PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PARENTING AMONG REFUGEE MOTHERS IN DURBAN

This research began by examining the attitudes and behaviour of mothers from the Durban refugee community regarding the use of corporal punishment in bringing up children. Its use was found to be widespread and frequent among a sample of 50 mothers. A training course in non-violent parenting was designed and administered to 16 mothers. A very preliminary evaluation suggests that there were significant shifts of attitude among the participants in favour of non-violent parenting

Probing marital conflicts within the context of migrant families from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province.

Doctor of Philosophy in Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2017.This study is based on marital conflict among migrant families from the Democratic Republic of Congo living in Durban, South Africa. It aims to explore and examine the extent of marital conflicts among these migrant families, investigate the root causes of marital conflicts among them and examine whether there is any relationship between marital conflict and migration. Additionally, this study aims to investigate if there are any existing approaches to marital conflicts resolution among Congolese migrant families and if so, to identify them as well as examine their functions and effectiveness. The theoretical framework within which this study is constructed includes the theories of Social Constructionism, Symbolic Interactionism, and Conflict Transformation. This study utilises a qualitative approach; 20 men and 20 women married, divorced and separated Congolese migrants participated in the initial questionnaires. Respondents in this study were identified through two selected Congolese migrant Churches. In-depth personal interviews were conducted with 8 men and 8 women volunteers from those participated in the questionnaires and with two church leaders and church Counsellors from where participants were selected. The target group for this study were men and women married, divorced or separated, from Congolese migrant community living in Durban. Respondents in these categories are selected because of their own experiences in marriage. The research has used a random and judgmental sampling method. After examining the extent of marital conflict among migrant families from the DRC living in Durban, the findings show that marital conflict among these families is prevalent. The findings from this study also demonstrate that there are a number of root causes and factors that results in marital conflict among them. These include family life stress, unemployment, lack of communication between couples, changing behaviour of one or both partners, the influence of relatives or friends and lack of social support. It was also revealed that other factors such as the absence of one partner, emotional and financial depravation of one partner and alcohol abuse also contributed to marital conflict among migrant families from DRC living in Durban. In examining whether there is a relationship between marital conflict and migration among Congolese migrant families in Durban, the majority of the study participants agreed that there is a close relationship between marital conflict and migration. Several indicators were identified and these include the change of behaviour by one or both partners in the host country, family life stress, unemployment. With regards to whether there are any approaches to marital conflict resolution among these families, the findings from this study show that there are several approaches to marital conflict resolution. Negotiation and mediation however were considered to be the key approaches in solving marital conflict among Congolese migrant families living in Durban

Integration of international labor migrants: comparison between South Africa and Latvia.

Research paper for Social Policy.Abstract available in PDF

Indigenous knowledge approach in maintaining a livelihood in the face of disastrous climate change: case of drought in Msinga villages, KwaZulu-Natal

The aim of this study is to explore and examine the ways of maintaining livelihoods of communities in the face of extreme climatic conditions using indigenous knowledge systems. Special attention was paid to drought prevailing in the Msinga village communities in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal. This is a qualitative study. In order to achieve its objectives, this study used semi-structured interviews. In total, there were 16 participants from the Msinga villages. The findings demonstrated that droughts are endemic to the study area, and drought management strategies are as intrinsic to local livelihood systems as are seasonal-adjustment strategies. The findings also indicated that communities in Msinga have knowledge of drought management. However, this knowledge contributes very little to the management of drought. Limitations in traditional knowledge that contribute effectively to drought management are due to a number of factors including conflicts between traditional knowledge and modern science. This implied that most young people are no longer interested in traditional knowledge but are more interested in modern science. Furthermore, government programmes and interventions hamper the efforts of traditional knowledge in dealing with the consequences of drought and thereby make the community vulnerable to drought