Unemployment and Entrepreneurship in South Africa

According to Investopedia unemployment is a phenomenon that occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. The most frequent measure of unemployment is the unemployment rate, which is the number of unemployed people divided by the number of people in the labor force. Investopedia identifies three categories of unemployment; frictional unemployment when a person is in-between jobs; cyclical unemployment usually occurs during recessionary periods of economic growth; and structural unemployment due to technological advances causing individuals to lose their jobs because their skills are outdated. The working age population in South Africa includes individuals age fifteen to sixty-four. From January 2015 to March 2016 the unemployment rates in South Africa have increased by 2.5% bringing South Africa’s unemployment rate to 36.3%. (Statistical Release ,page 15) Specifically the City of Johannesburg’s unemployment rates stand at 29.8% while the City of Cape Town currently holds a 21.1% unemployment rate. (Statistical Release, page 16) Figure 17 on page 19 of Statistical Release shows unemployment rates by sex in South Africa from January 2010 to March of 2016. According to Figure 17 the unemployment rate for women has increased every year since 2010 ranging from 25.9% to currently standing at 29.3%. Too many South African women are unemployed to date.

In the novel Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton,  Theophilus takes time to discuss some of the problems in South Africa. Theophilus states that some women in South Africa are offering up their daughter or themselves in order to cover debts owed. One of the biggest problems Theophilus sheds light on is the fact that people from other towns are migrating into cities like Johannesburg taking what little job opportunities are available leading to members who live within said communities to be unemployed. The effects of the members in these communities being unemployed include poverty, unsatisfactory health conditions, unstable income within the homes,  and even increased crime rates.

Reportedly, In 2016 there are 18,456 women that make up the South African population. Out of the 18,456 woman reportedly living in South Africa 2,826 are unemployed to date. (Statistical Release, Page 24)  The available labor force categories offered in South Africa are Formal sector, Informal sector, Agriculture, and private households. According to the Statistical Release Appendix 1 Table 2, about 1,313 of the unemployed women are listed as discouraged work-seekers. While participating in this Social Change Trip my intentions are to reach some of the discouraged job-seeking and unemployed South African women attending the workshop. The goal is to create an environment where they are able to imagine themselves as entrepreneurs in their communities. I intend to reach these women by encouraging them to identify a skill that they do very well while brainstorming ways to capitalize on that skill. In 2016 women entrepreneurs in the United States are owning more businesses and producing more income simply because they understood that they could be making money by offering a service that they do really well. Women entrepreneurs own 10.6 million businesses according to Entrepreneur. These businesses account for $2.5 trillion in sales.

By the end of my worship the expectation is that the women have  1) built up enough confidence and courage to be their own boss 2) identified and begun planning the logistics of their new business venture and 3) built a unified supportive and interactive network of women who attended the workshop and myself. With the number of “discouraged job-seekers” being so high I think it is very important to help the members of these communities see that they do not need a boss other than themselves.

Works Cited.

Paton, A. (1948). Cry, the beloved country. New York: C. Scribner's Sons.

R. (2014). Investopedia, Unemployment. Retrieved December 11, 2016, from

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unemployment.asp

Statistical Release (2016). Quarterly Labour Force Survey. South Africa

                  http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/P02111stQuarter2016.pdf

Women Entrepreneurs - Women Business Owner Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved December

11, 2016, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/page/216029

The Impacts of Historic Trauma: Creating Spaces for Healing Mind, Body, and Spirit

Historic trauma has been imposed through structural, institutional, societal, and individual racism and there is a generational impact it has had on the mental health of specific populations. All my life I’ve always had a curiosity of the continent of Africa and the culture of Black/Colored folks that live in the many different countries. A place where Black/Colored is not the minority. I often believed that internalized oppression/hatred could not exist where there is extensive knowledge of your bloodline. What I’ve come to learn and understand is that the historic psychological trauma that African Americans experience is also what our African Diaspora brothers and sisters experience.  I want to be a vessel to provide tools, exercises, and examples to what spaces of individual and collective healing can look like. Healing that is needed for all in a post-Apartheid/Jim Crow era.

Historic Trauma
To understand the impacts of trauma we need to first know the definition of mental health, which is defined as a person’s condition regarding their psychological and emotional well-being. A person’s mental health determines how they live their lives and their physical health.  My definition of Historic Trauma (HT) adopted from social work refers to “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding, extending over an individual lifespan and across generations, caused by traumatic experiences.” Some symptoms of Historic Trauma include violence and suicide, substance abuse, anger, fear and distrust, loss of sleep, and anxiety.

When looking at racial trauma everyone is impacted, whether it is Blacks and Indians or White folks becoming numb and oblivious to the impacts it has had on people of color. I’ve read that trauma is remembered in the mind and the body. It’s passed from generation to generation until there is an intentional effort to treat these post traumatic stressors. Psychotherapist Dr. Joy DeGruy describes trauma as an injury caused by an outside usually violent, force, event or experience. We can experience this injury physically, emotionally, psychologically, and/or spiritually”.

A most recent example is the Group Areas Act South Africa passed in the 1950’s. The purpose of this act was to create a so called “racially segregated Utopia”. Within urban areas Blacks/Colored’s were to be relocated, forcibly removed, to racially homogeneous townships. This resulted in suicide by residents and many elders dying prior to and after the relocations, which many blamed the trauma of eviction.

Similar in the US, but now it is described as gentrification. In the US Blacks, American/Native Alaskan Indians, and other groups were and still are historically impacted by dislocation, segregation, discrimination, racism, and even genocide. This has resulted in self-hatred, mistrust of police, mental health challenges, family stress, and an extensive list for reasons of fear and anger.

Proposed Solutions
Healing does not happen overnight. It is an individual and collective process, much of a journey and it looks different to each person/community. I’ve read that race based trauma needs mindful isolation, community, discharge of energy, well-being. My intention is to look at different exercises and strategies where these forms of healing for mental, physical, and spiritual self-care practices. By using the space that we create as an example. Potentially incorporating music, writing, movement, meditations, etc.  

Trauma will continue to be here long after we leave this earth. My hope is to provide, through experiential learning, ways of self-care and mental health.

References

Trauma and memory: the impact of apartheid-era forced removals on coloured identity in Cape Town

http://www.henrytrotter.com/publications/downloads/trotter-trauma-memory.pdf

Self-Care For People of Color After Psychological Trauma

http://www.justjasmineblog.com/blog-1/self-care-for-people-of-color-after-emotional-and-psychological-trauma

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (2005) , Dr. Joy DeGruy

Trauma in South Africa

Experiencing or witnessing violent crimes creates trauma within, and while dealing with the impact of trauma cannot erase the trauma, it can help people manage the impact it has on their lives. South Africa has been referred to as having a “culture of crime” where violence is an acceptable way to deal life issues. Couple this with the rational fear of further trauma through additional violence inevitably heightens one’s level of ongoing trauma, creating a state of hyper-vigilance. 

Trauma in South Africa includes political violence, forced removal from homes and torture. People living in South Africa have experienced such a sustained level of trauma (from the many years of violence and apartheid) that it is considered to be experiencing National Trauma Syndrome (NTS). Collectively, these types of trauma have created a chronic state of stress that is caused by living in long-term stressful situations.  Trauma has been woven deep within the society and continues to generate fear in many communities.

South Africa’s patriarchal history and perspective of women being subordinate creates the violence surrounding those experiences creates gender equity trauma.

My work with participants will be focused on Trauma-Informed Care and Practice which focuses on the neuroglial, psychological, biological and social effects of trauma.  The importance of focusing on the “3 E’s” of trauma, event, experience of event, and the effect it has on a person will be emphasized. 

Trauma informed programs include:  knowing the deep impact of trauma and suggestions for recovery, recognizing the signs and symptoms of trauma on the client, their family and staff who work with them, how to incorporate trauma-informed policies and procedures as well as ways to avoid being re-traumatized. 

Some of the key principles of trauma informed approaches that will be addressed includes: safety, trust, transparency, peer support, empowerment, cultural, historic and gender issues.

Sites referenced include:

http://www.traumasupportsa.co.za/vision.php

http://www.traumasa.co.za/about-us/

http://www.ngopulse.org/press-release/trauma-south-african-environment

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/9/06-037184/en/

http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-95742013000900002

http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-95742013000900002

http://www.csvr.org.za/index.php/publications/1778-an-overview-of-the-consequences-of-violence-and-trauma-in-south-africa.html

https://www.centerforebp.case.edu/client-files/events-supportmaterials/2015-0115_RPHVideoConference.pdf

https://www.google.com/#q=trauma+informed+care+principles

Transformational Leadership: Relationship Building and Community Organizing

My main intent is to be in service to the wants and needs of the communities we will be serving. The context I want to set would be in the area of education both formal and informal, whether it’s educating those on the following areas or to support people stepping into leadership roles that will greatly impact the support of young people, specifically women and girls having access to education. Social Change to me means to build community, create unity, and move in solidarity towards a vision where each person gets to experience and access their greatness. This would mean exploring opportunities on ways that the black, coloreds, Indians and white residents can work together. To be involved or impact social change means to be a part of a movement towards social progress, innovation, evolution and liberation.

Transformational Leadership:
My working definition- An approach that causes change in individuals and social systems. It creates valuable and positive change with the end goal of developing followers into leaders.

Leadership

I have read that there are many leaders committed to the new development goals of South Africa, but many who are not adequately equipped with the knowledge and/or training to address the social challenges they face; organizations with different agendas also can hold back some of the progress; and individual opportunities, reflected in the dramatic accumulation of wealth through not only personal initiative, but also political connections and opportunism can be a barrier.

I will provide a new set tools and skills to address both internal and external challenges they may face when fully stepping into leadership roles in their communities, including the fears that may be holding one back. Additionally, it appears that the historical practice has been to address the symptoms, rather than the root causes of issues. How might we go from symptomatic or band aid approaches to uprooting the “why” it’s happening and strategically work from there.

I believe in the power and impact that an individual can have once they understand how to access it. People will be able to work collectively with different parties to find common ground in their most often conflicting interests.

Identity Development:
My working definition- The concept you develop about yourself that evolves over the course of your life. This includes a variety of different areas in your life that you may or may not have any control over.

What does it mean to be black, colored, or white in South Africa as it pertains to one’s own identity or cultural identity development? How does this impact (or not) ones ability to lead authentically in a way that inspires others, elevates one’s own leadership, or how can the lack of clarity in this area negatively impact one’s ability to lead effectively? Can you be an effective leader if you don’t know who you are or why you do what you do. This will be the question and inquiry I will in around this topic.

Many documents have discussed how blacks and coloreds have internalized both their history and the end of Apartheid. It has been mentioned that Black and Colored residents tend to be more certain about their “South African-ness,” have a more collective identity, and have a more positive perception around SA. I read where White and Indian residents are less certain about their South African-ness, have a more individualistic identity, and have a less positive perception about SA today.

How will this impact them having their vision for 2030 come to fruition? I plan to explore ways to not only have participants take a deeper look at how their identity has been shaped, but also what is their purpose, passion, and goals. What are the ways that we can work together in solidarity and build a bridge between the communities that operate individually and those who are more collective? I will share the importance of understanding one’s purpose, living with integrity (whatever that means to them), and how to nurture all of who they are in order to sustain themselves in the movement or journey they are on today.

Community Organizing:
My working definition- Coordination and leadership carried out by local residents to promote the interests of their community.

South Africa has set some bold and courageous goals in the National Development Plan (NDP). “We have received the mixed legacy of inequalities in opportunity and in where we have lived, but we have agreed to change our narrative of conquest, oppression, and resistance.” This can be accomplished with a clear understanding of what it means to be a community organizer and lead a movement. There is a deep desire that South Africa has on the importance of global possibilities and resource development, and how these can be set up in an appropriate and sustainable way.

I will provide an opportunity to learn more about what is community organizing, the importance organizing, how to elevate current organizing efforts or lead a group of organizers from scratch towards a common vision or goal. Community organizing is an opportunity to learn more about yourself, your neighbors, and the dynamics of people, teamwork, and cooperation. A true sense of community creates a sense of belonging that not only enhances our individual and collective survivability, but also strengthens our mental, emotional, and spiritual well being. I believe this will support the people of South Africa in a variety of social issues of reaching their progressive goals they have set for their country.

“Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.”

– Nelson Mandela

References

Leading a Connected Future

https://www.imd.org/uupload/IMD.WebSite/MicroSites/lcf/pdfs/South-Africa.pdf

National Development Plan
http://www.gov.za/issues/national-development-plan-2030

South African-ness Among Adolescents: The Emergence of a Collective Identity within the Birth to Twenty Cohort Study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2684583/