Child abuse in South Africa is considered one of the foremost challenges the country is currently facing, and is believed to hold long-term consequences for adults if not adequately addressed in the childhood years. In order to meet the needs of abused children in the country, various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have targeted abused children as the primary beneficiaries for services, and these NGOs rely a great deal on the contributions from formal volunteers. While there is an expansive body of literature on formal volunteering in general, limited research explores target-specific volunteering, especially among children or abused children in particular. Furthermore, the literature on volunteering has not extensively examined the meaning-making process volunteers engage in when seeking an organisation or cause for their target-specific volunteering. The process of making meaning of volunteering is additionally influenced by a complex set of negotiations between individual and broader socio-political factors. In order to expand the current literature on volunteering, this research aimed to explore the meanings volunteers make of their target-specific volunteering in the child abuse services sector in Johannesburg, and to explore how those meanings could potentially be influenced by the dynamics of socio-political realms. This research was located within the interpretive paradigm, and data collection comprised of qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with six volunteers from the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children. The interview transcripts were analysed using Thematic Analysis (TA), where four primary themes emerged. The four primary themes, namely transformation, prioritisation of children, prioritisation of sexual abuse and vocation, were examined for their resonance with critical theories of governing ‘healthy’ populations. The limitations of this research related primarily to issues of scope and sample, both of which guided the recommendations for future research in this area.

Photocopy of typescript. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

In spite of mass media attention and implementation of international laws in the last two decades, modern-day slavery is still active in communities across the globe. Individuals trapped in forced labor situations endure devastating physical and mental illnesses, with dire consequences that extend into families and neighborhoods. The call has been made for every citizen to join in the anti-human trafficking movement. Lawmakers, police, and border patrol officers are on alert in each major U.S. city. Yet, training some of the most valuable stakeholders who work among some of the most vulnerable populations has been largely overlooked. Rural public health workers, specifically promotoras, serving in Texas-Mexico border communities are a key component to activate in the anti-trafficking awareness and prevention efforts in this region. The current research examined the geographic and socioeconomic situation of the colonias in the Rio Grande Valley and the effect of the drug cartel conflict directly across the border. Through an online survey, this study assessed rural public health workers’ knowledge and awareness of human trafficking and educational needs on human trafficking issues. Results of this research indicate that limited education and training of rural public health workers on the topic of human trafficking contribute to the low rate of victim identification in the rural clinic and community settings. Recommendations for immediate training of this strategic population located on our southernmost U.S. border is proposed along with future research.

Thesis (M. Ed.(Educational psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Graduation date: 1994

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2003. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2935. Typescript. Abstract precedes thesis as preliminary leaves ii-iii. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-101).

HIV/AIDS is a significant social problem impacting on families, communities, the public health sector and greater society. This qualitative study looked at the experiences of social support among volunteer caregivers of people living with AIDS and relationships of trust and solidarity between caregivers and members of the community. KwaZulu-Natal has the highest HIV infection rate in South Africa. This further compounds the burden of care and stigma surrounding caring for people living with HIV/AIDS .This study draws on aspects of social support theory, social capital framework and the theoretical resources of socio-ecological theory more broadly. Methodologically, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 female volunteer caregivers with a minimum of three months care work experience and Ulin’s thematic analysis was utilized to highlight the salient themes around their experiences of social support. The findings of this study revealed that the burden of care, stigma experienced by the volunteer caregivers and the relationships between the volunteers and community members as well as social networks all played a significant role in the need for the provision of social support to the volunteers. Furthermore, the findings of the study highlighted the social consequences of care work and the need for support in this ambit. The study concluded that social support for the volunteers is severely lacking for the following reasons; there was a complete breakdown of social cohesion between the volunteers and their community; the relationships between the volunteer and surrounding social networks were under strain and as a result had a negative impact on the accessing of social support. Factors such as social trust, social bonding, social bridging and social linking were lacking between the volunteers and the community therefore accessing social support becomes problematic. Poverty is a factor that had a ripple effect on the volunteer and resulted in the urgent need for support in the form of tangible and emotional resources. Volunteerism is an undeniable necessity in the treatment or care of HIV/AIDS patients. The issues around social trust and social networks played a key role in the accessing of social support which ultimately impacted on the efficacy of care provided by the volunteer. The findings highlighted that there was a dire need to mobilize social capital within the KwaNgcolosi community in order to create relationships that would facilitate the social support needed by the volunteer. / Thesis (MMed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The study focuses on how care and support around HIV/AIDS is perceived by volunteer community workers in Kwangcolosi, Kwazulu Natal. Using the social capital framework, the dissertation seeks to understand and illuminate the existing care and support efforts from the community from the perspective of volunteer caregivers. It emanates from the realization that government efforts in the area of care and support for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in most rural or peri-urban areas are usually insufficient. Community or family members usually have to step in to fill this gap but their efforts are seldom documented, let alone recognized. These community initiatives have been defined in the wider concept of social capital. The study sought to explore the perceptions of volunteer community workers on care and support provided to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). The social capital framework and specifically the levels of bonding and bridging and the elements of trust, norms, reciprocity and social networks that act as resources for collective action was used to inform the understanding of these collective community efforts. The study findings revealed that denial, mistrust, stigma and discrimination were some of the hindering factors of social trust which in effect weakened social bonding and bridging. Social norms were also perceived to be on the wane and social networks amongst community members were reported to be existent though feeble. Reciprocity though paltry existed amongst a few community members who borrowed from one another and this played an important role in care and support of those affected by HIV/AIDS. The study concluded that factors such as rural urban migration, urbanization, globalization, poverty and unemployment have diminished social networks and cohesion and this has negatively impacted on care and support provision by community members. The general perception about volunteerism among volunteer community workers was that there is need to financially facilitate volunteers to motivate them to meet expenses that are associated with volunteering such as transport and feeding. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The purpose of this project is to conduct a detailed evaluation of the Vancouver Planned Parenthood clinic volunteer program. The primary focus of this study is volunteer recruitment and retention. The simplicity of individual perspectives commonly employed in volunteer theories and research is rejected in this research project. A multi-leveled sociological analysis stemming from an organizational behaviour framework is used as an alternative approach to broaden the scope of this case study. The five levels of analysis used to examine the volunteer program in this study are: 1) individual level of analysis, 2) group behaviour, 3) interpersonal and organizational processes, 4) organizational structure and job design, and 5) organizational environment. Multiple factors are discussed under each level of analysis. A triangulation of methods, comprised of interviews with volunteers, observational analysis, and document analysis, is used to provide a rich analysis of the volunteer program. Interpretations of the findings demonstrate that many factors beyond the individual level influence volunteer recruitment and retention. Results show that this particular volunteer program is operating below its maximum effectiveness, and that high volunteer turnover results in this atmosphere. Practical and theoretical implications of this case study are explored and recommendations are offered.

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of volunteer experience and motivation by (a) identifying major influences impacting the volunteer with the Christian setting, (b) analyzing the impact of those influences upon volunteer experience and motivation, and (c) inferring volunteer motivation from that impact. Special attention was paid to the influences of the organization's climate, management practices of supervision and evaluation and involvement in a peer support group.The setting for this study was a Christian church with a membership of 726 people, located in a mid-sized town in Indiana. In this study formal interviews were conducted with ten informants chosen for their volunteer teaching activity. Using a recording device, three hours of interview evidence was gathered from each informant. This evidence was transcribed and analyzed.Five major categories of influence within this Christian setting emerged through an analysis of the evidence:Characteristics of the organizationInfluence of peer support group participationBenefits received by the volunteerFrustrations with volunteer teachingInteraction between the volunteer's Christian faith and the teaching experienceThis study's major conclusion was that a comprehensive peer support group system should be developed to address the problems of organizational support, teacher training, supervision and evaluation, and teacher accountability. This support group system should also address the need for greater church-wide communication and improved spiritual growth opportunities. / Department of Educational Leadership