Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

30 January 2019

Post No. 76

 

 

The Week’s Contents

• 2019 CARRA Appeal

• 2019 All Year Round Projects

• Gifts of Peace, Edition 2018-2019

 

… and much more!

 

Key Messages from the Week’s Contents

 

2019 CARRA Appeal: Making CAR a Normal Place for Children

This week the first trend at CENFACSSPHERE is our Wintry Appeal to Bring and Light a Blaze of Hope for the Children Victims of Conflicts in the Central African Republic and Region of Africa (CARRA Appeal).  It is our second appeal for this year, appeal which is under the Light Projects and in the context the post-conflict life. 

It is in the context of post-conflict development when we made similar appeals in 2018 and previously regarding the central region of Africa.  As we have been following what has been happening there since we made our previous appeals, the current appeal is meant to step up progress in supporting the same victims of conflicts in the CARRA.  Amongst these victims are children. 

Because of the very difficult conditions children are experiencing in the Central African Republic (CAR), our centre of attention in making this consolidated appeal is on children’s welfare and well-being there.  They are suffering from the legacies of the continuing conflicts in that region.  The focus of this appeal is therefore about Making the Central African Republic (CAR) a Normal Place for Children to Live, Grow and Stay.

For further information about this appeal, please read under the Main Development of this post.

 

2019 All Year Round Projects

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

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

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

There are Run Themes.  You can Run alone or Run as group or even Run for fun.  You can do Seasonal Run or Run to raise money or even Run to raise awareness.

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

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

We have provided under the Main Development section of this post some basic elements of CENFACS’ All Year Round Projects.  As we progress throughout the year, further information will be released for them.

 

Gifts of Peace Edition 2018-2019

Gifts of Peace for Edition 2018-2019 are coming to an end this Thursday.  If you have not yet supported, there is still one day to go.  You can still do something for poverty relief.  You want to do it, just contact CENFACS.

 

Extra Messages

 

Supporting CENFACS in 2019 with a silver donation, a great relief and a product booster

⇒ Free for Supporters: Silver Status

Support our projects as you can or as you choose if you visit them or if you happen to be within the area of them. This will boost your support and help you to win a silver status as CENFACS’ Supporter in a CENFACS Silver Year or the Quadranscentennial Year of CENFACS.  Alternatively, you can fund CENFACS’ Silver year to win the same status.

 

⇒ Want to provide Great Relief as a Supporter

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

Please contact CENFACS for details about becoming great reliever.

 

⇒ Need to boost your support

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

You can support 3 projects or 2 projects and CENFACS

You can support 3 programmes or 2 programmes and CENFACS.

This will elevate your position as a project or programme funder or a product booster

For further details about boosting your support, contact CENFACS.

       

 

Main Development from the Week’s Contents

 

Lighting a Blaze of Hope for the Children Victims of Conflicts in the Central African Republic and Region of Africa (CARRA)

Making CAR a Normal Place for Children to Live, Grow and Stay

 

• • Brief Recap about 2018 CARRA Appeal

In 2018, we launched an appeal to support the conflict-affected and impoverished peoples of Central African Republic (CAR).

CENFACS appeal was apolitical, non religious and non partisan from the conflicting sides and between the two armed self-defense groups loosely-organised and others.

Our appeal was the 3^rd Light Project concerning the CAR.  In 2014 and 2015, we launched similar appeals.   And some forms of truce and normality were established. 

 

• • • What the 2018 CARRA Appeal was about

The renewed 2018 CARRA appeal was about helping to bring peace and hope to the long suffering local and ordinary peoples of CAR.  Particularly, CENFACS asked the following actions to be undertaken

~ Ending of 5 years of misery of the local poor people there

~ Stopping chaos and lawlessness as well as the killings and counter-killings of innocent local people

~ Neutralisation of the armed groups responsible for these innocent killings

~ Reduction of conflicts over natural resources (e.g. diamonds, gold and silver) and over spaces

~ Ending successive waves of ethnic cleansing

~ Reducing strife between religious groups etc

 

• • • The 2018 CARRA Appeal results

Some of these actions have been undertaken.  But, most of the problems at the heart of the suffering of the peoples of CAR remain unsolved.  We are still far from saying that something was achieved.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who responded to all our previous appeals and to similar appeals regarding the CAR, as well as those who worked to save lives there.

 

• • 2019 CARRA Appeal: Making CAR a Children-friendly Place

The 2019 CARRA Appeal is a kind of fact-checking process that deals with the lack of progress to support the conflict-affected and impoverished peoples of Central African Republic (CAR).

It is about asking the development community from within CARRA itself and from outside CARRA to do something to reverse both the poor environmental and humanitarian situation in CAR.  In particular, many alarming reports are pointing out the deplorable and precarious conditions in which children live there as a consequence of the previous conflicts and lack of peace and security.

The 2019 CAR Appeal intends to ask supporters to deal with the after-effects of previous and current conflicts by taking actions such as stopping people to flee their homes, to keep their fields, to prevent food insecurity, protect civilian population at  displaced camps, care of orphan children etc. 

As far as Making CAR a Normal Place for Children to Live, Grow and Stay is concerned; we are looking forward to the following actions to be taken:

√ Reduce newborn and maternal mortality ratio in CAR

√ Increase the number of children making to primary school

√ Reduce an extremely high risk of death amongst children under the age of five

√ Reduce violence and fear for children

√ Provide emergency aid to all children in need in CAR

√ Prevent and reduce severe malnutrition

√ Provide humanitarian assistance needed by children

√ Reduce poverty and malnutrition for children

√ Improve access to safe water and sanitation

The list of actions to be taken to save the children in CAR can be long.  Some of these actions can be done quickly and easily on the short term.  But, many of them would require a long term strategy for a comprehensive reduction of child poverty in CAR. 

Last week, armed groups involved the CAR crisis and the CAR government met in Karthoum (Sudan) to negotiate peace.  One can hope that this new round of peace negotiations between the conflicting sides will bring sustainable peace.   While this peace process is going on, there is a pressing need to light a blaze of hope for the children innocent victims of conflicts in CAR.

To Light a Blaze of Hope for the Children Victims of Conflicts in CAR, contact CENFACS. 

 

• • Run, Play & Vote projects 

 

The 2019 Edition of All-year Round Projects has kicked off.

You can Run or Organise a Run Activity to Reduce Poverty in 2019 

 

You can Play the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief

 

You can Vote your 2019 African Poverty Relief Manager.

 

After running or organising a run activity, playing the CENFACS’ League and voting your Manager of the Year 2019; we would like you to share with us and others your experiences, stories and reports regarding these projects.  Your share will be a kind of Action-Results report 2019.

 

 

Remember!

 

If you are Playing the CENFACS Poverty Relief League and its sub-project Le Dernier Carrẻ, there are 16 team countries in this Poverty Relief and Development League playing each 32 matches or games each against the other. 

 

If you are Running for Poverty Relief and Development, you can do it alone or as a group. 

 

If you are casting your Vote for an International Development and Poverty Relief Manager of 2019, before you vote do some research. 

 

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

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

We would be more than happier to hear your Action and Results to feature and include them in this year’s results and record.  Don’t forget to tell it!

 

What we would like to hear

We would like to hear from you the following three bests

√ The Best African Countries of 2019 which best reduce poverty

 

√ The Best African Global Games Runners of 2019

 

√ The Best African Development Managers of 2019

 

 

The deadline to tell us your bests is 23 December 2019.

 

 

For more information about these projects, please contact CENFACS.

 

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

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

With many thanks

 

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

23 January 2019

Post No. 75

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• FACS, Issue No. 62: Key Summaries

• Digital and Social Media Campaigns: IT and Online Security

• Gifts of Peace: 7 Days to Go!

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages from the Week’s Contents

 

FACS Issue No. 62: Key Summaries

The lead content of this week’s post is How to Create and Sustain Agricultural Markets for African Farmers and Farm Produce in 2019 and Beyond.  The key summaries of the 62^nd Issue of FACS, which can be found under the Main Development section of this post, shade some lights about this lead content.

 

Digital and Social Media Campaigns: IT and Online Security

The week is also about the continuation of our Digital and Social Media Campaigns.  This time we are focusing on IT (Information Communications) and Online Security as a sub-campaign.

Since the means of communications and their technologies went online and through the use of computer, there are always potential threats and risks of security of using them.  Our users and beneficiaries, let alone ourselves, are not exempt from these threats and risks. The IT and Online Security sub-campaign is designed to address these issues  by raising security awareness as well as helping to reduce poverty in these matters.

We have noticed that many of our innocent users of computers and online technologies (i.e. IT and digital technologies) want just to get on running their daily life in using them by looking for information (such as finding a local shop, doing homework for kids, locating a local pharmacy etc.).  But, they constantly face disruptions to their work to the extent that there is always a breach to their computers, networks and data; let alone their privacy.

This sub-campaign, which is meant to address these issues, covers four types of security: IT, online, Internet and information security. The campaign aims at helping the victims of these threats and risks to reduce poverty in these matters by protecting their digital assets and network devices, learning risk management tools, reducing network infections and caring for their health, independently organising their own security and developing a basic security strategy or plan. 

For more on this sub-campaign or the Digital and Social Media campaigns, please contact CENFACS.

 

Gifts of Peace: Only 7 Days to Go!

We have only seven days left for the Gifts of Peace campaign.  We are appealing to those who have not managed to support to come forward and support this campaign. 

If you miss the deadline of the campaign, you can still donate as there is always there is a life out there that needs your support.  We hope you will help as much as you can to keep our Season of Giving alive.  Many thanks!

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

 

Extra Messages

2019 DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) Appeal

We would like to thank you for your support for trying to do something for sustainable peace and hope prevail for the peoples of DRC who are going through a very delicate situation regarding their long waiting democratic transition.   Many thanks!

 

A New Transitional Development Programme

This is a new type of programme that is designed to work with our Africa-based Sister Organisations in places where countries have continuously been subject to emergency and contingency programmes (especially in places where there are long running wars and natural disasters) then moving from instability to stability.

This new programme is a set of related projects oractivities with a particular long-term aim of reducing poverty induced by armed conflicts, wars, natural disasters and political instability where countries in which this programme is implemented are in transitional phase from instability (abnormality) to stability (normality).

The programme, which can last between 1 and 2 years, is a detailed plan of action for transitional poverty reduction work that aims to achieve beneficial change through clearly defined outcomes.

This project helps to fill the vacuum we had.  So far, we had African Integrated and Sustainable Development Initiatives Programme (AISDIP) and African Rebuilding and Sustaining Infrastructures and Lives (RILIVES).  The first is for countries where the risk of political upheaval and environmental disaster is considered to be relatively low. The second is where the risk is high.  The new transitional development programme is where the same risk is moderate.

 

Shopping and Donations this January at CENAFCS Charity e-Store http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

You can turn your unwanted and unused goods into donations for poverty relief.

 

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 SHOPPING and DONATIONS.

 

You can do something different this January 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 this year

 

√ SHOP at CENFACS Charity e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief this year

 

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

 

 

Main Development from the Week’s Contents

 

FACS Issue No. 62 > Key Summaries

At the beginning of this Winter, we published the abstract about this Issue. 

“How to Create and Sustain Agricultural Markets for Small Scale Farmers and Farm Produce in Africa” is an engaging theme in terms of both poverty reduction and sustainable development. It is an investigation on how farmers can deploy their ingenuity to create and sustain agricultural markets.  It is a market-based solution to the problem of poverty by finding the tools, techniques, know how and adequate support to make market work for them.

Before looking at the key summaries of this Issue, let us see the definition of agricultural market we are using in this communication.  The following definition is the one underpinning the current Issue:

Agricultural market is a “use primarily engaged in the retail sale of fresh agricultural products, grown either on or off-site, but may include as incidental and accessory to the principal use, the sale of factory sealed or pre-packaged food products and some limited non-food items” (1)

1. (1)   https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/agricultural-market

The 62^nd Issue of FACS focuses on the retail sale side of fresh agricultural products.

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

 

Agricultural Products and Regional Value Chains (Page 2 of FACS)

Poor farmers integrating market spaces like regional value chains (RVCs) can boost their capacity.  Unless these chains do not exist for them, if they exist they can be a scope for the development of agricultural products (such as vegetables and fruits).

These regional plans of action can provide them with the following benefits: new niches or opportunities on the African and global markets, the possibility of gaining trade integration, upgrading, adding value to produce, integrating value chain finance, achieving economies of scale and improving presence on the agricultural markets.

Briefly, they will benefit from free trade areas and economies of scale.

 

 

Agriculture Finance for Poverty Relief (Page 3 of FACS)

According to the World Bank in its work on Agriculture Finance and Agriculture Insurance,

 “Agriculture finance empowers poor farmers to increase their wealth and food production to be able to feed 9 billion people by 2050” (2)

The above statement applies to African farmers and their produce as well.  If this is true, then financing agriculture and farm produce in Africa could help small scale farmers to bring into existence market for their produce which is struggling to spread.

If this is the case, there is a need to improve agriculture finance markets to reach remote rural populations and small scale farmers.  Small scale farmers can have access to credit guarantee schemes, matching grants, gender finance and other financial support.

This should be done together with financial instruments to manage and prevent risks for them without forgetting insurance programme.   It is in this context that agriculture finance can eradicate extreme poverty. 

1. (2)  http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialsector/brief/agriculture-finance (02/02/2018)

 

Empowering African Poor Farmers and Agricultural Africa-based Sister Organisations (Page 3 of FACS)

Some of our Africa-based Sister Organisations that are involved in sustainable agriculture and farming projects to help local people to reduce poverty need help themselves.  One area of help is to empower them so that they can help themselves and help others.  This empowerment can include many aspects such as finance, skills development, basic infrastructural development support etc. 

Powers include as well the capacity to negotiate agricultural markets and sustain them, to advocate their share of these markets and to make agricultural groups of action they belong to to work for their causes.  Empowering them in this way will enable them to increase the agricultural market share.  

 

Reduction of Poverty in Market Information for Female Agricultural Traders in Africa (Page 4 of FACS)

Where you get your information can determine the way you trade.  Agricultural market information is important input to boost your income generating activity.

Agricultural market information can help female agricultural traders to better source their suppliers, develop their strategy for income generating activity.  Market information can provide some knowledge about competition, awareness on prices, new comers in the market etc.  There are many sources of agricultural market information such as newspapers, radios, TV, trade magazines, marketing intelligence, internet etc.

How female traders get their information.  This could a matter of an investigation.  They may get them from contacts, fellow traders, words of mouth, social media, trade meeting, local press etc.  Does this information reach all of them?  Perhaps, there could be a need to make a new African case study to answer this question.

In the dissemination of agricultural markets information, efforts need to be deployed to make sure that market information reaches all the traders including female ones.  There is a need to improve the delivery mechanism of market information so that female agricultural traders receive it on time so that poverty in communication and market information is reduced.

 

Agricultural Produce and Gender Minorities (Page 4 of FACS)

To eradicate gender-based discrimination towards minorities in the market of agricultural products, there is a need to address gender gaps in agriculture so that female farmers are adequately treated like their male counterparts.  This tackling of gender gaps should be included in the product design and policy making. 

Like in many other sectors, gender inequalities in the agricultural sector exist.  It is sometimes not perceived when it comes to small scale female farmers.  Like there have been efforts to improve women’s earnings and participation in other areas of life, reducing gender inequalities (in access to land, market opportunities and technology) in agriculture can have a knock-on effect on poverty. 

Eradicating gender inequalities for small scale farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs (such as self-employed producers, farmers and non-profit organisation owners) is a good step forward to reducing or ending poverty in the agriculture sector and farm produce.

 

Les fermiers et produits cultivés africains dans les parts des marchés agricoles (Page 5 de FACS)

Pour créer et consolider les marchés agricoles pour les fermiers et les produits cultivés africains, il faut évaluer leurs parts dans les marchés africains et mondiaux.

Quelles sont ces parts? 

Généralement, les fermiers et agriculteurs de petite taille d’activité ne pèsent pas beaucoup dans les négociations agricoles commerciales mondiales et panafricaines.  Il y a plusieurs raisons dans cette faiblesse ou ce poids léger.  L’une de ces faiblesses est qu’ils n’ont pas de forte représentation pour proposer  leur cahier des doléances afin d’arracher des parts des marchés qui leur conviennent. 

Ils ne sont pas par ailleurs forts et suffisamment organisés pour répondre à la compétition parfois déloyale que leur font les grandes chaînes d’exploitation agricoles et de distribution alimentaire, qui les arrachent des parts des marchés et de la clientèle.  Cela concerne aussi bien des marchés panafricains que des marchés nationaux où leur voix n’est pas proprement représentée. Cela veut dire qu’il y a nécessité qu’ils s’organisent et devenir plus parlant de leur cause. 

Tout ce qui est dit ci-haut doit être placé dans la perspective de réduction de la pauvreté.  Car, les gens dont on parle sont des pauvres qui essaient de générer de revenus à travers une activité d’exploitation agricole.  Ainsi, les parts des marchés qu’ils veulent créer et maintenir sont celles de la réduction de la pauvreté.

 

Les prix agricoles qui réduisent la pauvreté et la précarité parmi les fermiers africains (Page 6 de FACS)

Vendre un produit agricole, c’est une chose.  Vendre à des prix qui permettent de couvrir des coûts financiers et dégager une marge financière pour réduire la pauvreté, c’est toute autre chose. 

Les prix dont on parle ne sont pas des prix exorbitants ou astronomiques.  C’est plutôt des prix qui garantissent ou rémunèrent l’existence même du métier de fermiers africains et qui valorisent leurs produits.

Encore une fois, nous parlons des gens ou individus ou encore familles nécessiteux et qui ne veulent rien d’autres que vivre des fruits de leur métier et de la valeur ajoutée de leurs produits.  Ils ne demandent pas de faveur mais un prix rémunérateur qui assure le maintien de leur vie et de leurs produits.  C’est ce prix-là qui leur permettra de réduire la pauvreté et la précarité au sein d’eux.

 

Paperless or e-information in African Agricultural Organisations (Page 7 of FACS)

While the handling of agricultural information and data via papers is still relevant, small scale farmers in Africa will benefit further by developing digital and online skills to cope with the amount of work they have and keep pace with technological evolution. 

This paperless or e-information handling will not only save money on papers, but it will move them closer to other agricultural markets and help them explore online ways of diversifying their customer base, lowering operating costs, accessing online information and support, using electronic payment platform to enhance information access and reduce transaction costs etc.  This is as well good and great for the reduction of deforestation and adverse effects of climate change. 

Briefly speaking, paperless or e-information economy for African agricultural organisations means that they can save on papers, discover new pitches, create and sustain markets.

 

Digital Agriculture and Farming (Page 8 of FACS)

As the science of agriculture develops together with other sciences (like digital science), it is advisable for small scale farmers and the way they produce keep pace with the scientific changing environment.   The digital technology has penetrated all spheres and aspects of life. The agricultural and farming industries are not exempt from this penetration.  While the powers of farmers in knowing land and way of producing crops remain relevant, there is as well a need for them to embrace these technologies, digital agriculture and farming.

What are they?

For the purpose of this Issue, we have selected two definitions to tell what they are.

Digital agriculture is defined as “the use of new and advanced technologies, integrated into one system, to enable farmers and other stakeholders within the agriculture value chain to improve food production” (3)

Digital farming is termed as “applying precision location methods and decision quality agronomic information to illuminate, predict and affect the continuum of cultivation issues across the farm” (4)

Small scale farmers can us these technologies to create and sustain agricultural markets for their farm produce (e.g. climate smart production).

 

(3)  http://breakthrough.unglobalcompact.org/disruptive-technologies/digital-agriculture/ (accessed on 29/12/2018)

(4)  https://www.precisionag.com/system-management/what-is-digital-farming-really/ (accessed on 29/12/2018)

 

Linking Small Scale Farmers and African Markets (Page 9 of FACS)

Each country in Africa has both a comparative and competitive advantage for its agricultural products.  Taking the opportunity of these advantages by linking small scale farmers with African markets and buyers where they may detain a comparative or competitive advantage help to reduce poverty.

They can learn how to sell their farm produce directly to African and international buyers.  In digital and mobile phone worlds, it is possible to do it.  It is even desirable to link small scale farmers and potential African markets for their produce.

 

Overcoming Market Barriers Survey (Page 9 of FACS)

This survey is about agricultural market barriers.

In order to understand the kinds of barriers that voluntary Africa-based organisations working in agricultural sector and looking to access markets for their produce to help reduce poverty, CENFACS is conducting a survey. 

The survey goes beyond the barriers they face by exploring paths for solutions and support.  It will help to capture information and data agricultural markets, get the feeling about participants, get input for needs assessment regarding the solutions to market barriers, shape up policies and improve practice.

This survey is part of CENFACS Zero Hunger Africa campaign.

For further details about this survey and to participate, please contact CENFACS. 

 

Africa Feed Africa with Agriculture (AFAA) Project (Page 10 of FACS)

The AFAA project is a sustainable initiative aiming at reducing food poverty and related issues (malnutrition, undernourishment, sanitation etc.), linked to the lack of food and its unfair distribution in Africa. The project will achieve its aims via agriculture and farming.

Agriculture has always been said to be the mother of priorities when it comes to feeding people and providing for other needs and demands in society in Africa.   Especially for rural populations, agriculture and farming are vital. 

Given the potentials that Africa has in agriculture, it is possible for agriculture to feed Africa and leave no one body hungry or without agricultural food.  And most of Africa’s economies are agriculture-based ones.

Briefly, this is what this project is about. 

For the full project proposals, please contact CENFACS.

For a paper copy and any enquiries regarding the 62nd Issue of FACS, contact CENFACS. 

 Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

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

With many thanks

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

16 January 2019

Post No. 74

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• 2019 DRC Appeal

• All in Development e-Discussion Feedback

• Gifts of Peace continue…

 

… and much more!

 

Key Messages from the Week’s Contents

 

2019 DRC Appeal

The first message of the 3^rd post of 2019 is the continuation of the Season of Light with our first appeal regarding what happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2018 and what may happen this year.  This appeal is what we call Appeal for Sustainable Peace, Rebuilding Infrastructures and Lives.  It is also a call for post-war and post-disaster sustainable development in this country.

You can find further details about this appeal under the Main Development section of this post.

 

All in Development e-Discussion Feedback

The week is also of the feedback regarding the findings of our All in Development e-Discussion held from the 5^th of December 2018 to the 5^th of January 2019, with a focus on a New Climate Economy. 

Under the Main Development section of this post, we are sharing with you some of the ideas e-discussed.

 

Gifts of Peace continue…

 

Our Season of Giving through the Gifts of Peace has not yet finished.  We still have 15 days to go until the end of this month. We are making a plea to those who have not yet managed to support to keep these gifts in their mind.  Although the deadline for the Season of Donation for these gifts is 31 January 2019, we will still accept donations after this deadline as there are always pressing needs that desperately request support. 

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

We look forward to your support.  Thank you!

 

Extra Messages

 

Review of blog readers’ comments and CENFACS’ responses.

This is more than just a review.  We are going to tell you what blog readers of CENFACS’ Website said.  We are as well going to respond to their comments. 

We thank and value all the comments readers do make.  However, for the purpose of this review and responses to readers, we have selected two comments only.  Due to new data protection regulations, the identities of these readers will not be revealed.

First reader’s comment

The first reader made some comments regarding the Review of 2018 in pictures and images we presented about CENFACS’ work.  This reader’s comments were that we gave preference to pictures or images for the review rather than writing or literature.

CENFACS’ response to this first reader

We would like to thank this reader for the comments made and their readership.  We would like as well to say this.  By presenting pictures and images about what year 2018 was like at CENFACS, we did not blow away our writing neither our review message.  It is pointless to stress that images and pictures convey as well messages of poverty, poverty relief and sustainable development.   Also, we do not let pictures and images speak for themselves.  We always tell the story behind them.

Second reader’s comment

The second reader expressed some views that we repeat stuff on our blog and posts.

CENFACS’ response to the second reader

Again, we would like to say thank you for the valuable comments made.

We would like as well to stress that in the work we do there is a chain of events and activities.  We have a programme and a calendar of works.  There is a link between what we did, we do and we will do. What you may call repetitions could just be reviews.  We do regular reviews on our projects and programmes.  We do not need to wait the end of the financial or civil year in order to do a review. 

We want our readers and supporters to be able to follow us through and understand the way in which we work.   It is in this way you would well understand what we are trying to achieve as an organisation.  We cannot throw away our history, just because we are writing or working on something new.

We hope the above responses will satisfy the above readers.   

However, should they need further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us.  

Many thanks!

 

Main Developments from the Week’s Contents

•• 2018 DRC Appeals in Review

In 2018, we launched three appeals for the DRC.

Two appeals were carried out under our Light Appeal projects (addressing the two problems faced by the victims of armed conflicts and destructive natural disasters).  The first appeal focused on the support of Conflict Victims while the second appeal backed the Flood Victims. 

Under CENFACS’ Humanitarian Disaster Relief programme (which is Rebuilding and Sustaining Infrastructures and Lives), we launched a health-enhancing emergency appeal regarding the Ebola virus there.

Appeals under the Light Projects

The first wave of Winter 2018 DRC Appeal was about Bringing and Lighting a Blaze of Hope for the Hardest Hit People in the DRC by Continuing Armed Conflicts and Unfinished Business of Peaceful Transition to Political Democratisation Processes.

Since there was a repeat of fights between the conflicting sides together with the flooding situation which occurred there, we appealed to you again to do something new to the complex humanitarian and democratically disputed political circumstances of the DRC. 

 

Our appeal was about supporting the ordinary local poor Congolese people who were caught in a political process they did not control, process which made their lives miserable since it began in the mid-1990s. 

 

We Lighted a Blaze of Hope for Poverty Relief and Development so that the local Congolese people in DRC could turn their two decades and half of suffering into a future of hope, peaceful and sustainable development. 

We advocated and hoped that the wisdom would prevail from the mindsets of all involved parties so that the lives of vulnerable and poor DRC local people could be protected while this process was still going through until it finishes peacefully. 

 

The second part of DRC Appeal was about Lighting a Blaze of Hope for the Flood Victims there.  Since 2017 until this January 2018, DRC was badly flooded particularly in the North Kivu and Kinshasa to name just two of the flooded areas there.    

 

There had been a great number of homes swiped by heavy rains, collapsing walls and landslides, exacerbation of diseases with 55000 cases recorded of cholera and 1190 deaths from cholera. 

Adding to this pitiable picture, there were poor sanitation and lack of access to safe drinking water, poor infrastructure and flooded roads with rainfall etc.  The number of deaths from flooding continued to increase.

This difficult environmental health situation was happening at the time when the same country was confronted with armed conflicts over its democratic transition processes.  The conflicting situation had already made the local Congolese people to pay a heavy price. 

 

Our appeal was all about going beyond the big picture of humanitarian relief aid and military intervention by doing little things such as Bringing and Lighting a Blaze of Hope for those who were in a desperate situation and had a pressing need there.

 

Briefly, because of the greater need that arose from the current grave situation in the DRC, CENFACS appealed to the world of peace, to you to support its Wintry 2018 call of LIGHTING A BLAZE OF HOPE FOR THE FLOOD VICTIMS IN DRC.

 

Appeal under the RILIVES programme: End Ebola in DRC Appeal

End Ebola in DRC Appeal was health-enhancing emergency appeal aimed at helping to end the Ebola virus which re-appeared in 2018 in some parts of the Democratic republic of Congo (DRC), particularly in the region of Mbandaka and in the capital Kinshasa. 

Ebola virus, which was discovered in 1976 in DRC, is a very deadly in its nature causing hemorrhagic fever and other health killing effects (such as vomiting, diarrhea etc.).  It does cause a severely critical risk to public health as it can lead to a chain of infections.  Ebola outbreak caused some fatalities that time.    

Because of the ferocity of this virus and the collapse of both infrastructures and State in DRC, there was a great and pressing need to make sure that the Ebola virus would not be forgotten before it spread across Africa or struck again in the future anywhere else.  

We then advocated that every effort to be deployed to stop it before the deadly Ebola virus became an epidemic.

We thank those who responded to the above three appeals and are helping the peoples of DRC to have peace and hope.

  

• • 2019 DRC Appeal for Sustainable Peace, Rebuilding Infrastructures and Lives 

What the 2019 DRC Appeal is about

This January 2019 Light Appeal for the DRC is the continuation of the 2018 appeals and previous ones.  We are currently appealing to the international development community for something to be done to peacefully resolve the legacies of the still fragile situations of previous armed conflicts, of repetitive natural disasters and of the side effects of the Ebola virus in DRC. 

It is also about appealing to all the players and vested interests in the DRC’s current disputed elections (presidential and parliamentarian) to resolve their disputes over the electoral process peacefully and democratically.  

This appeal is both a post-war and post-disaster development as there is a pressing need from the ordinary populations who continue to enormously suffer from these previous events.  It is time to start thinking and awakening in terms of transitional development programme, sustainable peace and re-building infrastructures.

What the main focus of this appeal

We are particularly appealing for the current political process through the means of election (which just happened) to bring sustainable peace rather than endless disagreement with all the unthinkable terrible consequences this can lead to.

We hope that the competing sides of this long overdue democratic transfer of power will come to an agreement, the wish of the ordinary peoples will be respected, the integrity of the electoral process will be preserved and the rule of law will prevail. 

To whom this appeal is addressed to

We are both appealing to the development community from within the DRC itself and to the development community from outside to help bring sustainable peace and reconstruction of infrastructures destroyed by continuing armed conflicts and natural disasters. 

As we always argue that it is those little things one can do that can bring big helpful difference to the lives of those who are suffering from the above situation.  These little things could include just talking to those who have the keys or powers on what is happening on the grounds.

What outcome or long term change we expect from this appeal: a State for People

2019 should be a turning point with this first democratic election for the DRC since the post independence era; a turning point as we are moving into a new decade – the 2020s.  A new chapter from which one can hope that the new form of State, if any, that will emerge from this democratic change will be the State serving the poor, not itself. 

Using the underlying principles of our Light Appeal, one can say a New State that will provide the sound foundations for sustainable peace to begin and for destroyed infrastructures by natural disasters (unpredicted and planned disasters) to be tackled.

What you can do to help

There are many ways of helping; however if you decide to join the 2019 DRC Appeal, together we can undertake the following actions.

● You could INFLUENCE people both around and not around you to help those who have been still affected by the legacies of war, natural disaster, deadly virus and deadlock of the outcomes of the recent election in the DRC.

● You could CHOOSE your own way of helping and let CENFACS facilitates your help reaches out to the victims of the situation in DRC

● You could SUPPORT CENFACS to support the people and Africa-based Sister Organisations in need on the grounds and working on these issues

What CENFACS want you to do

CENFACS would like to appeal to you to undertake any of the following actions by supporting

● The Overseas development charities campaigning and working for the victims of wars, natural disasters, democratic transition and Ebola virus in Africa

● CENFACS’ Appeal for the victims of the situation in DRC

● CENFACS to support its Africa-based sister organisations and other organisations working on the grounds in Africa for rebuilding peace, infrastructures, democracy and healthcare

● A comprehensive strategy for rebuilding peace and infrastructures in Africa to prevent future conflicts, natural disasters and the eruption of deadly virus

● CENFACS’ New Transitional Development Programme that moves Africa-based Sister Organisations (organisations based in countries that long experienced destructive wars and natural disasters) from being subject to emergency relief programme to become organisations enjoying  a normal sustainable development programme

● CENFACS’ Humanitarian Disaster Relief programme (Rebuilding and Sustaining Infrastructures and Lives)

 

How we can communicate to deliver this Appeal

For support relating to

● Overseas development charities and non-governmental organisations, contact them individually

● CENFACS’ sister organisations, speak to CENFACS

● CENFACS, contact us and/or send your support to CENFACS.

 

Thank you for your support!

 

• • All in Development Winter e-Discussion (2018-2019): Volunteering for a New Climate Economy – Feedback

This is a summary of responses and reactions to the last All in Development Winter e-Discussion which was held between 05 December 2018 and 05 January 2019.  The feedback focused on Volunteering for a New Climate Economy.

The key contents of this e-discussion are as follows.

We welcome the buoyant views and comments expressed about the changing roles of volunteers at all levels of our organisation and the charity sector.

The evolving roles include all types of functions that individuals involved in giving their time for free whether they are from within the organisation (like members) or coming from outside to volunteer. 

As far as volunteering for the new climate economy is concerned, the latter requires an understanding of what it can provide for everybody.  Like any economy, this economy requires people to adapt and sometimes to rethink and change their way of producing, consuming and distributing goods and services.  This why there is a need to volunteer for such an economy. 

One of the understanding things this e-discussion has revealed is how to involve volunteers in some particular tasks such as street fundraising and home fundraising using for example online and digital technologies.   People volunteering from their own homes using their own devices (such as mobile phones, tablets etc.) to carry out voluntary tasks. 

Questions were raised regarding the way of overseeing and monitoring this kind of way of volunteering.

This may require setting up some boundaries or guidelines in the forms of policies with the inclusion of methods and techniques of referencing (such as credit score and report, criminal record checks etc.). 

However, this can raise the issue of costs compared to the level or amount of the tasks the volunteer would undertake.

To sum up, in a changing role of volunteers and in evolving economic world volunteers have their place to make the change that is needed in the lives of those in pressing needs.

We would like to thank everybody for their inputs that will help to improve our volunteering policy and practice while adjusting and developing our All in Development Volunteer scheme.

 

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

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

With many thanks

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

09 January 2019

Post No. 73

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

  

• What is new this Year

• The Season of Light continues …

 • Light Projects: Post-War and Post-Disaster Appeals

 

 

… and much more! 

 

 

Key Messages from this Week’s Contents

  

What is new this Year

 

There is the 2019 Climate Talks Follow-up.

⇒ 2019 Climate Talks Follow-up

At the end of 2018, we told you that there was a consensus within CENFACS so that our Climate Talks Follow-up project gets to the next level from 2019. 

The next follow-up will be on Taking Climate Protection and Stake for African Children at the Implementation Level.  It is the Phase 3 of our Climate Talks Follow-up project.  Phase 1 was the First African Children Generation of the Millennium Development Goals and the Climate State, while Phase 2 was Climate Protection and Stake for African Children.

The details of this new follow-up will be unveiled in due course.  

 

 

There are as well two big events this year at CENFACS which are: the end of CENFACS’ Twenty-tens programme and CENFACS’ Quadranscentennial Year (the “Q” Year)

 

⇒ The end of the Twenty-tens (2010s) programme

 

2019 is the year end of CENFACS’ 2010s Poverty Relief Programme, which has been our 10 year work plan that began on 1 January 2010 and will end on 31 December 2019.  In 2017, we conducted an evaluation, review, survey of this programme.  As a result, we upgraded it.

 

As we will be moving into a new decade in 2020, we are starting some rounds of reflections and conversions about the next programme of our poverty relief work. 

From March 2019, we shall conduct another review and discussion on the 2010s’ record and look at prospects.  These rounds of discussions, thoughts and consultations with CENFACS’ stakeholders will enable to shape up the future of our poverty relief work. 

We hope that by the end of this year, we will be able set up another programme, the Twenty-twenties (2020s).

 

⇒ 2019 as Quadranscentennial Year (the “Q” Year) for CENFACS

 

Each year, we try to find the best way to meet the needs of our project beneficiaries while remembering some of the key works we did with them and exploring innovative ways to re-engage with stake holders.  We do it by dedicating the year to a particular memorable theme.  As result, 2019 has been declared as the Quadranscentennial Year for CENFACS.

 

This dedication makes another new development this year, which is the 25^th anniversary of the concept of CENFACS. This year will be the 25^th anniversary since CENFACS was created.  It is the Quadranscentennial Year for CENFACS or the “Q” Year (1994 to 2019).  It is the year we are starting to talk about Generation CENFACS as a period of 25 years for CENFACS as a sustainable creation alongside with other creations we made with it.  We are working on the best possible ways to celebrate this Silver Jubilee of CENFACS as a quadranscentennial creation. 

 

Again, the details of this celebration will be released in due course.

 

 

 

What’s on this Season of Light

 

Our Season of Light continues with the Light Projects, as indicated on the above projects and programmes planner scheduled for January, February and March 2019.

 

To put our Season of Light into practice, there will be two waves of advocacy work to support the victims of armed conflicts and destructive natural disasters in Africa. 

 

The first wave of action will be on the past, the legacies of the very latest disaster and war events which have left people hungry in some parts of Africa (this is our Africa Post-War and Post-Disaster Appeals).  We shall as well appeal to reduce the impacts of these events and crises on agriculture and food security.

 

The second wave of action will be on advocating for support for the victims of the current and emerging armed conflicts and destructive natural disasters in Africa.  

 

Because the nature of the events these appeals are dealing with, we may change the gear to take into account of the unpredictability of these events.

 

What’s new to this year’s Season of Light

 

We are introducing a new dimension to our Digital and Social Media Campaign; dimension which will focus on IT and Online Security. 

 

As said above, we have two new events coming up this year which are: Review and Prospects about the 2010s programme and this Year’s Dedication as the Quadranscentennial Year (or the “Q” Year).

 

Other initiatives making the 2019 Season of Light

 

Generation Global Goals project is an online discussion regarding the impacts of the global goals on children.  It will be conducted under CENFACS be-Africa forum.

 

 

Our January month theme of Responsible Consumption under Consume to Reduce Poverty (CRP) and Climate Change project continues as well.    

This year’s 7^th issue of CRP will focus on Anti-pollution Consumption

 

Another feature of the current Season of Light is the continuing implementation of the project ABCD (Adaptation for Building Capacity and Development), project that enables us to get our mindsets, skills and capacities ready while the on-going negotiations regarding the process of UK exiting (or not exiting) the European Union are underway.

 

Briefly speaking, the above 2019 Projects and Programmes of the Season of Light are Top Quality Reliefs for those in need.  They are made with a selection of hard to find poverty relief products and services as 2019 kicks in.

 

 

 

Extra Messages from this Week’s Contents

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

This is what the Season of Giving is all about.

 

 

Key Messages from the Week’s Contents

 

 

• • Light Projects in 2019

 

This Winter 2019, our Lights projects will focus on two parts or two waves of action as said above: 

1/ post-war and post-natural disaster developments

2/ current and emerging armed conflicts and environmental catastrophes

 

A Blaze of Hope for post-life following armed conflicts and natural disasters

 

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

 

As we cannot wait the return or repeat of the same wars and disasters, our first Blaze of Hope (Post-life Blaze of Hope) will go this Winter to the unfinished business of previous destructive wars and natural disasters as we did last Winter – the Post-War and Post-Disaster Appeal.

 

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

 

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

 

So, our second wave of intervention or In-life Blaze of Hope will go this Winter to erupted effects of armed conflicts and natural disasters in the areas of our interest in Africa.  This is our Appeal related to Live Conflicts and Disasters. 

 

The Details of this second appeal will be released as events appear and unfold. 

 

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

 

CENFACS look forward to your support to deliver these Wintry Appeals.

 

 

• • Digital and Social Media Campaign

 

IT (Information Technology) and Online Security to Reduce Poverty

 

This campaign is part of our Digital and New Media Programmes.  It is the continuation of our work on the Role of Mobile Phone in Reducing Poverty and Hardships amongst Women and Children; work which we conducted last year.

 

IT and Online Security is not anymore a matter of security experts only.  Anyone handling IT equipment and using online services needs to have basic (not necessarily expert one) knowledge and skills to protect themselves and other vulnerable people (such as children) and do their work. 

 

The IT and Online Security is a digital social media campaign to help protect vulnerable and poor people and families using IT and online technologies against various types of online threats and digital risks (such as scams and illegal and malicious practices). The campaign includes the use the e-safety tools and advice.

 

For further details and to support this Digital and Social Media Campaign, contact CENFACS.

 

 

• • Consume To Reduce Poverty and Climate Change

 

Issue 2019: Anti-pollution Consumption

 

Key highlights, Tips & Hints

 

What is Anti-pollution Consumption

The 7^th Issue of CRP is dealing with the process of using resources to satisfy human wants and needs in making sure that products and services bought are the ones that are free from harming health, wildlife, the nature and environment.

 

It means that before consuming, care must be taken to check and avoid products and services that contaminate or pollute water and air; sources of energy that encourage the excessive burning of fossil fuels (such as oil, coal and natural gas), cosmetic products that contain polluting agents.

 

Anti-pollution Shopping Basket

Using the internet, e-mail, social networks and other communication technologies; it is possible to get enough information about products and services that reduce pollution and poverty at the same time.  It is as well possible to find resources and websites that compare these kinds of products, services and prices.  

 

Anti-pollution Consumption and Poverty Reduction

Individual and family strategies of reducing the state of having little or no money or even no material possessions are not incompatible with anti-pollution consumption.  Individuals and families (including the poor ones) can consume products and services that are free from pollution.  People and families can leapfrog poverty reduction to anti-pollution consumption.

 

Anti-pollution Consumption and Circular Economic Model

Embracing the recipes of the economic model that decouples (bad) exploitation of natural resources and the desire to meet human needs and wants (circular economy), can help improve consumer behaviour against pollution.

 

Anti-pollution Consumption and the New Climate Economy

The process of using anti-polluting resources to satisfy human wants and needs can goes hand in hand with an organised system for the production, distribution and use of goods and services that takes into account the changing weather conditions.  In other words, consuming anti-polluting products and resources can help reduce adverse climate change.  A New Climate Economy can bring new climate educational opportunities, economic savings and improved well-being for the poor.  These attributes of the New Climate Economy can help them consume anti-pollution goods and services. 

 

Anti-pollution products verification, identity and authenticity

It is a good idea for any consumer rich or poor to check anti-pollution features on their buys and other specifications and read other people’s testimonies, reviews or comments about it.  Also, one needs to be sure that the anti-pollution message advertised and marketing match products results and tests, and customer’s satisfaction. 

 

Security and Guarantee 

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

 

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

 

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

 

To support Responsible Consumption and get the full issue 2019 of Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

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

With many thanks

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

02 January 2019

Post No. 72 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Year’s Week Contents

 

• Review 2018 

• Consumption that Reduces Poverty and Enhances Sustainable Development in 2019 

• The Next Issue of FACS: The 62^nd Issue

 

… and much more!

 

Key Messages from the New Year’s Week Contents

 

New Year, New Hope & New Relief

 

Again, Happy New Year and welcome back to Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development in 2019 and the Years ahead!

 

2018 in Review 

At the start of the year, the recurring question one can ask is: what is the best way to start the year?  There is no a classic answer to this question. 

Perhaps, the best way to start the year with CENFACS is look at what happened the previous year, that in 2018.  Possibly, we may or may not learn something about it.  But, it is still worth reviewing 2018.  This is our 2018 in Review.

2018 in Review is given under the Main Development of this post

 

Consumption that Reduces Poverty and Enhances Sustainable Development in 2019

 

As we are already in January, this month is our month for Responsible Consumption following CENFACS development calendar.  It means that the theme for January is Sustainable Consumption and the monthly project carrying this theme is Consume to Reduce Poverty.   

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

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

The Festive Income Boost is an income-generating resource while CRP brings in a consumption-led look in our fight against poverty.  The next issue (issue no. 7) of CRP will be on Consumption that pollutes less the nature.

 

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

 

The UK Economy in the Post-2018 Era and Africa in 2019 

Much of what we do depends on the health of the UK economy and its direction.  This year, if we are allowed to say it, the UK economy is still at the crossroads between exiting the European Union, remaining in this Union and engaging in a third way to leave the island of the crossroads.  Whatever these three options may be, the truth is the UK economy is in the transitional phase of Post-European Economic Integration; what we called Post-Regional Economic Integration Era.  

To take into account the circumstances in which the UK is in and the probable effects of its positioning on work, our ABCD project will be the sustainable development initiative that will help us to deal with some of the unpredictable situations of this era, at least for the start of the year 2019.

A great deal of our work is as well linked to what is happening and may happen in Africa.  2019 is the electoral and electioneering year in more than 10 African countries.  These elections resurface the debate about the relationships between political democratisation and poverty reduction or between political democratisation and sustainable development. 

As such we need to look at beyond our lenses and sometimes to speculate about the future or simply the months or years ahead.  This is why we have identified some challenging trends for a better change in Africa in 2019, the Nine Challenges That Africa Faces In 2019 To Change.  We have brought these challenges under the same pot, what we call Africa in 2019.

 

 

Main Development from the New Year’s Week Contents

 

• • CENFACS’ 2018 Year in Review

 

CENFACS’ Year in Review tells a story of poverty relief and sustainable development in 2018 in pictures in monthly development calendar.

2018 started at CENFACS as a dedication to the Local People or a Local Year.  To effect the year, we conducted a Local Campaign Year.

Looking back at the images of poverty relief and sustainable development that shaped 2018 at CENFACS, we are pleased to present them to you as follows.

The above review in pictures shines a light into CENFACS’ work over the last twelve months from the 1st of January to the 31^st of December 2018.  It is presented to you as an informal summary of twelve voted images or pictures that made 2018.  The selected images and pictures are the ones that had the most votes in terms of their influence on work and activities.   

We cannot end this review without thanking all those who helped us to achieve what we managed to achieve.  

To all our supporters, we simply say thank you very much and wish you a very Happy New Year!

 

Looking ahead to 2019, we hope we will able to continue to develop sustainable initiatives to help reduce poverty and enhance  sustainable development in the UK and in Africa.  Projects and programmes of transition to circular and new climate economies are our carriers in this New Year.

 

 

 

 

 

Consume to Reduce Poverty (CRP) is our users’ New Year supporting information and accompanying booster that focuses on Buying and Consumption elements conducive to the reduction of poverty and hardships. It is indeed a complimentary support to our Autumn Festive Income Boost resource.  The Festive Income Boost is an income-generating resource while CRP brings in a consumption-led look in our fight against poverty.  The next issue (issue no. 7) of CRP, which will be on Anti-pollution Consumption, will expand on this.

 

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

 

  

• • Abstract of the Issue no. 62 of FACS, issue entitled: 

HOW TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN AGRICULTURAL MARKETS FOR AFRICAN SMALL SCALE FARMERS AND FARM PRODUCE IN 2019 AND BEYOND

Agriculture remains central for poverty relief and sustainable development in Africa.  Within the agricultural sector, African small scale farmers and farm produce are pivotal.  However, these farmers and their produce experience many problems if one does not want to say barriers.  The issues impeding their growth include the following: the lack of market facilities, deficiency of key support to poor farmers, the absence of genuine incentive regulations etc.

The above stated issues fall within the background of the need to improve market facilities and infrastructures for Africa’s small scale farmers and farm produce.  It is the need to create and sustain agricultural markets for them.  However, creating and sustaining agricultural markets is not end itself unless someone talk about improving people’s life, especially the poorest of them.  In this respect, creation and sustaining agricultural markets finds its foundation in the necessity, if not a compulsion, to reduce and end poverty as well as enhance sustainable development.  

Yet, these above lacks leave less scope for CENFACS’ Africa-based Sister Organisations compared to their need of trying to set up and implement agricultural sustainable initiatives to tackle poverty and hardships; including agricultural income-generating projects and programmes.  The problem of agricultural markets is not made easier by the big agro-industrial multinational corporations that tend to control the agricultural markets marginalising small farmers. 

Creating and sustaining agricultural markets is paramount in the fight against poverty and hardships.  It helps poor small scale farmers to seize opportunities in the African and global markets, to integrate and benefit from free trade areas, to upgrade and add value to their produce.  It finally provides them with ways of reducing poverty and enhancing sustainable development.

This is the abstract of the 62nd Issue of FACS, CENFACS’ bilingual newsletter.  The Issue will cover the following thematically poverty relieving areas:  agricultural finances for poverty relief, female farmer entrepreneurs, trade and market information for female agricultural traders, informal cross-border agricultural traders, agricultural products and regional value chains, connection between buyers and sellers of agricultural products, agricultural products and gender minorities, African poor farmers in imperfect competition markets, paperless or e-information in the agricultural sector, digital agriculture and farming, empowering African poor farmers and Africa-based Sister Organisations, les fermiers et produits cultivés africains dans les parts des marchés agricoles, and Africa feed Africa with Agriculture project.

To enquire or to get further details about this 62nd Issue of FACS, contact CENFACS. 

 

• • Africa in 2019

 

Nine Developments to look forward to in 2019 for Poverty Relief and Development in Africa

At the beginning of the year, the byzantine question which comes every year is how to start better and do better during the New Year from what we have been doing/taking as a course of actions to deal with a particular problem (for example poverty). 

 

How to start and do better means that there may some challenges that we need to find.  There are many challenges that Africa faces which each institution and or person can identify. 

 

We have selected nine areas in which we think that, if properly dealt with, there could a better change for those in need.   These are areas to watch for poverty relief and sustainable development in Africa. 

 

We do not assume these selected challenges are the most important. 

 

They include the following.

 

Fair share of the fruits of economic growth

It does not matter how small or big the economic growth is.  What is important is that the fruits of economic growth are shared or distributed fairly or equitably.  In particular, its share to reduce poverty needs to be enough in order to bring about the results expected from any poverty reduction policy or programme.

Bringing better change in Africa in 2019 means that improving the share of poverty reduction as part of the fruits of economic growth to be distributed.

Development 1: How to improve the share of poverty reduction as part of the fruits of economic growth in Africa.

 

2019 African Elections

Democratic elections are often said to be the answer to many of the problems that Africa faces.  In 2019, there will be elections in dozen of African countries.  One can hope that the outcomes of these elections and those who will be elected will be the real servant of the poor.

What is true is that 2019 will be another milestone for better political change for those countries which will go to polls; change that one can expect to translate into poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Development 2: The 2019 elected African leaders to be the servant of the poor people

 

Institutions of poverty relief and sustainable development

Having institutions that effectively and efficiently deal with poverty reduction and sustainable development really matter.  Many institutions in Africa claim to be democratic and working for people.  But, do they really deal with poverty and sustainable development of the poor as they claim?

The democratic test of these institutions in 2019 is to see how they will impact poverty and sustainable development.

Development 3: Making African institutions work for poor and sustainable development

 

Conflicts reduction

All the development analysts and practitioners recognize that conflict is one the major factors holding Africa’s progress back for many decades if not centuries.  Armed conflicts and wars have claimed many lives, destroyed infrastructures and wasted time for Africa’s sustainable development. 

2019 should be of armed conflicts reduction, if not end, as any policies and programmes for poverty relief and sustainable development can only genuinely be implemented in the context of peace and security. 

Development 4: The reduction of armed conflicts to become effective on the grounds

 

Women entrepreneurs

Recognising the value of women’s contribution in Africa’s society should not be only a matter of political speeches and academic discourses.  Amongst women are those other women who try to set up a business or already in business not only to make ends meet for themselves, but to lift others (i.e. the entire family or society) out of poverty.

2019 should be the year of valuing the work of women entrepreneurs in Africa, of funding their businesses.     

Development 5: Funding businesses run by African women

 

Energy transition

To reduce the adverse effects and impacts of climate change, we all require doing something.  One of the things we need to do is to try rethinking or transiting in the way we consume energy.  Africa too needs to do its own energy transition in 2019 and beyond in order to reduce deforestation and land degradation.  As the circular economic theory tells us no one needs to destroy vast amount of forests, the nature and environment to deal with poverty.

2019 can be a challenging year for energy transition in Africa in finding sustainable way of consuming energy while still keeping pace with poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Development 6: Transiting to sustainable sources of energy

 

Climate education

Making a new climate economy works for all means that children as well as adult are educated to such an extent that they can embrace that new climate economy.  So, educating children and training adult people regarding climate issues in Africa will help not only to deal with climate change.  It will as well create new opportunities for the poor.

Developing climate skills in Africa in 2019 will help both to tackle the adverse effects and impacts of climate change and climate induced-poverty.

Development 7: Developing climate skills and reducing climate-induced poverty

 

Climate migrants

Migration continues to be a burning issue in Africa and elsewhere as environmental disasters and climate events continue to strike in Africa and elsewhere.  The consequences of these events are that people get forcibly displaced and involuntarily migrated.  Since sometimes, there has been a new trend or phenomenon of migration in Africa; that is climate migration within Africa.

2019 could be the year of seriously taking this emerging phenomenon of migration because of adverse climate change.

Development 8: Reduce the root causes of climate migration and support climate migrants

 

Climate finance

It is good to argue to reduce climate change.  It should be good as well for those countries and people who could not afford to finance adverse climate change reduction programme to be supported.  For the purpose of climate finance to the poor, CENFACS’ Financial Odyssey is a starting point about climate finance debate.       

2019 should also be of mobilising finance for those who cannot bear the cost or bill of adverse climate change reduction in Africa.

Development 9: Meeting the climate finance needs of Africa’s poor and vulnerable people

 

 

We would like ask to our readers-supporters to watch and monitor those selected developments in this 2019 and beyond. 

 

As far as CENFACS is concerned, we will do what we can and it takes us in our capacity and limitations to continue to work with those who are interested in and willing to reduce and end poverty so that 2019 can be a year of improved outcomes of poverty reduction both in quality and quantity of intervention.

 

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

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

With many thanks

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

26 December 2018

Post No. 71 

 

Festive Week’s Contents

 

• Festive Season’s Arrangement

 

• Peace, Hope and Charity e-Store

 

• Thanking Year 2018 Makers and Enablers

 

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages from the Festive Week’s Contents

 

Festive Season’s Arrangement

The following is the arrangement we have made for the remaining days of 2018.

Queries and enquiries

 

During the Festive holidays, we will only handle online queries and enquiries until the 7th of January 2019.  However, our Winter e-discussion on Volunteering for a New Climate Economy is still on until the 5th of January 2019 as planned.

 

Festive Donations

 

Those who want to donate to our fundraising campaigns and projects (such as Gifts of Peace and End-of-Year 2018 Support) are welcome to do so. 

 

Season of Light

 

Our Season of Light continues as planned.  However, some of our services and activities (such as advice-giving, advocacy etc.) as well as development campaigns are scaled down around this period until the above mentioned return date.

 

What’s on for the rest of December 2018

 

For those who want to get a further picture about what has been happening at CENFACS during the remaining days of December 2018, we recommend them to read our three last posts on the Blog page of this site.

 

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

 

Emergency and exceptions

 

In case of emergency or exceptional circumstances, please do not hesitate to text/phone; we will respond to your text/phone as soon as we can. 

 

We apologize for any inconvenience or upset this may cause. 

 

We thank you all for your invaluable and sustained support during 2018 and look forward to your continued and further support in the New Year.

 

We wish you a Very Happy and Peaceful Festive Season!

 

 

 

Peace, Hope and Charity e-Store

 

Peace and Hope

 

Our celebratory theme for the Season’s Reliefs is Peace and continues to be alive to the end of this season.  Our theme for the Season of Light is Hope and is still featuring what have planned to achieve over this season.   

Charity e-Store

CENFACS’ Charity e-Store is opened like any online shop during the festive period for either to shop or donate goods.

 

Every time you shop or donate goods at CENFACS’ Charity e-Store, you make a helpful difference to people in need over this festive time and beyond it.  

 

We can only help reduce and possibly end poverty if you help us to do so.   And this time of the year is a unique opportunity for you once a year to change lives through your invaluable support however small it may be.  Please, don’t miss this marvellous end-of-year opportunity!

 

Festive Income Boost, All year round projects and The CENFACS Community

 

Festive Income Boost

 

For children, young people and families in need on whose behalf we relentlessly advocate, we can expect that they have managed to generate some little extras incomes they need to cover the extra expenses of the Season’s financial pressures.  More importantly than anything else, they are managing to exercise their right to decent and deserving festive celebrations.

 

All year round projects

 

As our all year-round projects (i.e. Play, Run and Vote for poverty relief and development) come to a close, we would like to take this opportunity to thank those who responded to our call for Action-Results 2018.

 

The CENFACS Community

 

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

 

Main Festive Development

 

Thanking Year 2018 Makers and Enablers

 

The work and produce of CENFACS are collective endeavour.  The end of the year gives us an opportunity of the many to thank all those who directly and indirectly contributed to the year 2018 either as year maker or enabler.

 

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

 

Year 2018 has been an amazing one for CENFACS thanks to the contribution of various individuals and organisations. In particular, we would like to mention the following contributors: users, volunteers, web readers and commentators, web reviewers, local people and families, Africa-based Sister Organisations, charitable organisations, non-governmental organisations, third sector organisations, recycling organisations, individuals etc.

 

Year 2018 has been for us of digital, social media and online technology support as well.  This is a new type of support that we would like to mention without undermining the other and traditional sources of support we normally receive.  We would like to thank WordPress.com, Easily.uk and Twitter.com. 

 

WordPress.com, Easily.uk and Twitter.com with their platforms have given us as a charity an amazing opportunity and learning experience to engage the public and other supporters as well as enable us to re-communicate our anti-poverty messages and undertake our work on sustainable development.

 

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

 

This is why we are using the opportunity of the end of year to thank all those who made and enabled the year 2018 to work for CENFACS and its beneficiaries.

 

We would like to express all our feelings of thank you and best wishes of the Season’s Greetings to all our year 2018 Makers and Enablers.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this festive season.

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2018.

With many thanks

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

19 December 2018

Post No. 70

The Week’s Contents

• Festive Trends

• Season of Light

• All-year Round Projects: 2018 Verdict

… and much, much more!

Key Messages from the Week’s Contents

December and End of Autumn 2018 Updates and Trends

The following updates and trends cover three initiatives: All in Development Winter e-Discussion, Gifts of Peace and Community Value Chains.

All in Development Winter e-Discussion is currently trending as planned amongst CENFACS’ December products and services.  This e-Discussion is in its second week.   So far, the items e-discussed are the review of volunteers’ role and the definition of new tasks to be assigned to volunteers in a New Climate Economy.

To e-discuss volunteers’ matters related to the New Climate Economy, contact CENFACS.

Gifts of Peace are also trending over this Season’s Reliefs.  If you are looking for appeals or projects to fund as festive gifts over this festive time, Gifts of Peace are something you could consider.

To enquiry about and or fund Gifts of Peace, just contact CENFACS.

Community Value Chains, the CENFACS Community’s festive celebration as a Skillful Community, is being prepared and trended.  We are doing an inventory of skills and are registering the talents and skills of the CENFACS Community.  If you have not yet registered your skills to CENFACS’ Skills Data Bank, this is the opportunity to it over this festive period.

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

Autumn Fresh Start to the Season of Light

The Autumn season officially ends this week.  The momentum we built from the beginning of Autumn Fresh Start season continues to galvanise our poverty relief action and is taking our relief journey into the Season of Light which starts on the 21^st of December this week.

This week is thus the end of Autumn Fresh Start projects and programmes, and the beginning of the Season of Light; season during which we light up a Blaze of Hope for people and communities suffering from the effects and impacts of destructive wars and natural disasters in Africa. 

The Lights Appeal is the project that features the Season of Light, while the Gifts of Peace keep on giving the Festive Season.

Festive Gift Set

The remaining 13 days of this year starting from today are the last legacy of the Year 2018 as the Year of Local People at CENFACS.  To mark the end of and the last act of our Local Year Campaign, we are appealing to you to support of CENFACS’ year 2018 through a Gift of Survival for Local People.

With the Gift of Survival plus the Gift of Light plus the Gift of Peace; the three of them give you a Gift Set of £5 or more.  All these initiatives represent some great ways of helping to reduce poverty at this special time of the year.  They give indeed more opportunities to supporters to do something for those in need. 

All year round projects

At CENFACS the theme for the Season of Light is Hope which we try to bring through a Blaze, while the theme for the Festive Season’s Reliefs is Peace.

The week is finally an occasion to remind the need to report on all year round projects which are:  Play, Run and Vote projects for poverty relief and development.   

Under the Main Developments section of the post, we have provided what those who supported all year round projects need to report or feedback on. 

Extra Messages

Climate Talks Follow-up project: What’s next?

Since the world’s nations agreed a rule book (by adopting the Katowice climate package) to put into practice the 2015 Paris Agreement, our Climate Talks Follow up project needs some rethinking to take into account this change.  In particular, we will look at how measures agreed will help to protect children especially when reporting and verifying emissions-cutting efforts.  Our position is explained by the fact that there is still a missing element which is stepping up targets on child protection in relation to cutting emissions. 

One can hope that when the United Nations will meet in Chile in 2019, this will be an opportunity to sort out the final elements of the Paris rule book and begin work on future emissions targets.  In doing so, this will provide us some clarity about climate protection and stake of children. 

In meantime, the outcome from the rethinking of our Climate Talks Follow-up project has led us to take the project to the next level, which is the implementation level. So, after monitoring and evaluation of the Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 2 (CPSAC – P.2) and the last follow up this year, there has been some consensus within CENFACS so that our Climate Talks Follow-up project gets to the next level from 2019. 

Phases of CENFACS’ Climate Talks Follow-up

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

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

Phase 2: Climate Protection and Stake for African Children

Phase 3: Taking Climate Protection and Stake for African Children at the Implementation Level(from January 2019)

2019 Climate Talks Follow-up

The next follow-up will be on Taking Climate Protection and Stake for African Children at the Implementation level.

The details of this new follow-up will be unveiled in the New Year.  

End-of-year Support

As 2018 is coming to an end, we would like to ask you to donate as a legacy towards CENFACS’ efforts to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

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

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

Make a one-off Festive Donation of £5 or more this festive time

to help poor people via CENFACS and / or support CENFACS’ work on poverty relief and sustainable development

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

Make a Monthly Donation of £5 or £10 or  £15 or more per month as a legacy for CENFACS’ work

Please make an end-of-year contribution today to help us continue to deliver the work of CENFACS in 2019 and beyond.

Main Developments from the Week’s Contents

The Lights Season

The Lights Season at CENFACS kicks off with the theme of Hope as said above.  We are going to deliver this Hope with sustainable lights and sustainable energy.  The 2018-2019 Season of Light is a special one as the world has been asked to make energy transition. Implementing the Paris Climate Pact includes making energy transition.  Most of our environmentally-minded supporters and climate sensible humans understand this climate need.

Sustainable lights and energy are part of our work in developing sustainable initiatives to help reduce poverty,particularly in developing those initiatives helping to reduce deforestation and forest degradation as well as to reduce poverty induced by deforestation. 

While the theme of Peace will be dominant over the festive celebrations period, the theme of Hope is the overall theme of the Season of Lights.  The theme of Hope is made of notes or pieces of sustainable lights and energy.   In this sense that we can bring a glimmer of hope through sustainable lights and energy over this Wintry season.

The Gifts of Peace are included in the Season of Light.  Peace is the festive theme we choose to spread the joy of Season’s Reliefs to those in need. 

We try to help their wishes of poverty relief become true through the Gits of Peace that put a smile on their face with relief notes. 

The Gift of Light that Keeps on Giving this Winter

A gift of light for every person in need everywhere!

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

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

This is why we have the Lights project at CENFACS; projects which enable us to bring lights to those in need.  This Winter 2018-2019, our Lights projects will focus on two parts or two waves of action:  1/ post-war and post-natural disaster developments 2/ current and emerging armed conflicts and environmental catastrophes

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

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

A Blaze of Hope for post-life following armed conflicts and natural disasters

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

As we cannot wait the return or repeat of the same wars and disasters, our first Blaze of Hope will go this Winter to the unfinished business of previous destructive wars and natural disasters.

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

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

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

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

Run, Play & Vote projects 

As we are reaching the end of year 2018, it is now time to report on our three All-year Round Projects –which are Play, Run and Vote. 

We would like our users and supporters to share with us and others their experiences, stories and reports regarding these projects.

The Action-Results of 2018: Tell it!

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

… Run if you ran for poverty relief over the year 2018 (or organised a Run activity)

… Play if you played the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief

… Vote if you have already voted your 2018 African Poverty Relief Manager.

Remember!

If you are Playing the CENFACS Poverty Relief League and its sub-project Le Dernier Carrẻ, there are 16 team countries in this Poverty Relief and Development League playing each 32 matches/games each against the other. 

If you are Running for Poverty Relief and Development, you can do it alone or as a group. 

If you are casting your Vote for an International Development and Poverty Relief Manager of 2018, there are few days remaining until the end of the year 2018. 

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

To do that, you do not need sophisticated technologies or a third party.  With your mobile phone only– if you have one – you can text, record voices, make a video, take pictures,phone etc to capture and communicate the impacts of any event or activity you did, are doing or taking part by the end of this year. 

We would be more than happier to hear your Action and Results to feature and conclude CENFACS 2018 Year of Local People.  Tell it!

What we want to hear

We would like to hear from you about

• The Best African Countries of 2018 which best reduced poverty

• The Best African Global Games Runners of 2018

• The Best African Development Managers of 2018

If you have not yet told us, have your say by 23 December 2018!

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2018.

With many thanks

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

12 December 2018

Post No. 69

 

 

 The Week’s Contents

 

 • Adaptation for Building Capacity and Development (ABCD) project

 • All in Development Winter e-Discussion: Volunteering in a New Climate Economy

• Community Value Chains (CVC): The CENFACS Community 

 

 … and much, much more!

 

Key Messages from the Week’s Contents

 

This week is the start of our fundraising campaign for the Festive Season.  This campaign is being carried out through the Gifts of Peace, which are back to give the Festive Season’s kick and get our supporters in the mood of the Season’s Gifts. 

As usual, we have 12 Gifts to bring and sustain Peace for those in need and rise to the poverty-relieving challenge again.

To support and get further details about these 12 Gifts of Peace, go to  http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

The pick of this week’s advocacy is the pursuit of Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 2 with Katowice Implements Paris as our working theme.  It is the follow up of the Climate Change talks in Poland, which are due to end this week. 

The findings or outcomes from our follow up will be included in our next communications regarding the CPSAC – P.2.  In meantime, if you would like to talk about this Conference with CENFACS, just forward your comments to CENFACS.

 

The week is as well the resumption of the Post-Regional Economic Integration discussion with the ABCD project, which has taken over the previous works we did on this area of advocacy.  ABCD is one of our Autumn 2018 eleven ways of helping to reduce poverty this festive season and in the New Year.

Under the Main Development section of the post, you will find a summary about this project.

 

Our All in Development Winter e-discussion, which normally takes us to the New Year, has already kicked off since 05 December 2018.  This time our discussion is about doing voluntary work in a New Climate Economy.

 

The week is finally the start of our preparation for the end of the year 2018 through our December celebratory project the Community Value Chains, the CENFACS Community.  Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have provided more information about this year’s celebration.

 

Extra Messages

 

Festive Income Booster: Festive Work

Promoting the right of celebration for Poor Children, Young People and Families by boosting their income over the festive season continues to occupy our December poverty relief and sustainable development agendas.  Likewise, Festive Work as Season’s theme from this year’s edition of Festive Income Booster is also preoccupying our mindset. 

To access this Individual Capacity Development Programme resource, contact CENFACS.

 

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

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

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

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

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

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

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

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

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

 

 

 Main Developments from the Week’s Contents

 

• • Adaptation for Building Capacity and Development (ABCD) project

What is ABCD?

ABCD, which is the rebrand of our Post-Regional Economic Integration (REI) initiative and takes stock of it, is an adaptation and mitigation project of enhancement of people’s capacity to survive in the new environment of economic mutation or change from the regional economic integration.  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.

Climate change affecting the Earth planet requires humans to adapt and mitigate its adverse effects or impacts, so does economic change that adversely impacts regional economic blocs such as the European Union.  Although there could be significant differences between the two changes, it is right to admit that in both cases humans need adaptation and mitigation. 

By regional economic change, we simply mean that either an economy is exiting or exited from the regional economic integration bloc or even does not exit but nonetheless the REI bloc undergoes some economic changes.  These changes need to be of significant scope to force people and organisations to adapt and mitigate.

ABCD Aim

ABCD is an adaptation and mitigation project that aims at reducing poverty and vulnerability amongst people subject to the effects and impacts of economic change affecting a regional economic bloc (like the European Union) or a mutating economy (like the UK) within the exiting and non-exiting frameworks.  This will be done by people adapting their minds and behaviour to the new changing economic environmental conditions, building capacities and developing skills to mitigate the adverse effects and impacts from undesirable economic change.

ABCD expects to achieve the following outcomes:

√ Less vulnerable and deprived people and families during the evolutionary process of regional economic blocs and mutating economies

√ Resilient people against the effects of economic change

√ Increase in multi-skilled people in the economy

√ Reduced precariousness amongst people and families

√ Improved quality of life

√ Enhanced economic well-being of people etc

ABCD Beneficiaries

We can anticipate that those who will benefit from the implementation of ABCD are the following:

√ Those in need of transferable and convertible skills

√ Those who need basic skills to manage economic transition and mutation

√ Those with inadequate skills and in need of universal skills

√ Those who want to build their capacity to be able to reduce poverty and hardships 

To support or get further details about this initiative, contact CENFACS.

 

 

• • All in Development Winter e-discussion: Volunteering in a New Climate Economy

Volunteering in a New Climate Economy is CENFACS’ 8th Winter volunteering e-discussion since we launched in 2010 our discussion on Volunteering for Poverty Reduction in the 2010s. These 2018 wintry discussions will focus on how we can reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development in a New Climate Economy. 

Using the attributes of a New Climate Economy, we are e-conversing on the following issues: market opportunities for the poor, economic savings for them, new jobs and the prospects of improving their well-being, nature-based solutions to the problem of poverty, energy transition, poor people’s resilience, carbon pricing, climate action, climate finance and so on.  All these e-discussed issues shape the climate economy.    

Over the last years, All in Development Winter e-discussion has become one of the CENFACS’ bridging projects, a bridge between the ending year (2018) and the starting year (2019).  

Since 2012, our Winter e-discussion has been influenced by what has been happening at the global level with development goals settings; so reflecting our desire to keep a link between both local and global developments as the two are intertwined.  

The 2018-2019 Winter e-discussion expresses the same spirit and degree of interest when planning and formulating its contents.  It is an e-discussion which is our preparation for and ahead of the Climate Summit to be held in September 2019 by the United Nations.

 

Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS) 

It is possible to support CENFACS and its AiDVS from wherever you are (at home, work, away, online, on the go and move etc.). 

Supporting us does not need to be magical and majestic. 

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

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

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

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

• Savings and scrimping for AiDVs

• Festive deals, packages, coupons & vouchers for AiDVs

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

• Low carbon economic products to protect the environment

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

• Festive gifts for sustaining for voluntary work in the Post-regional Economic Integration era

• Wintry & festive giveaways for volunteering for a better world etc.

 

Recalling CENFACS’ Winter Volunteering E-Discussion Since Its Inception In 2010

2010-2011: Volunteering for Poverty Reduction in the 2010s which was the first e-discussion was based on how All in Development Volunteers (AiDVs) could play their role in CENFACS’ 2010s Poverty Reduction Advocacy programme of work

2011-2012: Green Volunteering helped us to e-discuss ways of supporting Green Economy  through Voluntary Green initiatives

2012-2013: With Sustainable Volunteering, we looked at the new currents and waves of sustainable development on volunteering and voluntary work

2013-2014: The focus was on Sustainable Development Goals and the Post-2015 Development Agenda Process

2014-2015: Our e-discussion theme was Volunteering for the Post-2015 Development Agenda Process & Climate Treaty

2015-2016: Our e-conversation was devoted to The Implementation & Delivery of New Agendas, Goals & Agreements

2016-2017: Our e-talks dealt with Projects and Programmes of Monitoring, Evaluation and Review within the Context of 2020-2030 Follow up Programme 

2017-2018: The focus of e-chat was on Volunteering in the Post-Regional Economic Integration Era.

To e-discuss Volunteering in a New Climate Economy, please contact CENFACS or just forward your comments, views and experiences to us.

• • Community Value Chains (CVC): The CENFACS Community 

What is CENFACS’ Community Value Chains (CVC)?

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

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

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

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

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

What are those Shared Values?

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

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

In focus for CVC 2018 Celebration: CENFACS AS A COMMUNITY OF SKILLED PEOPLE

The Celebratory Theme for CVC’s 10^th Celebration is CENFACS as a Skilful Community

The celebration will be featured by the skills that made CENFACS a skilful community.  In other words, we shall look at together the skills that contribute to the work of CENFACS; the skills of making helpful difference. 

These skills are: advocacy, project planning, fundraising, advisory, digital, networking, protection, campaigning skills etc.  They are the skills for life, work, poverty relief and sustainable development. 

It is the acknowledgement that CENFACS is advocate, project planner, fundraiser, advisor, campaigner, digital organisation, facilitator, networker, child protector, skills developer, communicator, benevolent and above all an organisation having the desire to make helpful difference.

The above skills make us together who we are and put us in a privileged position to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.    

The 2018 CVC celebration is not only about the display of our skills.  It is also about what these skills have helped us to achieve during this year and in the previous ones, as well as what contribution they will make in the years to come for us and people in need.

Every human being and organisation have a skill, so does the CENFACS Community.  Therefore, the CVC’s 10^th celebration is about bringing together our skills (unregistered) as well as those registered in our skills data bank to celebrate them as what makes us a Skilful Community.

Share, Spread & Tweet the message

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

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

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

Whatever way/means you choose to enter this project, please reply by the 23rd of December 2018 to ease the end-of-year 2018 celebration and the start-of-year 2019 preparatory activities, projects and programmes.

 

Community Value Chains TIMELINE

The following highlights the different yearly themes that so far made the CVC. 

2009: Inception of Community Value Chains as a Community Value Control, Inspirational and Motivational project of end-of- year celebration

2010: Community Value Chains as a Preparatory and Celebratory project to smooth our move to the next year

2011: Our Richness in Community Cohesion:  celebrating the greatness of, and extent to which we are linked to, our community of values and owning our shared values by sticking together as one world.

2012: Great for My Community: What is great value for me could be a great value for the community I am part of and for the organisation I am involved with.

2013: Upgrading Together: Moving together between different stages of the Community Value Chains to gain higher and better returns to participation in high value chains

2014: It is about poverty relief.  Is it?: Bringing under one umbrella all forms of poverty and engineering relevant customised reliefs.

2015: We as a Thriving Community of Capacities: We have the capacity to reduce certain forms of poverty amongst our members and around and outside ourselves

2016: CENFACS as a Social Media Community for Poverty Relief and Development: CENFACS is a social unit having common values, identity and beliefs

2017: By adding up all our talents, we were able to celebrated CENFACS as a Talented Community.

CONTACTING CENFACS for the CVC project

To celebrate our shared values and bonds of culture, to take part in our CVC project and develop the CENFACS Community, to tell us about your good value or valued practice or learning experience or even helpful difference and to add your skills (both revealed or unrevealed) to our Community of Skills; please get in touch.

http://twitter.com/cenfacs               e-mail: facs@cenfacs.org.uk

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2018.

With many thanks

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

05 December 2018

Post No. 68

 

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• December 2018 Programme: What’s On

• Festive Guide

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 2 with Katowice Implements Paris

 

… and much, much more!

 

Key Messages from this Week’s Contents

 

~ December 2018 Programme: What’s on

The initiatives inserted in the above image of December 2018 planner including those listed below are the ones that would make Festive Months and the Season of Light at CENFACS.  

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

This is a list of selected December 2018 initiatives – Season’s Reliefs:

• Festive Income Builder, Booster & Calculator: Festive Work

• Community Value Chains: CENFACS as a Community of Skilled People

• Volunteering in a New Climate Economy

• Thanking 2018 Year Makers & Enablers

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase2: Katowice Implements Paris

• Gifts of Peace (Edition 2018/2019)

• Run, Vote & Play for Poverty Relief and Development (Action-Results 2018)

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

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

 

~ CENFACS Festive Guide

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

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

 

~ Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 2 with Katowice Implements Paris

Our environmental season continues this week with our last climate campaign of the year 2018, which is on Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (Phase 2) with Katowice Implements Paris (KIP) as a working theme for this year. 

CPSAC – P.2 continues with our follow up of the climate change talks which started on 2 December 2018 under the sponsorship of United Nations and scheduled to end on 14 December 2018 in Katowice in Poland.  At this United Nations Climate Change Conference COP24 in Katowice (Poland), governments are set to agree the implementation guidelines of the Paris Climate Agreement.

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

CENFACS’ key demand to these global climate talks remains the same, which is: Implementation of climate protection and stake for African children; the African Children being a sample of our working climate model.  This demand is undertaking through the follow up of global climate talks like the ongoing climate talks (COP24) in progress in Poland.

We shall let you know the outcomes of this follow up.

 

Extra Messages

 

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

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

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

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

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

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

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

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

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

 

 

Main Developments from the Week’s Contents

 

• • CENFACS Festive Guide

 

Festive Services

These services are made of two types of projects:

Regular or ongoing projects, which are continuous, even during the festive period.  The project CPSAC – P.2 is one of them.

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

Both types of projects are included in our December 2018 programme and planned to be delivered over the month of December 2018.

Gifts of Peace

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

For more information about this Wintry appeal, contact CENFACS.  

Season’s Relief Theme

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

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

 

• • What the Month December is about at CENFACS

 

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

December as Income Generation Month

December is the Income Generation month according to CENFACS‘ monthly development calendar and planner.  It is the month during which we advocate and provide tips, hints and other types of advisory support on how to generate additional income to cover shortage in regular income, by using other avenues within the boundaries of the law in order to enable multi-dimensional income poor children, young people and families (C, YP & Fs) to exercise their basic human right to celebrate the end of the year in their own way.  

Income poverty is one of the dominant features that characterize and number some of the world’s C, YP and Fs as poor or not.  One can imagine what life looks like when you are below the poverty line (that is an income below a minimal standard).  It is even a painful and unbelievable situation that at the time of Festive Celebrations to mark the end of the year, tons of food and kiloliters of drink will be wasted and ended in bins in some of the most affluent places and households of the world while millions of C, YP & Fs in some of the deprived parts of the world will go hungry to bed in Festive nights, let alone without any celebrations once in a year life time. 

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

As part of festive support, our Edition 2018 Festive Extra Income Builder, Booster and Calculator is available for those who need it.  We launched this resource earlier in Autumn than we usually do.  We did it to enable those in need of the resource to get the tips and hints they need to early start exploring ways of boosting their income. 

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

December as Record Tracking Month

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

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

• Run to Reduce Poverty in Africa in 2018

• Vote your African Poverty Relief Manager of the Year 2018

We expect those who took part and or organised activities on our behalf about these projects to come forward, report and share with us their actions, results and experiences. 

December as the start of Winter Lights Season

 

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

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

To support the Edition 2018/2019 of Gifts of Peace, please contact CENFACS.

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

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

To carry the CENFACS Community into the New Year, our discussion on Sustainable Volunteering is scheduled to take place from 05 December 2018 to 05 January 2019.  The discussion theme for this year is Volunteering in a New Climate Economy. 

To take the other two domains (International and Fund) of CENFACS into 2019 and engage with stakeholders, we shall develop projects with circular economy-based contents.

For any enquiries or to support CENFACS in the month of December 2018 and in the New Year, contact CENFACS.

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going 

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

Donate to support CENFACS!

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

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

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

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2018.

With many thanks

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

28 November 2018

Post No. 67

The Week’s Contents

• MISATU project (project M)

• Skills Development Month with Analytical Skills

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) –  Phase 2 with Katowice Implements Paris

 

… and much, much more!

 

Key Messages from this Week’s Contents

~ MISATU project (project M)

On trend for this week’s story for poverty relief and sustainable development is Impact Analysis. 

We are continuing our work on the following: MISATU project (which is an impact analysis project) and CENFACS‘ 2020-2030-2063 Follow-up (or XX236.3F) programme, which is our general follow up.  XX236.3F is a Programme of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Climate Change Reduction, Halving Poverty, Sustainable Development Goals and Africa’s Development Agenda.  This week is the Impact Analysis week.

For further details about this trend, please read under the Main Developments of the post.

~ Skills Development Month with Analytical Skills

This week is the last one for our Skills Development month.  Because of that and of this week being also of Impact Analysis, we are therefore refocusing on impact analysis skills or the skills to carry out impact analysis, particularly analytical skills.  We are looking at both quantitative and qualitative skills for impact analysis. 

In the context of project MISATU and XX236.3F programme, impact analysis skills are the skills CENFACS and its Africa-based organisations are using to check the effectiveness of support for project MISATU and the benefits of global goals for XX236.3F programme.  These skills have to be differentiated from the presentation skills of capturing and visualising outcomes used to present research findings or results.  Analytical skills are part of the impact analysis skills.

Analytical skills are ‘the ability to collect and analyse information (and data), problem-solve, and make decisions’ according to the Balance Careers. (https://www.thebalancecareers.com)

~ Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 2 with Katowice Implements Paris

Our environmental season has not yet finished.  This coming weekend, we are reviving or resuming our campaign on Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (Phase 2) with Katowice Implements Paris (KIP) as a working theme for this year. 

CPSAC – P.2 continues with our follow up from this weekend of the climate change talks which will be held under the auspices of United Nations Conference and which will take place from 2 to 14 December 2018 in Katowice in Poland. 

KIP is both a specific follow-up as part of CPSAC – P.2 and another example of the application of XX236.3 programme.

For more on our climate follow-up talks, read under the Main Development section of this post.

 

Extra Messages     

Festive Income Booster: Festive Work

Promoting the right of celebration for Poor Children, Young People and Families by boosting their income over the festive season continues to occupy our November poverty relief and sustainable development agendas.  Likewise, Festive Work as Season’s theme from this year’s edition of Festive Income Booster is also preoccupying our mindset.  To access this Individual Capacity Development Programme resource, contact CENFACS.

 

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

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

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

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

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

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

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

√ SHOP at CENFACS Charity e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief during the festive period 2018

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

 

Main Developments from this Week’s Contents

•• Project MISATU (project M) –

Making Impactful Support to Africa Together with Users

Project M is a sustainable development and impact analysis initiative that helps to capture and communicate in effective way the impact of support to Africa by involving users.

MISATU is one of CENFACS’ Autumn XI starting projects that aims at reducing poverty and enhancing sustainable development through the improvement of the results (outcomes) and impacts from support to Africa by working together local organisations and their users.

MISATU is at the same time a model of working together, an impact analysis project, a support project, a communication, evidence-based and user-involved project.

Let’s briefly explain the above attributes of MISATU.

MISATU as a model of working together with local organisations and users is based on the strength of the link between local organisations and users as well as other stakeholders to share the benefits equally or fairly

MISATU as a collaborative evidence-based sustainable initiative helps in capturing the effects of projects and programmes to get evidence to support better policy decisions and practices to benefit the poor.

MISATU as an impact analysis project includes the examination of the distributional and social effects of projects and programmes on the well-being of the poor and most vulnerable people.

MISATU as a communication project is a two-way process of exchanging information (or news, ideas, and feelings) via speaking, writing, audio, visual or using various media technologies in order to create and share poverty relief contents and solutions.

MISATU as a support project is a sustainable initiative that encourages poor and vulnerable people to succeed over poverty and hardships.

MISATU as a user-involved project seriously takes into account the views of users while providing them with records and feedbacks as well as extra support to influence the decision making processes on matter affecting their lives.

Briefly, the main underlying principle of MISATU is to get the impact of our support to Africa.  Although impact takes longer to materialise, this project enables to capture and communicate outputs in the short, outcomes in the medium term and impacts in the long term.

For further details or to support MISATU or project M, contact CENFACS.

 

 

•• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 2 with Katowice Implements Paris

~ Continuing to make our case for African Children through CPSAC – P.2 with KIP (Katowice Implements Paris) this year

Before kicking off the December 2018 CPSAC – P.2 with KIP, let’s see what we did for this campaign from the beginning of the year.

The continuation of our case for Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) in Phase 2 with KIP as theme for this year started in February 2018 with the following activities and action events:

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

<> Effective ways of distributing them amongst children in need  

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

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

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

~ December 2018 Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC) – Phase 2 with KIP (Katowice Implements Paris)

CPSAC – P.2 continues with our next follow up of the Climate Change talks which will take place from 2 to 14 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland.

The new follow up is entitled Katowice Implements Paris (KIP).  Our preparedness for Katowice Implements the Paris Agreement for Children and Future Generations (or KIP) started since last Spring and is still part of CPSAC Phase 2.

The CENFACS demand to the global climate talks remains the same, which is: to give climate protection and stake for African children; the African Children being a sample of our working climate model.  This demand is undertaking through the follow up of global climate talks like the next climate talks (COP24) due to start on 2 December 2018 in Poland.

CPSAC – P.2 with KIP as stocktaking advocacy

December 2018 Climate Talks Follow up CPSAC (Climate Protection and Stake for African Children) – Phase 2 with Katowice Implements Paris (KIP) as climate advocacy theme for 2018 takes stock of the previous climate talks follow up we did.

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

What KIP means

“Katowice Implements Paris” means that we are following the Climate Change talks which will take place from 2 to 14 December 2018, in Katowice, Poland. 

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

What following up COP 24 is about

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

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

KIP entry points for December 2018

The key word for KIP is and will be Implementation.

Our provisional areas of interest and entry points concerning KIP will be on

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

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

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

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

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

√ Climate friendly modern solutions to child protection against climate change

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

√ Support to climate neutral projects that are children-friendly  

To support CSPAC – P. 2 and KIP, please contact CENFACS

  

~ Review of our 2017 climate follow up works

Our climate protection continues by looking back the December 2017 Paris Meeting and forward the next round of climate talks (COP24) in 2018 in Poland.

We all know that the Paris Summits were held in December 2015 and last 12 December 2017.  We discussed the outcomes of these Summits and we included the findings from their outcomes into our various communications regarding the CPSAC – P.2 in 2018. 

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

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

~~ What WBS was about

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

√ Green and climate capacity building and education for child protection

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

Our climate follow up of the Paris round discussions was on

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

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

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

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

For more information on this review, please contact CENFACS.

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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 2018.

With many thanks