SELECTED PROJECTS TO FEEDBACK

 

To facilitate the matter, we have grouped projects under the programme they come under, although some of them may intertwine between two or three programmes.

Also, we would like you to know some of the projects selected may have the same title like the year before. However, the focus and contents for this year and each year are completely different.

We have selected the following programmes and projects for feedback, 8 Programmes and 22 projects for your SAY:

 

1/ Selected projects under African Integrated Sustainable Development programme

 

Autumn 2018 Appeal to Support Projects for Needy People and Organisations in Africa (1)

Summer 2018 Humanitarian Relief Appeal to Support Needy Children, Young People and Families in Africa (2)

 

2/ Selected projects under Peace, Protection and Sustainability programme

 

Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (Phase 2) with Katowice Implements Paris as a working theme (3)

African Children and Sustainable Development Goals, Generation Global Goals (3G) project – In focus for 2019: In Search of New Forms of Data (4)

Protection Month (April) and Weeks centred around the theme of Protection against Floods (5)

 

3/ Selected projects under African Rebuilding and Sustaining Infrastructures and Lives programme

 

Light Projects (6) –

Algeria Peace Appeal: Bringing and Lighting a Blaze of Hope for a Peaceful Transition to Political Democratisation Processes in Algeria

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

CARRA Appeal: Lighting a Blaze of Hope for the Victims of Conflicts in the African Central Republic and Region

DRC Appeal for Sustainable Peace, Rebuilding Infrastructures and Lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo

End Ebola in DRC: the DRC Health-enhancing Emergency Appeal

Lake Chad Basin Appeal: the lake Chad Basin Appeal for Peace, Food and Water

Rebuilding Africa (7) –

Rebuilding Destroyed Lives for the Victims of Climate and War Events – Rebuilding Appeal for Burundi, Madagascar and Niger

 

4/ Selected projects under Poverty-Environment programme

 

Climate Action Month (March 2019), Weeks and Themed Areas (8)

Save Flora and Fauna Projects (9)

“A la Une” (Autumn Leaves of Action to Upkeep the Nature in Existence) Campaign and themed activities (10)

 

5/ Selected projects under Individual Capacity Building and Development programme

 

Basic Community Support (Advice-giving Service) with Virtual Open days and Hours (11)

June Month of Environmental Sustainable Creative Initiatives: Create and Innovate in Uncertain Times (12)

All-in-Development Story Telling Series under the theme of Life Renewal (13)

Art and Design for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development (14)

 

6/ Selected projects under the Twenty-tens Poverty Reduction Programme – Revised Version (2017 – 2019)

 

World Anti-poverty System (e-mobilisation call and days for the two mantras run) (15)

All-year-round projects (Play, Run and Vote) (16)

Track, Trip and Trending Initiatives (17)

 

7/ Selected projects under the New Media and Digital programmes

 

FIDILI Skills Development Project – Integrating Financial literacy and Digital Literacy Skills to Help People Help themselves (18)

CENFACS’ Online Store (19)

 

8/ Selected projects under Transitional Capacity Building and Development Programme: Support Infrastructures, Develop Capacities and Create Impacts

 

Adaptation for Building Capacity and Development (ABCD) project (the project has four components: adaptation to the new economic change, building of human capacity in a new economy in order to develop in a better and sustainable way) (20)

Project MISATU (Project M): Making Impactful Support to Africa Together with Users (21)

TRIANCONTADI Project (or Project 32 or The Simple Road to a Post-Regional Economic Integration Thriving Development World project): Together for Renewal of Infrastructures in Africa to Create Opportunities and Needed Transformations for Alternative Development Intergenerational (22)

The above programmes and projects may seem a lot for a feedback purpose. However, what we have done is to give to people the opportunity to choose or pick the one (s) they know or associate with to feedback.

 

Thank you for considering our request of feedback and for your support.

Details and summaries of the above selected programmes and projects are available from CENFACS for request.

This feedback is due by the end of July 2019.

 

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!

03 July 2019

Post No. 98

 

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Analytics Month with All-in-one Impact Feedback

• Summer Financial Information Updates: How to Manage Finances in Economic Uncertainty

• Humanitarian Appeal to Africa in a Changing Climate

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ Analytics Month

 

July is our Analytics month as it is the time during which we conduct the monitoring, evaluation and review of our programmes and projects.  Through this exercise, we analyse what we did over the last 345 days, seize the outputs and, if possible, capture the early impacts made.

It is the time we review what worked well, what worked badly and what did not work at all.  We do it by bringing all together the programmes and projects as well as activities that made the preceding financial year.  This is what we usually call All-in-one Impact Feedback. 

It is a feedback because we ask all our stakeholders to give their opinions about our work.  We expect them to provide us with their reactions and feelings about our work.  This guides us to adjust and redevelops our programmes and projects.  In doing so, this gives us the opportunity to rebuild and reconnect with them. 

For more on All-in-one Impact Feedback and CENFACS’ Analytics month, go the Main Developments section.

 

~ Financial Update: How to Manage Finances in Economic Uncertainty

 

This Financial Update is a financial aspect and part of our Individual Capacity Development programme (ICDP) resources and is meant to help with updated financial information and awareness conducive to reducing the lack of financial information, lack that could be a source of income vulnerability or simply poverty.  

The resource provides a basic financial guidance, but not a financial support or funds for multi-dimensionally poor children, young people and families (MDPCYPFs).  The 2019 Financial Information Updates resource is on How to Manage Finances in Economic Uncertainty.

What the 2019 Financial Information Updates resource is about

In times of uncertainty like economic indecision due to multiple factors, there is a great need to use all the available skills, knowledge and sources of information in order to manage household finances carefully and prudently. 

The 2019 Edition of Financial Updates resource from CENFACS deals with ways of managing well our finances to deal with economic uncertainty or difficult times. 

The Edition speaks about the types of scenarios that poor people may face in the context of economic uncertainty.

It then proposes the different alternative ways of managing finances in each type  of these kinds of circumstances.

The Edition goes on in highlighting some of the financial techniques that one may need to master as well as the key financial and economic indicators to watch in times of economic uncertainty.  This is beyond the economic news given on a regular basis.  

The Edition finally covers the financial skills and capacities needed to well manage finances in this particular situation of economic uncertainty.  In doing so, the Edition explores ways of customising these skills to the need and demand of the poor people.

More on these Updates will be released soon.

 

 

 

~ Humanitarian Appeal to Africa in a Changing Climate

 

We have already kicked off our Summer programmes with Happiness Appeal to support the Victims of the Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  We are continuing the implementation of the first part of Summer programmes with a second appeal, which is Summer Humanitarian Appeal to Africa.

Details of this second appeal can be found on the support page of this website at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/ 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Mid-Year Monitoring of “Quadranscentennial” Year and Project (Q Y/P) Activities

 

As our Q Y/P keeps progressing, we are as well routinely and systematically gathering information on all aspects of this project.  Particularly, we are looking at this month the information we have collected and gathered about the activities and three Acts held so far.

In this mid-year process of monitoring or checking, we are studying what the data collected is telling us about what we have done so far as well as the direction of this Q Y/P.

For those who are associated with this Q Y/P as well as those who are following it, they can tell us what they think for the activities organised so far. 

Thank you for your participation and help.

 

~ DRC Happiness Appeal

 

Our Appeal to help the victims of Ebola virus and those at risk of it to live in happiness continues this week.  Living in happiness for them could mean many things.  However, we can agree that ending Ebola virus in their lives and communities could be the most wanted relief.  The other things are to be happy in achieving the key variables of happiness which are: income, social support, healthy life, freedoms to make life choices, generosity and their perceptions of corruption

You can support this Appeal by working together with CENFACS to deliver happiness to the victims and those at risk of the Ebola in DRC.

 

~ Happiness Budget for Poor Children, Young People and Families

 

It is always hard to ask the people who experience poverty, who literally have no income or income below the poverty line, to write a budget about their holidays. 

Whether a poor person takes holidays or not, they need a holiday budget or simply a budget to plan their sources of income and ways of meeting their expenses over the Summer holidays.

The holiday accounts help to assess where and how much help is needed.  Therefore, they need to do their income sums and build them into their holiday expenses or simply Summer expenses.

To discuss your Summer holiday budget, contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Monitoring, Evaluation, Review and Analytics

 

The name of the July game at CENFACS is Monitoring, Evaluation, Review and Analytics.  July is the month during which we conduct our monitoring, evaluation, review and analytics of the projects and programmes we delivered during almost last 11 months and 2 weeks. 

We have been routinely gathering information on all aspects of these programmes and projects during the above named period.  However, in July this monitoring exercise becomes more intense.  

In July, we also assess what these programmes and projects have achieved in relation to the overall objectives we set up for them.  The results of this evaluation fed back to improve these programmes and projects.

Still in July, we critically examine, reappraise or reconsider our objectives and policies to achievements, and see if there is any progress or set back.  This review enables us to improve.

Throughout the year, we work to finding out, interpret and communicate patterns in data in a meaningful way to the work of CENFACS.  We apply those patterns in our decision making process.  In July, we put extra emphasis on this analytics which becomes very pronounced.

Briefly, July is the time we do our Summer tracking by reconsidering the value and relevancy of our work, let one the overall state of our charitable work.  It is in this period of the year that we carry out what we call All-in-One Impact Feedback.  In other words, we try to track or capture the impacts of our work by considering all the pieces together as one.  

One of the tools we use to do our analysis is CENFACS Analytics Dashboard.

 

~ What is CENFACS Analytics Dashboard?

 

CENFACS Analytics Dashboard is an information management tool that tracks, analyses and displays key performance indicators, poverty relief metrics, CENFACS’ poverty relief league, etc. 

It monitors the health of CENFACS in terms of the relationships of support received to outputs and outcomes generated. 

It provides as well charts and summaries about some of the campaigns conducted. 

It finally helps to retrieve information from CENFACS repository about the resources to help users and supporters.

For more on CENFACS Analytics Dashboard, please contact CENFACS.

 

~ All-in-one Impact Feedback

 

Like last year, this year’s All-in-One Impact Feedback will be extended to include our XX236.3F programme as we are in the month of Monitoring and Evaluation.  

XX236.3F is our 2020 to 2030 to 2063 Follow up Programme.  We are following the implementation of the International Climate Change Agreement (or the Paris Treaty), the Istanbul Declaration, the United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals, and Africa’s Agenda 2063.  The four of them make up our  XX236.3F programme.

In brief, we shall conduct a follow-up and examination, look back and analyse data on the overall projects and programmes delivered during the above stated period, while keeping implementing our XX236.3F programme.

We shall publish soon the progammes and projects making this year’s Analytics.  In meantime, for any enquiries about the Analytics month, please contact 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!

26 June 2019

Post No. 97

 

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Thanksgiving Days: Supporters’ Days

• DRC’s Happiness Appeal

• Arts and Design Project: Skills in Art and Design

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ Thanksgiving days: Supporters’ Days

 

From 24 to 30 June 2019, we are thanking all our supporters (current and past ones).  We would like to take this opportunity to thank them (and you if you are one of them) for helping CENFACS IN ENHANCING AND SUSTAINING FREEDOMS AND CAPABILITIES BY WORKING IN ALLIANCE WITH LOCAL PEOPLE TO DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES.  

For more information about these thanksgiving days, please read under the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

 

 

~ Happiness Appeal for Children, Young People and Families Victims of the Ebola Virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo

 

After discussing last week (via CENFACS’ be.Africa Think-Together Initiative) the relationships between war (insecurity), health (via the outbreak of the Ebola Virus) and climate change; we are this week launching an appeal to support the victims of the Ebola virus and those at risk of it in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

This Happiness Appeal, which kicks off our Summer Humanitarian Relief in a Changing Climate, is designed to support the victims and those at risk of the Ebola Virus in the North Kivu Province of the DRC.

According to the World Health Organisation (1) in its Ebola situation reports, the total cases of those affected by Ebola in DRC were 2204 on 19 June 2019 while the number of deaths for the same was 1479.  Although these may fluctuate, there is an emergency to beat this deadly disease.

As long as this deadly virus is still rampant and running, there will not be happiness for the families and individuals affected by the virus.  Likewise, there will not be happiness for other persons and families who may be at risk.

This Appeal is therefore about helping to end the Ebola virus and bring happiness to the victims of Ebola, particularly but not exclusively poor children, young people and families.   The Appeal is meant to help deliver the well-being and happiness outcomes that can be met through the following six key variables: income, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on in times of trouble like of the outbreak of Ebola, generosity, freedom and trust.  These variables are explained in World Happiness Reports edited by Helliwell, Layard and Sachs (2).

From the World Happiness Report 2019, DRC has a 2016-2018 ladder score of 4.418 and is ranked as the 127^th country of the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption. 

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

(1) https://www.who.int/ebola/situation-reports/drc-2018/en/

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

 

~ Arts and Design Project: Skills in Art and Design

 

To carry on our Arts and Design project, we are dealing with skills in art and design for poverty relief and sustainable development in this last week of June. 

The focus in this activity is on finding out ways of helping people to develop skills in arts and design to communicate their poverty relief and sustainable development messages. 

The interest in doing it is to explore ways of making Arts and Design Skills that poor people possess to use them in achieving tangible poverty-relieving and sustainable development outcomes.

For further details about this third key message, please read under the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Summer Programme with Humanitarian Relief Appeal in a Changing Climate

 

Climate change has notoriously changed the way in which we dress, eat, house, care about health, and feel happy and unhappy.  It also changes the way in which poverty is relieved and our perception of poverty.  For example, cutting trees and burning woods at any times and any costs to get the fire to heat homes and cook meals are no longer regarded as a sustainable solution against poverty. 

Today, any humanitarian relief action conducted has to appeal as well to sustainable development.  In terms of this piece of work, it has to take into account the changing climate.  So, our humanitarian relief action for Summer 2019 needs to be sustainable or environmentally-friendly despite the pressing needs of the beneficiaries of this action.    The temporary support in terms of money, food, clothing, education, transport and so on given to people in pressing and special need should as well consider the changing climate, which in return may or may not change their needs.

In practical terms, when bring happiness to the victims of Ebola virus in the DRC, one needs to take into account the new needs that the changing climate pattern that influences upon those requiring this happiness.

For further information about this Summer programme, please continue to read CENFACS over this Summer.

 

 

 

~ Coming soon: Appeal to Support Projects for Needy Children, Young People and Families (Edition 2019)

 

Our Humanitarian Relief Appeal making Part One of our Summer Programme has kicked off with the Happiness Appeal for the victims of the Ebola Virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Sooner there will be another appeal, which is the main one, to support poor children, young people and families (CYPFs) in Africa over this Summer.

As usual the edition of Summer 2019 Appeal will focus on poor CYPFs who do not have any means to have a Summer of Relief because of poverty.  They get bound in their remote land and community without any hope.  They have never known any other ways of life except distress, hardship, desperation, vulnerability, helplessness and hopelessness.  

CENFACS’ appeal will be about asking supporters to bring some relief to them over this Summer.

Further information about this second appeal will be released soon as mentioned above.

 

 

~ “Quadranscentenniality” and Humanitarian Relief

 

Although humanitarian relief is a short term or temporary help, we can however have a “quadranscentennial” view of it.  Humanitarian relief is generally defined as a temporary support in terms of money, food, shelter or clothing given to people in special need.  We can “quadranscentennialise” humanitarian relief by making it the removal of distress or poverty for 25 years or more.

Humanitarian relief is conceived to deal with what appears to be an emerging or erupting crisis.  Relief (that is assistance in difficult time) should be as well as lasting endeavour so that people and communities affected by crisis do not go back to the same painful and distressful situation again. 

Therefore, there could be a need to “quadranscentennialise” relief by making it a lasting enterprise to a period of 25 years or more.  “Quadranscentennialised” humanitarian relief is more than just a painkiller or palliative.  It is a curative approach or cure against the disease of poverty, epidemics etc.  “Quadranscentennialising” humanitarian relief in this way is the most effective and efficient way of solving the problem of underlying poverty and hardships.

For more information about the possible link between “quadranscentenniality” and humanitarian relief, please contact CENFACS. 

 

 

 

 

Main Developments

 

• Thanking Days or Supporters’ Days

 

These are Special Days we would like to dedicate in thanking all those who contributed to our work for any types of support they have given us over this financial year.  This dedication is normally held in the last week of and by the end of June.  For this year, they are held from 24 June to the end of June 2019. 

As we are in CENFACS’ Month of Creation and “Quadranscentennial” Year, we shall find all sorts of creative, innovative and communicative ways of thanking our invaluable supporters and backers.  These thanking ways may include:

√ Conversing with our supporters over phones

√ Signing and sending thank you cards to them

√ Telling them the stories about the people and communities they helped through their support

√ E-mailing and tweeting them with messages of gratitude

√ Thank-you stories

√ Music and songs of thank you

√ Thank you videos and films

√ Giving back to you by volunteering our time to the cause you deeply care about

√ Free translation service (French to English and vice versa)

√ Telling African poems and poetry

√ Digital and technologically animated thank-you messages

√ Creative and design works symbolising thank you

√ Designed and hand crafted made objects and crafts of acknowledgement etc

If you are one of the CENFACS’ supporters, please we would like to let you know the Thanking Days at CENFACS are your Days.  Do not hesitate to get in touch, if you do not mistakenly hear from us, we will welcome your human touch, reconnect with you and thank you on the occasion for the helpful difference you made to our work and project beneficiaries.

Your invaluable support has meant a lot for our programme and project beneficiaries over this financial year.

We would like to express all our sincere gratitude to you for helping us to help reduce poverty.

For further details, contact CENFACS’ Thanksgiving End of June 2019 Team.

 

• Arts and Design Project: Skills in Art and Design

 

Developing skills in arts and design can help to overcome poverty and enhance sustainable development.

 

~ Art and design skills as a poverty fighter

 

Skills in art and design can be a rewarding way of fighting poverty and hardships by giving to the poor an artistic occupation or by buying their artistic makings to raise the funds they need to make ends meet, let alone helping them to make a career in the creative industry.

 

~ Art and design skills as an enhancer of sustainable development

 

Art and design skills can help to create and innovate products and services that do not pollute, deplete or destroy the nature, while meeting poor people’s needs and reducing carbon prints.

These skills could be handled on papers, digitally or physically with objects.

But, what are these art and design skills?

 

Art or artistic skills consist of the following:

 

Drawing, composition, identifying colours, painting, dress making, dealing with shapes, digital art handling, and visual art management.

 

Design skills can include:

 

Knowledge, observation, visualisation, experimentation, validation, communication, problem-solving and digital design.

Also, as part of the Skills Data Bank run by CENFACS, one can registered their skills in art and design with the CENFACS Community.

For further details about Arts and Design for poverty relief and sustainable development, please contact 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!

19 June 2019

Post No. 96

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Summer of Happiness – In Focus: Happiness in a Changing Climate 

• Arts & Design Project: Unknown and Unnamed Artists and Designers

• Creative Economic Development Month: Green Creations and Innovations

 

…   and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ Summer of Happiness – In Focus: Happiness in a Changing Climate

 

Life Renewal season will end soon with the official end of Spring while Summer of Happiness (SH) will start, although there are still life renewing projects that are on-going.  For every of these projects delivered so far, we hope you have found a user-friendly and -centred relief. 

For this year, the focus for SH will be on Happiness in a Changing Climate.  As climate change continues to affect and impact all the beings’ life, humans too are not exempted.  Climate change has affected the way in which we eat, dress, house, travel, and pass our holidays, as well as the way we feel (happy or unhappy) and our state of mind. 

To take into account these good or bad feeling effects and impacts, we are going to insert into happiness the new factors determining our state of happiness today.  So, our Happiness Projects will be impregnated with changing climate that affects our happiness.  In other words, we shall establish the relationships, if any, between CENFACS Happiness Projects and climate change.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided further details about this first key message.

 

~ Arts & Design Project: Unknown and Unnamed Artists and Designers of Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development

 

Artists and designers play an active role in helping to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  So, this week we are working on some of the works carried out by artists and designers especially those from small scale and charitable backgrounds, the local arts and designs products and services undertaken by local people and communities sometimes to make ends meet. 

These kinds of work can include those carried out by poor families, children, young people and those who are left out of the economic growth or upturn.  Additionally, there are as works carried out by unknown and unnamed artists and designers who may be amateurs or not professionals or not just celebrities. 

All these small pieces of art and design works can help relieve poverty and enhance the process of sustainable development. 

So, this week we are continuing our Arts and Design project by looking at the contribution that unknown and unnamed artists and designers are making in reducing poverty and hardships as well as enhancing sustainable development.

 

  

 

~ Creative Economic Development month: Green Creations and Innovations

 

Our Creative Economic Development month is still taking place as scheduled.  In the first week, our focus was on creation; that is on making things and thinking up new ideals of helping to reduce poverty and hardships.  This was and has been carried out through arts and design activities.

The second of week of the creative month was concentrated on innovation; that is on converting these new ideas into project proposals, on deploying these fresh thoughts, products and services to effectively reduce poverty and hardships.  It was about making our dream of the relief of poverty and hardships to come true or become a reality.  Again, this was conducted under arts and design activities to innovate for poverty relief and sustainable development.

In this third week of the creative month, we would like to recall the third component or green or environmental character of the Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Creative Initiatives).  We are doing it to reply to some comments made which tended to look at Jmesci only from the creation and innovation perspectives.

Jmesci is also and certainly about green or environmental initiatives.  These are the kinds of makings which do not pollute or degrade or even deplete the environment.  Green or environmental initiatives do not cause harm to the environment.  They achieve sustainable development and increase environmental restoration. 

To support the Creative Economic Development month and the week about green or environmental aspect of Jmesci, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ ReLive Issue No. 11 (2019 Edition): Spring Gifts of Renewing Lives in Burundi, Madagascar and Niger for the Flood Victims

 

Our Spring Appeal to donate £5 to any of the 14 Renewal Gifts to create 20 Reliefs in the above mentioned countries will come to an end in a week.   For those who would like to directly support but did not have the opportunity to do so, they can do it now. 

This appeal can also be supported indirectly by passing the message onto those who may be in position to support.

To support, contact CENFACS directly or go to: http: cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

 

 

 

 

~ CENFACS’ Be.Africa Think-together –

 

In Focus: Relationships between War (Insecurity), Climate Change and Health (via Ebola Virus) in the Democratic Republic of Congo

As the Ebola outbreak continues to claim its victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), particularly on the border between DRC and Uganda, CENFACS is working on the relationships between war (or insecurity), climate change and health (threatened by the Ebola virus). 

We are looking at how far war or insecurity can deny a legitimate State its statutory power and governing tools to control its borders as well as diseases or virus (such as the outbreak of Ebola) within the context of climate change.  

You can tell CENFACS’ Be.Africa Think-together project what you think. 

Better Africa (or Be.Africa) Think-together is an initiative of ideas and actions from CENFACS on matters related to Africa, in particular but not exclusively to Francophone Africa.  It used to be CENFACS Be.Africa Forum (or a get-together for ideas and actions for a better Africa).

 

 

 

~ Quadranscentennial (“Q”) Happiness

 

Our “Q” Year and Project continue in the season of happiness.  In the context of this season, we will be looking at ways of making happiness to last or sustain. 

In Summer, we talk about happiness and happiness season at CENFACS; but happiness is not only about one season or one time of the year.  Happiness is about everything, in every time and every occasion of life.  It is about what we do in life, at home, at work, in school, in our family and during holyday.

Happiness seen in this way should be a lasting or sustainable gift that links the current generations to the future ones.  In the context of “Q” project, we want to talk about happiness that lasts 25 years or more.  That is “Q” happiness. 

From this perspective, we are talking through happiness projects and programmes, which we can look at the legacies in terms of “Q” happiness outcomes over the last 25 years or beyond.

So, “Q” Happiness is about how CENFACS tried to bring happiness in the last years in the life of those in need.  “Quadranscentennialising” happiness in this way is a powerful way of looking at the legacies of happiness.

For further details about Quadranscentennial (“Q”) Happiness, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Summer of Happiness: Happiness in a Changing Climate

 

~ Life Renewal Season to Happiness Season

 

Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Creative Initiatives) and Arts and Design Project are the projects that have made the last part of Spring 2018 programme.  Both projects make our Creative Economic Development month.

In practice, Jmesci is the project that is ending our Spring Relief or Life Renewal season to start Summer of Happiness.  After creating and innovating for poverty relief and sustainable development, we shall enjoy the sunshine of Summer with Happiness and Peace. 

We would forward to Summer, although the warm weather has already started.

 

~ What is Summer for CENFACS’ Users and Beneficiaries?

 

Summer is a period of the warm sunny weather that we would like to associate with it at CENFACS.  It is the time of happiness that we all expect, after a long period of full time work and education.  We look forward to a break after such a long time of routine working life, especially as most of CENFACS’ projects and programmes are framed around the school timetable to suit and reflect the needs and living patterns of our users and beneficiaries.  This is despite that the fact that during Summer people are still working to keep their households and the economy running.

 

~ In focus for this Summer: Happiness in a Changing Climate

 

Generally, it is expected Summer to be warm and sunny.  In recent times or decades, Summer is not all the time warmer and sunnier.  The climate (that is the average atmosphere conditions prevailing in a particular region) is now much variable to the extent that summers are now not always hot dry.

Yet, most people want warm, sunny and happy summers.  Those who can afford can plan to go to destinations in places and locations where they can enjoy the summer weather.  Those who cannot afford, like many of our users,  may not be able to choose but to be subject of the changing climate.

To support those victims of changing climate or climate change over Summer, the focus of our Summer of Happiness will be on how to have happiness in a changing climate or climate change over Summer. 

So, the key note of our theme for Summer of Happiness will be how to create, enjoy and sustain happiness in a changing climate.  This is whether we take holidays or work or even study over the Summertime. 

To do that, we shall provide Happiness Tips and Hints in a Changing Climate.  We will provide them through the Summer initiatives below.

 

~ Summer-of-Happiness Programmes

 

Summer Programme at CENFACS is mainly made of two sets or broad areas of projects for and with Multi-dimensionally Poor Children, Young People and Families; which consists of:

Happiness Projects (Part I) and 

Appeal Projects or Humanitarian Relief to Africa (Part 2). 

Besides this main Summer seasonal regular feature, we have also planned other initiatives as side menus.  We shall gradually release the contents of these Summer projects as we progress during Summer 2019. 

Our development calendar/planner already indicates what is planned for July and August 2019.  However, should anybody want to find out more, they are welcome to contact CENFACS. 

 

~ Summer 2019 Programmes, Projects and Events (Summer calendar/planner)

 

8 Projects, 1 Programme: 9 Ways of Helping to Reduce and End Poverty as well as Making this Summer 2019 of Happiness in a Changing Climate

 

June

1) Thanksgiving days or Supporters’ project

July

2) All-in-one Impact Feedback, Project Supporters’ Experience: Projects and Programmes Monitoring, Evaluation & Review

3) Seven Days of Development in July 2019 (Summer Festival):  How Democratic Transition Can Transform Poor People’s Lives

4) Financial Update (Individual Capacity Development Programme resource): How to Manage Finances in Economic Uncertainty 

July & August

5) CYPFs (Children, Young People and Families) Summer Programme (Part I): Humanitarian Relief – Appeal Projects

6) CYPFs (Children, Young People and Families) Summer Programme (Part II): Resources, Tools, Boosters & Tasters – Happiness Projects in a Changing Climate

7) Summer 2019 Run, Play & Vote to Reduce Poverty: Action-Results

8) CENFACS’ Poverty Relief League and Le Dernier Carré (the last Square of Poverty Relief)  – Half Year Results and Outcomes

August

9) Summer Track, Trip and Trending

 

We hope you find a joyful, helpful and hopeful relief from the above programmes and projects on offer at CENFACS over this Summer!

For details or clarification about the above programmes and projects (including ways of accessing them), contact CENFACS.

Note: Although the above is scheduled for Summer 2019, we may slightly alter our initial plan and or introduce occasional initiatives to cope with the reality of the unpredictability and complexity of development situations (e.g. humanitarian and emergency situations), in which case we shall let you know as early as we can.

 

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!

12 June 2019

Post No. 95

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Jmesci Project, In Focus from Week Starting 10/06/2019: Innovations in Uncertain Times

• World Anti-Poverty System: Centre Staging Climate Issues

• Arts & Design Project: Making and Sending a p-Card or e-Card

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Creative Initiatives) Project – Innovations in Uncertain Times

Last week our Creative Economic Development (CED) month was about Creation in Uncertain Times.  We worked out how creation could lead to happiness.  This week, we are continuing with Jmesci project by putting an emphasis on Innovations in Uncertain Times.  Amongst the innovations we are dealing with there are: those helping to reduce poverty, the ones enhancing sustainable development and the ones more carried out by our Africa-based Sister Organisations.   

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

 

 

 

 

~ World Anti-Poverty System: Centre Staging Climate Issues

 

A new International System for Poverty Reduction (ISPR), if it has to happen, cannot ignore the problems caused and will cause by the adverse effects of climate change.  Climate change has changed or de-normalised the ways we dress, eat and house ourselves.  It further perturbs the natural living patterns of humans, animals and plants.  It finally pushes the frontiers or boundaries of what we knew about living as beings.

Climate change and global warming have broken the conventional way we deal with diseases and epidemics as the recent work by the World Health Organisation has showed in the case of Ebola virus in Africa.   Climate change has increased the displacement of all living beings (humans, animals, fishes, plants etc.).  This puts enormous pressure on healthcare, housing, food, education, jobs, social relations, relationships between humans and other beings etc. 

In face of the challenges posed by evolutionary climate, poor people do not have enough means to deal with the life-changing patterns caused by climate change.  They may need a framework that can help them to deal with these issues.  So, integrating and centre staging the above climate issues would provide the ISPR the means to deal with them.

For more information on centre staging climate issues inside the ISPR, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 ~ Arts & Design Project: Making and Sending a p-Card or e-Card

 

For those who are trying to design and send a paper card (p-card) or an electronic card (e-card) as a way of participating in the Creative Economic Development month, please make sure that the poverty relief message you are conveying is without confusion.

When designing a card, it is better that your art or design work 

√ contributes to inclusive and sustainable development goals

√ is a driver and enabler of sustainable development processes

√ is evidence-based as an expression of realities

√ is capable of leading to new pathways for creative economy

√ reflects on creative economic development

√ connects with the different sectors of creative economy

√ is conducive to new opportunities for sustainable development

√ is supportive of learning and innovation for poverty relief and sustainable development

√ opens up a possibility of working together

√ touches climate change issues (such as air pollution)

√ deals with sustainability issues (like conservation of the nature)

√ develops culture of poverty relief and sustainable development

To create and send your card or support CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development month, contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ ReLive Issue No. 11 (2019 Edition): Spring Gifts of Renewing Lives in Burundi, Madagascar and Niger for the Flood Victims

Our Spring Appeal to donate £5 to any of the 14 Renewal Gifts to create 20 Reliefs in the above mentioned countries will come to an end in a couple of weeks.   For those who would like to directly support but did not have the opportunity to do so, they can do it now. 

This appeal can also be supported indirectly by passing the message onto those who may be in position to support.

To support, contact CENFACS directly or go to: http: cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

 

~ End of Spring 2019 Appeal for Peace Re-creation and Security Re-innovation in Africa –

Re-create Peace and Re-innovate Security in the African Sahel and African Countries in Search for Transitional Democracy

Peace and security are always a challenge for some parts of Africa, particularly in the Africa Sahel (and specifically in Burkina Faso and Mali) and African countries in search for a transitional democracy (like Sudan). 

June month of environmental and sustainable creative initiatives at CENFACS is also for conflicting communities to create and innovate ways and means to re-create peace and re-innovate security, especially for poor and defenceless people making their communities.  The lack of peace and security cost any society especially its poor people.

Re-create peace and re-innovate security can help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  For example, one can hope that the common sense will prevail, that there would be an understanding between States and armed groups in the African Sahel region.  One can as well hope that the G5 Sahel (made of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania) will be able to stabilise the situation and get the support its deserves from the international development communities   One could finally hope that the disagreeing sides of the transitional democracy in Africa (like in Sudan) will come to an agreement to secure peace and build security for their suffering ordinary peoples.

For further details about peace re-creation and security re-innovation, contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

~ Quadranscentennial (“Q”) Innovations

 

June continues to carry out and speak for our “Q” Year and Project.  Since the “Q” Year and Project started, those who have been following us have learnt the “Q” history of CENFACS so far.  They learnt how CENFACS broke new grounds in the field of poverty relief and sustainable development.   What was not known about CENFACS legacies has been progressively released and unveiled. 

This week is the continuation of the “Q” Year and Project.  So, our “Q” Year and Project is still in progress for this week as we are looking at the innovations (e.g. ideas, methods and ways of working) that kept CENFACS running in the last 25 years.  “Q” innovations are progressive ways of working that helped CENFACS to achieve its vision, mission, aims and objectives while adapting itself to development landscape as it happens.   “Q” innovations are catalysing forces that provided us the momentum needed to stay in tune with the charitable industry. 

Where we found that ideas and methods were not suitable or compatible with our charitable ethos, we did not apply them.  One of the new methods that helped in the recent times is the introduction of digital technologies in what we do.  Digitalisation has helped to reach out faster and conveniently our users and project associates.

For more on “Q” Innovations, contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Creative Initiatives) – Innovations in Uncertain Times

One thing is to create in uncertain times; another thing is to implement those creations.  In this second week of our creative and innovation activities, we are going to focus on three types of innovations as follows: innovations for poverty relief, innovations for sustainable development and innovative work conducted by our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs).

~ Innovations for poverty relief (IPR)

 

IPR are the introduction of new ideas and methods to help alleviate poverty and hardships.  In certain times, it is straightforward to routinely handle new ideas and methods.  However, in uncertain moments, innovations can become a matter of life and survival, especially if these innovations touch the lives of those who feel more the pain of uncertainty than anybody else. 

So, innovating for poverty relief in uncertain and pressurized times could be a matter of saving lives.  in difficult times of an economy like the UK one trying either to exit or remain in the EU, IPR for those organisations involved in the work of poverty relief are crucial for those organisations (like CENFACS) and their users to live, survive, sustain and possibly thrive.    

 

~ Innovations for sustainable development (ISD)

 

Developing in a way of meeting the needs of both current and future generations does not happen itself.  For it to happen, humans need to work and innovate.  ISD is about supporting sustainable initiatives from people and communities in need in adding value to their efforts to come out poverty and hrahips.  It is as well investing in initiatives that facilitate the development of sustainable initiatives. 

However, in difficult times like of economic uncertainty, there could be attitudes or mindsets that could feel the price to pay for sustainability could be higher.  They may tend to psychologically abandon the virtues and practice of sustainable development or just be reluctant in doing sustainable development (for example in accepting energy transition).  Yet, with innovations adapted to deal with uncertainty, ISD could be a response to uncertainty and difficulty rather than a problem.  For example, introducing new forms of clean energy that does not pollute can help to save the cutting down of trees and burning of woods as well as reducing deforestation while protecting animal habitat.

 

~ Innovations by ASOs

 

The month of Creative Economic Development is also of highlighting innovations conducted by CENFACS’ ASOs.  Among these innovations, we can highlight the following three ones:

⇒ Irrigation activities that CENFACS’ ASOs in the dried lands of Africa (North Africa) have been trying to undertake in order to bring safe drinking water to the local population and reduce the level of drought for local agriculture and farming

⇒ Health awareness campaign regarding the channels of transmission of the Ebola virus; campaign designed to demystify the local or tribe beliefs on the mystique causes of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo

⇒ Forest activity to re-grow and replant forests where it has disappeared, just as innovations related to the recovery and restoration of degraded lands in the dried countries and areas in North Africa

The above are just the innovative ways of working to develop sustainable initiatives by our ASOs.  They are trying to find and introduce new ideas and methods to tackle old, current and new problems that themselves and their users face. 

In difficult times like of prolong drought, of eruption of the deadly Ebola virus and of forest extinction, it is vital for local organisations to innovate should they wish to seriously tackle poverty and hardships and stay on track with sustainable development.

To support and or enquire about the week of innovations in uncertain times, contact CENFACS.

To become a CENFACS’ Creation and or Innovation Supporter, please contact CENFACS as well.

 

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!

05 June 2019

Post No. 94

 

 

 

 

What’s on at CENFACS in June 2019

 

The following selected initiatives (selected for public domain) are amongst those which will make the end of Spring of Life Renewal and the start of Summer of Happiness at CENFACS in June 2019.

• World Anti-poverty System (WAS): Centre staging Climate Issues in WAS (Global advocacy project)

• Quadranscentennial Year and Project, Act No. 3: CENFACS as Quadranscentennial Creation (Celebration project)

• Create and Innovate within the context of Economic Uncertainty with Jmesci project (Creation and innovation project)

• Thanksgiving Days (Supporters’ project)

Note:  The above initiatives are only a selection of what we have planned for June 2019.  We may introduce new initiatives and or upgrade the existing ones depending on the circumstances as we have from time to time to respond to emergencies and urgent humanitarian issues.  In which case, we shall let you know. 

                            

Also, in every work we do to try to help reduce poverty, there is always a cost to bear.  If you could help alleviate some of our costs, we would more acknowledge your support than just appreciate your gesture. 

 

The above is our indicative plan for June 2019.  Within this plan, what is on at CENFACS for this week?

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Jmesci: Creating and Innovating within the Context of Economic Uncertainty

• Poverty Environment programme: Responsibility on Clean Air

• Quadranscentennial Year and Project: Act No. 3: CENFACS as a Quadranscentennial Creation

 

   … and much more!

 

Key Messages

 

~ June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Creative Initiatives (jmesci): Create and Innovate in the context of Economic Uncertainty

Individual and collective creations, in the ways of improving lives through the conception of fresh ideas and the implementation of practical ideas to escape from poverty and hardships as well as foster a better environment and sustainability, are CENFACS’ area of interest.   We create all over the year and life; however June is the month for us to acknowledge our environmental and sustainable makings. 

June is the month of Creative Economic Development at CENFACS with creation and innovation on the main menu: creation for researching and developing fresh ideas to reduce poverty, particularly extreme poverty; innovation for making these ideas come true, transformable into practical environmental and sustainable initiatives and actions. 

Put it simply, Jmesci is just about finding out ways of engineering creations relating to the environment and sustainability in order to further reduce poverty and improve the quality of life.

This year’s Jmesci is about Create and Innovate within the context of Economic Uncertainty.  Further details about this are given in the Main Development of this Week’s Contents.

To support CENFACS’ creative economic development month, contact CENFACS.

 

Besides Jmesci, we have planned other activities and projects.

 

~ Poverty Environment Programme (PEP): Human Responsibility on Clean Air

 

This week, we are raising awareness and remind ourselves about human responsibility on the environment (HRE) to echo the message of the United Nations World Environment Day on 05 June 2019.  The HRE, which is part of CENFACS’ Poverty Environment programme, is an initiative to support the WED’s theme of Air Pollution this week. 

As one cannot reduce air pollution in one day only, we will continue to raise awareness of this pollution issue through HRE.  Our work on this matter aims at going beyond awareness by working with local people to find creative and innovative ways of reducing air pollution.  In doing so, HRE is an exploratory path to develop sustainable solutions that reduce both poverty and air pollution.  

 

For details about the PEP, go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/development-programmes/

To raise awareness of human responsibility on the environment in order to help reduce both poverty and air pollution with CENFACS, please contact CENFACS.

~ Quadranscentennial Year and Project: Act No. 3: CENFACS as a Quadranscentennial Creation

The Act No. 3 of our Q Year and Project, entitled as CENFACS as Quadranscentennial Creation has been dealt with as planned.  This Act explains the challenges, ups and downs in our journey which lasted 25 years.  To survive those challenges, ups and downs creation was at the centre of action.

Throughout this month of creative economic development we will continue to learn and draw lessons from CENFACS as a Q Creation.  We shall explore in looking at the existential character of CENFACS by combining its existence and essence.

We shall even take further in looking at the quadranscentennial legacy of CENFACS in terms of innovations.  It is not enough to create (conceive a fresh idea).  One should also aims at putting ideas to work, to the market (that is innovation).  Innovation is Act No. 3.1   So, Q Innovations are like the introduction or implementation new ideas that can have a Q dimension.  

We would like to thank those who supported the Creation Act and hope they will do the same for the Q Innovation.

For further details on both Act 3.0 (CENFACS as a Q Creation) and 3.1 (CENFACS as a Q innovation), please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Art and Design for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development

 

As part of the creative economic development month, we also run Art and Design for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development as a project.  One of the activities related to this project for this year would be to construct and post cards or objects as expressions of stop air pollution to echo the World Environmental Day’s celebratory theme, as well as ways of sustainably managing land to resonate the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. 

So, those who wish and want can design a post card or object to feature the following:

⇒ Reduction or end of air pollution

⇒ Sustainable management of lands

⇒ Recovering and restoration of degraded lands

 

To support and or enquire about Art and Design for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development, contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

~ Protection of Poor People’s Creations or Creative Works

 

This first week of June is as well about rethinking ways of protecting poor people’s creative and innovative works.  This is knowingly that poor people do not always have or have enough money to pay for protection of their makings. 

It is not enough for them to create and or innovate; they need as well to protect their makings in the form of copyrights and other protection that other creators and innovators do enjoy.  One can think of the use of the internet and online technologies how they made it easier for some people sometimes to violate poor people’s creative and innovative works and rights.

So, as part of the creative economic development we would like to work together and find out the best possible and affordable ways of protecting poor people’s creative and innovative works.

To support and or enquire about CENFACS’ initiative on the Protection of Poor People’s Creations and Innovations, contact CENFACS.

~ Support Sustainable Initiatives in Congo-Brazzaville, Mali and Togo

 

Our request to support Raped Women in Congo-Brazzaville, Children with Safe Drinking Water in Togo and Young Deaf People in Mali; continues this month.

So far, we have received positive reactions which are promising.  And we would like to thank those who positively reacted to our support communication.  We hope that their reactions will be converted into concrete actions or simply support. 

Additionally, on the support page of CENFACS, there are many ways one can support or enhance the lives of those in most need.  Please, have a look at

As we previously argued, we expect this support message to be passed onto those who can help.  If you have already passed it, we thank you for your care.  If you have not done it, we would be grateful if you could support these deserving causes by passing the message.

CENFACS is prepared to discuss in depth these project proposals.

 

 

 

 

 

Main Developments

 

• Create and Innovate in the context of Economic Uncertainty

 

• • This Year’s Jmesci

The context of economic uncertainty is a framework in which an economy is characterised by multiple indecisions in terms of the precise direction it will take.  The indecisive situation affects all the players in the economy, in particular but not exclusively the poor people and poor organisations. 

There could be many scenarios of economic uncertainty.  One of them is when an economy (like the UK) is trying to exit or remain in an economic bloc (such as the EU).  In these circumstances, there could be inability to accurately know or predict the future.

Uncertainty can happen as well when countries transit from dictatorial governance to liberal democracy system as the newly arrived to the power may not be prepared to deal with challenge, just as they may not know what is in accounting books.  This uncertainty, unpreparedness or lack of knowledge about the contents in the books can impact every sector and economic players including small community and voluntary organisations.  

In times of inability to accurately know or predict the future like of EU exit, creating and innovating are the keys to continue to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  This is because in times of uncertainty, some needs change, other ones emerge and other more remain unchanged.

In uncertain times like economic one, people in most pressing needs could find themselves in a situation which in their ability to meet basic life-sustaining  needs, therefore to reduce poverty, could be shrunk.  Likewise, they could have their purchasing power reduced or increased.  So, creating and innovating in difficult times like of economic uncertainty are keys to continue to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

Finding out ways of engineering creations and implementing innovations to deal with uncertainty of the time in order to further reduce poverty and improve the quality of life, will be the focus for 2019 Jmesci.  How to deal with economic uncertainty?  We are going to deal with this in two ways.

 

⇒ Week beginning 03 June 2019: Creativity in uncertain economic times

⇒ Week beginning 10 June 2019: Innovation in uncertain economic times

• • Including other environmental activities into Jmesci

Our month of creation (of thinking up new things) and innovation (of converting our thoughts into tangible outcomes) revolves around global, national, local and sustainable issues and events of the month as well. 

Examples of June world and local environmental events and days of the month are: 

√ The United Nations World Environment Day held today on 05/06/2019 under the theme of “Air Pollution”

√ The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2019 to be held on 17/06/2019 with China as a host country for this year.  The Day will convene under the slogan, “Let’s grow the future together”.

√ Croydon Environmental Fair to be held on 08/06/2019 at Wandle Park in Croydon (UK).

√ Any other significant inclusive sustainable awareness raising and participation events scheduled for June 2019 and that help poor people.

      

To support and or engage to Jmesci, contact 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!

29 May 2019

Post No. 93

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• End-of-May Stories: Afforestation and Evaluation Stories

• Making Peace with Nature

• Coming Next Week on 04/06/2019: Act No. 3 of the Quadranscentennial Year and Project, Creation Act

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

~ End-of-May Stories: Afforestation and Evaluation Stories

 

We would like to thank those who supported our All in Development Story Telling Series which ended yesterday.  Thanks to you, your support has kept our Series going until the last day.

May month Stories will end in the couple of days.  The rest of these two days will be dedicated to Evaluation and Forest and Reforestation Stories.

Evaluation Stories are those ones of examining the value of work did on life renewal, while Afforestation Stories relate to tales of growing forests.

These two types of stories will close our May Stories telling and sharing.

For more on these End-of-May Stories telling, read under the Main Developments section of this post.

 

~ Making Peace with Nature

 

Another trending topic at CENFACS for this week is our renewed call to make peace with the nature.  It is a call for humans to maintain good relationships with plants, animals and landscapes forming the nature. 

It is as well an appeal to refrain from any changes that may adversely impact the nature like the attempt by Botswana to restart the hunting of elephants because of their growing population there.

As we are still in the season of life renewal at CENFACS, making peace with nature is indeed about rebuilding or renewing our relationships with the nature in a more responsible way; way that preserves it rather than that destroys it. 

To re-engage or make peace with the nature or to respond to this call, contact CENFACS.   

 

    

 

~ Coming Next Week on 04 June 2019: Act No. 3 of the Quadranscentennial (Q) Year and Project with a Focus on CENFACS as a Q Creation

 

After delivering the two Acts of the Q Project, we are now going to undertake the 3^rd Act of this project.  Act No. 3, which is the existential act, will be about Creation.  CENFACS as the “Q” Creation is the conceptualisation of CENFACS as an organisation which came into existence and which last 25 years.

This Act has been scheduled for June as it is the Creative Economic Development month at CENFACS.  The celebration of CENFACS as a “Q” Creation will be done by looking at the five dimensions of CENFACS as creation, dimensions which are as follows: uniqueness, hope, inspiration, development and sustainability.

The Creation Act will deal with the values that incarnated the creation of CENFACS which are of freedoms from poverty and hardships, of enhancing capacities and capabilities, and of economic development which become later sustainable development. 

The Creation Act also tells CENFACS’ story of creation since the beginning.  This creation story should not be confused with the volunteering story which we presented in Act 2.

The Creation Act will further highlight the creative work of CENFACS in the poverty relief and sustainable development fields since the genesis of CENFACS.

More on CENFACS as a “Q” Creation will be provided next week on the celebration day. However, we have provided further information about this Act 3 under the Main Developments section of this post.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Rebuilding Africa continues…In focus this Week: Security, Mystique and Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

 

As the Ebola virus continues to claim its victims in the Eastern province of the DRC, we are working on the security, mystique and health issues surrounding this virus in DRC.  In particular, we are looking at how democratic transition can help solve security and mystique issues in order to enhance health in the Ebola-stricken areas of DRC. 

This issue of Ebola that becomes stubborn in DRC bring us back to the relationship between “Quadranscentenniality” and recovery which we discussed a week ago.  “Q” recovery is the recovery that lasts at 25 years or more or even forever.  To resolve DRC’s Ebola issue, recovery should be “quadranscentennial” or “quadranscentennialised”.

For this week, in making our story of evaluation, we can examine the challenge that security and mystique pose in the process of the eradication of Ebola in DRC.  Insecurity in the Ebola-affected areas together with the belief of local populations about the channels of transmission of this deadly virus, are making difficult for health professionals to work.   Health of local people in this region is caught by these two issues making health itself a third issue.  

For further details about Rebuilding Africa and our advocacy work on DRC, contact CENFACS.

 

 

~ “Quadranscentenniality” and Evaluation

The process of examining or judging our work on renewing lives can also have a quadranscentennial dimension.  In other words, we can examine or judge the worth or value of renewing lives through the life span of let say 25 years, as we did with monitoring.  It is in this way that we can build consistency in what we are doing and connects this work between different generations. 

For example, “Q” Evaluation can be applied to examine project impact between the generations of children who experienced the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and those who are currently living the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  The first goals had a deadline of 15 years (2000 to 2015) and the second ones have the same deadline (2015 to 2030).  All together there will be 30 years of the United Nations Global Development Goals.  One can do a 25 or 30-year (or quadranscentennial) evaluation of these global goals.

For further details about the relationships between “quadranscentenniality” and evaluation, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Developments

 

• • End-of-May Stories: Afforestation and Evaluation Stories

 

~ Forestation and reforestation stories

This week, we have two complementary stories to tell and share forestation and reforestation tales.  This is an adding to our All in Development Stories we developed and heard so far.  Our interest in the forestation and reforestation is on the tales of

√ Establishing and growing forests

√ Land cultivation in a sustainable way

√ Creating sustainable habitats for animal and plant species

These are the stories of how humans are making a positive impact on forest life renewal.

 

We are as well dealing with counter stories of life renewal such as

x Farming that destroys forest

x Commercial logging

x Unsustainable mining minerals

x Human settlements that clear trees

x Road building that leads to deforestation

These kinds of stories point man-made behaviour that destroys forest life and which we need to STOP.

 

~ Evaluation Stories

 

Evaluation stories are those of examination and or judgement about the worth or value of life renewal experience as above mentioned.  They include the accounts of degree, quality, significance, amount and condition of the life renewal.

They are as well the stories of reviewing life renewal, of reconsidering progress made against objectives and policies of life renewal.

They are further the tales of impact, sustainability and relevance of renewing lives, as well as of lessons learnt.  

They are finally the accounts of…

√ Feeling part of life renewal process or organisation

√ Recognising success in renewing lives

√ Identifying problems in renewing lives

√ Indicators used for performance against objectives or work

√ Recommendations for future renewal

√ Forward planning and looking

√ Exit strategy plan

√ Highlighting trends and developments in life renewal

√ Thinking in the field of life renewal

√ Evaluations volunteers and managers/staff of their work in sharing evaluation reports

To support or donate afforestation and evaluation stories, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • Act No. 3 of the Quadranscentennial (Q) Year and Project with a Focus on CENFACS as a Q Creation

 

The 3^rd Act of the “Quadransecntennial” Project or the Creation Act, will focus on the five pillars of CENFACS as a “Quadranscentennial” creation which are:

CENFACS as 1/ a unique creation 2/ a creative development 3/ an inspiring and transformative creation 4/ a sustainable creation and 5/ a creation for hope and future.

 

On the 4th of June 2019, CENFACS will be celebrating

√ the uniqueness of an idea or creation – the idea of CENFACS; what makes CENFACS a unique telling example of progressive way of fighting against poverty and hardships, and what makes it a creation for hope, peace and sustainability

√ a particular approach to making creative differences to the lives of those who are suffering, on how a good creation can make helpful differences to impoverished people’s lives

√ the telling and prevailing story of transformative change, what the progressive idea of CENFACS has brought in the last twenty five years as an inspiring force and a force for good and development

√ the roots, birth, trajectory, surviving life and continuity of an original idea on its own merit and right

√ CENFACS as a sustainable creation together with other similar sustainable creations (as this Act will be in June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Creative Initiatives); creations that continue over the long-term or cyclical period without adverse effects on the environment

√ the creative voice of CENFACS that resonates, speaks for and together with those in most pressing need for their cries to be heard/listened and solutions to be brought to their  pending and long lasting unsolved problems and unmet needs

√ creative development, that is a process that causes better change come into existence, a process of sustainably enhancing freedoms and capabilities through continuous creation.

The day will also provide us opportunities and scopes to learn and draw lessons for the future about why some ideas or creations prevail and others do not. 

For example, we can learn and try to understand why the idea of Sir Tim Burners-Lee, the Inventor of the World Wide Web in 1989, has succeeded and impacted the lives of millions in the world, including the poor.

We will reflect on the reasons why some simple creations prevail, others elegant ones die or go to the bin, others more are successful or unsuccessful, and how to make your creation becomes a worthy, wealthy and healthy experience for poverty relief and sustainable development.

And above all, we will explore processes and strategies for protecting the creations belonging to the poor, to be owned by them not being stolen from them or taking way from them by others without their permission and or agreement. 

To support and or enquire about the “Q” Project and the Act 3, contact 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!

22 May 2019

Post No. 92

The Week’s Contents

 

• FACS Issue No. 63: Economic Value Chains – What they can reveal for those in need

• All in Development Stories (AiDS) Telling Series, In Focus between 22 and 28 May 2019: Serial No. 4 – Monitoring Stories

• 2020-2063 Follow up (XX236.3F) Programme: Spring 2019 Monitoring

 

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

The lead content of this week’s post is Economic Value Chains in Africa, What they can reveal for the poor for those in need.  This top content makes the 63^rd of FACS.

~ FACS Issue No. 63: Economic Value Chains – What they can reveal for those in need

The issue deals with interlinked economic activities that contribute in bringing a product or a service from conception to final disposal after use.  This set of interlinked economic activities contributes to pro-poor initiatives and facilitates better linkages between market players, amongst them African voluntary organisations..  The 63^rd Issue aims at looking at what these interlinked economic activities or economic value chains can reveal for the life- sustaining needs of those in most pressing needs.

The Issue discusses the benefits that Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) can gain in diversifying 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 Issue provides good insight into 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. 

Besides these introductory notes to the Issue, the general and key summaries of the 63^rd Issue of FACS, which can be found under the Main Development section of this post, shade some lights about this lead content.

 

 

~ All in Development Stories (AiDS) Telling Series, In Focus between 22 and 28 May 2019: Serial No. 4 – Monitoring Stories

 

Before looking monitoring stories, we would like to let you that we are using the definition of monitoring given by Anne Connor in one of the booklets from the Charities Evaluation Services.  According to Connor (1),

“monitoring is concerned with systematically collecting and analysing information.  It allows us to keep a regular check on what we are doing” (p. 2).

From this perspective, one can tell the stories what they are collected, analysing and checking about life renewal.  So, the stories we are dealing with in this serial no.4 are those of:

√ What people (like clients, beneficiaries, etc. ) say about life renewing work

√ Data and information collection

√Data and information analysis

√ Checking performance against objectives

√ Compliance with predetermined standards

√ Regular observation and recording of activities

√ Routinely gathering information on all activities

 

The issues one can cover in their monitoring story could be …

√ What people or themselves think about for example the recovery process they went through to renew their lives

√ The kinds of renewal needs that have been met and unmet

√ Problems encountered in the renewal process

√ Resources and costs issues related to renewal

√ People involved in the rebuilding story

√ Life renewal activities or projects involved 

To donate and or share a story, please contact CENFACS.

 

(1) Connor, A (1999), Monitoring Ourselves, Illustrated by Steve Simpson, Evaluating Ourselves Series, Charities Evaluation Services, London

 

 

 

~ 2020-2063 Follow up (XX236.3F) Programme; Spring 2019 Monitoring

Monitoring and Evaluation of the Climate Change Reduction, Having Poverty, Sustainable Development Goals and Africa’s Agenda

Because we are talking about monitoring, this week we are also looking at our 2020-2063 Follow up Programme.  This is a programme of monitoring and evaluation of aims, goals and targets set up to achieve in the context of climate change reduction (by the Paris Treaty on Climate Change), Having Poverty (by 2011Istanbul Declaration of Least Developed Countries), Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030 (by the United Nations), and Africa’s Agenda 2063 (by the African Union).

We are taking the opportunity of this week’s monitoring activity to look at the progress made so far regarding the implementation of these global and African goals and agendas as some of them affect our work and are related to the issues we constantly advocate.

To enquire and or donate a story about these four components of our XX236.3 F Programme, please contact CENFACS.

 

Extra Messages

 

~ Support Sustainable initiatives in Cong-Brazzaville, Mali and Togo

 

Our request to support Raped Women in Congo-Brazzaville, Children with Safe Drinking Water in Togo and Young Deaf People in Mali; continues this week as well.

So far, we have received positive reactions which are promising.  And we would like to thank those who positively reacted to our support communication.  We hope that their reactions will be converted into concrete actions or simply support. 

Additionally, on the support page of CENFACS, there are many ways one can support or enhance the lives of those in most need.  Please, have a look at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

As we said it last week, we expect this support message to be passed onto those who can help.  If you have already passed it, we thank you for your care.  If you have not done it, we would be grateful if you could support these deserving causes by passing the message.

CENFACS is prepared to discuss in depth these project proposals.

 

 

 

~ “Quadranscentennial” (Q) Monitoring

Q Monitoring is a king of monitoring activity conducted for a period let say 25 years or more.  If one looks at global agendas such as Agenda 2030 (set up for 15 years) and Agenda 2063 (set up for 50 years), having a quadranscentennial view of monitoring for the life span of these agendas could be a good learning and development process.

Monitoring these agendas and getting the monitoring reports and stories behind them on how they are doing in terms of expected outputs, outcomes and impacts; is a good monitoring story to tell and share.   

To tell and share your Q monitoring story, please contact CENFACS.

 

~ AiDS Project: Audio Storytelling, Listening and Short Film Experiences

 

You can use the capacity of audio to tell your life renewal story.  Audio has a proven power and unique quality to convey life renewal messages.   You can inform, empower and connect with others using your audio storytelling skills.

Audio storytelling does not demand expensive investment.  It is easily accessible to everybody who has at least a smart phone.  Audio storytelling (with short digital narratives, podcasting, social media and online streaming) can help create and share the impact of the change you made or have made.

Likewise, you can make short films to support your storytelling experiences and create a social impact.  For those who can afford, they can use smart phone filming to create engaging content on a tight budget.  Also, you can make film on your smart phone with a video content.  Shooting interviews with project participants can also help to create experiences that maximize social media and life renewal contents.

If you have audio storytelling and short films related to life renewal experiences, you can tell and share with us and others.  And if you do not mind, we will circulate your stories within the CENFACS Community.

 

 

Main Development

 

• FACS Issue No. 63 > Summaries  

 

• • General summary

 

The Issue speaks about Economic Value Chains although writers such as Corinna Hawkes and Marie T. Ruel (2) argue that “All value chains inherently involve economic value – a value chain is not a value chain without this.”   

The emphasis in the 63^rd Issue is on economics as a drive of using available factors of production (i.e. natural resources, labour, capital etc.) as efficiently as possible so as to attain the maximum fulfilment of unlimited demands for poverty relief goods and services. 

The goal here is to satisfy the needs of those in conditions of poverty and hardships.  However, this economic view does not exclude other values such as social, charitable, voluntary, poverty relief and sustainable development.  In fact the Issue talks equally about poverty relief and sustainable development values.

The Issue borrows Porter’s (3) definition of value chains as given in his book “Competitive Advantage”; borrowing it and applying it to the voluntary and charitable sector.  If one uses Porter’s definition, it is possible to say that a value is a set of activities that an organisation carries out to create value for its customers.  And if this organisation is from the charitable sector, it would create value for its beneficiaries.

In this respect the Issue no. 63 uses the value chain approach as poverty relief and sustainable development strategies to enhance the lives of Africa-based Sister Organisations and poor people.  This is how the Issue can help understand what economic value chains can reveal for the poor.

To get a good understanding on what economic value chains can achieve or reveal for the poor, please read the following page summaries.    

 

(2) Hawkes, C & Ruel, M. T. (2011), Value Chains for Nutrition (Chap. 9), International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C.

(3) Porter, M. E. (1985), Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance.

 

 

• • Page Summaries

 

The 63^rd Issue deals with ten areas of interest by Africa-based Sister Organisations in creating and developing value chains which include: integration, skills development, contribution towards pro-poor life, infrastructures and logistics, finances, transaction costs, dynamism of links, value for consumers, participation, and poverty relief and sustainable values.

Let’s now see the page summaries making the body of this Issue.   

Page 2

The development of industrial poverty relief services to reduce poverty within the context of economic value chains

Dealing with raw materials, natural resources, finished components and equipment provided by local industries and local organisations’ small scale industries is good.  However, poverty relief and sustainable development values can be added to services linked to industries’ products.  This concerns many products ranging from foods, healthcare, clothes etc.   Examples of these services include coffee and cocoa value chains in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

How diversification can help to reduce poverty and hardships

Diversification is the process of expanding into a range of different product areas.  One-market organisation can be very vulnerable to any threats.  A concentric or pure or revenue-raising diversification helps to spread risks, reorient activities, entry to new non areas of service and broaden service-providing potentials, while enabling survival in the market dominated by big organisations.  If Africa-based Sister Organisations diversify their activities they can expand their ability to help reduce poverty.

How to accelerate pace and extend poverty relief work through value chains

Every organisation has its own pace and rhythm of growing and expanding.  This depends on their brand and the market they are in or would like to enter.  However, they can improve their speed and extend in terms of poverty relief work through value chains.  To do that the starting point would be to develop value chain plan and strategy that can lead to outlets or market openings.  An example of this kind of high value domestic chains is the value chains for bananas in Central Africa 

Page 3

Economic integration of rural farmers through domestic value chains

Scaling down the economic barriers between rural farmers and with the various players of the rural and not-for-profit economy can create good value and enormously benefit rural farmers.  Rural farmers especially those engaged in cash crops production can reap of the benefits of economies of scale and scope while creating value for their beneficiaries.  To facilitate this integration, food value chains for small holder farmers can used to improve their margins and cope with agricultural food price volatility.

Acquisition of new operational skills by small and poor traders

Developing your activities in order to create value for your customers could mean for small and poor traders that you possess the skills and competences needed to stay and grow in domestic value chains.  Like big organisations, small and poor traders can acquire the skills they need to operate and run their activities.  These are the operational and functional skills such as sale, production, management, accounts and administrative skills.  Sustained training of farmers for example can help them to gain these skills.

Page 4

Economic value chain niches for African organisations in need

African organisations in need of a good amount of money or price that buyers are prepared to pay for their goods and or services, they will look for parts of market they can target and achieve their goals or meet their needs.  If economic value chains can offer them that possibility, they may decide or force to enter this market niche or segment.  But to do that, they need to analyse their value chains into market segmentation, potential to add value and strategy on activities.

Experiences and lessons from value chains in the voluntary and community sectors in Africa

The voluntary and community sector organisations in Africa do create value like other organisations, although they may not use value chain analysis.  They may not systematically separate their activities into primary and support, nor break down their value chains like we have seen somewhere else like in the UK.  For example, in the UK there are organisations which focus on primary activities regarding the running of day-to-day organisation while leaving to their appointed organisation to source out or deal with enquiries and other aspects of their social media accounts. 

Value chain approach is part of voluntary sector strategy.  Ranging activities between a/ primary value chain which includes inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service; and b/ secondary value chain made of procurement, human resource management, technology development and infrastructure; is value-creating.  Perhaps, if voluntary organisations can identify those activities they would to undertake themselves and leave those ones they want to source out.

Value Chains Experience Questionnaire

As part this work on what value chains can reveal for the poor, we are running a questionnaire to complete this work on the experiences and lessons from value chains in the voluntary and community sectors in Africa.  Those African organisations that are interested in providing their views, we would be pleased to question them.

For any enquiry or interest about this questionnaire, please contact CENFACS.

Page 5

Chaînes de valeurs et consommateurs africains

Cet article essaie d’appréhender les chaînes des valeurs du point de vue de consommateurs et acheteurs plutôt que de celui de producteurs et vendeurs.  Les acheteurs et consommateurs pauvres et ceux de revenu faible en Afrique comme ailleurs sont à la recherche des produits (biens et services) de meilleure qualité et/ou à des prix relativement bas (ou compétitifs) et maximisant leur satisfaction.  Parfois, ils en trouvent, parfois ils n’en trouvent pas. 

Les offreurs et vendeurs de ces produits s’ils montent des chaînes de valeurs, cela peut leur permettre de réduire des coûts de transaction, de réaliser des économies d’échelle et d’envergure.  Cela pourra avoir, par ricochet, un effet sur des produits à offrir. 

En adoptant une hypothèse de travail selon laquelle que si les prix ou coûts baissent en raison de l’application ou l’appartenance à des chaînes de valeurs, les valeurs ainsi créées ne peuvent être durables que si elles arrivent à satisfaire les besoins des consommateurs.   En prolongeant cette assertion, on peut dire que les chaînes de valeurs peuvent permettre de remplir les demandes et besoins des consommateurs pauvres.  

Ce schéma semble simpliste et réducteur.  Néanmoins, il faut affirmer que pour que la valeur consommatrice se réalise, il ne faut pas qu’il y ait de concurrence déloyale et de menaces des groupes géants dans l’industrie où l’organisation ou les chaînes de valeurs vont se réaliser.  Par contre, cela nécessite le soutien des autorités locales en créant un cadre incitatif et la protection de consommateurs ayant des revenus plus faibles.       

Page 6

Les chaînes de valeurs économiques, de réduction de la pauvreté et du développement durable en Afrique

La réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique est passée et continue de passer par plusieurs moyens.  Ces moyens incluent l’augmentation de revenus ou salaires, la création des emplois, l’octroi des subventions à la consommation ou les politiques régulatrices de relance de la consommation, la réduction des taxes, l’éducation, l’amélioration de projets ou des communautés d’intégration économique régionale etc.

Parmi ces moyens, il y a aussi des chaînes de valeurs économiques.  Celles-ci sont un ensemble d’activités qu’une organisation peut entreprendre opérant dans un secteur spécifique afin de délivrer un bien ou service ayant une certaine valeur économique.  Cette valeur économique est réalisée par le prix à payer pour une certaine quantité (v = p x q).  C’est une valeur que l’on dégage par l’allocation des ressources rares pour satisfaire des besoins et désires humains illimités.  Mais, la valeur n’est pas et ne peut pas être seulement économique.

Au-delà de cette valeur purement économique, il y a aussi la valeur de réduction de la pauvreté et celle du développement durable.  Pour que des chaînes de valeurs soient utiles en Afrique, elles doivent être aussi et surtout celles de la réduction de la pauvreté et du développement durable.  La chaîne de valeur de réduction de pauvreté est celle  de réduction de l’état d’une personne qui manque de moyens matériels, d’argent et de ressources.  La chaîne de valeur du développement durable celle qui intègre une harmonie dans la réalisation des besoins de la génération d’aujourd’hui et celle du demain.  Cette dernière chaîne créerait des ressources énergétiques renouvelables, demanderait la transition énergétique et éviterait le gaspillage des ressources surtout non renouvelables.

En gros, il ne faut pas seulement avoir des chaînes de valeurs économiques au sens strict. Dans la création de valeurs, il y a aussi de valeurs de réduction de la pauvreté et du développement durable.  Ces dernières valeurs sont surtout celles dont les gens ont besoin et qu’elles demandent. 

Page 7

Dynamics of links for the supply chain to create and strengthen value chains

To create and strengthen value chains, the links need to be logical, orderly and coordinated so that a momentum is created between the various activities making the value chains. .  It means that the interplay of the forces causing or creating value is well done in the different processes before the product or service reaches the final consumer or end beneficiary.

How Africa-based Sister Organisations can develop their value chain capacities

They can do it through

<> In-house preparation in laying value chain foundations or structures

<> Training to acquire the value chain skills they need or skills to develop value chains

<> Funding to support the move to value chain policy

<> Commitment while being part of value chain organisations

<> Being part of decision making process of matters related to value chains development

<> Acquisition of stake in the value chain ventures

Page 8

How value chains can contribute towards pro-poor initiatives in Africa

Pro-poor initiatives are the types of enterprises that help to reduce the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions.  They are undertaken to deal with poverty and hardships. 

Economic value chains can contribute towards these initiatives by offering solutions or services be it marketing solutions or outreach or distribution of products or communications or branding or sale or financial remedies etc

What African value chain experiences can reveal for the poor

Value chain experiences in African countries and organisations which tried to create them can show that where costs of supply for products have been reduced for value crating organisations, this can benefit these organisations.  Likewise, the benefits of this reduction of costs can be passed to end users or project beneficiaries. 

Value chain experiences can reveal as well that some other needs could have been met if these countries and organisations are value chain achievers or achieving ones.  These needs could include: access to sustainable energy, digital education, healthcare, housing, food etc.  For example, value chain approaches are being used to enhance the livelihoods of food producers.  Value chains can drive food prices down, which can be beneficial to poor consumers.  So, moving a product or service from supplier to customers or end users (supply chain) while adding value along the chain is part and parcel of African organisations.

Page 9

Promotion of infrastructures to create domestic value chains

By infrastructures, we mean the basic structures of small and poor traders and Africa-based Sister Organisations.  We also take into account the facilities, services and equipment they can access to run their organisations.    They finally need local infrastructures to function as organisations.  These local infrastructures include roads, transport systems, factories, schools, hospitals and so on, that could be their potential market.

Promoting the structures of these organisations engaged or to be engaged in value chain strategies of the services they offer in the environment they are, can enable then to create domestic and economic values. 

Reducing transaction costs to create effective value chains

To be able to move goods from their places of production, storage to the market where the final consumers are, it means the cost of transportation should be affordable by those who sell for the poor people and communities.  Transaction costs (that are comprised of transport, handling, storage and penetration into high value chains) should be affordable.   So, reducing transaction costs can help to create effective value chains.

Page 10

Skills development to embrace and survive economic value chains or Skills for Value Chains (Skvach) project

The aim of Skills for Value Chains (Skvach) 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 project will be achieved through a number of activities including training, adult education, supporting information, workshops etc.

Access to financing to develop value chains in the voluntary sector

Finance for voluntary organisations that are trying to creation value is always a headache for small and medium-sized ones.  Small and medium-sized organisations have two disadvantages: perception of the voluntary value and financiers’ preferences.

Being a voluntary or charitable organisation is not always seen by some people as a way of creating and adding value to the service or goods they need.

Failing to raise voluntary donations for a small and medium-sized voluntary or charitable organisation could mean they may be subject to market lending terms and conditions.  Often those terms and conditions may conflict with voluntary rules and the voluntary value or just not affordable.

However, if there are soft financial schemes, they can access them and enable them to create value for their beneficiaries.  Likewise, if they put together their assets and finances they can form a common financial front to help each other to create value chains.

For a paper copy and or enquiry about this Issue, contact CENFACS.

 

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