Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.A.F.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

In the spring of 2010, I worked with four street youths from Durban to create a short fictional film based on their lives. There were two main components to this project: first, a series of drama workshops and second, the film-making process. The filmmaking process consisted of the participants improvising scenes based on their street lives that I captured on film. This project engaged with Theatre for Development and Participatory Video practices. The young man who initiated this project did so because he wanted to change people’s perceptions of youths who lived on the streets. Additionally, he wanted to change his own perceptions of himself. The film provided baseline data regarding how the participants viewed themselves and their lives on the streets. Analysis of interviews conducted after the completion of the project, when compared with the baseline data, demonstrated social impacts that occurred as a result of making the film. This data was coded and interpreted using François Matarasso’s (1997) positive criteria for the social impact of participating in arts projects as well as corresponding negative categories that I generated. The film, once coded, demonstrated that the participants felt negatively about their lives on the streets, with many examples emerging from the categories Lack of Social Cohesion and Lack of Agency. In contrast, the interviews revealed positive social impacts across all categories, but especially in relation to Personal Development, Local Image and Identity, and Community Empowerment and Self-Determination (Matarasso 1997). The participants reported that they felt differently about themselves as a result of the project. They also said that there had been a change in the way some people treated them. Findings revealed that the film project resulted in positive social impacts on the street youth participants. As a result of the film, they engaged in critical thinking and reflection related to Paulo Freire’s (1970) notion of praxis. They also wished for changes in their lives and in some cases enacted change. It was significant that social impacts and change extended to youths in difficult circumstances. In conclusion, this research proved that participating in the film project broadened and enriched the lives of the participants. Problems arose in terms of sustainability. Further projects and research are needed to establish the possible impacts from longterm and sustainable arts projects on youths from the streets. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

This study provides feedback from the Extension Officers and community garden members involved in community garden projects of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, by investigating the contribution of community gardens to household food security. The investigation included interviews with 61 Extension Officers from the Bergville, Hlanganani, Eshowe, Vryheid and Mbumbulu districts and 106 community garden members from 31 community gardens in the Bergville and Hlanganani districts. It was found that the people involved in community gardens were older persons, with little or no education. Those involved in community gardens were unemployed and relied on pensions, remittances and selling handicrafts to purchase garden inputs. The average household dependency ratios were 4, 5 and 5, 5 persons per active household member in Hlanganani and Bergville, respectively. Community garden members were mostly females, but most community garden members’ households were male-headed. The community garden members indicated that the most important reason for producing vegetables was for household use. Extension Officers were not satisfied with the state of community gardens and the relationship between the regional and district offices. Community gardens do not reflect the effort put in by the Extension Officers. The Extension Officers want to be involved in determining research priorities and be regularly informed about research findings and policy changes made at the regional level. The Extension Officers would like to see all government departments working together towards the development of communities. Extension Officers believe that if the government departments pool their resources, they would be able to serve the communities better than when each department works alone on community garden projects in the same community. Despite the initial funding of community gardens by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, there were many factors limiting production of vegetables in community gardens. The limiting factors included poor soil fertility; small garden plot sizes; low water availability; high start-up costs and poor management of the community garden finances. The community garden members were positive about the contribution of community gardens to their lives. The benefits were in the form of information about vegetable production, cropping practices and the availability of fresh vegetables that provided nutritious food and allowed them to buy other household requirements instead of vegetables. Community garden projects have a potential role to play in the lives of many rural people if the following concerns raised by the Extension Officers are addressed: the relationship between the offices at district level and the regional level improves; the establishment and maintenance of sound channels of communication between the district field staff and the regions; research support is received from the regions; and government departments work together. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs should not only focus on providing infrastructure for projects but should also ascertain that the proposed project achieves the objectives of both the community garden members and the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs and that the beneficiaries are trained before the project is handed over. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

This study entails an examination of the extent of participation by the non-governmental organisations in the legislative process of the KwaZulu Natal legislature. It aims to explore how far these NGOs have taken advantage of the new South African polity based on transparency, openness and accountability. It is hypothesised that organised groups such as these have been very much involved in government decision- making process, since the start of the new democratic South Africa in 1994. This study, however, proves, that there is very minimal public participation and especially NGO participation in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature and in government in general. It further uncovers are various problems experienced by these NGOs in trying to participate in the legislative process. The legislature's inaccessibility was seen as one of the major inhibiting factors. Apathy and lack of interest in the legislative process was also identified as a problem among these NGOs. This study has raised many issues that both the NGO sector and the KZN legislature itself have to address in order that our newly founded democracy can be truly nurtured. This study is divided into two parts in which Part One explores literature on democracy, the policy making process and civil society to help give a clear indication on what various authors think should be the input of civil society in the policy making process of any democratic country. The second part looks at the South African situation and the findings of this study. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

South Africa (SA) has always been a unique case for political scientists to analyse because of its heavy socio-economic cleavages created as a result of racist apartheid policies, but what has not been extensively covered is how these economic and social cleavages could impact on the practical experiences of public participation in post-apartheid South Africa. There are indeed many unexplored dimensions of this area. Herein lies the rationale for this research which revolves largely around global consensus amongst academics, development practioners, civil society as well as, amongst others, global bodies, that public participation is part of the solution to SA's development challenges but acknowledgement that obstacles to constructive SA public participation with local government do exist; it are these (potentially unique) obstacles which this dissertation aims to identify and examine in order to become part of the solution for a better SA for all. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Women play a major role in development especially with the increasing numbers of female headed households in Africa. Today more than ever, the poor, the majority of whom are women, face the challenge of creating new survival mechanisms within their communities. One of these mechanisms that the rural women of Maphephethe, (like their counter parts in other parts of Africa) have created is the formation of welfare groups which undertake various activities for income generation. This is to enable the women to meet their basic needs. However success of these groups depends on various factors such as access to assets. Women by virtue of their gender lack access to assets and they operate within structures of inequality which discriminate and deny them equal opportunities to participate in development. Maphephethe is located in the rural KwaZulu-Natal midlands, in the Ndwedwe district. The area like many parts of rural KwaZulu-Natal is characterised by poor social and physical infrastructure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of assets, group management, constraints, benefits and community support to the success of Maphephethe women's groups. The study therefore looked at how the groups functioned, the constraints faced, the benefits derived from group participation and the way the community perceived these groups. All these factors were looked at in relation to success. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were used for this study. These were observation, focus groups, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques, de Wet Schutte P-Index, semi-structured interviews and in-depth interviews with key informants who were leaders of the groups. The study found that successful groups were of mixed gender, accessed more assets, undertook more activities and functioned better. These groups also had higher education levels than those which were less successful and were also perceived more favourably by the outsiders. Education and asset access were crucial factors to the success of women's groups. The members of successful groups were more committed, had a higher sense of belonging and realised more income from their groups. This study summed up crucial factors for success of women's groups as access to assets, diversified activities, high education levels, good management, committed members, community support, networking, and realisation of incomes by group members. The ability of the rural women's groups to participate effectively in their development activities is constrained by illiteracy (which results to poor management) and other factors such as lack of capital and information. In view of the constraints, it is recommended that development agencies create links with these groups to understand the effects of their collective action in the area. There is a dire need for capital to improve the women's activities, training of all the group members on issues ranging from group dynamics, basic education and skills. Literacy training could be combined with income generating activities. Development efforts need to begin by taking full stock of women's perceived claims, goals, motivations, constraints and resources they identify in their context / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.