All human beings are born equal in dignity and rights. Perhaps the worst violation of both dignity and rights is extreme poverty.
- Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
- Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Nokubonga Majozi, Information and advocacy Worker (left); and Jacqueline Healy, Information and advocacy Supervisor (right)
This Programme provides information, advocacy and referral services to the most vulnerable people in uMqatsheni. This involves giving much needed information and assistance to people on accessing their rights and entitlements and making the appropriate referrals to both government and non-government agencies. This service focuses on a range of rights and entitlements including healthcare, social security, food, education, family matters, children’s rights, labour rights, discrimination / equality issues and access to courts. Referrals to the service come from the Khuphuka Project Community Care Workers who visit the most vulnerable households in their communities on a weekly basis. This Programme is to ensure people have the information and support to gain equality of access to and benefit from essential public services and to the law / justice.
The Programme organizes and holds community information forums at least four times a year. This involves going to the different communities and informing people of their rights and entitlements and discussing issues and potential solutions in order for the Khuphuka Project to communicate them to the relevant government department. These workshops provide people with the skills and information to advocate on their own behalf. Community workshops are organized to meet the needs of the participants and the themes available to be addressed will include access to healthcare and social security, labour rights, equality and discrimination.
Our work necessarily involves building good relations with key government departments including the local health services, Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Social Development and Social Security. Already the Khuphuka Project has made significant progress in this regard. Constructive relationships with state agencies will impact positively on individual cases and influence any policy or practice changes that we advocate.
Our information and advocacy work also seeks to identify and refer any strategic cases to relevant national human rights bodies such as Black Sash, the South African Human Rights Commission, Lawyers for Human Rights or Pro Bono.org that may serve to positively influence and change government policy and practice. We have already started to develop links with these national non governmental agencies to start the referral process.
The Programme is co-ordinated by Jacqueline Healy. The information and advocacy worker is Ms. Nokubonga Majozi who has lived all her life in the uMqatsheni area and has experience of assisting the people of her community in accessing their entitlements. She is currently doing a six month part-time internship with the national human rights organization Black Sash in Pietermaritzburg.
Ntokozo - Information and Advocacy worker
Khuphuka Project Quarterly Activity Reports
At the beginning of July the Khuphuka Project conducted a quarterly analysis of its work (April to June 2009) in its Information and Advocacy Programme. The findings of this analysis are included below:
There were 76 people served during this period with the vast majority of clients female. Over 85% of people did not have any documentation such as ID cards or birth certificates which is essential to applying for any grant support from the government.
A high number of people are unemployed and only 38% are in receipt of some form of grant support such as child income support, despite having an entitlement to a state grant. It is a common trend that there is grant support in a household but because the number of people in a household is so high (average number in households is 8 people) it meant that the impact of that grant on food security is minimal.
During this period people needed information and support on applying for or progressing grant applications in particular with regard to foster care grant and disability grant and requests for emergency food parcels were high. In July the Khuphuka Project held a meeting with the Department of Social Development (DSD) who administer food parcels in cases of serious deprivation as we had been informed that food parcels have been stopped until further notice. DSD have agreed to accept referrals from the Khuphuka Project of families in uMqatsheni in need of temporary food parcels.
For further information on the Information and Advocacy Programme please contact Jacqueline Healy Jacqueline@khuphuka.org
