Transport is a significant factor in development. It determines the extent to which people can access social services as well as work and livelihood opportunities. The study presented in this dissertation is based on a case study ofthe Lions River pay point, which is a shop in the Mngeni Municipality. The aim ofthe study was to look at the influence of transport in accessing social services for women (Child Support Grant beneficiaries) in rural areas. The findings are based on a sample of66 Child Support Grant (CSG) beneficiaries. Using quantitative methods, the study focused on women and their transport needs when accessing the Child Support Grant, medical care for their child/children and their child/children getting to and from school The sampling technique used was an in-depth use ofa case study as illustrative ofrural settings. The respondents constituted a convenience sample as anyone who was at the Lions River pay point were asked whether or not they received the CSG. Ifthe respondents were beneficiaries ofthe CSG, they were asked to respond to a survey questionnaire. The results ofthe study show that in rural areas, transport is a barrier to accessing social services. Due to poor roads and the limited availability oftranspo~women spend a considerable amount oftime accessing social services, time that could be used in income generating activities. Findings ofthis study confirm research undertaken in other unpublished studies (Ngubane 1999 and Nzama 2(01). They show that in rural settlements, transport is a serious barrier to accessing social services. Welfare beneficiaries have no choice and are forced to use expensive public transport due to a lack ofalternate modes oftransport. It has been suggested by Nzama (2001:2) that the transport efficiency ofrural households can be enhanced by improving the rural transport system (by creating better roads and foot paths) and by locating social services close 10 people in order 10 reduce the distance that they need to travel. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

The main focus of this thesis is the child support grant, as part of a broader social security system, in post-apartheid South Africa. Since the end of apartheid of 1994, the new South African government has sought to redress the racial imbalances and inequalities of the past by engaging in measures of redistribution. Central to this pursuit of redistribution has been a restructured system of social grants, of which the child support grant is the most significant. However, the post-apartheid government has adopted a largely neo-liberal macro-economic strategy such that social inequality and endemic poverty remain pervasive particularly amongst the African population, which includes the recipients of the child support grants. In adopting a sustainable livelihoods framework as the main theoretical perspective, the thesis seeks to understand the livelihoods of child support grant mothers in the face of conditions of extreme poverty. It does this through a localised study of twenty child grant mothers in Sinathingi Township in KwaZulu-Natal Province. In examining the livelihoods of these child-grant mothers, the thesis brings to the fore that mothers and their children do not exist as autonomous living units but are embedded in a broader set of social relations, including intra-household relations and relations with the fathers of the grant-children. It also demonstrates that child-grant mothers are not simply victims of structures of poverty in contemporary South Africa, but actively construct their livelihoods through a range of activities and strategies which show perseverance and ingenuity.

No description available.

The purpose of this project was to develop a career workshop curriculum for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Welfare Services in the Inland Empire Area. The major steps involved in job search will be covered including: goal setting, networking, resumes and cover letters, interviewing, salary negotiations, and follow-up.

No description available.

The war on poverty is South Africa's priority and challenge. Many poverty alleviation programmes have been established in South Africa in an effort to overcome poverty. However, poverty alleviation projects have had little impact on the poverty profile of the country. Poverty continues to be pervasive, intractable, and inexcusable. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the personal definition of poverty as constructed by the poor themselves. In this study the researcher's main argument was that sustainable poverty reduction calls for effective strategies based on clear and consistent concepts and approaches. Different ways of understanding poverty lead to different ways of dealing with it. A common and clear understanding of poverty helps build a common agenda with development partners, linking specific causes of poverty in each setting with sustainable policies and action. A qualitative study was conducted with fifteen (15) poverty-alleviation projects participants from three (3) different projects. Data was collected with the use of an interview guide. The participants' responses revealed that poverty, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. The participants attached varying and interesting meanings to explaining the concept of poverty. The study also shed some light on the current state of the poverty-alleviation projects. / Social Work / M.A. (Social science)

The war on poverty is South Africa's priority and challenge. Many poverty alleviation programmes have been established in South Africa in an effort to overcome poverty. However, poverty alleviation projects have had little impact on the poverty profile of the country. Poverty continues to be pervasive, intractable, and inexcusable. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the personal definition of poverty as constructed by the poor themselves. In this study the researcher's main argument was that sustainable poverty reduction calls for effective strategies based on clear and consistent concepts and approaches. Different ways of understanding poverty lead to different ways of dealing with it. A common and clear understanding of poverty helps build a common agenda with development partners, linking specific causes of poverty in each setting with sustainable policies and action. A qualitative study was conducted with fifteen (15) poverty-alleviation projects participants from three (3) different projects. Data was collected with the use of an interview guide. The participants' responses revealed that poverty, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. The participants attached varying and interesting meanings to explaining the concept of poverty. The study also shed some light on the current state of the poverty-alleviation projects. / Social Work / M.A. (Social science)