This first chapter presents the outline of the thesis, summarizing the research motivation and the notion of Religious Health Assets (RHAs); main focus of the thesis. The second part of the question was further addressed in the theological reflection in the following chapter 5.
Intangible religious
As a first attempt to construct a testable theory, ARHAP developed a matrix which identified these assets as tangible and intangible, and as having a direct or indirect health outcome. This matrix suggests that there are four types of religious health assets: a) tangible and direct, b) intangible and direct, c) tangible and indirect, and d) intangible and indirect.
Tangible religious
Direct health outcome Indirect health outcome
Tangible and Intangible Assets as Applied in This Research
A summary of the chapters was presented as well as an explanation of the focus of the thesis, so; religious health assets. The following chapter presents a contextual background to the research by describing the socio-economic, religious and health contexts of Lesotho that have shaped the provision of health services within the country.
Physical Factors An Overview of Lesotho
A brief overview of the socio-economic and cultural scenario of Lesotho is essential before proceeding with the research. Since almost 65% of Lesotho is characterized by steep mountains that have fragile soil formation and are thus only suitable for moderate animal grazing, Lesotho imports between 60-65% of its national maize requirements.
Historical Background
Resources and Production
The main occupation in the rural areas is subsistence farming, where most of the farmers are women, as the men have either migrated to the urban areas to seek paid employment or work in South African mines. These above mentioned social factors play a direct or indirect role in the understanding and delivery of health services in Lesotho.
Introduction of the Missionaries
In this exercise we hope, first, that it will enlighten us about the dynamics that have shaped religion and health in Lesotho and the relationship that has developed between the two. As Lesotho developed as a nation under the visionary Mosheosheo, he accommodated more missionaries from other denominations at a time when tensions between the chieftaincy and PEMS were high.
Doctrinal Contrasts
As we discuss the development of religion, however, it is crucial that we note how the early missionaries' perceptions of religion and 'civilization' also influenced the dominant worldview of Christianity. As local residents wanted liberation from paternalistic missionary Christianity, the Ethiopian movement influenced the development of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME).
Other Influential Religious Traditions
The antagonistic relationship that prevailed among the bearers of the Gospel created discontent among the local population. In other words, the Christian faith perceptions of health and spirituality influenced the previously implemented practices and conceptualizations about the relationship between spirituality and health in terms of seeking and maintaining well-being.
Religious Entities Shaping Political Governance
The current religious climate in Lesotho describes a marked increase in spiritual movements and smaller churches, especially in urban areas, since the 1990s. However, what has been evident is a continuing spiritual search that has seen a climate develop heterogeneous religion in Lesotho, as several other religious bodies have entered Lesotho.
The Current Religious Climate
In addition to the development of churches in Lesotho, faith-based organizations (FBOs) in Lesotho have engaged their religious ethos in development activities, including health. A significant number of FBOs in Lesotho are under expatriate administration mainly due to funding relationships that have existed within these organizations and the sending countries of the volunteers.
Faith Based Organisations in Lesotho
15 the religious topography of Lesotho is the continued vitality of Traditional Sesotho religio-cultural forms that function alongside, under, interwoven with, and sometimes in competition with the Christian formations that are much more obvious to the Western eye.35. Anglican Church of Lesotho (ACOL) 5%. include Methodist Church, Seventh Day Adventists, Pentecostal Churches, Zionist Churches).
Health in Lesotho
- Formal Health Provision Status in Lesotho
- Other Stake Holders in Health Provision in Lesotho
- Healthworlds in Lesotho
This will help us identify the various internal influences and services that have contributed to the health of the Basotho people. The table below illustrates the distribution of facilities in terms of hospitals, clinics and private practices in Lesotho.
Conclusion
These health worlds are not mutually exclusive in their influence on the health decision making of health seekers. We have described the physical, socio-economic and religious factors that have contributed to the development of health services in Lesotho.
Introduction
- Sampling
- Literature Review
- Field work: participant observation and organic interviews
- Tangible RHAs from the Literature Review
- Intangible RHAs from the Literature Review
- Findings from Organic Interviews and Participant Observation
The Lesotho Flying Doctor Services serves around 200,000 people in the remote areas of the country. The MAF Home-Based Care project therefore responded to the scarce availability and accessibility of health care for some of the mountain villages. The respondent was clear about the contribution of MAF to curative interventions and material support.
The clinic had no medication at all at the time of the interview. The airstrip was seen as crucial because of the support of MAF to the community. The health coaches listened to the question but left the decision in the hands of the support group.
We later learned that the situation was tense because one of the support group members was the chief's wife.). We also visited a client from the support group who was very old and critically ill. The focus and energy of the support group was spent on secondary issues that appeared to be relationships in the group and.
Conclusion
The voluntary nature of such activities illustrated the need for holistic conceptualization of the dynamics of the relationships and health care delivery strategies to be employed in such settings.
Introduction
Finding 1: The work of MAF is driven by compassionate care, which is experienced in tangible ways by the people served by the HBCP programme
Finding 2: Compassionate care leads MAF to offer material support and the possibility of curative intervention through specialised and deliberate aircraft transport to otherwise
Spiritual encouragement is evidenced throughout the practice of MAF; based on the belief that the activities they participate in fulfill God's purpose in their lives and the lives of the communities they work with. When an FBO shows an interest in the welfare of the community that is convincing, there seems to be a reciprocal response to enhance such efforts and in turn build the capacities of the local community members. Trust is also portrayed as a motivation to get involved in the sometimes unpredictable and foreign missions carried out by some of the expatriate staff.
MAF's effective management of the various aspects associated with it stems from this network of assets, which makes it efficient in the implementation of its programmes. The relationship between these assets is symbiotic in its functioning; each asset would have minimal functional use in the local functional environment if it did not feed from the support or function of the others. All of these efforts require national government involvement and community ownership if they are to be sustainable.
Tangible and intangible RHAs create a strong foundation for improving and leveraging the performance of the communities that MAF serves and works with.
Conclusions: Lessons about Religious Health Assets
- Employ a Pragmatic Engagement of Religious Assets
- Enhance Stewardship by Promoting Inclusivity
- Promoting Dialogue for the Common Good
- Engaging Traditional Leadership in Health Care Provision
- Aligning Development with the Shalom Worldview
In the previous chapter, we used the findings of our research by analyzing the nature and operation of RHA presented in Chapter 3. The stewardship of the resources that God has made available to the church also needs proper management in order to achieve meaningful development. Faith community leaders' recognition of each member's resourcefulness in community development and mandate lays the groundwork for focused interventions to address local challenges.
The rearrangement of the theological framework within religious communities is insufficient to place them positively within the healthcare system. Here we refer to some of the negative feelings that have covered FBOs regarding accountability117. The partnership between the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho and The Expanded Theme Group on HIV/AIDS, p.
Development needs a sustainable practice that is inclusive and cares for all members of society.
Conclusion
77 an approach that appears to be beginning to take shape among some stakeholders in the health sector, as portrayed by our research findings. This thesis is a report of a study that examined the contribution that health care practices from the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) in Lesotho made to the understanding of the nature and function of Religious Health Assets (RHAs) in Africa. The purpose of the study was to gain insight into the nature and function of RHAs in health care delivery in Lesotho in a faith-based setting.
Findings Presented through this Research
The services of MAF in the remote areas of Lesotho confirm ARHAP's idea of tangible and intangible assets that contribute to well-being. The interconnectedness of the RHAs confirmed the relational ambition that promotes the effectiveness of holistic attitudes in applying assets and creating agency. However, it was felt that the fixed categories of RHAs in the ARHAP matrix (see Table1.1.) do not capture the complexity of the assets themselves.
Regarding the pervasiveness of religion in African health worlds, the research confirmed ARHAP's hypothesis of a holistic construction of health worlds in African representations that has significant religious influences on health. This means that the traditional separation between the secular and spiritual aspects of our lives limits our understanding of the intertwined and complex natural RHAs that are critical to finding and maintaining well-being in African health worlds. We have seen that well-being in African communities is a shared responsibility that encompasses spiritual, physical, emotional and environmental awareness in which individuals are part of the whole.
This suggests that African agency in maintaining well-being should best be promoted from a perspective of the common good.
Theological Reflection
I see the relationship because – you know there was a lady in Matebeng – Matebeng village – it's a small clinic. And then they see – and then we tell them – that it is also not good for their health. You find out that where they go to the toilet and stuff – you find out that it's up there and the water supply that they get from the well is down here.
Come back - it's late - the house - the windows are very small - you can't even see very well. Things as they see them. so this is how those people –‘– as I said, this is how they lived. And then I think also at the church it is very supportive, although not in a way that you will see.
99 mind is as if something arose after I said that. so i have to do things.
