This paper attempts to explore, analyse and evaluate the aided self-help organizations in rural KwaZulu for their potential role as structures for enhancing people participation. The objective was to generate policy guidelines for agencies involved in participative development programmes in rural Third World environments - particularly the large public institutions. It selects two sectors, the co-operative development and the school committee systems as models. The study, which uses a combination of data gathering methods and ideographic descriptions starts by looking into the possible constrain and facilitators of participation within the agency structure itself and narrows down to the situation at the field level in a selected case study. The main problems in the KwaZulu bureaucracy are first, the absence of clearly defined operational policies that link the front line services and the community on the one hand, and the policy goals and the mission of the agency and the front line field practitioners on the other hand. There is also a general lack of consistency between the mission of the agency and the contents of the personnel appraisal and evaluation tools and processes and hence – lack of commitment to goals and/or goals' displacement. At the field level, some valuable components of the system were found. Important among these are the effectiveness of the community programmes in developing the innovativeness and initiative spirit among the members of the communities. These resulted in a shift in power relationships from the promoters to the community. Also valuable is the feeling of satisfaction derived from practical and material involvement in the development of public goods by the community. The rural communities are also capable of generating their own effective co-ordinative and communication systems and reject strategies introduced from outside to replace them. Although the financial capacity appears to be a major constraint, the community does not view it as a priority. Control seems to be correlating with payment and therefore, ownership. However, there is a need for “hard aid” to increase the community organizations economic and social capacity to perform. There are also some serious intangible costs intrinsic in the present methods of granting aid. Instead of closing the regional, inter-district and inter-family development gaps, they tend to perpetuate the problem. This is caused by equal access to aid by all areas and also the tying of aid with ability to generate own resources. Strategies are finally recommended to improve the situation. These relate to facilitating communication within the agency and the upgrading of communities through information motivation, and allowing them additional roles and status.

This research study, The Role of Corporate Social Investment in Supporting Early Childhood Development in South Africa, explored the role of and the degree to which, corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives in South Africa support early childhood development (ECD). Trends of CSI expenditure in ECD over time were examined, as well as the motivations for investment in the ECD sector. A key intention of this study was to establish the benefits of corporate investment in the ECD sector, and to discover how the ECD sector can tap into more CSI funding in the future. This study adopted a quantitative methodology and made use of an online survey tool (SurveyGizmo) to gather information from both the CSI and ECD Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) sectors in South Africa. The sample populations consisted of CSI initiatives of 500 of South Africa's best managed companies from the TOPCO Media: Top500 publication, and 62 ECD NPOs in South Africa from a database developed by one of the leading ECD NPOs in South Africa, Centre for Early Childhood Development (Atmore, 2012).

The South African work place is a dynamic one. All sectors are Iegislatively obligated to ensure that groups marginaIized p re-1994 are developed and fast-tracked into positions that would ensure greater representivity of the population. The result of this inclusive process has been that the Provincial Government of the Western Cape's working context is diverse with respect to gender and race bringing with it a myriad of cultures and so meaning into the workplace. Considering the context of workplace empowerment the researcher endeavoured to explore the perceptions senior managers of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape had on their psychological and social-structural empowerment using Sprietzer ( 199S) and Kanter's ( 199 3) em power ment principles in combination as a theoretical framework. A quantitative research design was chosen to reach a large sample and the total population comprised 1 622 senior managers selected using a probabiIity sampIing methodology. High representivity was gained across all twelve departments of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape which included Senior Management Service designations as well as junior level management from saIary levels 9 through to 16. The researcher expanded the provincial government's definition of senior management to include junior management to ensure a valid and comprehensive dataset which included women. Using a 5 point Likert structured questionnaire, the entire sample received an email link to the electronic survey and a 17.3% response rate meant that 281 senior managers completed the survey.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-195). / This study aimed to explore the level and nature of information and web technology usage by nonprofit organisations (NPOs) around the globe and how these related to the operations, sustainability and future growth of these organisations.

The Quest Life Skills for Adolescence is a two-year programme, for Standard 6 and 7 pupils. The goal of the programme is to assist adolescents to effectively manage the life tasks associated with the adolescent years. The programme is school based consisting of eight modules, each module dealing with a different subject. The method of instruction, as with most life skills programmes, is participatory learning as opposed to didactic teaching. This pilot-study was based at the Sentinel High School in Hout Bay. The study evaluates whether module one and two of the Quest Life Skills programme achieved their objectives. The second purpose was to devise an evaluation tool that could be used by other schools to evaluate modules one and two of the Quest programme. A multifaceted study design was adopted in the evaluation process. The instruments used were questionnaires, group discussions, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (1965) and a game. The results reveal that module one of the programme did enable pupils to gain a better understanding of adolescence. Pupils were, however, not totally conversant with the four aspects of change that would take place in adolescence namely physical, emotional, social and intellectual change. They seemed more familiar with the changes that would take place in the physical and emotional realms than in the intellectual and social realms. The findings confirmed that a safe supportive environment, conducive to learning, had been established. Module two of the programme dealt with self-confidence/self-esteem. The self-esteem of participant's, in the Quest programme, increased marginally, but the results yielded showed that a statistically significant improvement did not take place when compared with the comparative group. Participants reported that the programme was of great benefit to them. It was the first time for the majority of the participants that they had been exposed to life skills training. Based on the above findings, an evaluation package was compiled, for schools to use, to evaluate the effectiveness of the first two modules of the Quest programme.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-157). / Compared to disciplines like gender and health, fewer studies have been done on disabled men and women's participation in the informal sector. This may be explained by the fact that for a long time, few disabled men and women in Uganda engaged or participated openly in income generating activities (IGAs). Many started getting involved in the 1990's and as the available literature shows, those who have done so are very enthusiastic and this has encouraged others. This study focuses on the gender and work challenges disabled men and women encounter in the informal sector of Uganda. The study is based on a review of existing literature and actual fieldwork carried out in the Mubende and Mityana districts of Uganda. It seeks to: (a) explore the types of business activities in which disabled men and women are engaged; (b) explore the nature of work challenges disabled men and women encounter in the informal sector and the nature of strategies they utilize to overcome these challenges; (c) ascertain the benefits that disabled men and women have gained in respect of participation in the informal sector; (d) establish the policies and laws that govern disabled men and women with regard to their work in the informal sector; and (e) establish how resources are allocated by various governmental and nongovernmental Organisations among disabled men and women in Mubende and Mityana districts. The study was carried out in Mubende and Mityana district, the central region of the densely populated disabled men and women. In this study in-depth interviews and focus group methods were used to collect qualitative data. Evidence from the study confirms that disabled men and women were engaged in similar IGAs although a few of them were engaged in different IGAs. The similarity in IGAs was likely to be a result of the limited range of IGAs that disabled men and women could engage in considering the nature of their impairments, limited finances and the limited skills that they had. The visually and hearing impaired men and women were mainly involved in a single IGA in the informal sector and most of the physically disabled men and women were engaged in multiple IGAs. This was linked to visually and hearing impaired men and women lacking or having insufficient capital and skills to engage in multiple IGAs, as compared to physically disabled men and women.

This study sought analyse the state of fundraising within the South African nonprofit social service sector at the end of the 2007/2008 financial year. The overall aim of the study was to evaluate the fundraising capacities of social service organisations, in order to ascertain whether organisations were proficient in their fundraising-related activities.

Bibliography: leaves 111-119. / This study proposes an alternative model for housing and caring for the aged, without admitting them to the care of total institutions. Ordinary houses on ordinary streets are converted into neighbourhood old age homes in which a small number of elderly people live together. The home may be sponsored by any body, and, other than the cost of purchasing the house and furniture, it can be financially self-sufficient. The study seeks to examine the difficulty of defining old age, the phenomenon of ageing populations and discrimination against the aged. It provides a brief history of old age homes. Issues in the care of the elderly are discussed, including the role of the state and the individual, and categories of the aged and housing for these groups. Some major controversies in the field, notably the question of age-segregated or age-integrated housing, institutional versus community care and the dangers of moving the aged, are described. The study analyses the South African system of care for the elderly, and highlights the problem of the present focus on expensive institutional care. The suitability of this model of care is questioned and it is recommended that the small neighbourhood old age home model be introduced to broaden the existing continuum of care. The Abbeyfield Society of Great Britain, which pioneered this model of housing and caring for the elderly is described. The model is examined in detail. Finally, the study explores the work of the Catholic Welfare Bureau in Cape Town, which has implemented and adapted this model in South Africa. This agency's network of neighbourhood old age homes will be extended to include care for the frail aged, and the basis of its planning proposed for this phase is examined.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.

By the year 2030, over half of the global population will reside in cities. The impacts of this trend are most notable among nations within the global south, which are experiencing rapid urbanization, due to forced displacement, political, economic and environmental conditions. The infrastructure deficit, caused by rapid urbanization, experienced by most nations in the global south has created slum conditions for many of their urban residents. All levels of government including international diplomatic bodies have encouraged urban renewal programs that seek to resolve the “slum issue” in the global south. These urban renewal programs have been the subject of much criticism given the methods of redevelopment. The focus on improving the physical environment of slum dwellers and the limited attention to the resulting social consequences of such programs. The Kenya Slum Upgrading Program is a case study by which the method of redevelopment included the use of a decanting site which facilitated the temporary displacement of residents of the Kibera slum, Soweto East Village to a pre-constructed high-rise estate, until the redevelopment of the Soweto East Village is complete. Using Stren and Polèse’s concept of Social sustainability as a framework, this research seeks to understand the impacts of the use of a decanting site on the targeted community. The decanting site offered a space to understand a community in transition and critically understand the impacts of this method. The research found that social sustainability was impacted both positively and negatively within the decanting site. In fact, decanting sites are an opportunity to build social sustainability for a displaced community, instead of seeking to sustain its previous manifestation in Soweto East. The research also found that the driver for this program were international benchmarks, which may have impeded the ability for all stakeholders, at all levels, to consider the impacts of social sustainability. As we move into a global post- 2015 development framework these findings must be understood as a starting point to understanding the impacts of methods used to support large scale redevelopment programs.