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In 1997, three years after the end of the apartheid, Skillshare International opened its programme in South Africa.
South Africa has a land mass of 1,222,000 sq. km and a population of 43 million. This presents a logistical challenge for the development of programmes and we have focused our programme in two geographical areas: Kwa Zulu Natal and the Northern Province. These are two of the poorest provinces with some of the most severe poverty in the country.
Priority sectors for the South Africa programme are:
- Empowerment of disadvantaged people
- Rural development
- Health promotion
- Leadership and democratic governance
Empowerment of Disadvantaged Groups
It is a well-documented fact that the poorest of the poor in South Africa exist in unacceptably high numbers, more than 48.9% of people are living below the Minimum Living Level (MLL). These people are mainly located in informal settlements of urban areas, rural areas and former homelands. While the official national illiteracy rate for South Africa in 2000 was extremely high with one in every six adults being illiterate, it is estimated that 40% of the population is functionally illiterate. In some rural areas, illiteracy rates are as high as 60%, alongside unemployment rates of 65%. The national unemployment rate is estimated at 36.7%, although this figure is skewed along racial lines. Unemployment and low income employment is affecting entire communities.
Within these communities, women and children, youth, people with disabilities, gays and lesbians become marginalised from any social and economic possibilities that may emerge. Since 1994, the South African Government has, by means of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Policy (GEAR), attempted to redress poverty. These policy documents acknowledge the need for joint strategies with the private sector and the development community in areas of educational reform, housing delivery, health reform and land reform. The inputs from development organisations like Skillshare International are viewed favourably in the context of being able to address the needs of disadvantaged groups in the society.
Rural Development
The previous Group Areas and homeland policies of the Apartheid government fragmented communities. The policies made hardly any provision for disadvantaged communities and forced many into dire economic conditions. As would be expected, there is a very high incidence of poverty in rural areas compared with urban areas. Almost 74.6% of rural households are living below the MLL, compared with 28.6% of urban households.
Poor infrastructure over many decades has created an inequality that exists not only between different racial groups, but also between urban and rural communities. This inequality remains prevalent because of limited access to education, food security, land, water and sanitation, infrastructure development and income generation.
Health Promotion that Prioritises HIV and AIDS and Primary Health Care (PHC)
Though South Africa has a highly developed health service that compares quite favourably with that of many developed countries, the inequalities of the apartheid years has created limited access to these services. Many people living in rural areas and informal settlements have such limited access to health services that diseases like measles, TB, cholera and malaria are still prevalent. While there have been great strides in the development of health policies, the implementation of primary health care is slow and inequalities still exist.
The level of HIV infection is estimated at over 4.7 million people (or one in nine of all South Africans). This is having a staggering impact on family life, employment and productivity and it is estimated that, by the end of the decade, as many as six million South Africans will have died from AIDS related complications, which threatens to cut the country’s Gross Domestic Product by 17%. The number of people living with AIDS is causing an already strained health system to move even more of its limited resources into care rather than preventative strategies.
Leadership and Democratic Governance
While South Africa has managed to overcome formidable obstacles towards establishing representative and accountable political leadership and governance structures, both nationally and provincially, there is still the need to strengthen the new democracy. Some of the key elements for ensuring a stable democracy are democratic governance along with effective and efficient management systems and structures.
The issue of democratic governance is very important if South Africa is considered within the African context, where it has the potential for being a realistic role model in implementing democratic structures.
Decades of internal political polarisation created mainly by apartheid eventually caused most management and governing structures to meet the needs of only a very small percentage of the population. In the post-apartheid years of transformation, almost every structure is being re-examined. This process of re-examination includes the establishment of new structures, the transformation of structures and the re-design of organisations to meet the needs of all South Africans. These structures include school governing structures, community policing forums, NGOs and CBOs, community forums and a range of other organisations where Skillshare International can have a significant input.
Partner Organisations
- Community Based Rehabilitation Education and Training Empowerment (CREATE)
- Conquest for Life
- Itirileng Community Development Project Trust
- Enable
- Soetfontein Rural Development Association
- Mission Society Care
- Sizimisele Development Trust
- Limpopo Province Department of Health and Welfare
- Amaoti Disabled People's Organisation
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