Sustainable livelihood

Date Released: Tue, 22 March 2011 08:05 +0200

Sustainable livelihood. A mechanism for poverty eradication?

Poverty is the lack of basic human needs, such as clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, because of the inability to afford them. However few people realize that poverty of the mind and spirit is even more destructive to a person’s well-being. This sentiment was echoed by four non-governmental organizations working with various self-help groups throughout the Eastern Cape at a recent discussion workshop on Cooperative Savings Clubs.

The workshop was organized by the Department of Social Development and Special Programmes (Cacadu) and the Centre for Social Development at Rhodes University. After a provincial workshop held in East London in 2009, the President announced it as a priority because South Africans were not saving. “However no action plan was developed and nothing was implemented”, says Mrs Chris Englebrecht, Manager for Community Development in the Cacadu region. “Today’s workshop was organized in an attempt to address this and we hope that at the end of the day we will have a clear action plan and guidelines to take forward”. She was very excited by the fact that there were two NGO’s in Grahamstown already practicing and facilitating the Self-Help Group (SHG) model. The Centre for Social Development (CSD), Rhodes University and the Angus Gillis Foundation both presented their various SHG projects and shared their challenges and successes with the audience.

Mr Zandesile Tafeni, the new District manager at the Department acknowledged that it was no longer easy for government to render services and emphasized the role that a community has to play. He also admitted that they have to change with the times and that the role of government is structural, merely facilitating and coordinating. The three main programmes that the Department will be focusing on are:
1) The supply chain, finance and HR;
2) Social Development Services and
3) Poverty eradication and Community Development
The sustainable livelihood approach has people at the centre of development. The extent to which people have access to assets are strongly influenced by the prevailing social, institutional and political environment. Coupled with this is the fact that we are faced with daily shocks and stresses, be it personal or environmental. The tool to rural socio-economic development is the participation by community members and their commitment and support. The process of identifying the main constraints and opportunities faced by poor people is expressed by themselves through facilitation by a community development worker.

“Another strength of the SHG approach lies in the fact that it places the responsibility on each person for their self-development’ says Mr Ntsiki Kulati, Manager for Community Development at CSD. “At a meeting held with the various CSD SHG groups recently a new strategy aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the saving scheme was unveiled. This meeting marked a milestone in the formation of the CSD’s saving and investment cooperative which will facilitate cooperative long-term fixed savings, promotion of investment in short-term and long-term local economic opportunities, and grassroots poverty eradication. SHG’s at the Masihlume Recycling Project at the dumpsite as well as the Vukuhambe craft project at Siyazama centre in Joza are groups that started with merely saving a small amount of money per week, usually between 50c up to R200 a week in groups of more than eight members, mostly women. They now have sustainable income generating projects and are able to save more per month. “This is a clear indication that all SHG’s must have an income generating venture to support their savings and ensure their sustainability and growth” says Kulati.

The formation of cooperatives by the SHG’s is in line with the National Government’s strategy of poverty eradication within communities. The role of CSD is to facilitate and manage the formation of SHG’s and cooperatives and they also provide training in financial management and cooperative income generation. In addition CSD offers Level 4 Community Development course that equips practitioners to work in communities, enabling community development.