WHAT EVENT OR PROJECT OR PROGRAMME OR CAMPAIGN THAT NEEDS SUPPORT ▼
We always have initiatives that need funding and/or other forms of support.
We would like to ask you to support the Gifts of Peace for this Winter Edition 2025/2026.
Bringing Peace to People This Festive Season for Only £5!
Please help meet basic life-sustaining needs of peace for those in most need.
Being in pressing needs of basic essentials of life could mean that you have no food, no education, no income, no sanitation, no health, no accommodation, no basic skills, no protection, no option and no capacity to function as human beings.
Since the world is still looking for ways to come to term with polycrises; it could also signify isolation, loneliness, hopelessness, helplessness, defencelessness and lack of economic activity for many people including those who are already living in extreme poverty.
Your Gift of Peace could symbolize a huge helpful difference to them, to those in pressing needs of survival and of coping with both poverty and pressure of all kinds. It could denote quietness or calm; freedom from war; absence of conflict, isolation, loneliness, hopelessness and helplessness over the festive time and beyond.
• What Is a Gift of Peace?
CENFACS’ Winter Gift of Peace to Africa is…
~ A Wintry Gift Appeal initiative to support people living in poverty in Africa
~ A festive life-sustaining support that helps to reduce poverty and bring sustainable peace
~ A transformative experience that enables the beneficiaries of these gifts to navigate life’s challenges with calmness, unity and a state of goodness in life
~ A set piece of the Season’s Poverty Reliefs that provides the absence of latent or potential conflicts within us as well as between us and others
~ A connector that links prevention, mitigation and resolution for peace creation and sustenance
~ A festive life-giving and -changing gift to acknowledge and do something about poverty over the Festive Season, 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 the ones living in the developing regions of the world like Africa.
At this time of high costs of living and polycrises, many of them, who are already poor, desperately need help and support or put it in other words a Gift of Peace.
To understand the kind of Gifts of Peace we are talking about, one may have in mind a broad explanation of Peace. As the ‘un.org’ (1) puts it
“Peace is more than the absence of conflict; it is a catalyst for economic well-being, laying the foundation for societies to thrive for generation to come”.
From this perspective, a Gift of Peace is about
~ resolving conflict to fuel economic prosperity
~ elevating human development index (i.e., life expectancy, education, per capita income, etc.) scores
~ supporting initiatives that promote economic literacy, entrepreneurship and inclusive economic participation
etc.
The Gifts of Peace are also the Gifts of Economic Peace or the acts of giving in order to help recipients reduce poverty and possibly change the quality of their life.
• Why Supporting the Gifts of Peace?
Supporting these initiatives and the people living in poverty in Africa through the Gifts of Peace during this Festive time make sense since measures of peace in Africa show that there is a need of peace there. One of these measures is given by the Institute for Economics and Peace (2), which argues that
“Sub-Saharan Africa recorded a deterioration in peacefulness, with the average score in the region deteriorating by 0.17 per cent over the past year… Sub-Saharan Africa faces several security crises, most notably the increase in political unrest and terrorism in Central Sahel region” (p. 19)
So, Sub-Saharan Africans in need require a Gift of Peace. The Gifts of Peace or of Economic Peace help to realise where Africa/the world stand in terms of the two metrics or peace tools which are: Global Peace Index and the Positive Peace Index.
With reference to the Global Peace Index, the website ‘panhuman.us’ (3) explains that
“Developed by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the Global Peace Index ranks 163 independent states and territories based on their level of peacefulness. This comprehensive index assesses peace through three broad domains: the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarization”.
As to the Positive Peace Index (PPI), the website ‘resourcewatch.org’ (4) states that
“PPI is a quantitative approach to measure Positive Peace. Positive Peace is defined as the attitudes, institutions, and structures that lead to a more peaceful society. A country with a higher PPI is more capable of building and maintaining peace”.
It is a measure of the relationship between peace and poverty.
Similarly, there are challenges that do not make peace to emerge. These are challenges and barriers that African countries face in accessing public and private climate finance. The African Climate Conversation (5) explains that these barriers are commonly similar to challenges in mobilising other types of developmental finance including an instable political context, a volatile macroeconomic situation, and weak institutional and regulatory frameworks.
Moreover, international or foreign aid cuts did not facilitate the work of peace in many places (including in Africa).
According to ‘developmentaid.org’ (6),
“∝) The United States of America has cut aid funding by over US$2 billion
∝) Germany has slashed more than €4.8 billion ($5.3 billion) from its core development and humanitarian assistance for 2022-2025
∝) France has reduced its Overseas Development Assistance budget by more than $1 billion
∝) The United Kingdom has cut more than $900 million from its funding for 2024-2025″.
Focusing on Africa, the Africa Report (7) mentions that
“The five biggest losers in nominal terms are Ethiopia ($386.9 million cut, or 30% of its total); the Democratic Republic of Congo ($386.7 million, or 34%); Uganda ($306.8 million, or 66%); South Africa ($260.6 million, or 89%); and Kenya ($224.7 million, or 46%).
There are effects from these aid cuts. The International Rescue Committee (8), which identifies 13 countries most affected by these funding cuts, notes that
“Those nations face a dangerous combination of conflict, climate change, extreme poverty, and crippling debt, creating a perfect storm of vulnerability”.
Amongst these 13 countries, 10 of them are African: Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
These effects could also be on the state of peace or economic peace for those whose aid cuts were helping. So, supporting the Gifts of Peace can help provide alternative funding sources for the victims of international and foreign aid cuts.
Unwrap the Gifts of Peace for those in need this Festive Season!
• Gifts of Peace as 12 Ways of Bringing and Meeting Wishes of Peace over Festive Time
In total, there are twelve selected Gifts of Peace to wish and donate over the Festive period: climate, funding, peace, security, technology, energy, finance, democracy, investment, sanitation, economy.
These selected Gifts highlight poverty issues that the majority of people in need in Africa face in their daily life. They are 12 Gift Ideas to reduce poverty and sustain development during the end of current year and the start of the new year.
We have briefly illustrated below what a donation of ‘for example £5‘ as gift can do for each of the twelve Gifts of Peace.
• What Your £5 as a Gift Can Do
1) £5 AS A CLIMATE-NEUTRAL GIFT…
Can foster a sense of peace by buying climate-neutral building and housing materials to protect and uplift the people in need against the adverse impacts of bad weather and support climate refugees with low-carbon humanitarian relief and life-saving items essential for their survival and security.
2) £5 AS A GIFT OF ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES…
Can enhance financial stability, resilience, and long-term sustainability for African charities working with CENFACS, since it can contribute to core operations and provide flexibility to use the funds where they are most needed if this gift is unrestricted donation and allows them to move from a ‘survival mode’ mentality to one of strategic planning and sustainable growth.
3) £5 AS A GIFT OF ECONOMIC PEACE…
Can transcend its monetary value, offer immediate relief for basic needs, provide a sense of dignity and inclusion, foster community trust and bonding, reduce anxiety by easing financial pressure, and support local economies, creating psychological safety and strengthening social fabric beyond just the money itself, making it tangible act of care and connection.
4) £5 AS A SECURITY GIFT…
Can support poor defenceless, hopeless and internally displaced persons who have been subject to violence (including interpersonal violence and gang violence) and armed attacks, as well as it can help them safely return to their homes and rebuild their lives in the context of peace building and conflict resolution processes.
5) £5 AS A GIFT OF TECHNOLOGY…
Can help poor people to connect and use technology-based solutions to poverty by acquiring distance-operating and -working communications technologies (such as mobile phones and tablets), as well as accessing digital, ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) skills as an expression of sharing together basic but modern means of reducing poverty.
6) £5 AS A GIFT OF ENERGY TRANSITION…
Would provide peace to the energy poor to transition in a just, orderly and equitable manner from fossil fuel-based systems to renewable energy sources by meeting their needs of accessing sustainable energy for cooking and heating with the result of reducing deforestation and loss of natural land; while protecting bio-diversity, smoothing the way to energy transition and reducing resource conflicts.
7) £5 AS A GIFT OF CLIMATE FINANCE…
When pooled with other donations, can contribute to significant systemic change by funding a wide range of initiatives from grassroots action to international policy influence and on-the-ground support for vulnerable communities, to providing high cost-effective solutions that create lasting change and achieve a larger impact.
8) £5 AS A GIFT TO DEMOCRACY…
Cannot buy democracy, but £5 can ensure that the stories and voices of the poor count by funding the costs of peaceful activities and social transformations towards democratic values and helping poor people to participate in the process of re-claiming their democratic and human rights and of dismantling structures of discrimination disadvantaging the poor to reduce poverty and to peacefully choose their way of life; while ensuring transparency and facilitating peaceful conflict resolution.
9) £5 AS A GIFT OF NOT-FOR-PROFIT INVESTMENT…
To not-for-profit invest with impact in the poor people’s income-generating ideas and activities, in doing so it is about acting as a friend and fool who can help them to develop and implement their poverty-relieving ideas and enterprising projects; while reducing competition for scarce resources, preventing conflicts and building trust in poverty reduction.
10) £5 AS A GIFFT OF SANITATION…
To provide access to clean water, to basic sanitary and hygienic products for the health, hygiene and sanitation of deprived and poor people in Africa so that they can protect themselves from the continuing spread, threats and risks of contamination of life-threatening diseases as well as related sanitary diseases like cholera, dysentery, and other water-borne diseases.
11) £5 AS A GIFT OF NATURE…
To positively transform poor people’s relationships with nature and reduce structural disadvantages and inequalities in accessing natural products and nature-based solutions to poverty and hardships, to help reduce waste of natural resource consumption and cut over consumption while saving on the use of natural resources and assets, like forest resources and wealth, endangered species of fauna, flora and funga.
12) £5 AS A GIFT OF SOCIAL AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY…
Combined with other donations, can contribute to essential operating costs, empower local communities, and build social capital, while prioritizing community action and self-sufficiency, supporting a model where beneficiaries are empowered to contribute to their own welfare, moving away from dependency towards agency and mutual collaboration.
Within each gift noted earlier, there exists a component of tranquility along with a hint of assistance for those in need.
• Giving Has No Limits
Although we have given above an example of £5 as the amount of donation for each gift, there are no limits on the amount of donation that one can give. You can give as much as you can.
We know that many people including donors and funders have been affected by the lingering effects of the polycrises of recent years. However, for those donors and funders who can, this is an opportunity to go extra miles in their support in showing that the lingering effects of the polycrises will not stop our/their commitment to the relief of extreme poverty and provide peace to those who badly need it.
By providing a gift of peace of £5 (or more), this will help people in need to leave poverty and hardships behind and may be for ever, while enjoying the peace they have been waiting for so long.
A full 2025-2026 Gifts-of-peace Guide is available at CENFACS on request.
Remember, for every gift (donation) you give, we can together help unfortunate and needy people in Africa to change their lives to peaceful ones.
• How It Works: 3-Step Poverty Relief Gift
Three simple steps to make a Gift of Peace:
a) Choose your Gift of Peace
b) Donate
c) Give needy people a Peaceful, Healthy and Safe Festive Time.
We hope that you will be able to join us by considering this Wintry Gift Appeal to support deserving causes and pressing humanitarian needs of poverty relief in Africa.
You can still have a great Festive Season while voluntarily giving something to those who do not have.
We look forward to you becoming one of our Peace Supporters over the Festive Time.
To smooth the process of supporting these projects, CENFACS is ready to post to you and or to any other potential supporters the project proposals or any information pack about them for consideration to support. Likewise, CENFACS is ready to talk to you or to potential funders about them if wanting us to do so.
• Ways of Supporting the Gifts of Peace
For those who may be interested in supporting this appeal, they should not hesitate. CENFACS is inviting them to come forward with their support.
They can donate, pledge and make a gift declaration to support.
• • Making a donation
You can make a donation of £5 or more to support any of the Gifts of Peace.
• • Making a pledge
You can make a pledge of £5 or any amount more than £5 to support one of the Gifts of Peace.
• • Making a gift aid declaration
You can make a gift aid declaration to support any of the Gifts of Peace.
All donations, pledges and gift aid declarations MUST be made payable to CENFACS (the Centre for Francophone African Development).
To avoid fundraising frauds and scams, CENFACS would like to ask to all potential funders and donors to contact us prior to making any donations, pledges and gift aid declarations.
• How to donate
You can donate
*Over phone
*Via email
*Through text
*By filling the contact form on this site.
CENFACS and the potential beneficiaries of these Gifts of Peace would be delighted if you could be one of our/their Peace Supporters.
Please DONATE, PLEDGE AND MAKE A GIFT AID DECLARATION for £5 or any amount more than £5 as a way of supporting this festive project. CENFACS will accept on behalf of the beneficiaries your support given.
Your £5 donation when combined with other donations can make a significant difference for those who need peace during this Festive Season.
CENFACS welcomes any enquiries and or queries this Festive Ask.
Please do not wait to donate as the needs are pressing and urgent NOW.
We look forward to your support to make helpful difference to those in pressing needs of peace, survival and coping with both poverty and pressure of all kinds this festive time.
Thank you for your generosity.
_________
• References
(1) https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/economics-of-peace-interplay-between-stability-conflict-resolution-global-prosperity# (accessed in December 20240
(2) https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GPI-2025-web.pdf (accessed in December 2025)
(3) https://panhuman.us/our-mission/global-peace-index-2024/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsdzApr7IigMVppJQBh39jCs_EAAYASAAEgLb6PD_BwE (accessed in January 2025)
(4) https://resourcewatch.org/data/explore/soc092-Positive-Peace-Index?section=Discover&SelectedCollection… (accessed in January 2025)
(5) https://www.bii.co.uk/en/african-climate-conversation/improving-access-to-climate-finance-for-enhanced-climate-action-in-africa/ (accessed in April 2025)
(6) https://www.developmentaid.org/news-stream/post193535/africa-foreign-and-declining (accessed in June 2025)
(7) https://www.theafricareport.com/380618/trumps-africa-aid-cuts-the-country-by-country-breakdown/ (accessed in June 2025)
(8) https://www.rescue.org/13-countries-impacted-aid-cuts (accessed in December 2025)
_________
How
you can further support CENFACS ▼
You can help by
● Sending a one-off voluntary giving ● Sending a yearly contribution to CENFACS ● Providing a legacy or donation ● Sponsoring a particular project, need, cause or programme ● Promoting particular events or publications or even activities
You can as well support with No Direct Cash Donations
Those who would like to support CENFACS by using other means than directly giving cash, they can consider the following.
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Give unwanted goods and items to CENFACS charity e-store (details about this way of supporting are given below)
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Sign up for a Gift Aid declaration
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Nominate CENFACS for a donation at charity fundraising and donation events
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Select CENFACS as your preferred charity for donation from advertising revenue
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Choose CENFACS as a donation recipient of some of the profits raised from online shopping
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Donate your unwanted and unused points and cashback to CENFACS as your chosen charity from your loyalty shopping rewards or good cause gift cards
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Name CENFACS as your favourite deserving cause from click online option “donate cashback to charities”
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Donate any unwanted excess points of your loyalty card from apps
The above is just the few examples of helping that one can think of to support CENFACS without they have to directly give cash.
Supporting by Donating Unwanted Goods and Products for CENFACS Charity e-Store ▼
You can donate unwanted and unneeded light and easily movable goods and products to CENFACS’ Charity e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty reduction.
After donating products or goods, these will be converted into cash to support good causes or our work. The cash converted can also be used to support CENFACS‘ work.
When thinking of donation, please ensure that your donation does not bear high costs for us to handle, otherwise the impact you want to create through your giving will be reduced or nullified.
Items to donate include:
Mobile phones, IT accessories, laptops, digital and communication devises, art and design objects, children gadgets and toys, and miscellaneous.
Notes for goods and products donors (Products Acceptance Policy):
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- We do not take electrical equipment and devises
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- Items donated need to be functioning, not requiring fixing, repair or testing prior to use
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- Products given must have environmentally-friendly contents and be sustainable
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- We do not accept heavy items such as books, metals and a heavy bag of clothing
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- We do not take items requiring large storage capacity as we are not a profit making organisation
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- We do not refund or give back the products donated as we expect products givers or donors to act in good faith and in the interest of poverty alleviation
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- We do not take stolen properties or items in dispute
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- We can arrange for collection if you live locally
Help us to convert your unwanted goods or products into cash to help reduce poverty.
To donate or enquire about your products donation, please contact CENFACS.
Thank you for your support!
