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A hybrid model to alleviate unemployment and poverty in South Africa

  • Authors: Enwereji, P. C. , Uwizeyimana, D. E.
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Poverty , Unemployment , Economic development
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/489060 , uj:44576 , Citation: Enwereji, P. C., Uwizeyimana, D. E., 2021. A hybrid model to alleviate unemployment and poverty in South Africa. , DOI: 10.5430/ijfr.v12n5p265
  • Description: Abstract: Poverty and unemployment are considered social threats in South Africa as the rate keeps on escalating while few measures are implemented to alleviate the trend. This study devised a hybrid model to reduce the rate of poverty and unemployment in South Africa. The Human Capital Theory formed the theoretical base of this study, which explained the need for the government to invest in education to improve the chances of gaining employment to reduce poverty. The study adopted a quantitative approach and data were collected from only secondary sources. Major findings disclosed that the poverty rate in South Africa is at 49.2% while 64.2% of South African blacks remain poor. The study revealed that the unemployment rate is at 30.1% in the first quarter of 2020 while provinces such as Eastern Cape (40.5%) and the Free State (38.4%) have the highest share of unemployment in the country. The meta-analysis conducted revealed that improvement is needed in areas such as legislation and labour laws, entrepreneurial development, youth development policies, common vision and leadership, sectoral development, business climate, acquisition of skills and education, engagement management, and strategic management. This is in an endeavour to reduce poverty and unemployment rate in South Africa.
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A Hybrid Model to Alleviate Unemployment and Poverty in South Africa

A Hybrid Model to Alleviate Unemployment and Poverty in South Africa

  • Authors: Enwereji, P. C. , Uwizeyimana, D. E.
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Poverty , Unemployment , Economic development
  • Language: English
  • Type: Journal article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/495234 , uj:44958 , Citation: Enwereji, P. C & Uwizeyimana, D. E., 2021. A Hybrid Model to Alleviate Unemployment and Poverty in South Africa. , DOI: 10.5430/ijfr.v12n5p265 , ISSN: 1923-4023
  • Description: Abstract: Poverty and unemployment are considered social threats in South Africa as the rate keeps on escalating while few measures are implemented to alleviate the trend. This study devised a hybrid model to reduce the rate of poverty and unemployment in South Africa. The Human Capital Theory formed the theoretical base of this study, which explained the need for the government to invest in education to improve the chances of gaining employment to reduce poverty. The study adopted a quantitative approach and data were collected from only secondary sources. Major findings disclosed that the poverty rate in South Africa is at 49.2% while 64.2% of South African blacks remain poor. The study revealed that the unemployment rate is at 30.1% in the first quarter of 2020 while provinces such as Eastern Cape (40.5%) and the Free State (38.4%) have the highest share of unemployment in the country. The meta-analysis conducted revealed that improvement is needed in areas such as legislation and labour laws, entrepreneurial development, youth development policies, common vision and leadership, sectoral development, business climate, acquisition of skills and education, engagement management, and strategic management. This is in an endeavour to reduce poverty and unemployment rate in South Africa.
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COVID-19, Poverty and sustainable development goals (SDGs): A Zimbabwean experience with a comparison to South Africa.

  • Authors: Mhlanga, David , Moloi, Tankiso
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: COVID-19 , Poverty , Neoclassical Economic
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/489624 , uj:44650 , Citation: Mhlanga, D., Moloi, T., 2021. COVID-19, Poverty and sustainable development goals (SDGs): A Zimbabwean experience with a comparison to South Africa
  • Description: Abstract: This article focused on the impact of COVID-19 on the achievement of sustainable development goals with a direct focus on poverty (goal one) taking Zimbabwe as a case study and comparing it to South Africa. The neoclassical economics theory of poverty was used in the analysis. The study used a literature review approach where document and conceptual analyses were conducted. The information gathered from the secondary sources of data which include several peer-reviewed journals on the neoclassical economics, reports and even newspaper articles indicated that poverty will rise because of COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe and South Africa. This will be more prevalent among the low-income earners and those who are already in the poverty bracket. The conclusion is that the rise in poverty will impact negatively on the attainment of SDGs. Therefore, governments in various countries especially in developing nations should avail grants for the poor, the low-income earners whose income has been disrupted by the pandemic and to come up with strong mechanisms to bail out businesses especially small businesses who have challenges to cope with the crisis.
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Poverty Reduction Programmes in Nigeria: Issues and the Way Forward

Reflections on human rights education from the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) sector in Mozambique

  • Authors: Burnett, Cora
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Civil society , Human rights education , Poverty
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/463841 , uj:41410 , Citation: Burnett, C. 2021. Reflections on human rights education from the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) sector in Mozambique, Cogent Social Sciences, 7:1, 1860275, DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2020.1860275 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2020.1860275
  • Description: Abstract: Human Rights Education (HRE) often forms the cornerstone of addressing human rights issues at the local level where nongovernmental bodies in partnership with human rights agencies deliver various initiatives. Such agencies mostly operate from a neo-colonial framework as addressing structural and political power struggles limits addressing structural transformation for most vulnerable populations. There is a gap in the existing literature about the sense-making of such roles and responsibilities related to a local agency that speaks to active citizenship and youth as agents of change. This paper examines the effects of HRE associated with Freire’s emancipatory education on youth in the impoverished community of Trevo in Mozambique. Within this impoverished community, orphans and vulnerable youth makes up one of the lowest socio-economic strata that was targeted as the research population for this study. The research question addresses how such vulnerable youth make sense of HRE and how do they apply the learnings in an authentic and realistic way. A local nongovernment organisation (NGO) implemented the Bons Vizinhos (Good Neighbours) programme where children and youth received human rights’ training. Three executive members, two implementers and six youth took part in semi-structured interviews (primary data), whilst 21 posters from youth as part of a photo-voice activity were re-interpreted and thematically categorised (secondary data). Vulnerable populations socially construct their understandings of what they consider “safe” and “unsafe” spaces. HRE practitioners need to draw on these insights to make learning meaningful.
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Socio-economic and political challenges in Zimbabwe and the development implications for Southern Africa

Burning to be men? Conspicuous consumption as a performance of masculinity in the activities of Izikhothane in Tembisa

  • Authors: Mnisi, Jabulani Goodhope
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Poverty , Marginality, Social , Subculture , Youth , Masculinity
  • Language: English
  • Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/454836 , uj:40235
  • Description: Abstract: Burning to Be Men? is a study that investigates the role of consumption in the performance, enactment, and pursuit of masculinities in the subculture of ukukhothana. The phenomenon of ukukhothana involves township youths who predominantly come from impoverished economic backgrounds who engage in conspicuous consumption. The fieldwork was conducted in Tembisa, the second largest township in Gauteng, in the East Rand. I worked with The Good Fellas, which is one of the longest running and most popular crews in the area of Phomolong. Studying the consumption patterns of people is a very complex undertaking. This is particularly the case in the South African context, given that consumption studies as a discipline have mostly been developed outside of Africa. Finding a single theory to study a peculiar South African subculture such as ukukhothana was a challenge. In order to get over this challenge, I relied on multiple theories. I used theories of consumption, subculture, masculinity, and evolutionary psychology. When all of these are combined, they provide a lens through which I could read the consumption behaviour of izikhothane... , Ph.D. (Communication Studies)
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Reflections on human rights education from the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) sector in Mozambique

  • Authors: Burnett, Cora
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Civil society , Human rights education , Poverty
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/470063 , uj:42213 , Citation: Burnett, C. 2021. Reflections on human rights education from the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) sector in Mozambique, Cogent Social Sciences, 7:1, 1860275, DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2020.1860275
  • Description: Abstract: Human Rights Education (HRE) often forms the cornerstone of addressing human rights issues at the local level where nongovernmental bodies in partnership with human rights agencies deliver various initiatives. Such agencies mostly operate from a neo-colonial framework as addressing structural and political power struggles limits addressing structural transformation for most vulnerable populations. There is a gap in the existing literature about the sense-making of such roles and responsibilities related to a local agency that speaks to active citizenship and youth as agents of change. This paper examines the effects of HRE associated with Freire’s emancipatory education on youth in the impoverished community of Trevo in Mozambique. Within this impoverished community, orphans and vulnerable youth makes up one of the lowest socio-economic strata that was targeted as the research population for this study. The research question addresses how such vulnerable youth make sense of HRE and how do they apply the learnings in an authentic and realistic way. A local nongovernment organisation (NGO) implemented the Bons Vizinhos (Good Neighbours) programme where children and youth received human rights’ training. Three executive members, two implementers and six youth took part in semi-structured interviews (primary data), whilst 21 posters from youth as part of a photo-voice activity were re-interpreted and thematically categorised (secondary data). Vulnerable populations socially construct their understandings of what they consider “safe” and “unsafe” spaces. HRE practitioners need to draw on these insights to make learning meaningful.
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Retheorising the relationship between electricity scarcity and social injustice: evidence from Zimbabwe

  • Authors: Chipango, Ellen Fungisai
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Social scarcity , Neoliberalism , Poverty
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/409886 , uj:34356 , Citation: Chipango, E.F. 2020: Retheorising the relationship between electricity scarcity and social injustice: evidence from Zimbabwe.
  • Description: Abstract: Despite the pervasive social scarcity of electricity in Zimbabwe, there is little understanding of this phenomenon, especially how it abrogates social justice. With a view to debunking the natural inevitability of electricity scarcity, the article argues that in an energy sector driven by neoliberal tendencies, capital accumulation is not challenged. Hence electricity scarcity is erroneously considered inevitable. Drawing on qualitative research, the fundamental argument advanced in this article is that structural factors such as the market trends produce and reproduce electricity social scarcity, which in turn perpetuates social injustice because electricity is a sine qua non of human development. Coincidentally, this work also reveals that neoliberalism is not only an ideological rhetoric embedded in political-economic reality, but rather its discourse produces prudent subjects who are loyal to it and prepared to endure the effects of energy poverty. Accordingly, the article raises some critical challenges for policy-makers as it has both political- economic and social justice implications, insisting that electricity availability does not mean access to all- scarcity can be experienced even when the resource is in abundance.
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Assessing the determinants and effects of non-monetary household asset poverty in South Africa

  • Authors: Zwane, Talent Thebe
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Poverty , Rural poor - Economic aspects , Economic development - South Africa - KwaZulu-Natal , Rural development - South Africa - KwaZulu-Natal , Agriculture - Economic aspects - South Africa - KwaZulu-Natal
  • Language: English
  • Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/283653 , uj:30601
  • Description: Ph.D. (Economics) , Abstract: When measuring poverty, much of the theoretical and empirical work has focused mainly on money-metric measures of poverty. The conventional approach has been the use of a poverty line − often derived from consumption, expenditure or income levels − sufficient to meet primary human needs. However, the money-metric approach to poverty analysis in South Africa is not an appropriate measure, given that the South African environment has a very different outlook, possibly even arriving at a wrong measure of poverty with subsistence farming, where money is not a good measure of poverty. In order to measure poverty accurately in South Africa we need to consider the assets of households and compute an asset-poverty index. Assets are an important indicator of well-being and a measure that is based on assets is likely to capture an important dimension of economic well-being. While there are a few studies that have investigated asset poverty in South Africa, there are serious gaps in the literature. These should be addressed in order to improve policy designed to reduce poverty. Firstly, these studies have mainly relied on cross-sectional data rather than panel data at a national level. The reason for this is mainly the absence of national representative longitudinal data. However, this type of data has become available and is used in this thesis. Secondly, none of these studies have compared results among subsamples of urban and rural areas. This is very important as the areas are structurally very different, with different characteristics. Thus, it is likely that poverty, asset poverty and the determinants of asset poverty in these areas will differ. Thirdly, previous literature has not investigated the uniqueness of subsistence-farming communities in the measurement of poverty, in which monetary measures have limited application. In these types of economies, monetary measures of poverty are likely to overestimate poverty. Furthermore, the saving behaviour in these communities differs vastly from that of other communities. To address these gaps, the thesis uses a newly-available panel data set named the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) observed over the period 2008-2015 in bi-annual waves to study asset poverty in South Africa. The panel nature of the NIDS data also allows us to overcome common estimation issues of endogeneity. The NIDS contains a comprehensive set of questions relevant to the analysis of asset poverty. However, the NIDS is not without shortcomings. Although it is a national representative...
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Economic growth as a poverty reduction strategy in the Southern African Development Community

  • Authors: Kande, Mutombo Emmanuel
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Economic development , Poverty
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/292305 , uj:31763
  • Description: M.Com. (Development Economics) , Abstract: Economic growth has been at the core of poverty-reduction strategies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) over the past years. To evaluate the impact of these strategies, the empirical analysis in this dissertation employs two-stage least squares estimation techniques to estimate the effect of economic growth and the distribution of income (proxied by the Gini coefficient) on the headcount index, the poverty gap and the squared poverty gap across 15 SADC countries over the period 1981 to 2013. The empirical results show that a one percentage point increase in mean income growth leads to a reduction in all three poverty measures: the headcount index falls by 1.1 percentage points, the poverty gap by 1.6 percentage points and the squared poverty gap by 1.9 percentage points. An important policy-related insight from these findings is that growth is not only effective in reducing the percentage of the population below the poverty line, as measured by the headcount index, but also the intensity and severity of poverty, as measured by the poverty gap indices. Moreover, income inequality is also found to be a significant determinant of poverty in the SADC. A one percentage point decrease in income inequality leads to a 1.5 percentage points decline in the poverty gap and a 2.5 percentage points decline in the squared poverty gap. These findings have important implications for poverty-reduction strategies in SADC countries. The main policy implication of the results is that SADC governments should, in addition to growth-promoting strategies, also implement specific measures to reduce the income gap between rich and poor people.
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A comparison of youth resilience across seven South African sites

  • Authors: Van Breda, Adrian D.
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Resilience , Children in care , Poverty
  • Language: English
  • Type: Articles
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/241261 , uj:24834 , Citation: Van Breda, A.D. 2017. A comparison of youth resilience across seven South African sites.
  • Description: Abstract: The resilience of children and youth is an increasingly important area of research. Young people growing up in distressed communities, characterised by poverty, crime and family troubles, are particularly vulnerable. Resilience can assist these young people in navigating through these challenges towards independent living, particularly as they transition out of adolescence and into young adulthood. Children in South Africa are almost universally vulnerable, but children growing up in residential care facilities and children from poverty stricken communities are particularly in need of resilience. This quantitative study of 575 South African children compared their resilience in terms of individual, family and community protective factors across seven sites, including child and youth care centres, schools in poor communities and schools in middle class suburban communities. Contrary to expectations, the study found that children in one of the children’s homes and one of the poor communities had the highest levels of resilience. Moreover, all but one of the sites scored very high on at least one of the resilience variables, suggesting unique profiles of resilience across the sites. Practice implications for child and family social work are discussed.
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Exploring Group Life Design with teachers in the context of poverty related psychosocial challenges

Gender equality for achieving Sustainable Development Goal One (no Poverty) in South African municipalities

  • Authors: Vyas-Doorgapersad, Shikha
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Gender , Gender equality , Poverty
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/296210 , uj:32269 , Citation: Vyas-Doorgapersad, S. 2019. Gender equality for achieving Sustainable Development Goal One (no Poverty) in South African municipalities.
  • Description: Abstract: Sustainable Development Goal One demands the reduction of poverty, hence holds significance in the South African context where a high unemployment rate still prevails, hampering socio-economic development of the country as a whole. In addition, poverty is linked to gender inequality with female counterparts occupying fewer jobs in the South African labour market than men. This situation is even more dire at grassroots levels, where a lack of education and civic awareness, inadequate gender-based poverty alleviation policies, and inappropriate gender-based participation in pro-poor growth strategies, contribute towards the weakening of women’s empowerment. This article hypothesises that gender equality in poverty reduction strategies could have a positive impact in the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal One. In order to explore the gender equality measures in poverty reduction initiatives, the article utilizes a qualitative research approach with an exploratory design...
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Application of the Shari'ah approach to multi-dimensional poverty reduction

  • Authors: Rashied, Naiefa
  • Date: 2015-02-09
  • Subjects: Poverty , Public welfare , Islamic law
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:13187 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13215
  • Description: M.Com. (Economics and Econometrics) , Poverty is a multi-dimensional problem that requires a solution that is both multi-dimensional and systematic. The research contained in this dissertation is important because it explores the Shari’ah approach to multi-dimensional poverty reduction as a more suitable alternative to the conventional, uni-dimensional approaches to poverty reduction, especially from a theoretical perspective. The main argument presented in this dissertation is that the theoretical Shari’ah approach to poverty reduction provides a more detailed framework than the conventional uni-dimensional approach for addressing the various dimensions of poverty and their interrelationships under secular conditions. The study was based on a non-empirical, critical analysis of the available literature. The motive for addressing the problem in this manner was because a truly comprehensive conceptual framework surrounding the Shari’ah approach did not truly exist prior to this study. The first of two important conclusions reached in this study are that Shari’ah could theoretically assist with offering a holistic and systemic theoretical framework...
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Freedom as power : the case of poverty

  • Authors: Ndlela, N. E.
  • Date: 2014-01-14
  • Subjects: Poverty , Liberty - Philosophy , Liberty - Economic aspects , Power (Social science) - Economic aspects
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:7924 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8813
  • Description: M.A. (Politics). , This is a study in political philosophy. It defends the following thesis: where there is poverty there is a lack of power and thus a lack of freedom. It does not follow from this that a life of wealth is a life of freedom and a life of poverty is a life of complete unfreedom. This is because full freedom also involves other components such as political freedom, economic freedom and so on. The thesis defended here is simply the negative one that humans remain unfree as long as they live in conditions of poverty. Thus poverty should be construed as lack of freedom in the sense of constraints or fetters it casts upon people collectively. For example, the harsh effects of segregation in the United States and apartheid in South Africa are that people continue to live in separate communities somewhat along the colour line. The worse effect of this is that those who live in poorly resourced communities are Black. They in this manner remain without freedom here construed as power to tum their situation around. This thesis criticises the liberal account of Berlin and others of similar persuasions and offer a distinct account of freedom that locates it in an individual's capacity to carry out desired actions. It will then argue that poverty constrains freedom in this sense. Thus if you are poor, you are unfree and without power to generate the requisite necessaries of life. This thesis also aims to show how the two concepts of liberty or the liberal perspective of freedom as such do not take into account the important social problems confronting us in the world today, for example poverty which in this project is taken as an exemplar of lack of freedom. Poverty is characterized best as being without the necessities to meet basic human needs such as shelter, food and recreation. More importantly, any alternative to address poverty must take into account the fundamental significance of participation in politics.
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Some viewpoints on the micro finance industry : a literature study

  • Authors: Schutte, Christiaan Ernst
  • Date: 2012-08-14
  • Subjects: Microfinance , Poverty
  • Type: Mini-Dissertation
  • Identifier: uj:9250 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/5697
  • Description: M.Comm. , Poverty can be defined as, the lack of access to the basic needs and wants of a person, thus a lack of income and access to assets. The effect is a person who has no self-esteem. This place a burden on the economy of any nation and no country can survive or grow if the majority of its population is poor with no access to basic commodities and assets or a source of income. The spiraling effect of poverty is such that it becomes impossible for the poor to loosen themselves from the grip of poverty. The main reason is that most of the poor is illiterate and can not find sustainable jobs. It is important to break the grip of poverty, this means that the needs and want of poverty stricken people must be addressed in such a manner that it will create sustainability of income and the building of self-esteem. There are many ways of alleviating poverty i.e. subsidies by government or grants given by foreign governments. These methods are not always the best way of solving the problem, as it does not train the people to be self-sufficient. One solution in the fight of poverty is micro finance. But just as grants and subsidies are in themselves not the only solution, micro finance can not be the solution by itself. Micro finance should be a part of the solution in the alleviation of poverty. The rationale is that micro finance and its characteristics can satisfy the credit needs of a person but it also supplies finance to the poor and thus builds the self-esteem of the person. The roots of micro finance originated during the 1950's. However micro finance per se did not exist. The nature of the transactions can be compared to that of grants or subsidies. These pioneering transactions have paved the way for the real micro finance industry. The industry as we know it today has come in existence during the 1970's. During 1976 Dr. M. Yunus in his studies realised that the poor does not have access to micro finance and he formulated the idea that the people must be empowered to create their own income stream. He also realised that a bank can not create a repayment culture and that it is essential that repayments be controlled by peer pressure. The funding of such an initiative was to be done by the members themselves and not from funding by way of grants. He initiated the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh on the above principles and today is the first real successful micro finance institution. Today the Grameen Bank is based on the principle that groups mainly finance themselves with 10% of its funds derived from previous borrowers and the government. The Grameen Bank has a good record of assisting in the process of alleviation of poverty. A further positive input by the Bank is that it assists in the social upliftment of its borrowers. South Africa is a developing country with a middle income classification. This is however not a true reflection of its total population. Due to apartheid there has been an ethnic and racial disparity. This has caused a major difference in the split of income, access to assets and credit. South Africa has to investigate methods to alleviate poverty. The method of micro finance and the status of the industry in South Africa are investigated by this dissertation. The possibility of using micro finance as it is today in South Africa is also investigated and a possible solution to the utilisation of micro finance is tabled.
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A critical analysis of poverty policy and expenditure in South Africa

  • Authors: Stavrinides, Christina Panayi
  • Date: 2012-08-08
  • Subjects: Poverty , Poverty - South Africa , Poverty - Research - South Africa , Poverty - Government policy - South Africa , Sustainable development - South Africa
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:8983 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/5452
  • Description: M. Comm. , No country's economy can survive if the majority of its population remains without income, basic services, and tangible assets that will allow for a secure and sustainable livelihood. Addressing poverty and its causes is therefore a core developmental challenge facing the world economy. Throughout history, various explanations and theories have been advanced in the attempt to understand the causes and persistence of poverty. These theories have evolved into an understanding of the complex phenomenon of poverty, as it is perceived today. The importance of these theories is evident in the creation of poverty alleviation strategies and policies, thus a sound understanding of poverty and its complexities is essential. The new poverty agenda formulated by the DFID in conjunction with other international agents has developed strategic guidelines for the alleviation of poverty that have been based on past experience and theoretical literature. These guidelines include the need for economic growth, equality, security, participation, opportunities, and sustainability. South Africa has effectively incorporated these guidelines into its own poverty activities that consider the nature of South Africa's poverty situation. South Africa has a high incidence of poverty, and its society is characterised by extreme inequality. Poverty is disproportionately divided between South Africa's nine provinces, localities, race groups, genders, and age groups. Inequalities and high poverty rates are caused by political, social, economic, and environmental factors. Politically, South Africa was shaped by the apartheid regime that manifested inequality amongst race groups by oppressing and exploiting the black population in favour of the white minority. Social dimensions, such as the inadequacy of food security, lack of education and other basic needs have also contributed to impoverishment. Contributing economic factors include the poor growth of South Africa's economy since the 1980s that has inevitably lead to increases in poverty and unemployment rates. Poor and inadequate living conditions common in South Africa have resulted in environmental degradation, and this has further impoverished the population.
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Poor-rural women's experience of empowerment : an existential phenomenological study

  • Authors: Mngomezulu, Siphamandla Senzo
  • Date: 2012-02-28
  • Subjects: Black women empowerment , Rural poor empowerment , Poverty , Empowerment of the rural poor
  • Type: Mini-Dissertation
  • Identifier: uj:2102 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4447
  • Description: M.A. , South Africa is still struggling to overcome the burden of race, class and gender-based inequality inherited from colonialism and Apartheid (Kieffer, 2003). The main goals of the transformation process include the facilitation of socio-economic development and growth through the empowerment of historically disadvantaged people, particularly poor black women. Throughout the world, governments’ policy documents are increasingly focusing on empowering the poor. Literature indicates that there are many different interpretations of empowerment, these interpretations are often inconsistent even within a single organiation. Limited material is also available on the practicalities of measuring, tracking and evaluating progress made toward empowerment of the poor. Moreover, although the poor are the target of empowerment efforts little is known about their experience of these efforts. The present study explored poor, black rural women’s lived experiences of participating in an empowerment program. In South Africa, the poorest of the poor are those rural households headed by black women. Throughout their lives black women from rural communities are more vulnerable to poverty and deprivation. This is increased by the rigidity of societal gender roles. Findings from available research indicate that poverty is not only a social and political problem in South African context, but is also a significant problem for psychological practice especially in the field of mental health. Poverty concerns the issue of individuals and households being denied opportunities and choices most basic to human development. It also deprives people of decent standard of living, freedom, dignity, high self-esteem, emotional expression and respect from others (Saris & Johnston-Roben, 2000). However, the discipline of psychology has not contributed much in the area of poverty and poverty alleviation. By investigating poor rural women’s lived experiences of participating in an empowerment program this investigation aimed to enrich the psychological understanding of the phenomena of empowerment as a means of poverty eradication. It engaged poor rural women in a dialogue with the aim of describing their experience of participating in an empowerment program. In order to ensure that the women's own subjective experiences, interpretations and understandings remained the focal point of the research the existential-phenomenological system of inquiry was employed. A qualitative research paradigm was employed to fully understand the subjective and lived experiences of empowerment as a means of poverty eradication. The data was collected through in-depth, open-ended interviews that facilitated unique and personal descriptions. A pilot interview was conducted with a woman participating in an empowerment program. The pilot study indicated that the research question (How would you describe the experience of participating in an empowerment program?), combined with other broad open-ended questions, facilitated the attainment of rich, vital, substantive descriptions of the experience being investigated.
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