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Poverty in South Africa and Africa as a whole has become a major problem, hindering the development of the entire continent. The problem of poverty affects all the spheres of life. People affected by poverty do not enjoy life to such an extent that they can feel counted among the blessed in the country. They feel depressed about their situation and strive to find solutions for their problem. One of the major causes of poverty in South Africa and in Africa as a whole is inequality and injustice. That is, the poor become poorer while the rich become richer. Poverty as one of the major problems we have inside and outside the church, needs serious attention. Chapter 2 consist of the following principles: Firstly, God is revealed as a God who treats both rich and poor equally and demands every person to have an open eye and heart for poor and needy. Secondly, the church must follow the attitude of Jesus, feeling empathy for people in need and acting in love and compassion towards them. Thirdly, the leaders of the church, especially the deacons, must defend and help the poor and lead the congregation to obey God in loving to people in need. Fourthly, the members of the church must be involved in the needs of the poor amongst them and take responsibility for widows and orphans. Fifth, the church must act as a community of love under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and address the need of the poor. Sixth, the poor must be thankful for the love of others and satisfied with the help they receive from the church. The principles were identified after studying the Scriptural portions in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19: 9 and 10; Deuteronomy 15:4; Proverbs 22:9; Proverbs 6: 9-11 , Jeremiah 22: 1 6; Ezekiel 16:49, Ezekiel 22:29) and the New Testament (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 9:14-17; Acts 2:42-47; and James 2:14-17). Chapter 3 consists of a literature study, with an emphasis on Sociology. Different stakeholders are involved in alleviating poverty, although not yet on a satisfactory standard. There is still a need for the stakeholders and the church to be more actively involved in alleviating poverty. Orphans, widows and street children are not cared for enough or at all in some instances. Chapter 4 provides some practical theoretical perspectives to try and change this situation. The principles stated in this chapter should be seriously considered. In this case God's love towards the needy and the poor is very important. Chapter 5 is the practical theoretical theological perspective on alleviating poverty in the churches in the Synod Midlands. Chapter 6 offers some conclusive guidelines. If the guidelines in this chapter can be taken in to consideration and taken seriously, they can ensure a better way to alleviate poverty inside and outside the church. / Thesis (M.Th. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

This study is based on how rural poor Muslim women in Bangladesh have become the target of both international donor agencies and of Islamic preachers. In Bangladesh, religion and politics are not viewed separately, nor are they subsumed under the other. This thesis focuses on how Islam is currently being practiced by Islamic groups and attempts to analyse the socio-political conflicts between Islamic views and empowerment opportunities provided by NGOs in rural Bangladesh. Widely speaking, the secondary focus here is the hegemonic model of development espoused by multinational and local NGOs that offer poor rural women employment, and the opposing approaches offered by the main Islamist political party. In addition this study discusses the targeted women‘s capability of identifying the best option among the contested approaches offered by those dominant groups.

Poverty in South Africa and Africa as a whole has become a major problem, hindering the development of the entire continent. The problem of poverty affects all the spheres of life. People affected by poverty do not enjoy life to such an extent that they can feel counted among the blessed in the country. They feel depressed about their situation and strive to find solutions for their problem. One of the major causes of poverty in South Africa and in Africa as a whole is inequality and injustice. That is, the poor become poorer while the rich become richer. Poverty as one of the major problems we have inside and outside the church, needs serious attention. Chapter 2 consist of the following principles: Firstly, God is revealed as a God who treats both rich and poor equally and demands every person to have an open eye and heart for poor and needy. Secondly, the church must follow the attitude of Jesus, feeling empathy for people in need and acting in love and compassion towards them. Thirdly, the leaders of the church, especially the deacons, must defend and help the poor and lead the congregation to obey God in loving to people in need. Fourthly, the members of the church must be involved in the needs of the poor amongst them and take responsibility for widows and orphans. Fifth, the church must act as a community of love under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and address the need of the poor. Sixth, the poor must be thankful for the love of others and satisfied with the help they receive from the church. The principles were identified after studying the Scriptural portions in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19: 9 and 10; Deuteronomy 15:4; Proverbs 22:9; Proverbs 6: 9-11 , Jeremiah 22: 1 6; Ezekiel 16:49, Ezekiel 22:29) and the New Testament (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 9:14-17; Acts 2:42-47; and James 2:14-17). Chapter 3 consists of a literature study, with an emphasis on Sociology. Different stakeholders are involved in alleviating poverty, although not yet on a satisfactory standard. There is still a need for the stakeholders and the church to be more actively involved in alleviating poverty. Orphans, widows and street children are not cared for enough or at all in some instances. Chapter 4 provides some practical theoretical perspectives to try and change this situation. The principles stated in this chapter should be seriously considered. In this case God's love towards the needy and the poor is very important. Chapter 5 is the practical theoretical theological perspective on alleviating poverty in the churches in the Synod Midlands. Chapter 6 offers some conclusive guidelines. If the guidelines in this chapter can be taken in to consideration and taken seriously, they can ensure a better way to alleviate poverty inside and outside the church. / Thesis (M.Th. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

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The aim of this research is to investigate the claim made for small enterprises with specific reference to their ability to reduce poverty and unemployment in the countries of the developing world. According to World Bank estimates, about 1,115 million people in the developing world lived in poverty in 1985. This represented a third of the total population of the developing world, of which 630 million were extremely poor with annual consumption less than US$275. Evidence from Nigeria indicated that during the 1980's consumption plummeted by 7 per cent a year and the standard of living became lower in the mid-1980's than in the 1950's. With few notable exceptions, the overall evidence is that poverty and income inequality in sub-Saharan Africa is severe and has seriously limited the ability of the poor to have access to adequate work, water, clean air, habitable land and sanitation. Since there are no social security and unemployment benefits in the majority of African countries, development experts have been forced to respond to the reality of an ever increasing number of unskilled, unqualified and untrained urban population who enter the labour market and fail to find work. It is argued that reduced investment due to capital scarcity and shifting demand for labour has resulted in higher unemployment and larger numbers of day labourers than long-term employed workers. As a result, the majority of the urban poor and the unemployed have been forced to compete for basically unskilled jobs in order to survive. Since the long-term consequences of the unskilled unemployed people are socially and politically undesirable and must therefore not be ignored, a consensus has been formed within international development establishments in favour of a strategy of development that would result in higher demand for the labour of the urban poor. In response, the World Bank and other development experts have tried to examine the potential for job creation and other benefits from enterprises of different sizes and degrees of capital intensity, and to look for ways to assist financially and by other means manufacturing enterprises. Against this backdrop, it has been argued that small enterprises can create more jobs per unit of capital invested and have more intimate contact with the poor. Based on these arguments developing countries have been encouraged to change their national policies and procedures in favour of the development of small enterprises. Unless the limited supply of investment capital is spread more widely than in the past, it is argued, the vicious circle of poverty will persist. Since most claims made for small enterprises are political and moral and often not based on scientific inquiries, this research sets out to examine whether small enterprises under the forces of free market are more demanding of the labour of the urban poor in the Nigerian circumstance of the 1980's. This is made possible by examining, within a historical framework, the various models of development and the structure of employment and income in Nigeria. A model of development based on small enterprises, the evolution and changing roles of small enterprises in Nigeria arc also examined. This is, however, supplemented by a survey of 96 manufacturing enterprises of different sizes in some cities of Northern Nigeria. The field work which was spread between 1988 and 1990 involved in-depth data collection, observations and questionnaire administration. The findings of this research differ significantly from those offered by sponsored projects, and have therefore policy implications on the existing anti-poverty strategies.

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The city of Dhaka has grown from a population of half a million to four million in 30 years. As the housing supply has failed to keep abreast of this growth, there is now serious overcrowding in a rapidly deteriorating housing stock. The topography of the city, being surrounded by low lying land liable to flooding, is a serious constraint to growth. The lower income group has been increasingly forced to occupy peripheral, often low-lying land. This thesis examines the housing conditions of the lower income people to be found in pen urban areas of Dhaka; a survey has been carried out of 424 households in three areas of Mirpur, Hazaribag and Jurain and then analyzed with computer. Through an analysis of the current housing stock and the socio-economic characteristics of the inhabitants, the afforbility of future housing options is assessed, with respect to the requirements of reclaiming land liable to flooding and the current speculation in land suitable for development purposes; the response of the dwellers is also examined to ensure their participation in the incremental developments of their units.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.