Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Community work at the University of Zululand in the Department of Social Work, 2010. / The advent of the democratic transformation in South Africa during 1994, brought with it high hope that income , poverty and inequity would soon be significantly reduced from the high levels that existed during the Apartheid era. Though the development approach was adopted by the Department of Social Development in 1997, it has, however, not yet achieved its purpose. The poverty alleviation programme came as a ubstitut4 of maintenance grants. The grants were phased out in the period of three years whilst the Department of Social Development ws introducing the new approach of funding community projects. The study is about the impact of income generating projects by women in Utrecht area. The study was conducted on poverty alleviation projects funded by the Department of Social Development. An evaluative research method was followed in wwhich data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. A sample of twenty projects was drawn and respondents were interviewed where two were from each project. Related literature has been reviewed that focuses on poverty alleviation and income generating projects. .Various recommendations have been made on the findings of the study. The findings of the study indicated the need for training project members in capacity building. Project members also need to be motivated in one way or another so that they can develop a sense of ownership and work hard for the success of their own projects. Progress in poverty alleviation has been very slow and uneven. Community projects have failed poverty-stricken communities to improve their socio-economic standards. The research findings indicated clearly that the strategies and policies were not effective enough in achieving the desired goals of poverty alleviation. It has been noted that what actually made programmes for poverty alleviation to be disabled ea its implementation in the community.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Community Work in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, 2010. / Culturally determined gender roles restricted women’s freedom, choice and rights and as such, it is not surprising that women have long been neglected in development. It is only recently that attention was given to women and particularly rural women who are actively engaged in productive labor. At the Beijing plan of action conference in 1995, it was highlighted that though poverty affects men and women, but because of gender role and responsibility women bear a greater burden and it was recommended that: • Polices and programs for women be developed in order to alleviate poverty, with their full participation and respect for cultural diversity. • Mobilization to improve the effectiveness of anti-poverty programs directed at disadvantaged people. Several programs have been developed by the government in order to empower women. This study therefore is aimed at assessing the impact of social development programs on participating women at Amajuba district Municipality in KwaZulu Natal. These programs are developed by women and required their full participation. They are funded by the government for sustainability. The researcher’s respondents were selected from members who are participating. An evaluative research method was utilized as it assesses the implementation and usefulness of social interventions. Higson –Smith (1995:47) stated that evaluation research is aimed at testing interventions, to see how effective they are, and therefore, represents an important means of linking action and research in a constructive manner. Evaluation research can furnish evidence of the usefulness of a program. Findings revealed that women benefited through participation in these programs, as they were also capacitated on activities they were engaged in. They were not successful to generate enough income to sustain their families. Implementation of recommendations made on chapter 6 will develop projects to small businesses so that participants can maintain their families and, contribute to the economy of the country.