Life: ubuntu

I must speak about our Poverty and Development class we are taking, as it is the most interesting, enlightening and engrossing course of my university career, and our professor Anna Davies-vansmith is tied with Dr. Tatchel from CMU for the most brilliant teacher I’ve ever had the privilege to learn from. I look forward to each class and walk away having learned more than expected and having more questions than when I started, which I believe is the task of a professor. The more I learn, the more I realize that I still have to learn. I’m hoping this blog post will get you thinking.

I’m not really sure how much information you all are interested in learning, so I think I’m just going to share a couple statistics, some of the lecture notes I’ve taken and found most interesting and my personal thoughts. Forgive me if this bores you and you can skip to the next post where I talk about visiting Kate in Pretoria!

(all the statistical information comes from Lectures given by Anna, all credit goes to her)

Global Poverty and Inequality

ž A little less than half the world, 2.8 billion people, live on < $2/day

ž The poorest 40% of the world’s population earns 5% of the world’s income

ž The richest 20% receives 75% of global income

ž The net worth of world’s 358 richest people = combined income of poorest 45% of world pop (~2.3 billion people!)

ž In 2005, the wealthiest 20 percent of the world accounted for 76.6 % of total private consumption. The poorest fifth just 1.5 %.

Definitions:

Poverty

ž Poverty is the lack of the things necessary for living or it exists where basic human needs are unmet.

ž Allocation and distribution of resources.

Development

ž All attempts to eliminate or alleviate poverty/inequality

ž Attempts to increase the standard of living of a nation.

Poverty and Inequality in South Africa

First some demographics:

ž Population of South Africa – 50 million (2010)

ž Women – 50.9%, Men – 49.1%

ž 79.6% Black ‘’African

ž 9.1% White

ž 8.9% ‘Coloured’

ž 2.5% Indian/Asian

ž Urban – 60.3%, Rural – 39.7%

2005

— 47.1% of South Africans live below “lower-bound” poverty line (R322/mon $46.00 US)

— 53.5% of South Africans live below “higher-bound” poverty line (R593/mon $85.00 US)

— (South African currency is the rand, approximately 7 rand to 1 US dollar)

ž Percentage poor people by race

— 56% of black ‘African’ people

— 36% of ‘Coloured’ people

— 15% of Indian/Asian people

— 7% of white people

Other facts:

ž Life expectancy 49.3 yrs (USA 78.2).

ž Infant mortality 44.8 per 1000 (USA 6.3 per 1000).

ž 1 in 4 men admit rape (2009)

ž Estimated 5.8 million South Africans infected with HIV – that is 1 in 10 South Africans.

So those are the raw statistics and facts, from here we went on to analyze these by looking at theories of development and what has been done in South Africa to alleviate the poverty and inequality. Neolibralism, Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs), Federal Direct Investment (FDI) to name a few of the tried techniques. None of these seem to be successful and end up putting money in pockets other than those who really need it. “…in the absence of direct political control, foreign investment ensures that the natural resources and the labour of Africa produce economic value which is lost to the continent” (Rodney, 1981).

From here we looked at many many more theories, which I will not be boring you with. Instead I will get straight to Development in Practice, people centered development and Human scale development. What I got the most out of this lecture was the difference between needs and satisfiers. With human scale development the goal is to move towards meeting fundamental human needs as whole human beings, not as a number to fix or a statistics to lower. “one cannot have without being or be without doing” There is a list of the most basic needs that a human must have in order to live: sustenance (food, shelter), protection, creativity, participation, knowledge, love etc. Satisfiers attempt to meet needs, but there are some satisfiers that don’t do quite as well as they need. For example, a “destroyer” satisfier like censorship attempts to fulfill the need of protection, but in actuality it prohibits the needs of creativity, participation, etc. A pseudo-satisfier such as a food hand-out briefly fulfils the need for sustenance, but not long term. An inhibitor over satisfies one certain need and limits other needs and this creates an unhealthy imbalance, an example of this would be authoritarian teaching which consist of too much forceful knowledge and limits a child’s creativity. Singular satisfiers only meet one need at a time, such as insurance meets the need of protection, and a food handout meets the need of subsistence. The most ideal way in which to meet needs would be synergistic satisfiers. A synergistic satisfier fulfills multiple needs at once. One example would be breastfeeding, where the needs of subsistence, affection, participation, etc are all met in one activity. A practical example which I have had the pleasure of experiencing has been the non-profit BEAM organization in Pretoria, South Africa, where my friend Kate is working. Not only are they a drop-in center which provides food and protection for children, they also teach life skills classes and computer courses, inviting students to participate in multiple efforts within the organization itself. The core needs of subsistence, protection, knowledge, creativity, and participation are all met and build on each other, continually reinforcing another.

There is a debate among the needs I’ve listed: some say subsistence is the most important, because it is impossible to have participation, creativity, gain knowledge etc without having food in your stomach, or a roof over your head. Others claim that all the needs are equal and are necessary in order for a human being to live. I agree with the second point, if you look at the definition of life in a deeper, more abstract way. Living is so much more than breathing and heart beating, a life is defined by the impact we have on one another. There is a saying here in South Africa, Ubuntu, which means “I am because we are.” I am a person through other people. In essence, respect of fellow brothers and sisters and sharing life together. Life is interaction, sharing knowledge and stories, having joy, giving love and attention, supporting and encouraging one another, eating and talking together, dancing and playing with one another, taking care of each other.

We all go through our lives, seeing lifeless people, at times being lifeless ourselves. Unless these basic needs are met, and we are actively seeking to help meet the needs of others-are we really living?

This is life: ubuntu.