Masihambisane, lessons learnt using participatory indigenous knowledge research approaches in a school-based collaborative project of the Eastern Cape

Masihambisane is an Nguni word, loosely meaning “let us walk the path together”. The symbolic act of walking together is conceptually at the heart of a funded 1 research project conducted in rural schools of Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape. The project focuses on promoting the direct participation of teachers in planning, researching, and developing learning and teaching materials (LTSMs), with a view to aligning these materials with indigenous and local knowledge. In this paper we make explicit our learning, and the manner in which we carried out the collaborated research activities, using the Reflect process.Keywords: Cofimvaba; Eastern Cape; indigenous knowledge; participatory action research; Reflect processes

“Without a mother”: caregivers and community members’ views about the impacts of maternal mortality on families in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Maternal mortality in South Africa is high and a cause for concern especially because the bulk of deaths from maternal causes are preventable. One of the proposed reasons for persistently high maternal mortality is HIV which causes death both indirectly and directly. While there is some evidence for the impact of maternal death on children and families in South Africa, few studies have explored the impacts of maternal mortality on the well-being of the surviving infants, older children and family. This study provides qualitative insight into the consequences of maternal mortality for child and family well-being throughout the life-course. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted in rural and peri-urban communities in Vulindlela, KwaZulu-Natal. The sample included 22 families directly affected by maternal mortality, 15 community stakeholders and 7 community focus group discussions. These provided unique and diverse perspectives about the causes, experiences and impacts of maternal mortality. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Children left behind were primarily cared for by female family members, even where a father was alive and involved. The financial burden for care and children’s basic needs were largely met through government grants (direct and indirectly targeted at children) and/or through an obligation for the father or his family to assist. The repercussions of losing a mother were felt more by older children for whom it was harder for caregivers to provide educational supervision and emotional or psychological support. Respondents expressed concerns about adolescent’s educational attainment, general behaviour and particularly girl’s sexual risk. CONCLUSION: These results illuminate the high costs to surviving children and their families of failing to reduce maternal mortality in South Africa. Ensuring social protection and community support is important for remaining children and families. Additional qualitative evidence is needed to explore differential effects for children by gender and to guide future research and inform policies and programs aimed at supporting maternal orphans and other vulnerable children throughout their development.Web of Scienc

The South African Nguni female body and traditional dress as a national identity 'exploit'

Most South African public places portray multiple images of what the country offers as one of its identity and heritage. The images depict carefully chosen colours many of which signify Nguni female clothing artefacts. Within the country, any person asked to identify some of the country's national symbols, though vaguely familiar with what embodies the country's identity and heritage, would most likely think of Nguni female dress artefacts or the colours that are commonly used with the artefacts. Such is the regard for this symbolic identification that many feel patriotic at its expose often seen at public places that 'sell-off' South Africa, for example, airports, tourists' centres, hotels, etc. Whilst acknowledging affection for the images, the paper questions what they represent and who the beneficiaries of the images are, arguing that women who are in most cases bearers of the images, either as producers or models for the artefacts are accorded little or no regard. Although democratic South Africa through its legislation fosters a liberated expression and representation of its citizenry - the essence of who women are; that is, their bodies, dress and crafts are employed to exploit their quintessence whilst giving back very little to them. Employing Marxist feminism and post-colonial theories the researcher explains how the tourism industry has 'ab/used' the Nguni female identity and its related artefacts for commercial benefits. Drawing on data gathered from selected women traders as well as images found at public places the paper argues that the Nguni female body, her dress and the craft maker of her artefacts have been unfavourable used employing one of the 'taken-for-granted' national identities.

Domestic workers' rights in global development indicators

The United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the largest-ever gathering of world leaders, representing 189 member states arrived at an internationally-agreed upon agenda. The agenda was a set of development indicators, which albeit with good intention, did not take into account the working conditions of vulnerable workers within either the formal or informal employment sectors. No specific goal on labour rights was included-a pressing concern, in particular for those who are treated unjustly in the workplace. At an international level, the vulnerability and exploitation of women in informal employment, has received increased attention in the last ten years and more recently within the sector of domestic work. One of the concerns has been that a number of domestic workers work under some of the most unprotected work conditions and suffer some of the worst forms of gender exploitation. Noting the omission of marginalised and vulnerable groups from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) there is a need for civil society to respond to their understanding of the MDGs so that poverty as it relates to the experience of marginalised working women is not overlooked in national plans to implement the MDGs. This Focus makes an argument for the rights of domestic workers to be integrated into the implementation programmes of MDGs. Domestic workers, comprising mostly women, face a range of workplace abuses as both family unpaid labour in some countries and as cheap labour, particularly in countries like South Africa where domestic employment practices have their roots in colonialism, and migrant labour under apartheid.

Fragile families' experiences of caring for HIV-positive children: selected cases from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal

This chapter is drawn from a larger qualitative research project that sought to investigate and document the ways in which home-based care for the HIV positive and those suffering from AIDS has been carried out in two communities. The study was conducted over a period of approximately three years (between September 2008 and July 2011) in South Africa, in an informal settlement north of Durban, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, and a rural village, Qweqwe, about 20 kilometres from Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape Province. While collecting and analysing data derived from the study, it was noted that none of the collected data made reference to children. This realisation inspired a new study on which the discussion in this chapter is based, that is, the experiences of families caring for HIV-positive children. These families are termed 'fragile families', a term borrowed from a Ford Foundation series of projects, one of which is reported on by Van Til (2000). These families are defined by the project as marginal, and thus in need of various kinds of support, varying from psychological support to material resources. What is common to the Ford Foundation project and the South African families under discussion is that fathers are, for the most part, absent and/or not married to the mothers of the studied children. In this chapter, the author use the term 'fragile' in addition to indicates that such families experience increased vulnerability as a result of their disadvantaged socioeconomic status. The use of the term, although indicating vulnerability from the point of view of lacking multiple sociopsychological and material resources, is not intended to set up such families as victims. Moreover, it should not be assumed that all families who care for HIV-positive children are necessarily vulnerable, or that they share the same experience of the studied families. The chapter begins with a contextualisation of the socioeconomic and cultural circumstances under which care for the children living with HIV is practised. The chapter then outlines the framework within which the study is analysed both conceptually and methodologically, followed by the discussion of the findings of the study and their implications for policy and practice.

Reflecting on Research Practices and Indigenous Community Benefits for Poverty Alleviation Purposes in the Eastern Seaboard Region of South Africa

In this article we set out by problematising poverty, pointing out that poverty has been elaborately defined by people who do not find themselves in poverty situations. Given the complex and varied nature of poverty and socio-economic living conditions of people defined as indigenous and poor, we advocate for approaches that appreciate the complexities and are informed by extensive engagement with a studied people. We further debate the ‘convenient connections’ or ‘myths of connectivity’, which are conjured up and assumed to exist between poverty and indigenous communities – arguing that rural communities are not necessarily poor and indigenous in their cultural practices. We use the concept, indigenous community, with caution and are cognisant of the fact that not all the communities we have studied in the past fifteen years may necessarily define themselves as poor and rural, or essentially indigenous. Drawing out of this debate, the article discusses examples of various research projects within indigenous communities that brought forth varied results. Best research practices as well as practices that do not yield much success are discussed in the article.Keywords: Sensitive research practices, indigenous community benefits, poverty complexities

Does South Africa attend to issues which affect women the most?: a reflection

In this reflection I pose this question and thus reiterate a concern that has been raised by different scholars writing on gender and social justice. This question has been posed from a variety of angles to list a few: by scholars writing on HIV and AIDS (Mswela 2009, Muthree and Maharaj 2010), women's inability to enforce the use of condoms (Boonzaier and de la Rey 2003, Mash et al 2010), and intimate partner violence (Fox 2007, Norman 2010). Despite highlighting these concerns, there are a number of human rights gains that South Africa and the world at large can list with regard to the emancipation of women. A significant decade for women was the 1980s and the policies that emanated from the Beijing conference. Resulting from this landmark conference, numerous discussions and a number of programmes aimed at improving women's lives have been spearheaded by the UN and some sovereign countries, including South Africa. Invariably, a call for the recognition of women as equal citizens is made by Hassim, Metelerkamp and Todes (1987), Bennettt (1993) and Meintjes (1996). Concerned about issues that affect women the most, these subjects are insistently probed by these authors both as social and institutional issues and at an individual level.

Perceptions and concerns on plagiarism and its implications for teacher education: a case study of a South African university

The study, which was conducted in July 2010, sought to survey perceptions, concerns and means of deterrent employed at the campus of a comprehensive South African university which includes a teacher education faculty. Researcher constructed questionnaires, which were modified through feedback from a pilot study, served as the data-collection instrument. These were distributed to 50 purposively-selected academics (teaching staff) and academic administrators. The data were analysed, and frequencies and percentages were translated into tables to facilitate interpretation. The main findings, amongst others, based on responses from the majority of respondents, revealed that most of the respondents had received pre-service training on referencing and ways of avoiding plagiarism. The levels at which they themselves had received training, as well as how they trained their students on plagiarism, and the time allotted for such training were not uniform; plagiarism occurred at all qualification levels and in all kinds of work submitted by students. Most of the respondents were confident of their ability to detect plagiarism and took either one or a combination of steps to deter the incidences. Several factors served as constraints into policing plagiarism: punishing students without first having provided training in referencing and on avoiding plagiarism was unfair. Despite stated limitations, the results and conclusions may stimulate further research at this and other universities within South Africa and elsewhere.

Developing sensitivity in questions of gender, using feminist research and IKS principles

This chapter discusses the general understanding of feminist research practice, it looks at various traditions of feminist research. When reading this chapter the reader should be able to build on the understandings of feminist research, delineate the meaning and characteristics of feminist research alongside IKS principles. The chapter presents contexts and rationale of feminist and IKS research and shows how feminist research can be undertaken.

Masihambisane, lessons learnt using participatory indigenous knowledge research approaches in a school-based collaborative project of the Eastern Cape

Masihambisane is an Nguni word, loosely meaning "let us walk the path together". The symbolic act of walking together is conceptually at the heart of a funded 1 research project conducted in rural schools of Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape. The project focuses on promoting the direct participation of teachers in planning, researching, and developing learning and teaching materials (LTSMs), with a view to aligning these materials with indigenous and local knowledge. In this paper we make explicit our learning, and the manner in which we carried out the collaborated research activities, using the Reflect process.