PERSPECTIVES OF PARENTS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL LIFE-SKILLS AND HIV/AIDS EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ETHEKWINI, KWAZULU-NATAL

Around the world an estimated 2.5 million children younger than 15 are living with HIV/AIDS(UNAIDS, 2007). Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of the epidemic and its effect on youngpeople. It is home to over 70% of young people living with the virus and up to 90% of childrenorphaned as a result of AIDS in the world (UNAIDS, 2007). If current infections continue andthere is no large-scale treatment, care and support provided to young people infected, then up to60% of 15-year-olds will not reach the age of 60 (UNAIDS, 2004). In countries such as SouthAfrica and Zimbabwe, where a fifth of the adult population is infected, AIDS is set to claim thelives of around half of all 15-year-olds. In Botswana, where about one in three adults areinfected, no fewer than two thirds of 15-year-old boys will die prematurely of AIDS. Thesefindings are contained in a United Nations Report (2004) that shows that current trends ofinfection will increasingly have an impact on demographics such as rates of infant, youth andadult mortality, life expectancy and economic growth in many developing countries

A CRITIQUE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL LIFE-SKILLS AND HIV/AIDS SCHOOL POLICY: LESSONS FOR POLICY ADJUSTMENT

South Africa has the fastest growing epidemic in the world with an estimated 1600 new infections occurring daily. According to the annual antenatal HIV sero-prevalence survey in 1994 the level of HIV infection amongst pregnant adolescents younger than 20 years was 6.47% rising to 12.7% in 1997 and 21% in 1998, with an increase of 65% in the last year (Department of Health, 2001). To date of the more than 5 million people in the country that are living with HIV, more than half are young people aged 15-24 (Abdool Karim & Abdool Karim, 2005). The social and economic implications of the epidemic on the educational and welfare sector of the country are undoubtedly serious and real

Poverty alleviation, social protection policy and sustainability of economic development co-operatives : voices of women residing in Bhambayi, Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract: This is one of a series of articles which endeavors to advance empirical data in the field of social protection policy and feminization of poverty. Using participatory action methodology, the author presents evidence from 24 women who implemented three economic development cooperatives spearheaded by the University of KwaZulu-Natal Community Outreach and Research Organisation. Underscored by social justice, asset-based and sustainable livelihood frameworks, the author presents their biographical profile and discusses two themes; intrapersonal challenges, power and group relations which were perceived as obstacles to the sustainability of the projects. This article concludes with considerations for enhancing the sustainability of economic development cooperatives

Review of \u3cem\u3eSocial Protection, Economic Growth and Social Change: Goals, Issues and Trajectories in China, India, Brazil and South Africa\u3c/em\u3e. James Midgley and David Piachaud (Eds.). Reviewed by Tanusha Raniga.

James Midgley & David Piachaud (Eds.), Social Protection, Economic Growth and Social Change: Goals, Issues and Trajectories in China, India, Brazil and South Africa. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., (2013), 296 pages, $120.60 (hardback)

Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored

There are increasing pressures on universities to make their graduates ready for life and work, in addition to ensuring technical and professional competence. This chapter discusses the implications of supporting such an approach for higher education in a university in Australia where the university was treated as an urban living lab, supporting student engagement for a course innovated to cover three different disciplines. Urban living labs are a form of collaborative partnership particularly in urban areas to support sustainability outcomes. The innovation presented here was in using a green building on campus, bringing students from different disciplines, to study this green building, thereby also partnering with industry. The key question driving the research was whether academic-industry partnerships may be used to understand the performance of green buildings on an urban campus. The anchor course was in construction management and the other disciplines were business and computer science. Twenty three students undertook study of predetermined spaces of a green building on campus. The results show that as a pilot study, this project was successful, with good engagement of students, teaching and non-teaching staff from the university and industry. However, it was more difficult to convert the pilot to mainstream teaching and learning

ECONOMIC EXPERIENCE OF MIGRANT WOMEN RESIDING IN GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA: A SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD PERSPECTIVE

This study investigated the correlation between poverty and the economic experiences of undocumented migrant women residing in a community in Gauteng province, South Africa. Through using a qualitative methodology, we present evidence from interviews and a focus group conducted with 20 women who relate their experiences. Adopting a sustainable livelihood perspective, this article presents the biographical profiles of the women and discusses three themes: social capital influences, tapping into human capital skills, and access to financial capital. This article contributes to debates on promoting gender justice and sustainable livelihoods as a prerequisite for poverty alleviation in Africa

Curriculum innovation in transnational teaching: A pilot study

Students are increasingly operating in a globalised world. Off shore education is challenging for students and teachers, as both need to make connections between local and culturally located knowledge and discipline. The relevant literature indicates that the transnational classroom has a number of challenges. Skills and knowledge of off shore and on shore teachers to enhance the quality of off shore learning and teaching are limited and unrealised. Off shore students experience culturally dislocated and disconnected pedagogies which impede student learning, engagement, program cohesion, and graduate outcomes. Yet, the transnational classroom also offers opportunities

THE ECONOMIC AND PSYCHO-SOCIAL EXPERIENCES AND COPING RESOURCES OF FAMILY MEMBERS CARING FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH AIDS IN THEIR HOMES IN BHAMBAYI, KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA

There is empirical evidence that families have responded with much resilience and compassion to caring for persons living with AIDS (PWAs) in their homes (Engelbrecht & Kasiram, 2007; Sekokotla & Mturi, 2004; Simpson & Raniga, 2004). At the same time families in poverty-stricken communities are increasingly struggling and failing to provide optimally for the economic and psycho-social needs of PWAs who are in their care (Bartlett & Finkbeiner, 2006; Darling, Olmstead & Tiggleman, 2009). It is not surprising, however, at a time when the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS are all too evident, that international organisations, national governments and civil society organisations recognise the invaluable role played by extended family members as support caregivers in the care of those terminally ill with AIDS

PRIVATE LIVES, PUBLIC ISSUES: CHILDBEARING EXPERIENCES OF ADOLESCENT MOTHERS IN THE ERA OF HIV AND AIDS IN BHAMBAYI, KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA

In poor communities, where early childbearing is common, adolescent girls are not only prone to HIV infection and economic exclusion, but are subjects of sexual exploitation by older adolescent and adult men. It is also widely acknowledged that sex at an early age and with an older partner has been linked with increased risks of unwanted pregnancies, childbearing and HIV risk (Fawole, Asuzu & Oduntan, 1999; Maharaj, 2006; Manlove, Teery-Humen & Ikramullah, 2006; Manzini, 2001; Rutenberg, Kaufman, MacIntyre, Brown & Karime, 2003). Moreover, in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, one in three young mothers are infected with HIV (Hanga, Kubai, Mwaura & Ayanga, 2008:107). A quantitative survey conducted by Manzini in 2001 on childbearing among adolescent girls revealed that of a sample of 796 almost half had already engaged in sex at age 16 and had confirmed unwanted pregnancy. Singh and Darroch (1999) argued that the high incidence of adolescent childbearing in the developing countries is inversely related to socio-economic development and not linked to behavioural and/or sexual choices. However, the complex social dynamics underpinning adolescent childbearing means that the situation is not simply a matter of improving public policy and access to reproductive counselling and health services, but that psycho-social and economic obstacles need to be taken into account (Singh & Darroch, 1999). Additionally, the World Health Organisation (2003) stipulates that gender inequalities, economic hardship and poverty are conditions that create the breeding ground for sexual violence against women and high rates of unwanted adolescent pregnancies. Bhana (2009) takes these arguments further and maintains that what adds to the complexity of this social problem in contemporary South Africa is large-scale social forces underwritten by the legacies of apartheid and colonialism, including persistent poverty, and racial and gender inequalities