Search

Planning interventions in Africa that support sustainable rural development, and sustainable rural livelihoods as an extension thereof, are often considered in terms of broad-sweeping central government approaches. However, these homogenous approaches often disregard the differentiation that exists between different rural areas. In this article, the development of Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres as micro-level planning interventions situated within the specific community circumstances of the rural areas of South Africa, are investigated as a change catalyst in sustainable rural livelihood development. This has been done by means of a literature survey and practical research. The main objectives were establishing a theoretical framework through literature studies pertaining to sustainable rural livelihood development, determining whether a community-integrated empowerment approach in this regard was a feasible option, and considering if the development of ECD centres in rural areas aligned with local community priorities and could consequently serve as entry point for sustainable rural livelihood development, and to reflect on the benefits and limitations of this approach as an integral part of sustainable rural livelihood development. In examining the relevance and applicability of the theoretical perspective, the Footprints of Hope ECD centre (a non-governmental organisation) in Griekwastad, Northern Cape (South Africa), was examined as case study. The main findings of this study indicate that the establishment of ECD centres could be an effective change catalyst in sustainable rural livelihood development, especially when approached in an integrated and multidimensional manner. Specific aspects highlighted are the importance of community-driven grassroot initiatives, circumstance-specific approaches towards sustainable rural livelihood development, and the empowerment of local communities through the provision of ECD, employment, skills training, and food security. However, isolated instances of micro-development initiatives cannot effectuate broader sustainable rural livelihood development, and thus, an enabling policy and legal framework as well as the mobilisation of non-governmental organisations is required in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a process of restitution of nine unethically acquired human skeletons to their families, together with attempts at redress. Between 1925–1927 C.E., the skeletonised remains of nine San or Khoekhoe people, eight of them known-in-life, were removed from their graves on the farm Kruisrivier, near Sutherland in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. They were donated to the Anatomy Department at the University of Cape Town. This was done without the knowledge or permission of their families. The donor was a medical student who removed the remains from the labourers' cemetery on his family farm. Nearly 100 years later, the remains are being returned to their community, accompanied by a range of community-driven interdisciplinary historical, archaeological and analytical (osteobiographic, craniofacial, ancient DNA, stable isotope) studies to document, as far as possible, their lives and deaths. The restitution process began by contacting families living in the same area with the same surnames as the deceased. The restitution and redress process prioritises the descendant families' memories, wishes and desire to understand the situation, and learn more about their ancestors. The descendant families have described the process as helping them to reconnect with their ancestors. A richer appreciation of their ancestors' lives, gained in part from scientific analyses, culminating with reburial, is hoped to aid the descendant families and wider community in [re-]connecting with their heritage and culture, and contribute to restorative justice, reconciliation and healing while confronting a traumatic historical moment. While these nine individuals were exhumed as specimens, they will be reburied as people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock production systems are essential for sustaining household food security, especially in the drylands of Africa. This study assesses the impact of South Africa's targeted Large Stock Unit (LSU) social protection program on the acute food insecurity effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among selected smallholder livestock farmers. An embedded research approach was utilized in four local municipalities purposively selected in the Northern Cape Province, where 217 households were selected using a stratified proportionate random method. A structured questionnaire was employed, while secondary data on beneficiary farmers were collected from implementing agencies. A full information maximum likelihood (FIML) Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model was adopted to capture variations due to self-selection bias among respondents. ESR model results show that the decision maker's age, the household head's education level, the land holdings' size, average relative livestock losses, the orientation of production, and the level of external support impact food security. The study concludes that based on average treatment effects analysis, beneficiaries of the LSU program are better off in the household food security relative to their non-beneficiary counterparts. These findings validate the need for enhancing support initiatives during COVID-19 shocks for households to attain food security using their main livelihood sources as the gateway. Increasing the diversity of livelihood strategies in these vulnerable communities needs to be scaled up to protect households from acute food insecurity. Targeted support programs, including direct financing and binding networks, may also be supported through youth-sensitive training programs to enhance mitigations and resilience against COVID-19 acute food insecurity. A policy can tap into existing local structures and province-wide institutional platforms for the long-term sustainability of the LSU support initiatives and mitigation of COVID-19 food security vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]