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the importance of social workers
the importance of social workers
critical explanation of poverty
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The Copenhagen Declaration describes absolute poverty as “ a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information” (ifsw, 2012). This paper seeks to critically appraise the government of Botswana’s approach to poverty, based on the policies and programs that are intended to solve the problem of poverty in Botswana and finally identify the envisioned role of a social worker in poverty issues.
POVERTY IN BOTSWANA
It is not clear in the existing literature when did Botswana start to experience abject poverty, but comparing it to other developed countries mainly western countries; Botswana has always been poor since the beginning of times. (Parsons, 1980) observed that “ by 1939, a child could look forward to malnourished and uneducated childhood; grow up to spend his/her adult energies as a hired labor for low wages; and at old age become impoverished and a burden on his/her children”. I agree that during the years 1939, Botswana had nothing to bring to the table and was not even in a state of taking care of its people. However the situation was not that bad because the people’s lifestyle was almost the same across the whole country. Tswana societies depended much on agriculture: ploughing their lands and rearing of livestock. Even though it looks like Botswana has always been poor, the colonization period by the British added salt to the bruise, “ when the tax system was made compulsory, men migrated to the south African mines to earn wage that they could use to pay tax and remit to their families periodically”. (Mwansa L-K, 1998)
This migration caused women to stay behind looking after children, elderly people, liv...
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ifsw. (2012, february 23). Retrieved october 15, 2013, from www.ifsw.org/policies/poverty-eraducation-and-the-role-for-social-workers/
Ministry of labour and home affairs, N. y. (n.d.). www.mysc.gov.bw/sites/all/themes/peet_mysc/peet_mysc/downloads/others/YES-Booklet.pdf. Retrieved october 14, 2013, from www.mysc.gov.bw: www.mysc.gov.bw
Mwansa L-K, T. L.-H. (1998). The practice of social policy in Botswana. Journal of social developnemt in Africa , 13(2), 55-74.
Parsons, J. (1980). the labour reserve in Historical Perspective: A political economy of the bechuanaland protectorate, Department of political science. Charleston: college of charleston.
Seleka B.T, H. S. (2007). social safety nets in Botswana Aministration, targeting and Sustainability. Gaborone: lightbooks.
www.gov.bw/en/citizens/Topics/citizens-News/POVERTY-ERADICATION-BOTSWANA-FLAGSHIP-PROGRAMME
Poverty is both a personal issue and a public issue. A community is as strong as its inhabitants (“A Community”). We often think of childhood discipline in the respect that it takes a village. To further elaborate, it takes a village to influence a strong, prosperous community. However, many people may feel as if it is not their duty to help the poor, that individuals are responsible for their own lot in life. Of course, this should not be the only way of viewing poverty. Surely, the various reasons for poverty also influence the solutions to improving poverty. Moreover, just because someone is living in poverty does not mean that said individual caused the situation or is not trying to correct the situation. In essence, situations sometimes occur that may impart poverty upon individuals, creating circumstances that are out of control for these individuals. With that being said, it is more important than ever to realize that poverty is a public and personal issue that can affect anyone and at any time. Even so, how one deals with the issue usually determines the outcome. Several programs offer assistance when one is affected by poverty, but it is also the individual’s responsibility to seek out these programs and help themselves in overcoming poverty. Ultimately, poverty is a situation that personally affects the entire public community.
Poverty and social exclusion have continued to pose major challenges to governments all over the world. Poverty is a global phenomenon which affects all states at different levels and is not limited to the developing countries only. Both poverty and social exclusion are conditions relating to the denial of or absence of opportunities and resources, this affects participation in society on equal terms with others. The affected individuals are often in situations where ordinary basic needs for survival are denied or cannot be acquired. (Vienna declaration 1993)
This poverty has been caused by many things in Africa. Some of these things may date back to the period were slaves were being transported throughout the world, and things that could have been recent. For Chadians every year is unpredictable. One year there was a huge find of Oil that made Chad prosper, but that victory was short lived. According to Gfmag after the oil find, Chads GDP, Gross Domestic Product, was only based in the high thousands. Parents that are working get little pay, laborious work, and are not able to support their family. Children are often left unattended to roam the streets of of Chad and find or steal food for themselves. There are many factors that the chadians have to suffer from, the life expectancy is believed to be, as of 2011, 49 years old and a few months, making there little elderly within the country. So everyone is being affected by poverty in Chad.
More than $3billion people in the world which is nearly half of the world’s population are living on less than $2.50 a day and more than $1.3 billion live in extreme poverty which is less than$1.25 a day. (Unicef 2013). One third of deaths a year are cause by poverty. An estimate of 600 million children live in absolute poverty, every year more than 10 million innocent children die of hunger and PREVENTABLE diseases, such as diaorreah, pneumonia and malaria 19 million kids worldwide remain unvaccinated, even a simple net would prevent malaria. During 2011, 165 million kids under the age of 5 were stunted( reduced rate of growth and development) due to chronic malnutrition 870 million people worldwide do not have enough to eat. More than half a million women die in pregnancy and child birth every year… one death a minute. Why do we have cases of poverty in 2014? “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it’s an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man made an it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings”. Mandela (2005). It’s heart breaking that in this day and age there are children dying of hunger, and easily preventable diseases. Poverty reduction is one of the most dominant themes in current scholarship, policy formation and international discussion on economic development. A sign of it importance is shown by the fact that the very first target of the millennium development goals (MDG) is in fact to reduce the people living under $1 a day by half by 2015. Relative to this dissertation the role of economic growth in in poverty reduction is of high importance. Substantial and lasting reductions, if not complete eradication of poverty has been and will continue to b...
Thousands of individuals living in poverty. Why is it that this worldwide dilemma is still rising in rapid numbers to this day? Is it the fault of a lack of authority power, or a lack of one’s self control to do good? Despite the unknown cause, it has managed to drastically affect the lives of many. Poverty is like a curse, one that is wrongfully placed, difficult to get out of, and resistant to many forms of help.
Poverty is a pertinent global issue that affects a surprisingly large percentage of the world’s population. This issue will continue to spread unless there is serious action taken against it by developed nations and the world government.
Botswana is a small country roughly the size of Texas with 1.7 million inhabitants. Nearly 80 percent of Botswana is the Kalihari desert. This makes Botswana a sub-Saharan, land locked country. Many economists believe in the geography hypothesis, which states that countries that are northern and near water will prosper, while those that are southern and land locked will most likely struggle. Botswana broke this hypothesis, being both southern and land locked. Botswana, unlike many neighboring countries, pursued a sound economic policy, favoring free trade, a free market, and a limited government. There was no military presence in Botswana till 1976. With no military presence, Botswana could grow without the need of military spending. Botswana also relied on their traditional customs, even in post colonial periods. Botswana had a pre-colonial institution called the Kgotlas that consisted of chiefs from various regions of the country. These chiefs would hold basically what was considered a town council with all the tribesmen to discuss issues. The chiefs took complaints constructively and worked to better the situation. This form of government set Botswana aside from many other African countries.
Sekwati, L. (2010). Botswana: A Note on Economic Diversification. Botswana Journal of Economics 7 (11), 79-85.
The declarations by the World Bank prove to be wrong as scholars say. First, Lesotho has not been a subsistence country but a producer in the twentieth country for the South African market. What’s additional, the Basotho were familiar with how to sell their products when they faced a surplus. Second, the decline in the agricultural spare has little to do with isolation and migration according to H.Ashton, the most famous and respected western ethnographer of the Basuto, who distinguished that l...
Have you ever heard of Botswana? Well, it is a country in Africa. Most people have never heard of Botswana, just like most people do not know that Egypt is in Africa. Pretty interesting? I, myself, had never heard of Botswana until I was selected to spend six weeks on a missionary internship there. I also did not know that Egypt was in Africa until recently. I would not give up my experience in Botswana away for the world. That is not what I am here to tell you about, though. I would love to tell you all about the mission trip and my plans for going back for a two year stay; however, I would like to inform you about the country of Botswana. I would like to begin by telling you where Botswana is. We will then look at this country under South African rule, compared to the independent government of Botswana that now exists. I would also like to have you look at the people and their culture to sho3w you what kind of people they are, and how simply they live and still get along quite well. I hope you enjoy this informational page of a country that many people have never heard about, and maybe it will inspire you to at least make a visit to see if I am telling the truth.
...suasive. At the end of the book the thesis is unanswered and he favours to discuss the spread of bureaucratic power into the Thaba-Tseka region and development is merely a “tool” for bureaucrats instead. Ferguson’s anti-politics machine is only but one of the workings of ‘development’ leaving his thesis largely unanswered. Personally we don’t find the book useful despite its excellent detail and capture of concept. Instead we find it considerably outdated as a lot has changed since the early 1980s. Both Lesotho and the approach of development programmes have changed since and are completely different. Nonetheless we do see the book’s value as fundamental read and it was revolutionary at its time and how it possibly impacted the field of development to what we see today.
Krishna, Anirudh, et al. "Escaping Poverty And Becoming Poor In 36 Villages Of Central And Western Uganda." Journal Of Development Studies 42.2 (2006): 346-370. Business Source Complete. Web. 20 May 2014.
These programmes exhibit considerable diversity in terms of objectives and programme design. They can take the form of pure income transfers, like in the case of South Africa’s Child Support Grant, whereas other countries have adopted a different approach consisting in linking income transfers with basic service provision. For example, Mexico’s Oportunidades (previously known as Progresa), and Brazil’s Bolsa Familia, which provides income transfers to poor households on condition that they regularly send their children to school and that household members attend health clinics. In fewer countries, like in the case of Chile Solidario, income transfers are combined with a wide range of interventions in health, education, employment, and housing. Our focus on social protection programmes directly focusing on childr...
This essay seeks to discuss participatory budgeting and the need to enhance budget participation in Botswana. Participatory budgeting is promoted over the world as a tool for a well functioning democratic government by different institutions like World bank, OECD , budgets practitioners (expects), civil society organizations, (Tanaka, 2007) . Participatory Budgeting is necessary as it is through it that a more transparent and accountable government can be realized. Budget Participation is refers to opportunities that government avail to the civil society organizations and citizens at large about government policies and operations to deliberate, debate and influence the allocations of resources,