Contextually based model of an early childhood home-visiting programme for vulnerable children in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
- Authors: Schmidt, Kim
- Date: 2022-10
- Subjects: Poverty -- South Africa , Orphans -- Abuse of , Children -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/27380 , vital:66965
- Description: In South Africa, there are many vulnerable children. Vulnerability refers to the child’s potential to be harmed either physically or psychologically with multiple exposures to stress resulting in children becoming vulnerable (Matengu, 2018). Factors that place young children at risk of being harmed include poverty, being orphaned, not living with their biological parents or having a disability. In South Africa, more than 50% of children are impacted by these very factors (DSD, 2018). Vulnerable children can be supported through various interventions to overcome the challenges they face, in spite of the stress that they may experience. This results in a great need for prevention and early intervention services particularly during early childhood when children are most vulnerable because of their complete dependency on caregivers for care and protection. This study adopted an interpretivist, qualitative approach using an intervention research design to develop guidelines for a model of an early childhood home-visiting programme that supports the optimal development of vulnerable children, aged 0–2 years in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Findings confirmed that vulnerable children need responsible caregiving and a nurturing environment yet they are exposed to risk factors such as extreme levels of poverty, ongoing and severe child maltreatment and poor physical health. In addition findings confirmed that there was support available to vulnerable children in the Eastern Cape province but that there were gaps in these services. Furthermore findings indicated that there is a need for an early childhood home-visiting programme, that such a programme should be implemented by a multidisciplinary workforce and that the guidelines for such a programme must include a range of practice principles and processes. In conclusion the study found that vulnerable children in the Eastern Cape province continue to be exposed to a complex range of risk factors with devastating consequences for their immediate and future well-being and that the gaps in services to vulnerable children further hinders their development. Lastly it was concluded that there is a need for a multidisciplinary team to implement a home-visiting programme and that such a programme would hold many potential benefits for the young and vulnerable child. Guidelines for a model of an early childhood home visiting programme were developed and refined to include five practice principles which outline processes in relation to the engagement and advocacy with stakeholders and role players, the recruitment and selection of a home-visiting workforce, the content of a training programme for a home visiting workforce, the implementation of the home-visiting programme and the monitoring and evaluation of the programme. This model draws together the disciplines of health, social work and early childhood education to provide transdisciplinary training to a home-visiting workforce that is then equipped to engage with communities and caregivers in support of ensuring that vulnerable children are able to achieve optimal development. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
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Indicators of household-level vunerability to climate change in three topographically diverse rural villages
- Authors: Sotsha, Kayalethu
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Poverty -- South Africa , Land tenure -- South Africa , Climatic changes -- South Africa , Farms, Small -- South Africa , Rural poor -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11212 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1016204 , Poverty -- South Africa , Land tenure -- South Africa , Climatic changes -- South Africa , Farms, Small -- South Africa , Rural poor -- South Africa
- Description: Climate change has become a major concern globally and it clearly exerts a profound influence on the lives of poor rural populations who depend on agriculture for livelihoods.Generally, agriculture is more at risk from weather, pests and diseases than is industry or trade. Furthermore, many farming units are at low levels of development with little technological input in their production systems. This makes them vulnerable to any exposure to climate and environmental variation, given that there is little capacity for the system to adjust to change. Most at risk are the rural poor with low levels of development and limited ability to adapt to and overcome the effects of climate change. Using data from a sample survey of 120 households this study attempts to assess and compare indicators of vulnerability to climate change. The comparison was made at household level between three typical villages, an inland, a river catchment and a coastal village. This idea of comparison arises from the general understanding that different variables affect different regions differently so that the impact of and vulnerability to climate change differs across regions, areas and populations. The data was obtained using a questionnaire that was administered through face-to-face interviews. Given that sensitivity and adaptive capacity of farming systems to climate change is shaped by both socioeconomic and institutional factors, a multiple regression model was used to test the relationship between indicators of vulnerability and household socioeconomic and institutional characteristics. Indicators were selected based on significant statistical relationships. This means that the statistical procedure for selecting indicators involved relating a large number of variables to vulnerability in order to identify statistically significant factors. The results showed reliability of income and reliability of water resources to be good indicators of vulnerability. Many statistically significant variables as well as respective R2 of 0.988 and 0.825 confirm the foregoing. Another indicator was the Simpson index that measures diversification of agricultural production. The results show that vulnerability to climate change was highest for the households near the river and lowest for the inland village. Moreover, the results confirmed that most blacks that are practicing agriculture receive little if any support largely because available resources are highly skewed towards certain farmers rather than others.
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An assessment of local economic development as a mechanism for poverty alleviation: a case study of selected municipalities in Amathole District
- Authors: Dube, Kethiwe
- Date: 2011-06
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Poverty -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/24410 , vital:62788
- Description: The legacy of apartheid created uneven development in South Africa, which led to lack of effective service delivery, high levels of poverty and unemployment. This resulted in many people within the communities being vulnerable to poverty. In response to the retarded development, the post apartheid government formulated a number of policies and legislations. Local Economic Development (LED) is one of the policies mandated to guide developmental local government initiatives in addressing poverty, unemployment and redistribution. The aim of the study was to assess LED as a mechanism for poverty alleviation, focusing on the effectiveness of the LED strategies employed by the selected municipalities in Amathole District Municipality (ADM). The literature and the empirical study revealed that LED is seen as a tool through which socio-economic development can be achieved. To achieve the objectives of the study, the study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods. A thematic content and pie chat analysis were employed to analyse data, which was gathered using questionnaires, interviews, non-participant observation and documentary survey. The findings of the study revealed that LED strategies have a significant impact on improving infrastructure and service delivery, have both a pro-poor and a pro-growth focus on improving the general welfare of the residents and that LED agencies play a pivotal role in promoting sustainable development, thereby alleviating poverty. Though the current LED strategies employed by ADM are deemed to be effective, they do not fully meet the intended goal of eradicating poverty. Therefore, the researcher recommended that the municipalities should, inter alia, encourage responsible leadership, expand capital investment, promote capacity building and communities should be fully committed in working together with the municipalities in promoting sustainable development. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2011
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Informal cross border trading and poverty reduction in the Southern Africa development community: the case of Zimbabwe
- Authors: Kachere, Wadzanai
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Poverty -- South Africa , Households -- Zimbabwe , Food supply -- Zimbabwe , Entrepreneurship -- Zimbabwe , Poverty -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Social Science Dev)
- Identifier: vital:11421 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/500 , Poverty -- South Africa , Households -- Zimbabwe , Food supply -- Zimbabwe , Entrepreneurship -- Zimbabwe , Poverty -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Description: This study investigates the impact of informal cross border trading on poverty reduction in Zimbabwe. In the context of this study, the term Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT), is used to describe the activities of small entrepreneurs who are involved in buying and selling across national borders. The study focuses on whether the stated activities are lifting those participating out of poverty. The research problem is examined through an assessment of the income levels, assets acquirement, expenditures patterns, food security and family relations. The hypotheses tested in the research are that, “The extent of ICBT is significant in Zimbabwe; ICBT in the Southern Africa region is mainly dominated by women; and that ICBT contributes positively to poverty reduction”. In this context, poverty reduction is said to have occurred when informal cross border trading would have resulted in an improvement in the socio-economic wellbeing of traders‟ households. The Poverty Datum Line (PDL) is used as the measure of households‟ well-being. To assess the impact of ICBT on well-being, a survey was conducted whereby in-depth interviews using the questionnaire method were used to collect primary data. Secondary information was obtained from documentary searches at institutions and also using internet searches. From this study it has been found that ICBT has both positive and negative impacts with regard to social welfare. With regard to economic welfare, based on poverty indicator measures used in the study, ICBT contributes positively to Poverty Reduction. Thus the analysis revealed that informal cross border trade plays an important role in alleviating economic hardships, reducing poverty and enhancing welfare and human development in Zimbabwe.
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Social policy and the state in South Africa: pathways for human capability development
- Authors: Monyai, Priscilla B
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Human capital -- South Africa , Apartheid -- South Africa , Equality -- South Africa , Poverty -- South Africa , Political participation -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , South Africa -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Social Science Dev)
- Identifier: vital:11439 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007230 , Human capital -- South Africa , Apartheid -- South Africa , Equality -- South Africa , Poverty -- South Africa , Political participation -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , South Africa -- Social conditions
- Description: The main focus of this thesis is the challenges that are facing social policy development and implementation in South Africa in relation to the enhancement of human capability. The study adopted a historical approach to assess the model of social policy in South Africa and identified that social relations of domination inherited from the apartheid era continuing to produce inequalities in opportunities. Social policy under the democratic government has not managed to address social inequalities and the main drivers of poverty in the form of income poverty, asset poverty and capability poverty which are the underlying factors reproducing deprivation and destitution of the majority of the population Although South Africa prides itself of a stable democracy, social inequalities continue to undermine the benefits of social citizenship because political participation in the midst of unequal access to economic and social resources undermine the value of citizenship. Also, inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth, and in the control of economic production undermine political equality which is an ethic upon which social rights are predicated. As a result, state interventions are lacking inherent potential to build human capability for people to live the life that they have reason to value. The paradox of social policy in South Africa is that the majority of those who are marginalised are those who were excluded by the apartheid regime even though state intervention is claimed to be targeting them. This points to the failure of incremental equalisation of opportunities within a context of stark social inequities. It is also an indication that the economic growth path delivered by the political transition is working to reinforce the inherited legacy of deprivation and it is avoiding questions related to the structural nature of poverty and inequalities. Therefore, a transformative social policy is an imperative for South Africa. Such a framework of social policy should be premised upon a notion of human security in order to built human capability. Human security focuses on the security of individuals and communities to strengthen human development. It emphasises on civil, political and socioeconomic rights for individual citizens to participate fully in the process of governance. Although this thesis is a case study of social policy in South Africa, it can be used to appreciate the role of social policy in other developing countries, particularly the impact of political decision making on social distribution. Poverty and social inequalities are growing problems in developing countries and so is the importance of putting these problems under the spotlight for political attention.
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