|
|
|
|
|
FOCUS OF THE SERVICE
PLANNED DURATION
Disabled Children started staying in the Home in the year and the subsidy was approved by the Department of Social Development in the 1998. The Home has been running for twelve years now.
AREA OF OPERATION
Short history of the area
The Masibambane Disabled Organization is operating in Middledrift Magisterial Area under Mayor Councillor D.D. Ngcuka of Nkonkobe Local Municipality under Amathole District Municipality. It is also under “Amagqunukhwebe Tribal Authority”. Middledrift Area is a rural and characterized by high rate of unemployment, literacy level and people end up being victims of all sorts of abuse. Most of the people in this area are solely dependant on Disability Grants as their source of income. The nearest town to Masibambane Home for the Disabled Children is King William’s Town.
Community setup structures in the area
The Community set up structures in the area is that we have a Tribal Authority, Constituent Offices, Ward Councilors, Ward Committees and Nkonkobe Local Municipality under Amathole District Municipality.
Children with Disabilities in our Area are more likely to be poor for two reasons: Firstly, because the root causes of Disability in this area is malnutrition, poverty and lack of services which hit the poorest children hardest. In fact, a considerable proportion of disability in this area is a direct result of poverty, injustice and exploitation by Communities and Government.
Secondly, Children with Disabilities are more likely to be poor because of barriers that prevent them from getting Education, Job and Access to appropriate support and services. Some of these barriers are rooted in local attitudes and responses to disability. Others are rooted in broader structural process of poverty and injustice that produce disability as well as impairment. The challenge still remains: How can Disabled Children have equal opportunities in our area in the face of rapid cultural change?
Information on the number of people, ages and gender distribution in the area
Population in South Africa is about 48 million. Most of this population is below the age of 20 years. This is an addiction of economic under development of this District due to high Child Dependency. The estimated number of the Disabled Persons, including children is 5.5%, literacy rate is 61.3% and unemployment rate is 67.6%.
Education and literacy within the area
Middledrift Area is rural and characterized by high rate of illiteracy level of people who end-up being victims of all sorts of abuse. Some of the Parents of Disabled Children could not attend schools because their Children with Disabilities especially those who are Mentally Impaired they have to look after them, because they are overprotective for their Children with Disabilities in so much that they don’t trust anyone then, because they lack training on Disability Issues.
Major Health Issues within the Area and the standard of Health:
We have statistics of HIV/AIDS prevalence of more than 47.08% in Amathole District Municipality. The population is predominantly African. The white population is the second largest. Women outnumber men in the Amathole District Municipality. The Biggest Employer is Government Sector. This District Municipality varies according to cultural and religious activities.
Social problem facing the Community
The high rate of unemployment which results to people fighting the positions. Other thing people are not used to work as volunteers and this result to mere fact that the self help projects are not sustainable because people need reimbursement. Lack of integration between adults and youngsters to share whatever skill they have. Integration will result to low rate of crime. Sharing of information between adults and youngsters may build our Community because the youngsters will realize that adults are source of knowledge and they will learn skills from them.
Environmental Issues facing the Community
It is drought stricken Area with Veld fires which hummers the natural vegetation. If there are no natural vegetation e.g. trees we are targets of tornados. Masibambane Home Disabled Children is situated in a deep rural area. House are built with mud. There are also Rural Development Projects houses (RDP) in Middledrift.
Sources of employment and levels of unemployment in the Community
The main source of employment is the Government Sector. There is a high rate of unemployment. Other sources of income for the Community are Old aged Grants, Disability Grants and the Communities have Self Help Projects, Business People, Hawkers, Chop Firewood and sell Aloe Juice to earn profit.
There are facilities that are available in our Community; there are twenty (20) Primary Schools and ten (10) High Schools. There are six (6) Clinics. We have one (1) Stadium and five (5) Community Halls. We also have four (4) Pre-schools (crèches). There is also one (1) Health Centre.
Availability of other Social Services
The electricity that we are using is prepaid system. We have dams, windmills and also purified water through taps and sanitation. We use fuel on certain occasions i.e. when electricity went. Refuse disposal taking place once a week.
Number of NGO’s and Social Welfare Programmes rendered in the Area
Cultural and Religious activities in the Area
We have religious activities because there are Gospel Groups in each village. In so much that they capacitated our Children with Disabilities with Gospel Music and we are sharing with music instruments.
The Qamdobowa village has the cultural dance called “Umngqungqo of Isakhono SamaGqunukhwebe”. This Isakhono SamaGqunukhwebe also educates our Disabled Children with cultural activities like cultural dance and drum majorettes. There is “Umxhentso Wabatsha” in this village, where they are wearing “ inkciyo” reminding us about our roots.
Community Strengths and Assets
The Community strength is that they have approved the place that we are running the Home. They give us support in all the activities that we are doing in the Home i.e. they work as volunteers at the Home when there is necessity. The members of the Community have projects whereby they are Knitting and Sewing “Isinxibo Sakwantu”. It also manages to have Community Hall, Stadium, Pre-Schools, Churches and Stokvels.
The Community has Fields to plough. They are farmers. They formed structures like Policing Forum, Ward Committees, Councillors and Headmans. We also have Debe Nek Police Station, Post Office and Shops.
Dominant Community values/supports
The Community supports the Home by making sure that it is safe, respected and secure. When we are ploughing for the Home we use their donkeys, cattles, horses as well as the manpower.
When we have activities which we cannot accommodate within the Home, they allow us to use the Community Facilities e.g. Stadium and the Hall. During harvesting period they get opportunity to be part of harvesting so that they can get some Vegetable and Mealies or what ever product that we harvesting.
TARGET GROUP PARTICIPATING IN PLANNING
The Home is situated in the centre of Middledrift in so much that surrounding villages are the ones who bought the products from our Projects. As a result the Children who are staying at the nearby schools villages is easy for them to come on daily basis, Children who are residing in the Home are from all seven different District Municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province. |
|
Send mail to
djm-it@live.co.za with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
