by
Gernia Van Niekerk
15 October 2002

Gernia Van Niekerk, Chief Executive of the Enrute Foundation, has been instrumental in developing several wholescale MeshWORK projects in rural South Africa. Her work is respected globally and places her among the leading Spiral Dynamics-influenced thinkers in the world.

This is a slightly-edited version of her August 2002 Executive Summary of the Rosedale project. For further information on the project, Gernia can be contacted via e-mail.

                                                                                              REFLECTING LIFE CONDITIONS
                                                                                                              Background
Rosedale is a very small rural town in the Eastern Free State on the R70-road between Senekal and Ficksburg. This road is the main road between Gauteng and Lesotho, as well as the road between the goldfields of the Free State and Lesotho. The border post outside Ficksburg is the busiest border post in South Africa. The R70-road geographically separates the town Rosedale and the township Mautse. The Mariandal (emphasizing the fact that the communities of Rosedale and Mautse are inseparably linked to one another) Cultural Village has been built next to this road.

Rosedale is a dominant white living area although a few colored and black families have moved into the area, consisting of approximately 200 residents. Mautse is a black living area where approximately 7000 people live in dominantly RDP-housing or squatter camps.

The people moving into the town of Rosedale to live are (with the exception of a few families) people who cannot afford better and more expensive housing in larger towns. (Housing in Rosedale is still relatively affordable.) These people are either pensioners or poorer younger people. During the last few years a number of people who live in Gauteng and other South African cities bought properties in Rosedale. They only visit the area during week-ends or during holidays. A large number of these city dwellers are artists.

Before the 1994 elections Mautse (with +700 inhabitants at that time) was hit by a tornado and most of the buildings in Mautse were flattened to the ground. The community approached the new government and a housing scheme was implemented for the people who had suffered loss of housing and shelter. The result was an influx to Mautse and at present the township has a population of + 7000 people. This again led to a congestion of the basic services to the town, including housing, water and electricity supplies and sanitation – with the result that the poverty problem escalated.

Rosedale/Mautse has a lovely Summer climate. During Winter it becomes very cold. Snowfalls during Winter are common and the icy winds from the snow-covered Maluti Mountains result in a drop in the outdoor temperature. Warm bedding and a fire to warm the houses are essential. The need for heating fuel means that trees are felled at random. Although a large number of declared invader trees (Category 1 & 2, Regulation 15 that must be extinguished exist in the area, well organized projects to use these trees for the benefit of the impoverished population are not in place.

The climate is idea for specialised farming projects such as roses, cherries, peaches, asparagus, vegetables, etc. The natural environment of the Eastern Free State with the town, with its rural character, at the foothills of the Witteberge is a very positive tourist attraction.

The traditional place of prayer of the Sesotho, Nkukumoi/Wonderklip, is in the district of Rosedale.

The members of the community are very concerned about the lack of interest of the youth towards their cultural heritage, as well as their moral standards.

                                                                                                  The Development Initiative
Life conditions in both Rosedale and Mautse are not ideal. The farmers in the district, previously the backbone of the community, are experiencing economic pressure and a lot are facing bankruptcy. The squeeze on farming is having a demoralising effect on the town and its people. Work opportunities are ever-decreasing and poverty is on the increase. Basic needs of people are not being met and both family and community constellations are becoming increasingly unhealthy.

The community realized that the town and the district were in a downward spiral. Farmers scaled down and farm workers became jobless, moving into the already overcrowded township. During 2000 a community self-survey was done. Questionnaires were developed and every fifth household was questioned. Interesting data was gathered. It showed, for example, that the literacy level of people above 30 in Mautse was very low, that the elderly and the young were not sufficiently provided for, that only 22% of the men between the ages of 28 and 60 years, and only 18% of the women in the same age group had any sort of income at all, with job opportunities very limited, that the biggest problem at schools was identified as a lack of discipline, the absence of positive role models (leadership skills were lacking and low moreal values.

It became apparent that an inclusive community development programme needed to be put into place. The Enrute Foundation became involved in the community development programme during 2002 and the Mariandal Enrute Development Forum was formed in May 2002, consisting of representatives from the communities of Rosedale and Mautse.

                                                                                 The Restitution of community life - How it is done
The criteria to identify and initiate projects for development depend on a socio-environmental analysis that is scientifically done within each targeted Community. [View the Gernia Variation - with a description of its application in How to build a MeshWORK.]

# Continuous mentoring and monitoring of the development process ensure the sustainability of projects and the creation of synergy of all development initiatives in regard to the Community at large.
# Different projects identified by the members of the Community serve as vehicles through which the development program is driven at all levels from which both the group and the individual benefit.
# The whole Community takes part and each person decides on which level (see below) they prefer to get involved.

The scope of the Community development management program involves:
Level 1 - food and health security
Level 2 - social security
Level 3 - recreational facilities
Level 4 - the implementation of structures and forums
Level 5 - entrepreneurial programs
Level 6 - programs to restore the ekistic balance in the community.

The steps of the process putting a development program together are the following:
1. Structuring of needs according to 6 levels of development. (Q -1 of the Gernia Variation)
2. Audit of the resources available in the Community, and a survey of organizations and institutions that must be aligned to co-operate and participate. (Q - 3)
3. Identification of ways and means (i.e. projects) by the Community, to drive the development program. (Q - 4)
4. The auditing of skills required to run and sustain the projects and the utilization of existing technology available at each level as illustrated below. (Q - 2)

                                                                                  Structuring of needs according to 6 levels(Q-1):
                                                                                             (this is done by the whole community)
Beige - Level 1:
? Are the people's basic physiological needs being met? (Are we taking care of the frail and poverty stricken elderly, orphans people with AIDS?)
? Is there enough readily-available/affordable food? (This is where projects like the 'sopkombuis' and lunch-club for poverty stricken elderly come in.)
? Is there enough adequate housing?
? Does the health care system work?

Purple - Level 2:
? Are our family community constellations healthy and safe?
? Do we take care of street children, drug abusers and do we provide rehabilitation programs for those who may need it?
? Are we investing positively in our young?
? Does the community have a strong identity, able to take its place in the world?
? Are the tribal elders respected?
? Are our tribal rituals and taboos honored and honorable?

Red - Level 3:
? Are there opportunities for sports, pubs & clubs.
? Are we providing any/enough recreational activities for the elderly ?
? Do we encourage individuals to find their 'own voice' and look after themselves?
? Is there enough power from higher authorities to exert control?

Blue - Level 4:
? Does the law & order system work?
? Are the laws clear?
? Are there enough honest & committed Police?
? Do the Churches push morals?
? Are our industries efficient & regulated?
? What mechanisms are in place for managing polarized differences?

Orange - Level 5:
? This concerns the wealth creators and the innovators and the matter of how improvement and achievement should be supported.
? What measures of "success" are seen as desirable?
? What controls are there on self-interest manipulators?
? How are the negative by-products of Capitalism contained?

Green - Level 6:
? Identifying equal opportunities/anti-discriminatory policies – development of the concept of a 'decent society' touching all aspects of human life.
? How are people facilitated in working together?
? What mechanisms are in place to ensure that all projects or intervention remain sustainable in the sense of being practical and cost-effective and environmental friendly?
? Is the community working together in taking responsibility for their future?

Yellow - Level 7 (Restitution of Community Life):
? Identifying operations beyond values and limiting beliefs to provide integral leadership, optimizing all resources – human, natural and man-made.

                                                                        REPORT COMPILED BY THE COMMUNITY: STRUCTURING OF NEEDS
Level 1

# Many people's basic physiological needs are not met.
# It became apparent in the community survey that only 26% of the people in Mautse feel that their housing is safe. The rest are not watertight during summer and not warm during winter. 70% of the community in Mautse do not have a bed for each person in their home. In 40% of the homes there are no table and chairs available. Therefore the learners have no place to do homework. 56% of the homes have no running water.
# Sanitation: Rosedale has a water-driven sanitation system. The residents contact the municipality who sends out the sanitation lorry to empty the system. Mautse still has the bucket system. This system results in great health risks, because the buckets are not properly cleaned.
# 78% of men between 18 and 60 years of age and 82% of women between 18 and 60 do not have an income. Therefore many people go hungry.
# A feeding programme has been granted to the school by the Department of Health (Nutrition), but the Department is having internal problems with funding and the programme is not functioning well.
# No old people's homes exist for the elderly. An organization for the elderly in Mautse - Itsoseng - has been formed. They come together on a weekly basis. They do exercises together and try to address the needs of the elderly who attend. They do not receive any funding and therefore they cannot assist all the elderly in the community. The elderly who receive pension grants mostly assist their families' needs for food. Sad to say, but a large number of the elderly who receive old-age-pensions complain that their family (or other people) take their money and do not provide for them. The elderly in Rosedale have a social club - Club Rose - which meets on a monthly basis.
# Three nursery schools exist in the community, but only one has trained staff. Most of the babies, toddlers and infants are left in the care of the elderly at home.
# No facilities exist for AIDS orphans. This is a problem that has been identified for several years, but no funding is available to date to assist these people. Carers are willing to be trained to help the aged, orphans with AIDS and people with AIDS. Funding is needed for workshops and training in the community, as well as the establishment of 'Green Houses'.
# Trained Dots supporters are taking care of TB patients.
# Approximately half of the residents in Mautse live in shacks. The influx of people from nearby farms into Mautse has created more housing problems. A lot of the able men leave their families in the township and go to towns in Gauteng to look for job opportunities. This practice leaves the families in Mautse without the care of a father, because they seldom visit and just as seldom send money to support the families in the rural area.
# Only one clinic with two sisters is open during office hours. A doctor comes to the clinic twice a week. Clinic services are free. Medication for chronic illnesses such as hyper tension, diabetes, epilepsy, TB and schizophrenia is available. Sometimes the clinic runs out of medicine.
# A well-equipped maternity ward has been built, but never manned, because of staff shortages.
# Emergency services: At present the police phone the ambulance in Ficksburg (45 km from Rosedale) in an emergency.
# The most common illnesses are diarrhea and skin irritations as a result of the poor quality of the drinking water. Aids, teenage pregnancies, TB, measles and malnutrition are common.
# Funerals take place in an ever increasing number. Usually burials only take place on Saturdays. Rosedale/Mautse has no cooling facilities for the bodies and therefore the local residents must go to great expenses to pay for transport fees and storage facilities at the nearby towns of Ficksburg or Senekal.
# 50% of the community say that they are not able to provide for themselves and their families a healthy diet and that they always have a feeling of weariness. 48% of the respondents report that they seldom (or never) can afford meat. Porridge, marog and bread are the main ingredients of their diet. The increase (3X) in the price of mealy meal from September 2001 to May 2002 has resulted in the already-impoverished community having serious problems during the cold winter months. Only 35% of the community of Mautse feel that they have enough food to eat daily. Only 5% of the community have refrigeration facilities.
The following institutions are needed:
# Home based care facilities eg: for care of the terminally ill like AIDS patients, cancer patients, TB-patients, the aged and stroke victims. [Volunteer Carers are available, but must be trained]
# Green-houses for Aids orphans are needed and training must be given to care-takers.
# Soup kitchens must be organized. A soup kitchen will provide food for the needy and can create jobs for others.
# A 24-hour emergency service at the clinic in the community is urgently needed.

# The maternity ward must become operational. [Staff increase]

Level 2

# The community feels that family and community constellations are very unhealthy.
# Adults feel unsafe and the elderly feel that they are being exploited. Most of them are the sole breadwinners in the family. Their pensions are taken to support the family where they live.
# 31% of the respondents (184 adults older than 25) in Mautse are illiterate. Literate adults have an average education of grade 7 (std 5).
# Schools:
  - There exists one secondary school - Taung Secondary School - in Mautse. There are seventeen teachers - 70% are qualified for secondary teaching - with 516 learners. The community is expressing its concern with the pass-rate in the final matriculation exams.
  - The primary school is located in Rosedale - Mautse Primary School. Seventeen teachers are teaching 520 learners from Mautse.
  - Most of the learners (with the exception of 7 learners) from Rosedale go to schools at the nearby towns (Ficksburg, Senekal and
Bethlehem). These learners go to hostels in the nearby towns and are only at home during the weekend. The importance of family ties
and the transference of moral values during the short period that the parents have contact with their children must be emphasized.
   A few (7 in total) attend a small Christian school in Rosedale.
  - No equipped sporting facilities or play-grounds exist at any of the schools.
  - Discipline is lacking. The principals and teachers feel that the parents are not interested in the education of their children and that
leadership skills and positive role models as well as high moral values are lacking.
# The problem of alcohol and dagga abuse is common amongst the community. No rehabilitation programs exist. In extreme cases the sisters at the clinic give counseling.
# The Sesotho elderly are very concerned because of the lack of interest in their cultural heritage.
# The tribal elders complain that they do not have the respect of the youth. They feel that the youth do not respect them because they do not have the schooling and the youth tell them that they do not know what is going on in the world.
# The traditional place of prayer of the Basotho is in the district and a large part of the community from Mautse visit Nkukumoi to honor the tribal rituals and taboos.
# There is the feeling that a lot of individuals have a low self-esteem and lack the will to grow.
The following institutions are needed:
# Life skills programmes are needed for the youth, as well as for the adults and elderly. Funding for these programmes is of the utmost importance:
  - Workshops (OLEA Leadership Support Center can provide these workshops) to inform the community of the dangers of HIV Aids.
  - Workshops to motivate parents to teach their children positive moral values must be implemented (can also be provided by OLEA Leadership Support Center).
# Opportunities to tell the traditional stories of the Basotho are being preserved in vilt work, embroidered motives and bead work is essential.
# Traditional dances - training and funding for 2 years.