WITHIN THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION
4.1 Introduction
4.2.2 Poverty
Poverty is an issue of great concern throughout South Africa. The African National Congress (1994:14) identified poverty as the single greatest burden of the South African people. It has been described as "the single most powerful circumstance inhibiting human, social and economic development" (Maforah, 1994:95). The White Paper for Social Welfare (1997) recognises that the country has serious problems of poverty and underdevelopment, especially in rural areas. Declining economic growth, large-scale underdevelopment, and lack of access to land and social services are all indicative of a depressed state of social welfare (Rankin, 1997: 185). In per capita terms, South Africa is an upper-middle-income country, but most South African households either experience outright poverty or are vulnerable to poverty (May, 1998:55).
According to Triegaardt (2002) South Africa has one of the highest income inequalities in the world. The Department of Social Development's Annual Statistics Report (2001) estimated that 50% of the South African population lives in the "poorest" 40% of the households, and are classified as poor, while 27% of the population live in the "poorest" 21% of the households and are classified as the ultra-poor. While poverty is not confined to any single race group, it is most prevalent in the African population. In a study by May (1998:55) it was revealed that 61% of Africans and 38% of Coloureds are poor, compared with 5% of Indians and 1% of Whites. Three children in every five live in poor households, and many children are exposed to public and domestic violence, malnutrition, and inconsistent parenting and schooling. Further, the poverty rate among female-headed households is 60%, compared with 31% for male-headed households (May, 1998:55). From these statistiCS, it is evident that social welfare services have to meet the needs of a population emerging from the ravages of apartheid and poverty.
Social workers have long been criticised for their failure to reach the poor.
Poverty is no longer centred in remote rural areas inaccessible to social workers. It is increasingly a phenomenon of the urban environment, too.
A major characteristic of urban poverty is the emergence of sprawling informal settlements comprising illegal squatters. In the 1980s, urban squatting began to emerge in response to violence and overcrowding in townships, rural poverty, social constraints and proximity to job opportunities (Triegaardt, 2002). Informal settlements are often found to be on land that is unsuitable for human settlement and often their location makes them prone to the negative effects of natural disasters. Homes are built on riverbanks that collapse during floods, and shacks/informal dwellings are often built closely together, relying on gas and paraffin which has become a source of frequent accidental fires.
A general perception is that informal settlements lack basic services.
While this is true in many cases, it must also be acknowledged that a concerted effort has been made in the past few years to improve the delivery of essential services to informal settlements. Pre-paid meters for electricity supply and communal standpipes or water kiosks have been instrumental in improving the supply of these services. Problems continue to be experienced, however, with people in some communities damaging water kiosks and pipes (causing leaks from which they can get free water), making illegal connections to the electricity grid and assaulting officials who install electricity (May, Newton, Persad and Stavrou, 1994).
Many informal settlements lack sewerage systems, and health implications are enormous. High rates of parasitic infections, which are directly linked to inadequate sanitation and clean water, are prevalent in informal settlements (Grant and Meicklejohn cited by Chetty,1999). Crime and violence are also rife.
The social work profession is facing a number of fundamental challenges.
It has to decide not only how to change its orientation in the eradication of poverty, but whether it should do so at all. Do social workers view themselves as frontline social development workers? Or should they continue with therapeutic functions? For the researcher, the reality is that social work will continue to be disrespected and disregarded until large numbers of social workers are prepared to leave the comfort zone of base camp (traditional social work settings) and confront an entirely new wilderness (non-traditional social work settings). The need for an integrated method of practice is expressed by Chetty (1999:75) who notes that a social worker "cannot casework a client out of poverty. By the same token, the need for casework services will remain since one cannot community-organise a person out of trauma".
Although literature concerning social work in informal settlements in South Africa is fairly sparse, Rothmund and Kela (1992) identify the tasks and roles of social workers in informal settlements as including empowering the community, developing community involvement and participation, understanding community dynamics and structures, networking and making oneself known and marketing one's agency's services. These authors warn that having the correct attitude is important.
A correct attitude would include a willingness to treat residents as equals and with respect.
There are, however, many challenges and obstacles facing social work in informal settlements. Rothmund and Kela (1992) point out that residents of informal settlements might feel exploited, and dis-empowered and might have a poor self-image. This could lead to mistrust of strangers, including social workers. Often, social workers are greeted with hostility because residents identify social work with "authority".
Some of the practical problems experienced by social workers when working in informal settlements are:
a) Time is a problem. People living in informal settlements are involved in a day-to-day struggle for survival. Where there is no water, fetching water from communal taps, and washing clothes in nearby streams or at a communal tap all takes time. Further, many are casually employed and cannot afford to miss the opportunity of work. It would be unrealistic to expect them to have time to attend meetings or take on responsibilities in the community.
b) Lack of electricity makes it very difficult to organise meetings at night.
c) Lack of resources, such as adequate venues, makes it difficult to organise meetings at all.
d) Communication is difficult because of a lack of telephones and postal services in informal settlements.
e) Low levels of literacy and education prevent people participating in meetings through, for instance, minute-taking, and a few literate people get to take on all the responsibility.
Working with people in informal settlements can be extremely challenging.
Community members often have unrealistic expectations of what social workers are able to achieve, and this can impact on participation, or lack of it, in community projects. Conflict between community leaders also can impact on social work services and hamper service delivery. Cultural differences present further challenges to social workers as they struggle to make sense of traditional practices that do not cohere with human rights (Simpson, 2001).
The study by Simpson (2001:313) with regard to social work in informal settlements in the Durban Metro region reveals other experiences and frustrations of social workers working in informal settlements:
.:. Social workers have adopted a dis-empowered position and have accepted appalling working conditions, such as no toilets .
• :. They have agreed to work with unacceptably high caseloads (ranging from 76 to 200 per social worker), which they acknowledge has compromised standards of care and possibly ever constitutes malpractice. Feelings of lack of accomplishment and pride in their work were widely experienced .
• :. Many worked in physical conditions that were far from ideal and often felt harassed .
• :. Offices were often made from "containers" and lacked essential furniture .
• :. They reported that organisational structures were unsupportive .
• :. They have been targets/victims of criminal behaviour by residents .
• :. Many revealed that the work was emotionally draining, with no debriefing or support from supervisors .
• :. Social workers felt impotent in dealing with funding requirements for their programmes/activities.
Social workers experienced frustrations with the difficult organisational conditions under which they work. The need for affirmation as professionals was not being met and this was impacting on the social workers' sense of self-worth (Simpson, 2001). These are probably common difficulties that many social workers in today's climate face and are not peculiar to those working in informal settlements. Social constructionism places emphasis on understanding the context which influences how people experience reality. The organisational constraints
facing social workers impact considerably on how they experience their work as social workers.
Finally, like the majority of people in South Africa, social workers have been socialised into bureaucratic and patriarchal structures, and the experience of apartheid stifled participation and decision-making (Sewpaul, 1992). Social workers working in poverty-stricken communities at times feel the same hopelessness and despair as their clients and need, through a process of reflection, to understand their own sense of where they have come from and where they are going.