Ministry of Community Development and Social Services Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit

“Social Safety Net Project”

GTZ Social Safety Net Project, Private Bag RW37X, Ridgeway, Lusaka. Fax: 01-291946 Tel: 229446 Cell: 097-770336 Email: socsec@zamnet.zm

The Incapacitated Poor in Zambia

Report on a Study by

Participatory Assessment Group

and Public Welfare Assistance Scheme

LUSAKA July, 2004

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The Research Team PAG STAFF John T Milimo Michael Mulenga Mabel C Milimo Sophie K Ng’andu Mwiya Mwanawande Alex Kaba Nalishebo Katukula Christopher Y Chambula Patrick Msukwa LITERATURE REVIEW Grace C. Kamfwa

ACC Members Joshua Daka Mutinta Mwinga J B Siamufalali Mrs. Makomani Margaret Mwansa F M Kayemba David C Tapalo B Mwale Maureen K Chanda

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Introduction

Poverty levels have deteriorated over the years in Zambia. The 1996 Evolution of Poverty in Zambia found that 69 per cent of the people were poor. The figure rose to 73 per cent in 1998.1 The deteriorating economy and the incidence of HIV/AIDS is held responsible for the high poverty levels which seem to have not improved since 1998. The impact of all this is seen in, among other areas, the increasing numbers of destitute households. These are households living in severe and chronic poverty and without members able to carry out productive work due to the death of the breadwinner or to such factors like old age, being physically disabled, or chronically ill. A recent study (PWAS-National Household Survey, 2003) has estimated that as many as 10.5 per cent of Zambian households (6.9 % of the population) fall under this category of destitute households. Destitute households and persons, here also referred to as incapacitated poor (IPs), are those households who combine unfavourable social, economic and other personal characteristics which can qualify a household (HH) or individual to access PWAS assistance. The following characteristics of the household head are regarded as social qualifiers, elderly, child, disabled, chronically ill, female, an orphan or a disaster victim. Having no support from the family/relatives, unable to undertake productive work and having no productive assets on the part of the HH head are economic qualifiers. Other qualifiers induce not having enough food for the family, children not attending school, inability to access health services, poor housing and recent death of former household head. In summary, an incapacitated household or person is one without adequate capacity to generate and enjoy a sustainable livelihood, that is, to access a minimum level of needs in terms of food, health, shelter, clothing, education and inclusion into the community. Households and individuals in these situations require external support on a continuous basis to enable them access to an acceptable level of livelihood. The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) through one of its social safety net programme, the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme (PWAS), has been targeting and assisting 2 per cent of the national population as a way of assisting the incapacitated poor to make ends-meet. This is inadequate in view of the 10.5 per cent of vulnerable and incapacitated households. The current study was commissioned in order to provide “more information on the number, profile and the coping strategies of incapacitated poor households ” (Terms of Reference) thereby validating the NHS findings. The study is aimed at improving poverty 1 Preliminary results of the 2002/2003 LCMS show a slight decrease of the poverty levels to 67 percent. However, due to methodological reasons, this cannot be compared.

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reduction strategies and to help design and implement programs and projects targeting the incapacitated poor people as a group. The study addressed the following research questions:

• Number/percentage of incapacitated households (HHs) (according to the NHS criteria) in the communities;

• Profile/composition of these HHs, including PWAS social qualifiers, dependency ratio, children/OVC;

• Detailed information on living conditions (numbers of meals, education and health, vulnerability to shocks –what happens in case of general food-shortage, degree of monetarisation, etc.)

• Sources of livelihood, including “begging”, other transfers, economic activities if existing;

• Role within the community, inclusion-exclusion, taking views of both sides; • Day-to-day coping strategies, coping in case of shocks; • Impact of Social Safety Nets (including government, NGOs, churches,

neighbors, relatives); and • Causes of destitution, in particular the impact of HIV/AIDS.

The IP study covered the same 18 districts in which the NHS was conducted. These were scattered in all the nine provinces of Zambia; in each province two districts were selected and in each district one CWAC provided a village or community, which was sampled and studied. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in generating the data being analyzed and reported in this document. Quantitative methods consisted of collecting data from the PWAS records and the Community Welfare Assistance Committee (CWAC) level, specially designed quantitative research instruments and quantifying information generated through use of qualitative participatory research methods and tools. Qualitative research methods consisted of the traditional focus group discussions, semi structured interviews, case studies as well as several techniques drawn from the Participatory Rapid/Rural Appraisal (PRA) family of methods. In particular the following PRA tools were used at each study site:

• Social mapping to identify incapacitated households and persons • Flow charts to identify perceived causes and effects of incapacitation or

destitution; • Venn diagrams to assess community and incapacitated poor people’s perceptions

on the various safety nets trying to assist them; • Seasonality Analysis to find out stress periods, if any, when life is harshest for

the incapacitated poor (IPs) of Zambia; and • Transect Walks and Observations to enable the research team see for themselves

the type of life IPs live, i.e., the types of homes they live, the fields, if any, in which they grow the bit they rely on, and so on; and

• Triangulations, i.e., counter-checking information received from one source with that from other sources.

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Three main categories of people were talked to and provided the information being analyzed here. These were:

1. The incapacitated and destitute poor themselves; 2. Ordinary non poor members of the various study communities; and 3. CWAC, ACC members and District Social Welfare Officers.

The study team consisted of two categories of researchers, namely, professional researchers and consultants from the Participatory Assessment Group (PAG) who took full responsibility for the whole study process. PAG provided half, that is, nine of the field researchers. The various ACCs provided the other half of the field researcher from their CWACs, that is, one person from each province. The purpose of this was to capacity build these devoted workers who assist the IPs pro gratis in order for them to grasp and perform their voluntary work more effectively and to familiarize the research team with PWAS procedures. The study has opened the eyes of the study team, especially those from PAG into the problems and the harsh life the very poor face in society. It, however, has experienced several limitations. The first one was the inadequate amount of time during which the fieldwork was carried out. This has meant that only one study site in each district was visited and studied. The study cannot consequently be rightly described as a national study. The rainy-cum-farming season during which fieldwork was conducted compounded the situation. People were busy working in their fields and did not have much time to attend to research sessions. Indeed, some had moved out of their permanent dwellings and were temporarily living near their fields while the condition of roads were worse than during the dry season. 2. Findings 2.1 Distribution of Destitute Households and Persons 2.1.1 Quantitative dimension of destitution Like the National Household Survey (NHS), the current study found very high rates of destitution in all the study sites. It found 682 out of the 4,659 households (14.6 %) and 2,730 persons out of 31,240 (8.7%) to be destitute and in need of continuous social welfare assistance. In the sense that they are high, these levels of destitution compare fairly well with the findings of the 2003 NHS. In the same areas, the NHS found that 28.6 and 11.0 per cent of households and individuals respectively to be destitute. However, the NHS figure for the destitute households are actually much less than 28.6 per cent if the exaggerated figures from Mpika are removed: In this case, the more realistic results were 14.5 % (IPS) and 21.1 % (NHS). We should nevertheless underline the fact that both studies are not representative. However, they give an impressing snapshot on the quantitative dimension of destitute and incapacitated poor in Zambia and confirm former findings (see Goldberg, Fact sheet on destitution).

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2.1.2 Qualitative dimension of destitution The 2004 IPS Study confirmed many of the findings made by the 2003 NHS. Both studies found that the majority of destitute households are female headed followed by elderly headed households. The majority of destitute persons also came from female headed and elderly headed households. Female-headed households (FHHs) also constituted the bulk of households with little or no productive capacity. Both studies indicate that out of the total number of the sampled destitute households, the majority are those without a person fit for work. Out of these, the majority is female headed. The IPS also found that destitution was increasing in peri-urban areas. This was largely due to weakened family ties in the towns that has been coupled with inadequate employment opportunities. When someone is incapable to raise their own livelihoods in town there is usually no one else to help them because of the weakened extended family system while even those who would have loved to assist cannot do so because they do not have the means, i.e., the employment to generate incomes to help assist the poor. Child-headed households are also on the increase in peri-urban communities. This is being brought about by the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is taking away able-bodied middle-aged men and women. In the view of many of the research participants, the epidemic is also associated with the prevalence of chronically ill people that is the third largest category of the incapacitated poor in Zambia. 2.2 Perceived causes and effects of destitution. The following were identified as the commonest causes of incapacitation and destitution: poor performance of the agricultural sector, HIV/AIDS, old age, widowhood, being left an orphan and physical disability. The three most often mentioned effects of destitution are prostitution, HIV/AIDS and death. Others were crime, unstable marriages, and illiteracy, reduced agricultural labour and hence little farm production and compounding the poverty cycle. These effects are often inter-linked. Thus hunger which was identified as a primary effect of destitution was also said to be responsible for unstable marriages; the latter was in turn recognized to cause prostitution which brings about HIV/AIDS, death and increased numbers of orphans. 2.3 Coping Strategies The incapacitated poor adopt a number of coping mechanisms in order to make ends-meet. These include doing piecework in other people’s field, an activity which, as many noted, denied them time and energy to work on their own fields. Even some of the very old people engage themselves in this activity and it was one of the most cited coping strategies. It was cited in all the 18 study sites and came second only to reducing the quantity and quality of meals. The destitute people cannot afford all the meals a day which better-off people eat. Hence, they eat once a day or even in a couple of days. They

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also eat the simplest and most affordable meals of nshima (thick porridge made of maize, millet or cassava) going with wild vegetables collected in the bush. Another agriculture related coping strategy is for the incapacitated poor to ask relatives, neighbours and fellow church members to assist them cultivating their (the poor people’s) fields. Others are brewing and selling beer, or getting others to do so, begging and depending on charity in the form of handouts from the few safety net organizations working in the area. 2.4 Social Safety Nets There are both formal and informal safety nets in all the study sites that assist the IPs. Formal safety nets are well established organizations, which address problems destitute persons experience in their daily lives. Some of these organizations have been specially established to play this function while others, and indeed the majority, have added the function of assisting the IPs to their already wider scope of work. PWAS is a good example of an organization specifically established to address issues and problems faced by incapacitated and destitute people while churches, national and international non governmental organizations are examples of the latter group of safety nets. The study found that safety nets often come on ad hoc basis. Except for the PWAS, which addresses the entire key aspects of destitution (food, health, clothing, education, etc.) all the other safety nets tackle only one or two aspects. This fact, together with the ad hoc approach which safety nets use, contribute to the limited success of their efforts thereby reducing the sustainability of improvements on destitute people’s livelihoods. The effect of PWAS is limited due to the low and erratic funding. The extended family, the neighbours and fellow church members are the main form of informal SSNs. A number of factors, especially the rising poverty and HIV/AIDS infection levels have reduced the capacity of neighbours, fellow church members and indeed the family to provide the required assistance to the IPs. 2.5 Role of destitute people in the community In the majority of cases destitute persons do not feel excluded from the rest of the community. In fact, following traditional Central African custom, the elderly IPs are often revered and respected because of their age. They are invited to meetings and consulted on a number of issues. There are, however, instances when IPs are excluded. Two types of IPs are more likely to be excluded than others. One is that of very old people who are suspected of being witches. The other is that of orphans: members of extended family may want to deprive them of everything their dead parents owned.

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3. Recommendations 3.1 Quantitative dimensions of destitution: Targeting While both the NHS and IPS have found very high levels of destitution, there are several big differences between the two studies. The differences may be due to a number of reasons including the two studies targeting different sample sizes, the fact that the IPS was conducted during the rainy season when it was difficult to reach some parts of the study sites and the research methods used. Whatever the reason may be, it is important that more research is done in the future and that more information on numbers and on needs of destitute households is provided to policy makers and implementers. They need to understand that targeting the destitute through sustainable welfare programs is of utmost importance in order to break the vicious circle of poverty and destitution described in this study. Recommendation: It is here recommended that a more thorough study be carried out to determine the exact levels of destitution in the country. The study should use a combination of research methods which should include first and foremost mapping exercises which enable communities identify and quantify the vulnerability situation, records from CWACs, village heads, health centers and agricultural camps as well as interviews with key stakeholders, namely members of Community Welfare Assistance Committees. 3.2. Qualitative dimensions of destitution: Vulnerable Sub-Groups Both the NHS and IPS has found that female and elderly headed households are more vulnerable than the other categories of vulnerable people. After all, it is these types of households with minimum number of people fit for productive work. In addition to the above, the IPS has also found that (i) the intensity of destitution is very high in peri-urban areas, (ii) child headed households are a big problem in towns and peri-urban areas and that (iii) the category of the chronically ill headed households are a growing concern; this is mainly a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Recommendations:

• Special attention to be given to female and elderly headed incapacitated households in terms of support by Social Protection (SP) interventions. The support should be on a more permanent basis.

• Specific attention should be given to child headed households in peri-urban situations.

• SP-interventions should seriously address the social impact of HIV/AIDS as it is increasingly affecting and increasing the number of the incapacitated poor. Networking of PWAS together with other

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organizations like PAM and other assisted HIV/AIDS projects is one specific way of doing this.

• PWAS should participate in the intensification of HIV/AIDS awareness creation and education and in providing physical support to HIV/AIDS victims and their families. The sensitization should cover VCT and integrate psychosocial counselling into the targeting procedures.

3.3 Livelihood Sources Farming was found to be the major economic activity in the study areas. It is what even the incapacitated poor want to be doing. Often they get assistance in this area from neighbors, family and the church. Some younger IPs, especially widows qualify for assistance on the basis of a combination of qualifiers but are in fact able-bodied and still want to be involved in farming. Many complained against merely receiving free handouts when they are still able to do something themselves or through their families. PWAS does not deal in farming; there are other organizations, which do so. None of the people seem to have been aware of the fact that the Food Security Pack, which the Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM) provides is financed by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS), which is PWAS’ parent ministry. Close networking and complementarities of programs should be contributing to a more holistic and reliable support of destitute households. Recommendation: PWAS should work in close collaboration with agencies like the PAM, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). It should refer its incapacitated clients who wish to get involved in farming to these organizations and should not itself be involved in distributing out farm inputs as this will be an additional assignment which it may not be able to carry out given the fact that it already has a very heavy load. The complementarities of these programs should be strengthened through better involvement of CWACs. 3.4 Adequacy of Assistance

The IPS found that assistance was not sufficient at all. It is given on an ad hoc manner and at intervals during which destitute persons do not access vital services and goods. This is particularly the case during stress periods of the year when food insecurity is highest. In addition, PWAS staff at the local community levels, that is, the CWACs, does not often have the means with which to carry out their functions effectively. Policymakers should be aware that the vicious circle of poverty and destitution driven by negative coping strategies can only be changed if support is provided on a permanent and reliable basis. Recommendations:

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• Government should urgently improve funding to PWAS so that there would be a meaningful impact on the most needy clients. Presently even the 2 percent targeted by PWAS only receive occasional support.

• Given the fact that about 10 percent of households need welfare support, Government should develop a comprehensive approach to Social Protection taking into account particularly the impact of HIV/AIDS on the availability of labour force.

• Assistance should be provided more regularly, especially during stress periods when people, and especially the incapacitated have little or no sources of food.

• PWAS should provide CWACs with the necessary logistics; particularly bicycles to enable them reach their clients.

3.5 Uncoordinated Safety Net Assistance There are a number of agencies providing assistance to IPS. Often this assistance is not coordinated as each agency does its own thing. This often results in duplication of efforts on the same destitute clients while others receive nothing. Research participants appreciated the fact that PWAS covers the whole country and attempts to address all the major requirements of IPs. Other safety nets target only a small portion of the population for a brief period of time and usually on only one or another aspect of destitution. Recommendation: There is need for all stakeholders to come together and plan their activities. They should include the extended family also since this is nearest to the IPs. 3.6 Awareness Creation and Fairness:

Community members were found to be rather ignorant of the procedures, which PWAS follows. In particular, they are not aware of the qualifiers and often think that CWAC members favour their friends and relatives when they, or their relatives do not receive anything from PWAS. This has the potential of creating social conflict and hostilities between needy community members and the CWACs. In addition, communities are not aware that PWAS does not deal with agriculture, the major source of livelihood.

Recommendation: PWAS should attempt to sensitize communities on its operations and procedures. Community members and the IPs should know who qualifies for the assistance, what assistance PWAS provides and what other organization provides what assistance.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. Chapter 1: Introduction............................................................................................. 13

1.1 Background....................................................................................................... 13 1.2 Study Objectives ............................................................................................... 14 1.3 Study Methods used.......................................................................................... 14 1.4 Validation Process ............................................................................................ 17 1.5 Study Sample .................................................................................................... 17 1.6 Literature Review.............................................................................................. 19 1.7 Organization of the research ............................................................................. 25 1.8 The Study Team................................................................................................ 25 1.9 Study Experiences and Limitations .................................................................. 26 1.10 Organization of the Report................................................................................ 26 1.11 Definition of Key Concepts .............................................................................. 27 1.12 A note on the PWAS Matrix............................................................................. 27

Social Qualifiers................................................................................................ 27 Economic Qualifiers ......................................................................................... 28 Other Qualifiers ................................................................................................ 28

Chapter 2: Types and Levels of Incapacitation....................................................... 29

2.1 Distribution of destitute Households and Persons in the Study Sites ............... 29 2.2 Distribution of destitute households and persons by Social Qualifiers ............ 32 2.3 Distribution of destitute households and persons by labour force.................... 35 2.4 Summary on Distribution of Incapacitated Households and Persons............... 36

Chapter 3: Living Conditions.................................................................................... 37

3.1 Sources of Livelihoods ..................................................................................... 37 3.1.1 General Agriculture .................................................................................. 37 3.1.2 Coping strategies of the Incapacitated Poor Persons ................................ 39

3.1.2.1 Agriculture ............................................................................................ 39 3.1.2.2 Piece Work............................................................................................ 41 3.1.2.3 Begging ................................................................................................. 41 3.1.2.4 Stealing ................................................................................................. 42 3.1.2.5 Relief Food............................................................................................ 42

3.2 Access to Basic Needs ...................................................................................... 42 3.2.1 Food Availability ...................................................................................... 42 3.2.2 Type and number of meals........................................................................ 45

Chapter 4 Causes and Effects of Destitution .......................................................... 56

4.1 Causes and Effects of Destitution: A Synthesis................................................ 56 4.2 Community Perceptions of the Causes of Destitution ...................................... 59

Chapter 5: Impact of Social Safety Nets................................................................... 65

5.1 Types of Safety Nets......................................................................................... 65 5.1.1 Formal Safety Nets ................................................................................... 65

5.2 Community Perceptions of Impact and Effectiveness of Social Safety Nets ... 68 5.2.1 Targeting of Assistance............................................................................. 68

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5.2.2 Coverage of Assistance............................................................................. 72 5.2.3 Frequency of Assistance ........................................................................... 72 5.2.4 Adequacy of Assistance............................................................................ 72

ANNEXES........................................................................................................ 73 Annex 1: Terms of Reference .................................................................... 73 Annex 2: Research tools used .................................................................... 77 Annex 2.1: Tool No. 2: Form for Collecting Information ........................ 77 Annex 2.2: Tool No. 3: Guidelines/Checklist for Case Studies ................ 78 Annex 3: Some Profiles of Incapacitated heads of households ................. 80 Annex 5: Sources of Livelihoods in the Study communities..................... 92 Annex 6: Table showing some vulnerable people’s characteristics from case studies.................................................................................................... 96 Annex 7: References .................................................................................. 98 Annex 8: List of Tables.............................................................................. 99 Annex 9: List of PRA visuals used .......................................................... 100 Annex 10: List of photographs ................................................................ 100

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List of Acronyms

ACC Area Coordinating Committee

CHH Child-headed household

CWAC Community Welfare Assistance Committee

EHH Elderly (person) headed household

FGD Focus Group Discussion

FHH Female headed household

GTZ German Technical Cooperation

HH Household

IP Incapacitated Poor

IPS Incapacitated Poor Study

LCMS Living Conditions Monitoring Survey

MCDSS Ministry of Community Development and Social Services

MHH Male headed household

NGO Non governmental organization

NHS National Household Survey (PWAS)

OVC Orphans and vulnerable children

PAG Participatory Assessment Group

PAM Programme Against Malnutrition

PRA Participatory Rural/Rapid Appraisal

PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

PVA Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment

PWAS Public Welfare Assistance Scheme

SSI Semi structured interviewing

SSN Social Safety Nets

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Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background The Public Welfare Assistance Scheme (PWAS) is the Zambian Government social assistance scheme that provides support to the most poor and destitute throughout the country. It is located in the Department of Social Welfare in the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MDCSS). PWAS offers social assistance for meeting basic needs such as food, shelter, education, health and clothing. In its new redesigned form (since 2000), PWAS is a community-based programme whereby communities identify clients, prioritize their needs, allocate resources and report back to the Department of Social Welfare (MCDSS, 2003). The main objectives of PWAS are to:

• Assist the most vulnerable in society to fulfill their basic needs, particularly health, education, food and shelter; and

• To promote community capacity to develop local and externally supported initiatives to overcome the problems of extreme poverty and vulnerability.

The vision of PWAS is that communities will be empowered to allocate welfare resources to the vulnerable in their midst. The resources focused on meeting basic needs while the beneficiaries are those people who are not capable of meeting their own basic needs. This is the group that is also referred to as the incapacitated poor (destitute) in Zambia. The incapacitated poor persons in Zambia have not been adequately targeted in poverty alleviation programmes such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Only the re-designed PWAS tries to alleviate the problems of destitute families. Currently PWAS funding targets about 2 percent of the population, that is about 200,000 applicants (these can be individuals or heads of households). However, the decision to target 2 per cent is not based on any analysis of needs. In 2003, PWAS, in conjunction with the German Technical Assistance to Zambia (GTZ), commissioned a National Household Survey (NHS) to collect statistical information and assess the percentages at national level of households and individuals who are destitute or socially excluded and are urgently in need of social welfare support. The results of the NHS indicated 10.5 per cent as the total percentage of destitute or vulnerable households while 6.9 per cent of the population in the analyzed districts was living as destitute persons in need of social welfare assistance. In early 2004, PWAS and the GTZ commissioned the current study. The study was required to provide more information on the number, profile and coping strategies of incapacitated poor households. The results of the study were also expected to feed into the on-going efforts to improve the PRSP as the overall development framework of Zambia, in particular, the ongoing elaboration of a Poverty Vulnerability Assessment (PVA) supported by the World Bank and the design of a comprehensive Social Protection Strategy under the leadership of the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services.

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1.2 Study Objectives Specific objectives of the study have been:

• To contribute to improving poverty reduction strategies, in particular through inputs into the World Bank’s Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment (PVA) and into the Social Protection Strategy; and

• To help to design and to implement programmes and projects targeting the group of incapacitated poor.

The study addressed the following research questions:

i) Number/percentage of incapacitated households (HHs) (according to the NHS criteria2) in the communities;

ii) Profile/composition of these HHs, including PWAS social qualifiers, dependency ratio, children/OVC;

iii) Detailed information on living conditions (numbers of meals, education and health, vulnerability to shocks –what happens in case of general food-shortage, degree of monetarisation, etc.)

iv) Sources of livelihood, including “begging”, other transfers, economic activities if existing;

v) Role within the community, inclusion-exclusion, taking views of both sides; vi) Day-to-day coping strategies, coping in case of shocks; vii) Impact of Social Safety Nets (including government, NGOs, churches,

neighbors, relatives); and viii) Causes of destitution, in particular the impact of HIV/AIDS.

1.3 Study Methods used A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods have been used in generating the information being analyzed and reported in this document. Quantitative data were collected using tool number 2 (See Annex 2). This tool was adapted from that used in the NHS (2003) in order to validate the data collected during that study. Quantitative data were obtained from records kept by Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs) in the various study sites. Qualitative research methods included the traditional semi-structured interviewing, focus group discussions, case studies, and a number of techniques taken from the Participatory Rapid/Rural Appraisal (PRA) family of methods. Thus at each study site:

• Social mapping was done in order to identify the incapacitated HHs; • Causal Flow Diagrammes were drawn to trace the causes and effects of

vulnerability and destitution;

2 Incapacitated households are identified through:

• PWAS social qualifiers (HH head is disabled, sick, elderly, a child, female) • No person fit for work • A dependency ratio more than 300, meaning that one adult and able-bodied person supports more

than 3 dependents.

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• Seasonal Calendars were drawn in order to find out stress periods when life is hardest for the incapacitated poor of Zambia;

• Venn diagrammes were used to find out people’s assessments and perceptions on safety nets and other institutions working with them;

• Transect walks and observations were made to verify and triangulate information obtained through other tools.

Table 1.1 identifies the tools, which were used in addressing each of the research questions, and indicates the type of data that were to be generated by the researchers. Table 1.1 Research Methods used

Research Question Tools Guidelines 1. Number/Percentage of Incapacitated Households in the Communities

Literature Review; FGD; Social Mapping; Semi Structured Interviews: Tools Nos. 1 & 2.

Types of Households Heads: disabled HH, chronically ill, elderly, child- female-headed household and disaster victims.

2. Profile/Composition of these Households (HHs) including Social Qualifiers, Dependency Ratio, Children, OVC, Age of HH Members

Literature Review, FGD, Social Mapping: Tools Nos. 2 and 3.

Social/Economic Qualifiers: How many from each Household are: Aged, Children, Chronically ill, Disabled, OVC, Age of Household Members

3. Detailed Information on Living Conditions: Name, Sex, Age, Type of Incapacitated

SSI, Case Studies, Transect Walk, Observation, Seasonal Calendars Case Studies: Incapacitated Households Non Incapacitated Households FGD: HHS Social Mapping FGD Seasonal Calendar Tools Nos. 2 & 3.

Find Out: Number of Meals Per Day Food Availability throughout the year (Seasonal Calendar) Number of School Going Age Children Do all children attend school – If not why not (access to education) Access to Health (Find out type of shocks e.g. famine, drought floods etc and how they cope) FGD Seasonal Calendar on

- Food availability - Income - Health – Diseases

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4. Sources of Livelihoods SSI, Case Studies

continued Find out: Sources of livelihoods Economic Activities Role of extended families, safety nets, and neighbors and Community

5. Role within Community inclusion – exclusion (taking views of both)

FGD study, SSIs Find out: Roles played in community e.g. Participation in decision making; community organization, discrimination/inclusion.

6. Day to Day Coping Strategies

FGD, Case Studies Find out: How Incapacitated HHs cope with calamities (to be identified) - In terms of survival e.g. food, clothing, shelter etc.

7. Impact of Social Safety Nets including Government, NGOs, Churches, Neighbors, Relatives etc. In this frame work, the question of informal Social Safety Nets and its impacts should be addressed, taking the view of both sides (e.g. burden for relatives and community, impact on livelihood or recipients)

1) FGD, Venn Diagram, 2) SSI with key informants e.g. Church, PWAS, NGOs etc. 3) Key Informants: the Incapacitated Poor included in case studies

Find out types of Formal Social Safety Nets existing in the community - Types of Informal Social Safety Nets - Find out impacts using the following tools:

• Venn Diagram • SSIs with Key Informants • SSIs Case Studies with

destitute persons.

8. Causes of Destitution, in particular the impact of HIV/AIDS

1) FGD: Causal Flow Charts 2) Key Informant Interview (SSI) 3) SSI with Incapacitated Poor – to be included in case studies as well

- Factors which lead to or cause destitution - Effects/Impact of Destitution - Solicit for solutions and recommendations to reduce destitutions

Annex 2 reproduces Tool No. 1 which facilitated the collection of quantitative data from households while Tool No 2 gives guidance on undertaking case studies on living conditions.

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1.4 Validation Process At every site, the ideal was to select one village and visit each recorded household in the 2003 NHS data to validate it. This proved difficult for many reasons. The two days allowed per site were not enough because the research teams were also required to carry out participatory rapid/rural appraisal (PRA) exercises, which are equally demanding in terms of time. In some cases, the households were quite scattered and it was not possible to drive from one section to another while researchers had to walk from one point to another. Further, the study took place during the rainy season and in some cases IPs were quite busy with piecework; some of those who are able-bodied, e.g. widows were working in their own fields. In some cases the communities were quite unaware of the researchers’ visit to their villages and it took at least a day to organize them. In several cases the IPs had moved to temporary farming shelters (amajimi) located several kilometers away. In view of these problems, the validation process had to change slightly. At each site the research team started with social mapping with a selected number of community members, (CWACs and the incapacitated poor people themselves). All the households of the IPs were identified on the map. The mapping exercise collected information on the types of incapacitation, number of people in each household, and how many of those were capable of doing productive work. This was followed by a visit to a number of identified households of the IPs and non-IPs who were treated as case studies to check for information from the mapping exercise. Where possible a total of 10 cases studied from each site, that is, seven IPs and three non-IPs, were undertaken using tools numbers 2 and 3. Information collected included that on composition of the households, living conditions, impact of social safety nets and causes of destitution. The research teams also collected information from the records kept by the community. The records show the names, numbers and categories of the actual people being assisted. In some cases details of household members and other economic qualifiers were missing. These were collected from the IPs themselves or CWACs if they were not available at the time of the fieldwork. The information collected from the various sources was compared with that collected in the 2003 NHS. 1.5 Study Sample A total of 19 sites have been studied. The selection of the study sites/communities closely followed the sampling done for the NHS study, which covered 18 districts in all the nine provinces of Zambia. Two districts in each province were selected. The predominant majority of these (16) were rural sites while three were peri-urban communities. Table 2.1 shows the communities studied. However, qualitative information from Kawama in Kabwe is not available while the NHS was not conducted in Kyafukuma in Solwezi district. The analyses do not, therefore, include these pieces of information from the two study sites.

18

The study took full account of all the major agro-ecological zones; social organization systems and modes of livelihoods were covered in the study. Thus study sites in Nakonde, Mpika, Kateete and Kyafukuma represented the high rainfall areas, while the Western Naliele and Winela represented sandy areas. Emusa, Mpangwe and Singonya represented the low rainfall areas and Chiriwe in Luangwa stood for the river basins. Table 1.2 shows the sites, which were studied, the names of the communities, Area Coordinating Committees and districts in which they are located and whether they are rural or urban. Table 1.2 IPS Study Sites Province District Community

(CWAC) Area ACC

Central Chibombo

Mututu

Rural

Muswishi

Copperbelt Mufulira Chililabombwe

Kawama West 17 Miles Kakoso

Peri-urban Rural Peri-urban

Kawama Eastern Zone Kakoso

Eastern Katete Lundazi

Mphangwe Emusa Sub-centre

Peri-urban Katete Boma Emusa

Luapula Nchelenge Nchelenge

Kafutuma Mulumba Shimutambala

Rural Rural

Kafutuma Nchelenge Central

Lusaka Luangwa Chiriwe High School Rural Chiriwe Kafue Chanyanya Rural Demu Northern Mpika

Nakonde

Chikwanda Iwula

Rural Lwitikila Isunda

North Western

Kasempa Solwezi

Kateete Kyafukuma

Rural Rural

Dengwe

Southern Monze Singonya Rural Singonya Kalomo Misika Rural Misika Western Kaoma Naliele Rural Naliele Mongu Winela Rural Liyoyelo The different major sources of livelihoods in Zambia were represented as follows:

• Traditional crops of cassava, millet and sorghum: Winela (Mongu), Kateete (Kasempa), Nchelenge and Kyafukuma (Solwezi);

• Maize mono-cropping: Singonya (Monze) and Misika (Kalomo) • Fishing: Nchelenge, Kafue and Luangwa.

19

• Small informal businesses: peri-urban areas of Kawama (Macular), Kakoso (Chililabombwe) and Kawama (Kabwe).

• Large livestock (cattle) rearing: Monze, Kalomo, Mongu, Kaoma and Nakonde The three or four major systems of social organization were represented as follows:

• Patrilineal: Nakonde and Lundazi districts • Matrilineal uxori-local (man goes to stay at wife’s home at least for brief period

of time): Mpika, Nchelenge, Solwezi, Luangwa and Kasempa; • Matrilineal viri-local (wife is brought to husband’s home at marriage): Monze and

Kalomo; • Bilateral: Mongu and Kaoma districts. In this system a person can inherit from

either their father or their mother’s side. The above mentioned types of variables are very important in a discussion of vulnerability and incapacitation. For instance, an elderly, disabled person has a better chance of having some food to eat if s/he grows cassava, which does not need many inputs than when they are trying to grow maize or cotton. On the other hand, cases have been documented of old women who had been driven away from their marital homes in which they spent more than half a century of their lives just because they were living in a “foreign marital home” (Participatory Poverty Research, 2003). 1.6 Literature Review The definition of poverty refers to the failure or incapacity to attain a minimum level of consumption, especially that of basic requirements such as food, shelter and education. Poverty may be influenced by structural adjustment policies. Classification of persons as poor or non-poor is based on the total expenditure accruing to the household in which they are members. A further distinction is made, within the poor category, between the moderately poor and extremely poor. (Living Conditions Monitoring Survey, pp 112, 1998) Zambia Poverty Assessment of 1994 divided the country’s population into three categories: non-poor; moderately poor; and extremely poor. The extremely poor were further classified into three sub-categories: Incapacitated, core or ultra poor; poor with limited productive capacity; and poor with some productive capacity. Recent research findings stated that the extreme poverty sub-categories especially the last two groups that included the poorest of the poor, neediest and most vulnerable, was inadequately studied and it was also the least documented. The study based on desk analysis of available literature on the target group indicated that there is very little written about the target group and the coping strategies. As part of the research study, findings from the interviews carried out in field visits to Kalomo, Kafue and Chibombo indicated the community responses that the target group consisted of non able-bodied poor those who were permanently unable to fend for themselves and those who were at the bottom

20

of the income distribution (Poor Households with Limited Self-Help Capacity in Zambia, pp 7, 2003). Extreme poverty was very high, serious and widespread in the country. In 1996, about 5.1 million out of the country’s population of 9.5 million were extremely poor and this amounted to 53.7 per cent of the total population (CSO, 1997). In 1998, Living Conditions Monitoring Survey indicated that out of the total poor of Zambia, 58% were in the extremely poor category and Western province had the highest proportion of extremely poor persons as 78 per cent of its population was in the extremely poor category. In all provinces, the proportion of extremely poor persons (including the poorest of the poor), and all poor, was higher in rural areas than urban areas. Findings also indicated that persons in female-headed households were more likely to be extremely poor than persons in male-headed households. (LCMS, pp 114 -118, 1998). In the mean time, an effective safety net is needed for marginalized groups. Poverty is serious and widespread. Studies and experiences from pilot projects on transfers as a social policy option for securing the survival of the destitute justify the need for long-term transfers for the needy. One study states: “Only the long term destitute persons with a very limited self-help potential who includes Orphans, old people, the handicapped, households without an adult capable of gainful employment” are not able to increase their incomes sufficiently by increasing their production or participating in employment programs. For this group regular, long-term transfers are necessary. If relatives or other social groups are not able to provide such transfers, these long-term unemployable people become welfare cases that are not provided for (Social Security Systems in Developing Countries, pp 3, 1990). As absolute poverty results in under-consumption, the poverty line can also be defined with the help of coefficients representing the ratio of caloric intake to caloric requirements. An average caloric consumption of 2,300 Kcal per day per CU (consumer unit = adult man) or 1.5 BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) are threshold values frequently used. The number of people suffering from hunger and partially also from under nutrition as a result of absolute poverty has continued to increase in the later years. Survival is endangered when food consumption falls below a certain level over a longer period of time. WHO/FAO puts this critical level at 1.2 BMR, which corresponds to an intake of 1,700 Kcal for an adult man of average weight. (Social Security Systems in Developing Countries, pp 8, 1990) In their behavior, destitute people differ from the other poor in the extreme poverty in the following ways:

• Expenditure on food remains constant at 80-85% (Lipton, pp.2, 1993) even when income increases;

21

• The destitute people take less advantage of economic opportunities than other poor groups because they are even more afraid of taking risks (e.g. in participating in credit programs) than other poor;

• Due to undernourishment and sickness resulting from it, they are physically weaker and often completely incapable of working; and

• They are so preoccupied with worrying about where the next meal is going to come from that they hardly have any time to take action aimed at improving their situation (e.g. looking for work).

For these people survival is so much in the foreground that overcoming their poverty is no real option. It is only after their survival security has been ensured that people are able even to think about overcoming their poverty. Food and Health first...otherwise benefits from poor people’s projects will continue to stop at the second quintile (Lipton, pp3, 1993). The objective of ensuring survival-security is to contribute to a minimum satisfaction of basic needs in situations where survival is temporarily or permanently endangered. Self-help approach to combating poverty provides a large proportion of the poor with development opportunities; many of the destitute people can continue to be excluded or at least will not be helped sufficiently to ensure their survival. (Social Security Systems in Developing Countries, 1990) Analyses of development programs used in third world countries proves that most of the development programs for combating poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America hardly reach any of those whose survival is endangered. A further feature is that they are not very specific in their target group analyses and with regard to matching instruments with the needs of this target group. The destitute people require a social safety net which complement assistance from families and clans, provides the necessary transfers in the form of kind, cash, or where people are in need of care, special institution, e.g. homes. (Social Security Systems in Developing Countries, pp 20, 1990) Income transfers through welfare payments in the form of Cash or Food Stamps has been discovered to have advantages over other types of income transfers e.g. food distribution: It allows the recipients to orient their consumption to their personal preferences and to respond flexibly to periodic changes in the supply of goods; the distributing institutes are no longer concerned with the logistic problem of making the goods available, which is separated from the transfer process and left to the market. In addressing the question as to whether or not this approach of transfer method has worked anywhere in the world, there are some few examples to relate to:

• The old age pension scheme in India is one of the largest cash transfer programs which since 1957 has been successfully introduced in all Indian states, the needy and the aged receive regular monthly payments which vary from 30 to 60 rupees

22

per person (1985) in the different states. In 1985 some 3 million people were assisted under this program.

• In the Fiji islands a comprehensive, permanent social security system was introduced in 1975. Upon application to regional welfare officers, heads of households with a very low income receive a monthly cash payment that increases their purchasing power to a level where they are just able to consume the recommended minimum number of calories. From 1978-1982 an average of some 4,000 mainly rural households (corresponding to roughly 50% of the lowest income decile) benefited from this transfer.

• The Moslem Charity System, which is based partially on cash payments, is an example of a non-state transfer. This system provides for a regular redistribution of a fixed percentage of agricultural yields and private annual savings to the poorest and most needy within the religious community. The importance of this system is emphasized for some countries in West Africa.

• In Jamaica, a system of general price subsidies is complemented by food stamps for the aged, pregnant and lactating women, and children of preschool age. The stamps can be used to purchase fixed quantities of rice, maize flour and milk powder (Social Security Systems in Developing Countries, pp 32, 1990).

Research on existing cash transfer schemes in countries like India, however, mentioned above is yet to be conducted and information generated to reveal the impact of these programs and effectiveness of targeting, and procedures and costs incurred. There are several income transfer schemes in Africa, most of them targeting the old. In Mozambique, the INAS-Program provides small cash transfers to destitute persons (among them seniors over 60 without support, disabled persons, female-headed households with 5 or more children, undernourished children and pregnant mothers) in urban areas (70.000 beneficiaries in 2002). In Namibia, seniors (60 and more) get a monthly benefit (ca. 10 US$) without means test. In the Botswana and Mauritius non-contributory pension schemes, the age of entitlement is 65 and 60 (Barrientos, Sherlock, 2002; Smith, Subbarao, 2002). The ILO is promoting a proposal called “Global Social Trust”. They are targeting 80 – 100 million people in the least developed countries, living in families excluded from effective social protection. In this framework, destitute households should be entitled to essential health care, basic education and basic income security, which should be financed through small additional contributions to Social Security Schemes in the developed countries. ILO is presently preparing a pilot scheme on the basis of a partnership between Namibia and Luxemburg (“5-EURO-Project”). In Malawi, a pilot scheme for social transfers has been carried out 2002-2003 in the Dedza region, comparing transfers in cash, kind and vouchers. This pilot was supported by DFID. The outcome shows that transfers in cash and in kind had good results whereas transfers in form of vouchers faced serious problems. In Zambia, the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme, government’s own initiative, is launching a two years social Cash Transfer Scheme in Kalomo. The project receives financial support from GTZ Social Safety Net Project based in the Ministry of

23

Community Development and Social Services. The focus will mainly be on households that are headed by the elderly and females and are caring for orphans and vulnerable children because the breadwinners are chronically sick or have died due to HIV/AIDS or due to other reasons. Educating members of the households is one of the most problematic experiences that destitute households go through. This is especially the case when it comes to the payment of school fees, which the incapacitated poor cannot afford. A World Bank study has shown a great increase in enrolment rates after the abolition of school fees in four African countries. Thus in Tanzania pupil enrolment rates increased by 53.3 per cent from 1.4 million before the abolition of school fees to three million after the fees were abolished. In Uganda enrolment rates increased by 48.5 per cent from 3.4 million before the abolition of school fees to 6.6 million; in Malawi they increased by 36.7 per cent from 1.9 million to three million while in Kenya they rose from 6.2 million to 8.7 million (World Bank, 2003, p. 3). A recent study in Zambia made similar findings. The one-year since the policy has been fully implemented has experienced an increase of 4.6 and 4.4 per cent of girls and boys enrolling for Grade I (Assessment of the Impact of the Free Basic Education Policy in Zambia, 2004). As the target group mainly consists of incapacitated members of the community who lack productive capacity, its role in the community is therefore severely limited. For some members of the target group, especially the aged, their role is limited to merely carrying out certain basic family responsibilities like providing guidance and advice to the young, looking after children and helping family members with simple tasks. It appears that the social and economic changes that had been taking place in the country had put some members of the target group in a weaker position than that in which they were before. Rwezaura observed that: “Until the intervention of colonial rule in Africa, elders were relatively secure in their positions. However, changes associated with colonial occupation had far-reaching effects on junior/senior relations. Economic change, new forms of social and political control and new religions, all threatened the dominant position of the elders in many parts of Africa. Old age became a disability as well as an economic risk as the household became increasingly dependent on the market for its basic needs; there was a loosening of social cohesion. These economic hardships of the elderly are, unfortunately, not fully appreciated by the new states of Africa. It is often supposed that, for example, that the local community in Africa still provide old age security when, in reality, its economic role has become attenuated. A timely recognition of these hardships is essential in order for African states to begin a process of creating an institutional framework for addressing this problem, whose magnitude will certainly increase as we move into the 21st century. (Rwezaura in Journal of Social Development in Africa, P.5, 1989) Findings from 2003 research activities indicated that the attitude of the community towards the poorest of the poor was generally that of showing care for its well-being.

24

However, there were expressions of concern about the limited capacities of families and communities to look after the target group. The communities indicated that it was still the responsibility of close family members, under the supervision of the community, to take care of their incapacitated family members in the absence of other care schemes and systems (Poor Households with Limited Self-Help Capacity in Zambia, pp 19, 2003). Role of the Extended Family as a Social Safety Net: Traditionally, the extended family system in the country had been regarded as an important social safety net for the provision of assistance and support to its members whenever they were exposed to contingencies that impaired their productive capacities. (Poor Households with Limited Self-Help Capacity in Zambia, pp 19, 2003) Commenting on the view of the African past, due to strong kinship ties, which existed in rural Africa, it is often claimed that extreme poverty was relatively rare. However, John Iliffe states, based on research activities in different African cultures: “ Although much nonsense has been written about African families as universal providers of limitless generosity, it is nevertheless true that families were and are the main sources of support for the African poor, as much for the young unemployed of modern cities as for the orphans of the past. In several African languages the common word for ‘poor’ … implies lack of kin and friends, while the weak household, bereft of able bodies male labor, has probably been the most common source of poverty throughout Africa’s recoverable history.” (Iliffe, pp 7, 1987) Extended Family Systems as a social safety net in most African countries had been gradually eroding. In many cases, this was as a result of the processes and effects of: Urbanization; Industrialization; Migration to urban centers; Individualism; HIV/AIDS; Poverty; and Rapid economic, social and technological changes (Clarke, 1977). Social cohesion and mutual help of the extended family system had started to degenerate, worsening the position of the most vulnerable members of the family. In Zambia, the traditional values had been diluted as a result of exposure to Western values, which were in themselves largely inimical to some traditional practices. Consequently, many people, especially in urban areas have become individualistic and did not see the need of extending assistance or support to persons outside their nuclear families. (Poor Households with Limited Self-Help Capacity in Zambia, pp 21, 2003) In view of these observations, Zambia was, therefore, faced with a big challenge of supporting and strengthening the extended family structure so that it could complement the limited government efforts and continue to play its role of taking care of its incapacitated members who had no access to any other kind of social safety nets.

25

1.7 Organization of the research A brief review of relevant literature, especially the 2003 National Houshold Survey (NHS) was done prior to any other activity. Research instruments were then drafted. The research team was put together and a one-week training of field researchers was conducted at the Cooperative College in Lusaka. The training included a day of fieldwork in Chongwe district during which the research instruments were pre-tested. The field researchers, some of whom had not done much research before, took this opportunity to familiarize themselves with fieldwork. After the pre-test the team of researchers met to share experiences and to finalise the research instruments. The whole 18-person team then moved to Kabwe to conduct research in the two Central Province research districts of Kabwe and Chibombo. The team then divided into four sub-teams. Each sub-team was assigned two provinces and in each province it carried out research in two districts. The team leaders held a four days meeting in Kabwe to analyse the research data and to decide on the format for the report. After this the team leaders went out and each drafted sections on the study sites they had visited. Following the completion of writing up these sections the team leaders once again met for another five days to put the report together. 1.8 The Study Team An 18-person team, nine women and nine men, conducted the research. The Participatory Assessment Group (PAG) provided half of the team while the other half consisted of Community Welfare Assistance Committee members. Each of the nine provinces sent a member of the Community Welfare Assistant Committee. The involvement of CWAC members was aimed at capacity building the PWAS system by training them in and acquainting them with participatory community-based bottom-up approaches to development. At the same time, the involvement of CWAC-members contributed to improving the understanding of PWAS. The Participatory Assessment Group (PAG) provided the nine research staff. Four of these were team leaders, the other four were mere team members; the ninth was the team leader who assumed overall responsibility of the various stages of the assignment. PAG also hired a 19th person to conduct the literature review. This was none other than the Consultant who did the National Household Survey in 2003.

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1.9 Study Experiences and Limitations The amount of human misery and destitution being experienced by so many individuals and households in Zambia is something that struck each of the 18 people who participated in the study. The study brought a deep appreciation of the problems that affect an ever-growing number of people every day. The following, however, tended to act as limitations to obtaining the best value for the time, energy and money spent on the study:

i) Rain/farming season: The study was conducted during the busy farming season which made it difficult to find people for interviewing as they were busy in their fields. In addition, being rain season, some of the roads were not passable; this often prevented the research team to reach more distant places.

ii) Limited financial resources and time did not allow the research team to cover a wider and more representative research sample. Instead, the sample was restricted to only one site per district and only two districts per province.

1.10 Organization of the Report The rest of the Report analyses the research findings. Chapter 2 discusses the extent of incapacitation and looks at both social and economic qualifiers. Chapter 3 discusses the living conditions of the incapacitated poor and compares them to those of the non incapacitated. The chapter further discusses issues related to livelihoods, health, education, shelter and clothing. It also looks at issues of inclusion and exclusion, which the incapacitated poor often experience. The fourth chapter discusses the perceived causes and effects of destitution. Chapter 5 explores the assistance, which the incapacitated poor receive or should receive, from different organizations. The chapter discusses both formal and informal safety nets. The conclusions and recommendations are presented in the executive summary. The research participants, that is, the incapacitated poor themselves, suggested some of the latter while the research team from the research findings has derived the others. The Terms of Reference are appended at Annex 1 while Annex 2 shows the research methods and tools which have been used in generating the data being analyzed and reported in this document. Annex 3 brings out some profiles of some destitute persons who are heads of households. The profiles narrate how these incapacitated persons (IPs) manage to get by in life given the very vulnerable situations they are in.

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1.11 Definition of Key Concepts Destitute persons, here also referred to as incapacitated persons (IPs), are those people who combine unfavorable social and economic and other characteristics which can qualify a household (HH) or individual to access PWAS assistance. The following characteristics of the household head are regarded as “social qualifiers”: namely, elderly, child, disabled, chronically ill, female, an orphan or a disaster victim. Having no support from the family/relatives, unable to undertake productive work and having no productive assets on the part of the HH are “economic qualifiers”. “Other” qualifiers are not having enough food for the family, children not attending school, inability to access health services, poor housing and recent death of former household head. In summary, an incapacitated household or person is one without adequate capacity to generate and enjoy a sustainable livelihood, that is, to access a minimum level of needs in terms of food, health, shelter, clothing, education and inclusion into the community mainly due to lack of labour. Households and individuals in these situations require external support on a continuous basis to enable them access an acceptable level of livelihood. 1.12 A note on the PWAS Matrix This study closely uses terms on destitution and vulnerability from the PWAS Client-identification Matrix. The latter assists communities to identify clients who are vulnerable or destitute. It has three groups of qualifiers, namely:

i) Social ii) Economic and iii) Other qualifiers.

Social Qualifiers To access PWAS benefits, an applicant must have at least one of the following characteristics, which are called social qualifiers, namely, the household head must be

• Elderly • Disabled • Chronically ill • Female • Child.

If the household head is none of these, the applicant must be:

• An orphan or vulnerable child • A disaster victim. (Disaster victim refers to a personal or household disaster, such

as house burns down, rather than to a natural or widespread disaster, which falls under DMMU-OVP).

28

Economic Qualifiers To access PWAS benefits under this category, an applicant must have at least two of the following problems or economic qualifiers:

• The household is not getting support from relatives and cannot reasonably be expected to do so;

• The household does not have productive assets that could be used to earn an income; and

• The members of the household cannot work or should not work (because they are too old, or should be at school).

Other Qualifiers This category refers to the characteristics, which indicate entrenched poverty and vulnerability, namely:

• Below local average standard housing; • Children do not go to school; • Do not access health services; • Insufficient food for household needs; and • Recent death of previous household head.

Communities can add further qualifiers to this final group as long as the additional characteristics are used to assess all candidates. Identification of clients can, therefore, be adjusted to reflect local conditions. A destitute household is here defined as a household living in severe and chronic poverty without any member fit for productive work or having four or more members and only one fit for productive work.3

3 See J. Goldberg, Fact sheet on destitution

29

Chapter 2: Types and Levels of Incapacitation 2.1 Distribution of destitute Households and Persons in the Study Sites Table 2.1 shows the distribution of destitute households and vulnerable persons at community level in the 18 study districts (IPS). The table also includes some findings of the 2003 National Household Survey (NHS) carried out by the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme (PWAS) under the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services. Table 2.1 Percent Distribution of Destitute HHs at Community level

Province/District C

omm

unity

C

WA

C

STU

DY

Mal

e H

eade

d H

ouse

hold

s

Fem

ale

head

ed

hous

ehol

ds

Tota

l Vu

HH

S

Tota

l H

HS

in

the

com

.

% r

ate

of

vul

HH

S

Mal

e m

embe

rs

in v

ul. H

HS

Fem

ale

mem

bers

in

vu

l. H

HS

Tota

l N

o of

pe

rson

s in

vul

. H

HS

Tota

l po

p.

in

the

com

mun

ity

% R

ate

of v

ul

pers

ons

Central Chibombo

Mututu IPS NHS

11 11

19 8

30 19

192 420

15.6 4.5

117 69

121 74

238 143

1,247 2,815

19.1 5.1

C/Belt Mufulira

Kawama West

IPS NHS

6 29

13 76

19 105

97 193

19.6 54.4

29 212

54 278

83 490

479 10,050

17.3 4.9

C/Belt Mufulira

17 Miles IPS NHS

5 3

13 14

18 17

84 136

21.4 12.5

35 28

54 57

89 85

378 877

23.5 9.7

C/Belt Chililabombwe

Kakoso IPS NHS

1 11

12 19

13 30

79 612

16.5 4.9

29 58

50 85

79 143

419 6,617

18.9 2.2

Eastern Katete

Katete Boma

IPS NHS

9 12

22 25

31 37

400 160

7.8 23.1

69 51

67 76

136 127

3,555 1,500

3.8 8.5

Eastern Lundazi

Emusa Sub-Center

IPS NHS

12 29

32 36

44 65

322 322

13.7 20.2

74 76

97 80

171 156

1,760 1,754

9.7 8.9

Luapula Nchelenge

Kafutuma IPS NHS

16 12

28 40

44 52

300 512

14.7 10.2

41 121

60 128

101 249

802 1,450

12.6 17.2

30

Table 2.1 Percent Distribution of Destitute HHs at Community level (Cont’d) Province /District C

omm

unity

C

WA

C

STU

DY

Mal

e H

eade

d H

ouse

hold

s

Fem

ale

head

ed

hous

ehol

ds

Tota

l vul

HH

S

Tota

l H

HS

in

the

com

.

% r

ate

of

vul

HH

S

Mal

e m

embe

rs

in v

ul. H

HS

Fem

ale

mem

bers

in

vu

l. H

HS

Tota

l N

o of

pe

rson

s in

vul

. H

HS

Tota

l po

p.

In

the

com

mun

ity

%

rate

of

vu

lpe

rson

s

Luapula Nchelenge

Mulumba Shimuta-mbala

IPS NHS

14 11

22 15

36 26

280 202

12.8 12.9

40 51

63 55

103 106

1,470 1,616

7.0 6.6

Lusaka Kafue

Demu IPS NHS

3 9

5 13

8 22

40 230

20 9.6

20 76

20 63

40 139

200 1,384

20 10.0

Lusaka Luangwa

Chiriwe IPS NHS

8 10

18 25

26 35

115 115

22.6 30.4

50 55

65 61

115 116

580 535

19.8 21.7

Northern Nakonde

Iwula IPS NHS

28 23

42 46

70 69

163 250

42.9 27.6

77 118

115 115

192 233

650 560

29.5 41.6

Northern Mpika

Chikwanda IPS NHS

19 198

18 268

37 466

205 485

18.0 96.1

90 774

85 894

175 1668

515 6,101

33.9 27.3

N/Western Kasempa

Kateete IPS NHS

0 12

3 21

3 33

222 237

1.4 13.9

58 47

85 75

143 122

1,267 1,115

11.3 10.9

N/Western Solwezi

Kyafukuma IPS NHS

6 6 12 297 4.0 43 31 74 1,605 4.6

Southern Monze

Singonya IPS NHS

23 34

37 71

60 105

288 293

20.8 35.8

79 190

107 274

186 464

3,210 3,219

5.8 14.4

Southern Kalomo

Misika IPS NHS

31 47

89 66

120 153

450 429

26.6 35.7

248 406

258 392

506 798

2,940 2,575

17.2 31.0

Western Kaoma

Naliele IPS NHS

9 13

32 44

41 57

250 150

16.4 38.0

68 105

87 160

155 265

900 400

17.2 66.3

Western Mongu Wenela Central

Liyoyelo IPS NHS

24 27

58 83

82 110

875 156

9.3 70.5

92 123

126 166

218 289

9,263 9,164

2.4 3.2

TOTALS IPS NHS

219 491

463 870

682 1,401

4,659 4,902

14.6 28.6

1,216 2,560

1,514 3,033

2,730 5,593

3,1240 5,0617

8.7 11.0

Source: IPS (2004) Field data and NHS (2003) Report N.B. Kyafukuma data for the NHS is not available

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Table 2.1 gives information on destitution of households and individuals in the sampled areas at community level. The current study found a total of 682 vulnerable households out of the sampled 4,659 households in the study areas. There were some notable differences between the 2004 study on the Incapacitated Poor (IPS) and the 2003 National Housing Survey (NHS) for the same sample area. The NHS found 1,401 vulnerable households in the sampled areas compared to 682 in the 2004 IPS while the average vulnerability rate for the same sampled sites was 28.6 per cent for the NHS and 14.6 per cent in the IPS. However, if you exclude the case of Mpika where the NHS gave unrealistic figures, the rates of destitute households are closer together: 14.5% (IPS) and 21.1% (NHS). Even though the IPS may not have been representative of the country at large, taking the fact that it covered almost 4,659 households, 14 per cent indicates a very high incidence of vulnerability. Although some of the figures are not reliable, their exclusion does not change the picture. There were more female-headed households (FHHs) than male-headed destitute households in the sampled area. Out of the total 682 destitute households, 463 (67.9%) were female headed while men headed 219 (32.1%). This was in line with the NHS, which also found that there were more FHHs (62.1%) than MHHs (37.9%) in the sample area. The data in Table 2.1 further show, that 2,730 persons were destitute in the sampled areas in 2004 out of a total population of 31,240. The rate of vulnerable persons was found to be 8.7 per cent. In the 2003 NHS, the number of destitute persons stood at 5,593 out of a total population of 50,617 while the rate of destitute persons was 11.0 per cent in the sample area. There were more destitute persons in female-headed (1,514) than in male-headed households (1,216). This confirms the 2003 NHS, which as Table 2.1 shows, also found more persons in FHHs (3,033) than in MHHs (2,560). The two studies arrived at very similar findings in terms of:

i) High vulnerability levels in the study sites; ii) Higher numbers of vulnerable female headed households than male headed

ones; and iii) More female vulnerable persons than males.

There were, however, differences between the two studies in terms of numbers of vulnerable households and proportions of these to the total populations of the study communities. NHS figures in eight of the study sites were higher than the IPS figures while in six of the sites the IPS figures were higher than the NHS and they were about the same in the two remaining sites, where a comparison was possible. The differences between the figures of the two studies seem to lie in the following two factors:

• Non-strict identification of, and adherence to, the exact geographical areas covered by the two studies. It is possible that the areas covered by one of the two studies was smaller than that covered by the other. This would be the case especially with regards to the IPS, which was conducted during the rainy season.

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• Methods used in data collection rather than reductions in distribution levels. The NHS mainly used data collected by CWACs from various communities. As the NHS rightly points out, it is possible that some CWACs focused on the social qualifiers without applying the economic ones. Data for the 2004 IPS, on the other hand was collected from actual social mapping with communities, community records and the application of economic qualifiers to the data so yielded.

One interesting finding revealed by Table 2.1 is the very high incidence of destitution and incapacitation in peri-urban areas. As shall be seen later the extended family, which used to provide assistance to vulnerable members of the community, has become very weak in urban and peri-urban areas compared to the rural areas. The families, which to some extent still act as informal safety nets, have access to land in rural area while those in town rarely do so. Vulnerability levels were also high in Iwula, in Nakonde district. Research participants attributed this to the cattle diseases, which had recently decimated their herds. 2.2 Distribution of destitute households and persons by Social Qualifiers Tables 2.2 and 2.3 show the percentage distribution of destitute households by social qualifiers. Table 2.2 Percentage distributions of categories of heads of destitute households

Category of Head of Household IPS (%) 1. Female 36.02 2. Elderly 31.02 3. Disabled 13.10 4. Chronically ill 9.40 5. Child 8.06 6. Disaster victim 2.04 Total 100.00

Source: Calculated from IPS (2004) field data. Table 2.2 shows that the majority of destitute households in the sample area are female headed. FHHs constitute 36.02 per cent of the households. Indeed when female heads in households headed by the other five categories (elderly, disabled, child, chronically ill and disaster victims) are included, the percentage of incapacitated female headed households is much higher, that is, 67.9 per cent. The elderly people head the second biggest category of incapacitated households (31.02%); this is followed by the disabled (13.4%), the chronically ill (9.4%), the child-headed (8.06%) and lastly the disaster victims (2.04%). These findings are in line with those of the NHS (2003), which established that the majority of destitute households were female headed followed by those headed by elderly persons.

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Table 2.3 Percentage Distribution of Destitute Households by Social Qualifiers in the study areas

Province

District

Community

Tot

al

Hou

seho

lds

% C

hild

H

eade

d %

Chr

on. I

ll

% E

lder

ly

%

Dis

able

d

%Fe

mal

e H

eade

d

Dis

aste

r V

ictim

Central Chibombo Mututu 30 10.0 3.3 36.7 16.7 33.3 0.0 C/belt Mufulira Kawama

West 19 10.5 10.5 36.8 5.3 36.8 19

Mufulira 17 Miles 18 22.2 22.2 27.8 0.0 38.9 0.0 Chililabombwe Kakoso 13 7.7 7.7 15.4 23.1 46.2 0.0 Eastern Katete Katete Boma 31 3.2 6.5 32.3 9.7 45.2 3.2 Lundazi Emusa 44 6.5 1.6 40.3 6.5 45.2 0.0 Luapula Nchelenge Kafutuma 44 9.1 20.5 18.1 29.5 20.5 2.3 Nchelenge Mulumba

Shimutamba 36 11.1 22.2 25.9 14.8 25.9 0.0

Lusaka Kafue Demu 8 0 0 50.0 25.0 25.0 0.0 Luangwa Chiriwe 26 2.9 0 29.4 8.8 58.8 0.0

Northern Mpika Chikwanda 37 5.2 13.2 44.7 10.5 23.7 2.6 Nakonde Iwula 70 0.0 7.4 45.6 7.4 39.7 0.0 N/Western Kasempa Kateete 3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 3

Solwezi Kyafukuma 12 0.0 0.0 20.3 20.3 59.4 15

Southern Kalomo Misika 120 17 6.7 51.7 15 18.3 0.0 Monze Singonya 60 0 22.5 37.5 15.8 24.1 0.0 Western Kaoma Naliele 41 0 14.6 31.8 21.9 31.8 0.0 Mongu Liyoyelo 82 28.8 2.1 37.8 8.5 14.6 0.0 Totals 682 8.06 9.40 31.40 13.08 36.02 2.04Source: Calculated from IPS (2004) field data Note: Kyafukuma is not included in the calculations because there are no data for the 2003. Table 2.3 further shows that the percentage of disaster victims in the whole study area was negligible at 2.04 per cent followed by child-headed households (CHHs) who were very few in rural areas except for Liyolelo (Mongu), Misika (Kalomo) and Mulumba Shimutambala (Nchelenge). The number of CHHs however, is quite high in peri-urban areas. The main explanation for this phenomenon is that rural communities (as shall be seen in later sections), still look after orphans and vulnerable children to a great extent. Thus in at least five rural study communities, there were no CHHs at all. These were at Demu, Iwula, Kateete, Singonya and Naliele. On the contrary, all peri-urban as well as rural communities that are close to big urban centers have high percentages of CHHs. For example, 17-Miles near Mufulira had 22.2 per cent CHHs, Mututu near Kabwe had 10.0 per cent while 10.5 per cent of the HHs in Kawama West in Mufulira were CHHs. This calls for greater targeting of destitute children in urban areas by PWAS and other stakeholders.

34

Similarly, the rates of chronically ill people were very high in the popular fishing areas such as Kafutuma (20.5%) and Mulumba Shimutambala (22.2%) in Luapula Province as well as in peri-urban areas like 17 Miles (22.2%) in Copperbelt. It is likely that these high rates of chronically ill people are related to HIV/AIDS in the fishing areas and on the Copperbelt where populations are always on the move. Fishing areas have a high influx of people from outside the district settling in the areas and mixing with the local populations. Table 2.4 Distributions of Persons by Social Qualifiers (of Head of Household)

Province

District Comm.

Tot

al

Pers

ons

Mal

e

Fem

ale

%

Chi

ld

Hea

ded

% C

hron

ical

ly

Ill

% E

lder

ly

%

Dis

able

d

%Fe

mal

e H

eade

d

Dis

aste

r V

ictim

Central Chibombo Mututu 238 117 127 15.8 2.5 30.6 15.1 36.5 0.0 C/belt Mufulira Kawama

West 83 29 54 12.0 18.1 33.7 3.6 32.5 0.0

C/belt Mufulira 17 Miles 89 38 61 16.2 16.2 25.3 0.0 40.4 0.0 C/belt Chilila-

bombwe Kakoso 79 29 50 5.1 8.9 17.7 29.1 39.2

0.0

Eastern Katete Katete Boma

136 69 67 2.2 5.2 26.5 13.2 49.3 0.0

Eastern Lundazi Emusa 171 83 66 6.0 4.7 42.3 12.1 34.9 0.0 Luapula Nchelenge Kafutuma 101 41 60 8.9 17.8 18.8 30.7 22.8 1.0 Luapula Nchelenge Mulumba

Shimuta-mbala

103 40 63 4.4 30.9 23.5 11.8 29.4 1.0

Lusaka Kafue Demu 40 20 20 0 0 47.5 24.0 27.5 0.0 Lusaka Luangwa Chiriwe 115 65 66 4.6 0 40.5 5.3 49.6 0.0 Northern Mpika Chikwanda 175 90 85 4.9 13.5 47.6 9.7 22.2 2.2 Nakonde Iwula 192 0.0 10.2 43.9 8.2 34.2 3.6 N/Western Kasempa Kateete 143 9 12 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 Southern Kalomo Misika 506 248 258 0 35.5 34.2 1.8 36.7 0.0 Monze Singonya 186 76 107 2.7 18.3 35.5 12.4 31.2 0.0 Western Kaoma Naliele 155 68 87 0 10.3 11 30.3 35.4 0.0 Mongu Liyoyelo 218 92 129 23.5 18.1 24.4 13.1 20.8 0.0 Totals 2,730 1,368 1,622 6.4 12.4 31.8 13.6 35.4 0.4 Source: Calculated from IPS (2004) field data Table 2.4 indicates that there are more destitute persons from female-headed households than any other category. Out of the 2,730 destitute persons sampled, about thirty six per cent (36.3%) come from household headed by women, followed by persons in elderly headed households (31.8%), disabled (13.4%), chronically ill (12.4%), child-headed

35

(6.4%) and disaster victims (0.4%). The results indicate that both female and elderly headed households need more attention when targeting communities for assistance. The NHS 2003 had similar findings. The survey found that there were more destitute persons from female-headed households than from any other category who should be assisted with social welfare support (NHS, 2003, p.24). The IPS, however, included the elderly headed households among those who need special attention when targeting interventions. 2.3 Distribution of destitute households and persons by labour force Tables 2.5 and 2.6 give the distribution of the destitute households and persons respectively by economic qualifiers. Table 2.5 Distribution of households by economic qualifiers CATEGORY

Total HHs in need

% MHHs % FHHs %

Households without a person fit for productive work

468 68.2 167 35.7 301 64.3

Households with 4 members or more but only one fit for productive work

214 31.8 80 37.4 134 62.6

Total 682 100.00 247 36.2 410 63.8Source: IPS (2004) field data Table 2.5 shows that 68.2 per cent of the total number of destitute households (468) are households without a person fit for productive work. Out of these the majority of the HHs without productive capacity are female headed (64.3 %) compared to only 35.7 per cent male-headed households. The data in the table further show that 31.8 per cent of the total number of destitute households had more than four members but only one person fit for productive work. Again female-headed households were in the majority at 63.8 per cent while male-headed households were only 36.2 per cent. Table 2.6 Distribution of destitute persons by economic qualifiers. CATEGORY Total number

of persons in need

(%) MHHs (%) FHHs (%)

Persons in HHs without a person fit for productive work

1,142 41.8 483 42.3 659 57.7

Persons in HHs with four members & only one fit for productive work

1,588 58.2 660 42.4 928 57.6

Totals 2,730 100.00 1,079 39.5 1,651 60.5Source: IPS (2004) Field data

36

Table 2.6 indicates that 58.2 per cent (660 persons) of the total destitute population came from destitute households with more than four members and only one person fit for productive work. Out of these 57.6 per cent came from female-headed households and 42.4 per cent from male HHs. About 41.8 per cent of the destitute persons came from households without a person fit for productive work. The majority of these (57.7%) came from female-headed households. The implication from the data in Tables 2.5 and 2.6 is that the majority of female-headed households has little or no capacity for productive work and need special attention when targeting interventions for the communities. The data from the sampled sites on distribution of households and persons by economic qualifier is broadly in line with the 2003 NHS at the national level. The NHS also found that the majority of destitute households were those without a person fit for work (64.3%) and that the majority of the households with no productive capacity were female headed. The NHS also established that the majority of the destitute persons came from households with more than four members but only one person fit for productive work (55.5%). Out of these the majority were female persons (53.2%). Special consideration should, therefore, be given to households without a person fit for productive work when targeting assistance since they constitute the majority of households and are mostly headed by women. 2.4 Summary on Distribution of Incapacitated Households and Persons There are some differences between the NHS and IPS data presented in study districts /villages. There are more sites reporting larger numbers and percentages of both vulnerable households and persons in the NHS (9 sites) than the IPS (7 sites). The differences between the two sets of data cannot be attributed solely to annual increment of poverty and vulnerability. The research methods used by the two research exercises seem to be largely responsible. The 2004 IPS used three sources of information and counterchecked and triangulated the information obtained from one source with that from the other two sources. The sources were the CWAC members, CWAC records and especially social mapping in which the research participants themselves identified the vulnerable and incapacitated members of their own communities. The differences in the data presented could further be attributed to the anticipation on the part of CWACs for more assistance from the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services if the latter were given exaggerated the figures. A further reason is that the IPS study was done in the farming period hence people are said to be nomadic i.e. (going to their fields) hence causing the rise and fall in numbers of the community. Only two sites reported similar figures for both numbers of households and persons and six reported an increase in the numbers of vulnerable households and persons.

37

Chapter 3: Living Conditions 3.1 Sources of Livelihoods 3.1.1 General Agriculture Agriculture is the main source of livelihoods of the communities in all the sites that were sampled, including peri-urban areas (see Table 3.1). Most households (HHs) are engaged in small scale farming both for home consumption and for sale. The major crops grown are maize, cassava, vegetables, beans, sweet potatoes and groundnuts. Maize growing was reported in nearly all the provinces while cassava is commonly grown in the Northern, Luapula, Western and Northwestern provinces. Other sources of livelihoods are small-scale trading/vending, piecework, beer brewing and selling, fishing, and so on. Incapacitated poor (IPs) strongly feel farming is the main way of earning a livelihood. Hence, they try their best to do some cultivation. Thus the 97 year old in Profile No.1 at Annex 3 deeply regrets the fact that he cannot any more do any cultivation. Instead, he depends on the bit of farming of his almost equally old sister. In fact, all the IPs are involved in farming as can be seen from both table 3.2 and the profiles at Annex 3. Table 3.1 shows the various sources of livelihood and the number of times they were mentioned by the research participants. Table 3.1 Sources of Livelihoods and Frequency of Mention

Source of livelihood Times mentioned1. Agriculture/farming/gardening 37 2. Vending/trade –through barter system 25 3. Piece work 23 4. Beer brewing and selling 13 5. Begging 13 6. Fishing 10 7. Stealing 4 8. Charcoal burning and selling 3 9. Carpentry 2 10 Drama 1 11 Molding/selling clay pots 1 12 Relief food 1

Source: Field data, March 2004. N.B. responses came from several sources interviewed in the communities. These included CWAC members, groups of incapacitated poor and community members. Hence in some cases certain issues were mentioned more than once at a research site. Livestock farming was also reported in several communities. Cattle rearing is practiced in Nakonde (Northern Province), Kalomo and Monze districts in Southern Province, Kaoma

38

and Mongu in Western Province. Small livestock such as goats and chickens are kept nearly in all the study sites. Vending/trading Vending and trading are major sources of livelihoods, particularly for the non-incapacitated poor persons. The activity involves buying and selling of essential commodities such as salt, sugar, soap, cooking oil, clothes and hardware. Some of the trading is done in makeshift shops (tuntemba). This is particularly common in the peri-urban sites of Nchelenge and Solwezi. Vending is also conducted at markets, on the streets or roads and near people’s homes. Beer brewing and selling This is another source of income, particularly for women. The practice was cited in at least 3 different study sites. Fishing and the sale of fish These activities take place mainly at sites that are located near big lakes and rivers. Hence, there is a lot of fish vending in Kafutuma and Mulumba-Shimutambala on Lake Mweru in Nchelenge district as well as in Mongu and Luangwa, both of which are near the Zambezi River. In Katete and Luangwa, a number of incapacitated poor depend on small-scale fishing using nets and hook lines. Most of the fish is for personal consumption while the surplus is sold for cash. Carpentry work At Emusa in Lundazi district, one disabled man narrated: “I am living with my four children all alone since my wife divorced me. I am able to survive on some carpentry work. I make chairs and tables and a lot of people in the area buy from me”. Sale of farm produce Although a general cry was that the harvest of maize was poor due to lack of fertilizer, a number of the incapacitated poor in all the sites said they are forced to sell some of their produce to raise money for various household needs. In Luangwa and Katete they said “Uku kugulisa kwa chimanga kutilengesha kunkhala ovutika ngako”. (The obvious effect of this is that we become even more incapacitated), they rightly argued. Charcoal burning and selling These sources of livelihood were cited mainly in the Northern and Luapula provinces. Drama, molding and selling clay pots These sources of livelihoods were cited only once in each study site.

39

3.1.2 Coping strategies of the Incapacitated Poor Persons 3.1.2.1 Agriculture To some extent, the incapacitated poor people are involved in agricultural activities. The main difference with the non-IPs is in the size of land cultivated, types of agricultural activities carried out and in the coping strategies. Incapacitated poor people tend to cultivate very small pieces of land where available and this is the major source of food insecurity and poverty among them. This is due to lack of labour force. They are not involved in livestock farming such as cattle rearing, but may keep a few chickens. In most cases the IPs are not able to cultivate the land themselves, but adopt certain coping strategies to enable them to grow some food. This is largely the case with IPs such as the disabled, chronically ill and the aged people. Table 3.3 shows the coping mechanisms adopted to enable IPs cultivate some land. Table 3.2 Involvement of IPs in Agriculture and their Coping Strategies Category

Coping Strategies in Agriculture

1. 74 year old woman, Chikwanda Village

“I have been a peasant farmer all my life. I have a small garden although I cannot do any work myself. This garden enables me to survive since no one helps me with food. When I get assistance with fertilizer and seeds (form PAM), I give some of it to young people who cultivate the field for me. Fertilizer is a real problem. When no one assist with fertilizer, we starve”.

2. 75 year old blind man of Singonya, Monze district.

“I am blind without a wife or a child. My relatives within the village grow some maize on a little field for me. This maize is not enough. I used to rely on relief food but we no longer have relief food in this area. I survive on food from well-wishers within the village, though this is not consistent and sufficient.”

3. Disabled man Chikwanda Village, Mpika district

“I am completely disabled but my wife has a small field where she grows maize, sorghum, sweet potatoes, beans and ground nuts. We have problems in getting fertilizer and seed. These can assist us to produce good crop. The Roman Catholic church assist in cultivating my small field.”

4. Chronically ill man of Kafutuma village, Nchelenge district.

“Our livelihood only depends on the two fields of cassava that I cultivated before I became sick. From the same field, my wife processes the cassava roots, which she in turn sells to marketers. From the money obtained we buy food and other necessities. My wife is the only one who can do some work for the family as the rest are children”

40

5. An 80 years old woman of Misika village in Kalomo district

“I have been acquiring my food through small-scale farming but I lost all my children and I am keeping two orphans who are less than ten years old. I have no agricultural implements (ploughs and cattle). However, this maize lasts for two months only and the rest of the year we starve.”

6. 68 year old female head of household, Iwula Village, Nakonde

“I work for food in people’s fields and when well-wishers give me money, I take this to church organization so that they can work in my field.”

7. 33 year old disabled woman with two children from two different men, Naliele village, Kaoma district.

“I am completely disabled and not able to work. I have two children from two different men who do not help me in any way to support their children. I do not have enough land or farm inputs. I depend on food from my Church; the Roman Catholic Church.”

8. A number of aged women and men at Katete Boma

“Some of us do not believe in begging for food. We try to grow our own maize but the main problem we face is lack of fertilizer, as we do not have money to buy it. So the maize does not grow well. Only the Roman Catholic Church assists us with financial help occasionally.”

9. A female head of a household in Lundazi

“I have a maize garden and a very small vegetable garden. I am faced with a lot of problems in my farming endeavours. Since I do not earn any money, I usually lack inputs, especially fertilizer and seed. For example, two years ago, I did not cultivate anything due to lack of inputs. I, therefore, entirely depend on begging from the neighbours and community.”

Source: Field data, March 2004. The coping strategies include paying other people in kind, such as in Case Study No. 1 of table 3.3 of 74 years old woman. Whenever she receives some assistance from organizations such as PAM, she uses some of the inputs to pay some youth to cultivate the field for her. In some cases the church is involved either by assisting cultivating the land free of charge as is Case Studies Nos. 3 and 7 with the disabled man or the IP pays a token fee to Church organizations and they cultivate the land for them. The family is another source of assistance. In several cases, the wife, grand children or children living with the IP assist in cultivating the land (Case Studies 2, 3, and 7). Some incapacitated poor people claim to be doing the work themselves (Case Study No. 4, Annex 3). Profile No. 5 at Annex 3 gives an ingenious way, which three old men found in response to their state of incapacitation. They decided to live together in one house and help each other. Although IPs are involved, to some extent, in agricultural activities, they experience famine most of the time because of the small pieces of land they are able to cultivate, lack of inputs and the inability to do the work themselves. In nearly all the sampled

41

communities, there was an outcry for assistance in terms of farming inputs. Safety net organizations were urged to target and empower IPs in agricultural production. 3.1.2.2 Piece Work Piecework is a major source of livelihood for certain categories of the incapacitated poor. It was cited in all the 18 study sites and came out as the third most important source of livelihood (see table 3.1). In many cases it is the child-head, female head and some times the elderly head of the household as in the case of the 68 years old woman of Case Study no.6 in table 3.2 who works in other people’s fields with her grand children. Profile No. 2 gives the story of five siblings living together and generating cash incomes from piecework; some of this income they use to pay for their school costs. The piece workers are paid either in kind e.g. food or in cash. The types of work the incapacitated poor do in the form of piecework include weeding in other people’s fields, washing clothes and plates. One disaster female victim whose house was burnt up told her story in the following words “I have no land for farming, so I with my children depend on doing piece-work for others who are relatively well-off. In exchange I am given food or/and some money”.

Photo No. 1 A disaster victim; his house (behind) had been half burnt.

3.1.2.3 Begging Begging was reported to be a common source of livelihood in most of the sites. It takes various forms in rural villages and is different from that which takes place in towns. In towns and peri-urban areas, IPs such as the blind and destitute persons sit or stand at strategic points asking for money. In the villages, one way of begging is going to sit at the neighbour’s house the whole day or at mealtime.

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“I am tired of feeding them in this way nearly every day, my IP neighbours impose themselves on us during meal times,” complained one non-IP of Iwula village in Nakonde district. Begging as a source of livelihood was also mentioned in Kafue and Luangwa. In Kafue, an aged widow had this to say: “When I do not have any food in my house, I actually go to the households which are relatively better than me to beg for some”. In Luangwa, an aged widower said: “To supplement on the food I get from my sister I beg from shop owners and teachers. Those who understand my problems are able to give but others, who are in the majority, do not.” Another system of begging is asking directly for food from neighbours or relatives. Begging could also manifest itself through IPs asking for piecework in return for food. In Kafue, one of the aged widows had this to say: “When I do not have any food in my house, I go to homes which are relatively better than mine to beg for some food.” 3.1.2.4 Stealing Stealing was reported to be a big problem at nearly all the sites. This came out especially as an effect of destitution during the drawing Flow Charts. “I was a fisherman but I am now a farmer because they used to steal my fish nets”, complained a non IP of Mulumba village, in Nchelenge district. “When you grow food you just share half of it with thieves”, said a female non-IP peasant farmer of Iwula village, Nakonde. Stealing was attributed to the worsening economic situation resulting in extreme poverty for a lot of people. The unemployed, poor people of various descriptions were mainly blamed for the thefts. These people were said to be making a living on other people’s sweat. 3.1.2.5 Relief Food Relief food as a source of livelihood was mentioned only in one site in Misika village in Kalomo district. CARE International provides the relief food to the area. It was reported, however, that the selection criteria for beneficiaries tended to exclude most of the incapacitated. The IPs indicated that the organization focuses at vulnerable but viable (hence not incapacitated) households. Most IPs are excluded by the viability criterion. In the other sites, relief food was not mentioned as a reliable source of livelihood because of the erratic nature in which is distributed. 3.2 Access to Basic Needs 3.2.1 Food Availability In nearly all the study sites food availability was said to be seasonal. This indicates that even the non-incapacitated poor persons do face food shortages at certain periods of the year. Generally, there is abundance of food in the communities from around March to August; this is after the crops have been harvested. During this period incapacitated poor persons may benefit from family, neighbors and food obtained through piecework. Their

43

food security levels, however, tend to be much lower than those of the non-IPs as can seen in Seasonality Analysis PRA visuals below. PRA Visual 1: Food availability in Soweto, Katete Boma, IPs and non-IPs compared

Drawn by U. Mooya, U. Nkhoma & C. Banda of Katete Boma. Food availability levels tend to reduce from September to about November each year. Between November and February, the food stocks tend to be very low for most households. The IPs are the worst affected when stocks are low because even neighbours and families are unable to assist. PRA Visual 2: Food availability at Liyolelo Village, Mongu district: IPs and non-IPs

compared.

Drawn by 30 women, Liyoyelo Village, Mongu

SOWETO-SEASONAL CALENDAR

02468

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LIYOLELO-SEASONAL CALENDAR

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NON-IPIP

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PRA Visual 3 shows the seasonal food calendar for Kyafukuma, Solwezi. The calendar shows that there is generally reasonable food availability for the Non-IPs, especially following harvesting of beans in March and June, respectively. For the IPs, they have very little or no food for the months of December and January. PRA Visual 3: Seasonal Calendar on food availability in Kyafukuma, Solwezi: IPs and

non-IPs compared

Drawn by a mixed group of five men and four women. PRA Visual 4 shows the food calendar for 17 Miles, which is also a rural community. Here, the calendar shows that the IPs remain without food for longer periods, of about 5 months. PRA Visual 4: Seasonal availability of food at 17 Miles, Copperbelt.

Drawn by 7 women

KYAFUKUMA-SEASONAL CALENDAR

02468

1012

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCHAPRIL

MAYJU

NEJU

LY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

MONTH

REA

LATI

VE

FOO

D

AV

AIL

AB

ILIT

Y

NON-IPIP

17 MILES-SEASONAL CALENDAR

02468

1012

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCHAPRIL

MAYJU

NEJU

LY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

M ONTH

REA

LATI

VE

FOO

D

AV

AIL

AB

ILIT

Y

NON-IPIP

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It was reported in some communities that organizations providing social safety nets do not necessarily target the periods when the food levels are very low. In cases where funding is limited, organizations like PWAS should plan and deliver food relief during the period when stocks are low. 3.2.2 Type and number of meals An 82-year-old blind man of Kafue had to say this on the number of meals he eats: “Tulacula sana console. Limo limo ulekela inshiku shibili nangu shitatu ne nsala. Pano tuli tatujlalya nangu kamo ukufuma bulya bushiku. Kulala fye fino fine mutusangile.” (Sometimes we stay hungry for two or three days. Right now we have not eaten a thing since the day before yesterday. That is why you found us just lying down) The IPs generally eat nshima (thick porridge made out of maize, millet or cassava) with vegetables and beans. In areas where fish is readily available, such as Nchelenge, Mongu and Kafue, the IPs occasionally eat nshima with kapenta (small type of fish), otherwise the most commonly eaten food by IPs in nearly all study sites is nshima with vegetables. Meals without the accompaniment of meat, fish or chicken are a sign of extreme poverty in most cultures in Zambia. The 1994 World Bank sponsored Participatory Poverty Assessment made this finding. So did the study of the plight of Retirees and Retrenchees in 2000 (PAG, 2000), which found that the children of people who had just been retrenched and retired found it extremely hard to adjust to the type of life, especially meals they were now forced to take. Between November and February, most IPs eat only once a day. Those who are too weak to look for food, such as the aged and disabled, sometimes stay hungry for days as in the case of the 82 year old blind man cited at the beginning of this section. During the period when food is readily available, some IPs eat more than two meals a day, except in Kyafukuma where the communities have two farming seasons. 3.2.3 Copying Strategies on Food The commonest coping strategy used in response to food problems is cutting down on number of meals eaten per day. As already noted in Section 3.2.2 IPs rarely eat more than two meals a day, even when food is plentiful in the community. They tend to eat only one meal or go hungry during the hunger months of November to March (See Table 3.3 and Profiles Nos.1 and 5).

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Table 3.3 Coping Strategies on Food Area Coping strategies commonly adopted Lusaka and Eastern Province sites

• Cutting down on number of meals per day; • Cutting down on type of meals (little or no meats); • Sharing one house and eating together.

Southern and Western Province sites

• Eating wild fruit and roots, locally known as mubbiti which makes them lose their appetite for food (Southern province);

• Dependency on relief food during scarcity (Misika); • Engaging in barter trading, i.e. exchange relief fertilizer

or seed with food; • Working for food, e.g. shelling groundnuts for other

people; • Boiling and eating raw (unripe) mangoes; • Piece work at clinics, crushing stones on other people’s

farms in exchange for mealie meal; and • Weaving mats, baskets, etc. for sale.

Luapula and Northern provinces

• Cutting down on number of meals per day; • Reducing type of food/meals; • Making grass brooms and selling them; and • Piecework in exchange for food.

Central, Copperbelt and Northwestern Provinces

• Cutting down on number of meals eaten per day; and • Cutting down on type/quality of meals.

Source: Case studies on Incapacitated Poor Persons, March 2004. Another coping strategy is to reduce on the type or quality of food or meals eaten. Hence in all the sites IPs eat nshima and vegetables, beans and kapenta when available. During the rain season, an IP family could live on pumpkins or fresh maize without eating anything else. At one site (Chikwanda) the research team found a grandmother preparing a large pot of pumpkins to feed her 13 dependants who were mainly orphaned grand children. Yet another type of strategy is that of paying other people in kind, such as the case of 74 year old woman. Whenever she receives some assistance from organizations such as PAM, she uses some of the inputs to pay some youth to cultivate the field for her. In some cases the church is involved either by assisting cultivating the land free of charge as is the case with the disabled man in Table 3.2, or the IP pays a token fee to Church organizations and they cultivate the land for them. The family is another source of assistance. In several cases, the wife, grand children or children living with the IP assist in cultivating the land. Photo No 2 shows a disabled woman who has to be pushed in a wheel chair in order to move around. She cannot do any cultivation.

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Photo No.2: The disabled woman of Mututu, Chibombo

Eating wild fruits, roots and boiled mangoes is also quite common practice in many communities. Another coping strategy found at Demu village in Kafue district was the decision for three elderly men to move into one house in order to put their resources together. This enabled them to share the food and cut down on costs. At least in one community (Misika), the IPs relied almost sorely on relief food as a coping strategy. Adopting simple income generating activities is another coping strategy for those who are able to do so. Hence, in Nchelenge district IPs make brooms from fine grass collected from the shores of Lake Mweru. These are sold at K500 each (US $0.10). From the proceeds of these sales, the IPs are able to buy chisense or kapenta (types of small fish) and small packets of mealie meal (pamelas). In the Western and Southern provinces some IPs engage in weaving. Others engage themselves in various types of piecework, including working for food and crushing stones at building sites. In at least one site IPs were involved in bartering relief fertilizer and seeds with food. 3.2.4 Education In most of the sites visited, there was at least one primary or basic school located either in the CWAC or the ACC. The education policy, which bans the paying of school fees at primary school level, is helping a lot of IPs to send their children to school. In some cases, however, schools still demand (payments for) books and uniforms from parents.

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This is a big problem for extremely poor people. In a few cases children stop school because of uniforms or other school requirements. There is a growing number of Community Schools, which are popular among IP households because they do not demand much in terms of cash payments. A study carried out recently by the Ministry of Education found that while fees have been abolished in Government schools some payments are still demanded from pupils and their guardians and parents in Community schools. This is because the teachers do not receive a regular salary and hence have to levy pupils to obtain their livelihoods. There is a big problem at post-primary level where families are still required to pay school fees and other requirements. Although a number of organizations, including PWAS assist with education, the assistance is not adequate and many IP children stop schooling after completing primary school education. There were, therefore, need for children and dependants of IPs to be exempted from paying fees at post primary school levels. Since education has an influence on people’s welfare the IPs were asked to indicate whether their children who were of school age were attending school. In Kafue, for example, a female head household had this to say: “Four of my children are in school. The oldest one is an albino. The new policy of free education is helping but I still have problems raising money for other school requirements, such as books, uniforms and shoes. I am particularly troubled over my daughter who is an albino because she has other special needs. I however work hard. To raise money I do piecework for other people. I am always too exhausted to live a normal life”. Another aged disabled woman said: “Pascaline is the only child in school. She is facing a lot of problems since as a family we are very poor and as a result unable to provide her with all the necessities. She lacks proper clothing, adequate note books, school fees which is about K10, 000 per term, writing materials and shoes. To try to cope with the situation, we sought assistance from her paternal relatives who just brought her one uniform and that was all. Their help is very erratic and insufficient since they are unable to supply her with her basic needs as well as school requirements. One of my sons, the first born, tries to help her sometimes but the help is not that adequate since he too has a family to take care of”. In Katete, one child in school going age was not going to school due to lack of interest. His disabled uncle said: “I do not know why he refuses to go to school. I suspect he is not just interested because both my sister and I have tried telling him to go to school but to no avail. He seems to be content with his cattle-herding venture. The school is just very near my house. We have failed to convince him to go to school”. This case indicates that cattle herding in this area have a negative impact on education. In another case, an aged widow narrated: “My two grand children who are orphans, go to school. The school is very near but the problems I face are buying them clothes to wear at school, books, pencils, pens and school bags. To ensure that they still attend school, my son is the one who assists me in buying these children their school requirements”. In Luangwa, a female head said: ”My two children, a daughter and a son go to school and they are in grade 8 and 9 respectively. The problems I am facing with these children’s education

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are lack of clothes and money for fees. Fortunately on the fees Zambia Education Capacity Building (ZECAB), which normally target girls, has also included my grandson because he is from a poor household. ZECAB pays fees and buys uniforms for the pupils who are in the bursary scheme. They also pay for their examination fees”. “I feel they are very effective since they help me out but I think they need to improve on their timing. Up to now they haven’t yet bought uniform for my grand children. This has forced me to look for money to buy them myself. I sold the only chickens I had and I managed to buy them uniform, some clothes and shoes so that they look decent at school”. In another case, a disabled old man had this to say: “My two children go to school. As at now I haven’t found difficulties since they are still at the lower grades and education is free of charge except that I have to buy school uniforms, books, shoes, pencils etc. But at least I am trying with the little I have to buy these requisites. With shoes they just go bear footed since in rural areas they are not very strict in terms of one not having shoes. No organisation is assisting me in educating my children”. In Lundazi, a disabled old man had this to say: “The problems I am facing as regards educating my children include inability to clothe them decently and buy all the required school necessities i.e. books and uniforms. Fees are also relatively high and with my limited income, I find it very difficult at times to pay the fees. I am very grateful to the Government for including my deaf child on a bursary scheme to go to Magwero School for the deaf. I still think though they should have provided him with transport money since I struggle a lot to earn money”. The other case involves a female head of a household who is a widow. She said: “My younger children who are in primary school benefit from the current free education policy. Those in secondary are the ones who have a problem, but my son, who works as a lorry boy helps. He pays fees in installments. Fortunately the school accepts such an arrangement”. 3.2.5 Health There was at least one type of health facility in or near the communities sampled. These included hospitals, clinics, health centres and posts. Certain categories of IPs were excluded from paying hospital fees. These included the aged (65 years and above), chronically ill cases with tuberculosis (TB) as well as certain types of disability. IPs face several problems in accessing health services. These mainly pertain to the costs attached to such services. Although elderly persons above 65 years of age are exempted from paying medical fees, their children and dependants are not and in many cases they fail to raise the required money to meet these costs. In such cases the families turn to herbs as a coping mechanism. The elderly, the disabled and chronically ill persons sometimes face problems of distance even when the facility is only a kilometer away. In some cases such people turn to self-treatment. One elderly woman, for example, indicated that she simply sends her grand child to buy drugs from grocery shops and treats herself irrespective of what the health problem might be. Lloyd Mwanza in Profile No. 1 spends three days on the road to the nearest health center. As in the case of education, it was highly recommended in many communities that Government consider removing medical fees for the incapacitated poor people and their families. This is particularly urgent for the aged and disabled persons. The removal of fees should extend

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to the dependants of aged persons. We produce below excerpts from a few case studies from some study sites. In Kafue, the general view of IPs was as stated by a disabled aged man: “We are lucky we have a Rural Health Centre within our community. The only problem is that sometimes they run out of medicines in which case we just go and sit because we cannot afford to buy”. A chronically ill woman in Kafue had this to say: “Chanyanya is blessed with a Rural Health Centre. So my family and I are able to access health services. Being a T.B. patient, I am lucky. I always get my treatment free of charge. Also the Catholic Church helps me with drugs”. In Katete, a child head of a household whose parents are both dead said: “The hospital is very far but we have a clinic nearby where we usually go when we fall ill. To pay for the registration and treatment, I use the money that I make from the drama activities”. In another case involving an aged widow, the following emerged: “We have a clinic nearby. So when I fall ill, there is no problem. The only problem I face is that my grand children who are orphans are expected to pay registration and treatment fee which is not easy to find”. In Luangwa, an aged widower narrated the following: “The Clinic is about 1½ days walking distance away and that to me is a hindrance. When I am ill it takes almost three days just to reach the clinic. I have to sleep at a relative’s home on the way to and fro. When the worst comes to the worst, I do not even go there. Recently when I fell sick and couldn’t walk to the hospital, my sister brought me some medicine and I became fine. I understand they also charge a high fee at the hospital and where can a poor person find money to pay?” Another case involving a disabled man brought out the following: “Katondwe Hospital is a bit far away from here. I have a problem in accessing it physically but the good news is that when I manage to get there they do not charge me anything for the medication I get unless I am hospitalized. If that happened my relatives will pay the bill for me”. In Lundazi, a disabled man had this to say: ”Physically I have problems getting to the hospital since my prosthetic leg is in bad state. I once went there to alert them and seek medical help but I was told I would not be helped and I just needed to buy a new one. In my case I am not complaining because the Social Welfare Department gave me a card exempting me from paying health services but not purchase of a prosthetic leg. I am not very happy with the type of medicine they give. Most of the time only Panadol is available. For all ailments they prescribe Panadol”. In another case, an aged female head, looking after orphans said: “We have a clinic nearby. So when I fall ill, there is no problem, although my grand children are expected to pay for registration and treatment”. 3.2.6 Shelter There were two main types of housing in the sample areas, namely peri-urban and rural. Kakoso, a peri-urban area in Chililabombwe district, is divided into four sections, namely “the Plots”, Section B, KT and Messengers’ Compound. The Plots section has houses

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constructed on self-help basis while Section B includes some houses constructed with the assistance of Government loans during the First Republic. The Messengers’ Compound has houses, which were sold to sitting tenants during the Third Republic. The housing units are constructed using adobe (unburnt clay blocks) and various roofing materials ranging from plastic sheeting to roofing sheets made from used steel drums and GI sheets. In Kawama West, another peri-urban settlement in Mufulira district, the housing units are also mainly constructed using adobe and roofing sheets from used steel drums. In rural areas, the houses for IPs are mostly self-built. They are made of pole and mud and are mainly one roomed with grass-thatched roofs. Most IPs had some kind of shelter in both rural and urban areas. The main problems relating to shelter pertain to quality and maintenance of the shelters. In Section B of Kakoso for example, the housing units are too crowded and most of IPs live in this section, that is, in rented units. The rentals cost about K10, 000 per room per month. The room is about 10 square metres in size. The units are also too small, offering very little or no privacy whatsoever. This is the case especially in households with mature children, as the quote in the box below attests. “When the children hear something happening in their parents’ bedroom, they go out of the house and also try to practice what they heard (being done by their parents). This leads to moral decay and unwanted pregnancies,” complained one of the residents of Kakoso. One could add that the unwanted pregnancies thus produced because of inadequate housing has the potential to breed more problems of destitution as the children born from such relationships will most certainly not have adequate parental support. During the rainy season, most housing units leak because of the poor materials used. The walls get soaked in the process; this in its turn weakens the structures. Leaking roofs is also a big problem in rural areas. It is a major problem particularly for female-headed households for thatching roofs and building houses are men’s roles. In some cases the female heads of households have to raise money to pay someone to thatch the roof. In the peri-urban areas housing units lack proper water and sanitation facilities. In most sites IPs tended to live in very dilapidated houses. In one case in Luangwa, the house was made of bamboos and had no door. In two other cases, which involved elderly and disabled women heads of households, the front walls were incomplete. This allowed a lot of cold and rain (during the rainy season) to enter the house. The study team did not find any safety nets dealing in shelter, except for occasional church assistance. This worsened the situation of those who desperately need help. PWAS and other organizations were urged to target and budget for shelter as a basic right. We reproduce a few verbatim statements by IPs themselves regarding the situation on shelter in the sampled sites. PWAS targets shelter, but there was no activity in this field in the sampled areas that it was involved in.

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In Kafue, a female headed old woman told her story as follows: “Initially I had a small hut but which was in a very poor state. One day it collapsed and almost killed me. The Roman Catholic Church came to my aid and built me this one”. Another female head of a household in Katete had her experience as follows: “The house I live in is quite strong. My late son built it for me. However, there was a problem when the house got burnt one night while we were in deep sleep. That night I was tired and left the lantern on because I had been nursing my grand child all day. Somehow the chitenge cloth accidentally fell on the lit lantern and the house caught fire. We almost died in the house because none of us heard or noticed anything. Everything, including blankets in the house got burnt. PWAS provided assistance in the form of money to rehabilitate the roof and I also got a blanket. Since then the house is just alright”. Photo No. 3 shows an old Katete widowed woman who keeps 16 orphans in a dilapidated house.

In Luangwa, an old widower said: “I am in very big problems as far as shelter is concerned. My house, which my sister built for me fell down due to lack of maintenance. As you can see, I am currently living in this shack building, something that resembles a house. I have nowhere to go. My sister’s house has only one room and I cannot sleep in the same room with my sister. Community members are not being very helpful to me and I do not know why. When I informed the Village Headman about my plight, he mobilized the community members but they only agreed that they would be able to help me after harvesting their crops sometime in early May. I could not understand why they do not want to help me immediately. The shack I am living in leaks very heavily when it is raining and I cannot even sleep”.

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In Lundazi, a female head household narrated the following: “The house looks strong, but the roof leaks when it is raining. We can’t sleep when it is raining because the rain just sips through. I fear one day the house will just collapse. There is nobody who can help to fix the roof”. 3.2.7 Role of IPs in the Community: Inclusion and Exclusion/discrimination In nearly all the sampled communities exclusion or discrimination against the incapacitated poor persons did not stand out as a major problem. In most cases, various categories of IPs did not feel discriminated against. Neither were there signs of deliberate efforts to discriminate against them. They are invited for meetings, participate in community decision-making processes and festivities. Very aged and disabled persons who were not able to participate in community activities tended to accept their incapacitation and did not feel discriminated against. 50% of child heads of households, however, indicated that they rarely got invited to community meetings except when they involved community work. They too did not feel discriminated against. Instead they indicated that they were too young to participate fully. The following captions reflect the attitude of many IPs and other community members with regards inclusion and exclusion in the community activities: “I can say that my family is very generous to IPs. Most times we assist them with their needs, e.g., we usually provide them with small things such as groceries, soap, salt and relish. Sometimes we even give them mealie meal depending on their needs and availability. We also involve them in community activities”, so said a non-IP in Kafue.

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Photo No.4 shows an old chronically ill woman who is well looked after by her family. She lives in a burnt brick house and was recently given a brand new thick and beautiful blanket by her children.

In a minority of cases, however, some IPs felt that they did not play an adequate role in community activities and felt discriminated against. This was particularly the case with people with disabilities and some elderly persons as is demonstrated by the following outbursts:

“They say they cannot include me in any committee because I am worthless. I do not complain because I am really worthless”, a Kafue male IP. A Lundazi IP lamented: “I am heavily discriminated against in this community and it is just by God’s grace that they support me indirectly by buying my carpentry products. I with my fellow disabled friends am cut off from farmers’ meetings. I am only invited to PWAS meetings.” A Luangwa female IP had this to say a bout her neighbours: “Nobody cares about me in this community, not even my two sons in Lusaka. I am very lonely. I do things on my own, including fetching water. Most of the time goes for days without eating. As for bathing, I stopped a long time ago because I cannot fetch much water from the borehole which is some distance away.’

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Probing further into plight of Luangwa IP who had been deserted even by his own children, the research team found out that the old man was feared by everyone, including his own wife and children because “ni mfwiti”, he is a witch. Some discontent was also aired against some organizations, which deal in the provision of farm inputs and marketing. In areas where CLUSA and Care International are operating it was felt by some IPs that CLUSA gives loans only to those person who are viable, fit for productive work and therefore likely to pay back loans while Care International gives inputs only to those who are able bodied and likely to work. This works negatively against certain categories of IPs such as the disabled and aged. In a number of cases, able-bodied IPs such as widowed female heads of households showed some disapproval and irritation at certain approaches by safety nets, including PWAS. It was observed that able-bodied widows are treated in the same way as categories such as people with disabilities and the aged by being given handouts of food, clothing and other things instead of being provided with opportunities to improve their productive capacities. This is evidenced in the following caption from a female head of household in Lundazi: “I have a maize garden and a very small vegetable garden. I am faced with a lot of problems in my farming endeavours. Since I do not earn any money, I usually lack inputs, especially fertilizers and seed. Two years ago, for instance, I did not cultivate anything due to lack of inputs. I therefore, entirely depend on begging from the neighbours.” See also Case studies Nos. 1, 4, 5 and 7 in Table3.2. It was recommended, therefore, that PWAS should identify and target IPs who are able to do agricultural production differently from the way it deals with other categories of IPs. There should be close networking with other programs (e.g. food security pack) which assist with farm inputs. The CWACs could be asked to identify such persons so that their numbers are known for planning purposes.

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Chapter 4 Causes and Effects of Destitution 4.1 Causes and Effects of Destitution: A Synthesis. Table 4.1 lists the perceived cause of destitution in the sampled areas. Table 4.1 The 12 frequently cited causes of destitution Causes of destitution Number of

times mentioned

1. Poor agricultural performance caused by inadequate supply of inputs, draughts, poor soils, lack of land, loss of cattle ineffective cooperatives, lack of productive assets, etc.

20

2 Illness including Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and chronically ill persons

11

3. Old age 9 4. Illiteracy/inadequate education 9 5. Laziness 9 6. Drunkenness 8 7. No markets for produce 7 8. Poor road infrastructure 5 9. Being a widow 4 10 Being an orphan 4 11 Lack of employment 4 12 Physical disabilities 4 Source: IPS (2004) Field data

Poor Agricultural Performance Nearly all the communities referred to poor agricultural performance in the country as a major cause of destitution. In particular, inadequate distribution of farm inputs was said to have highly contributed to high levels of destitution in communities. Inadequate supply of agricultural inputs leads to poor harvest, thus depriving most people, particularly in rural areas, a source of income and driving them into abject poverty and destitution. Without this source of income many people are unable to meet basic needs of health, education, food, clothing and shelter. As was seen in Chapter 3, incapacitated persons such as the disabled, widows, some elderly persons from rural areas indicated that inadequate access to agricultural inputs contributed to their state of destitution because they were unable to do anything else about their situation. Many destitute persons dispelled the pre-conceived ideas about their inability to earn a living from agriculture. Various coping strategies are used to enable them to be involved in agricultural production. Thus some disabled persons use wives/husbands, relatives or the church to grow some food for them. Some aged persons

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engage young people to till their gardens whenever they have something to give them in return. Many destitute persons, therefore, bemoaned the lack of agricultural inputs as a contributory factor to their situation. The main message to PWAS was that the organization should try to target agricultural production especially to those destitute persons who are able to do some cultivation through certain coping mechanisms. Since PWAS does not deal in agricultural inputs or credit, the CWACs should liaise with those, which do and connect them with communities. In addition to inadequate agricultural inputs, other factors contributed to poor agricultural performance. These included inadequate markets for agricultural produce, especially in remote rural areas. Poor road infrastructure was also blamed for the drop in agricultural productivity. In some areas the roads are very poor while in others they are impassible.

HIV/AIDS Related Problems Problems related to HIV/AIDS were cited in 11 out of the 18 (61%) study sites as a cause of destitution. The frequency of diseases related to HIV/AIDS, such as tuberculosis, was perceived to be a major cause of destitution. These diseases, according to community members, led to death, which resulted in increases in orphans, widows and childless elderly persons. All these become destitute if they have no means of earning a livelihood. Diseases also result in chronically ill people who become dependent on others for their livelihood. Financial and time resources, which should go into production, are usually spent on caring the HIV/AIDS patients. It was, therefore, suggested in many communities that PWAS and other shareholders should specifically target the HIV/AIDS problem. PWAS, however, does not overtly target people with HIV/AIDS. It targets vulnerability brought about by the pandemic such as orphans, widows, and the aged whose children have died from AIDS related problems. Through targeting chronically sick persons AIDS-affected households are among the beneficiaries.

Illiteracy/Inadequate Education Illiteracy and inadequate education as a cause of destitution was mentioned in 9 out of the 18 (50%) study sites. The major argument was that education opens a lot of opportunities for individuals. A person with a good education is able to find a well-paying job in the formal employment sector. An educated person is also likely to run a good business in the absence of formal employment. It was further pointed out that the majority of the people in the study communities has either no education or has very low levels of education. This limits their sources of livelihood and results in destitution in some cases.

Laziness and Drunkenness Laziness was mentioned in nine (50%) of the 18 study sites while drunkenness was cited in eight (44.4%) as causes of destitution. It was reported that there was a lot of laziness and drunkenness in the communities. Partly because of unemployment and inadequate supply of farm inputs many able-bodied persons were unable to do any work and spent

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most of their time drinking alcohol. Community members interpreted this as laziness and drunkenness and appealed to PWAS and other stakeholders to take measures to sensitize such people in order to change their attitudes towards work.

Old Age, Widowhood, being an Orphan and Physical Disability Old age as a cause of destitution was mentioned in 50 per cent of the study communities while the other categories of being a widow, an orphan or physically disabled were each cited in 22.2 per cent of the sampled sites. The main factor that pushes these categories of people into destitution is that productive capacity is reduced when one is aged, widowed or becomes physically handicapped. In the case of children, the death of parents cuts off their source of livelihoods. The efforts of PWAS were particularly appreciated for targeting all these categories of destitute people in their interventions (see Chapter 5).

Inadequate Employment Opportunities Inadequate employment opportunities were regarded to be a factor that causes destitution in four (22.2%) of the study communities. It was argued that unemployment is a major factor, which denies people sources of livelihood. This was particularly a serious problem in peri-urban areas where land for farming was a problem. Illiteracy, lack of education and poor performance in agriculture greatly contributed to inadequate employment opportunities.

Other Causes of Destitution Other causes of destitution were said to be:

• The banning of hunting as the source of livelihood. This was also mentioned in the 1999 Participatory Comparative Poverty Study in Luangwa where hunting which was once the main economic activity had been banned. Now that it has been proscribed and given the negative term of poaching, households cannot make ends-meet since they do not have a farming tradition.

• Early marriages which produces too many children which the households cannot look after effectively;

• Poor health services in the country to address the increasing disease burden, especially that of HIV/AIDS;

• Piece work which members of poor households have to undertake in order to make a living but which at the same time denies them the time and energy to work in their own fields; and

• Too many unproductive dependants.

Effects of Destitution The list reproduced below gives the 12 most often mentioned effects of destitution. They are listed in order of frequency of mention. The figure in brackets indicates the number of times each effect was mentioned. Prostitution (15) was the most often mentioned effect of destitution. Many women resort to it in order to make a living. Prostitution was said to

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lead to HIV/AIDS (12) and eventually to death (14), which produces a lot of orphans (10) and widows (5). Hunger (7) was also blamed for the high mortality rates. The incapacitated poor were perceived as being too poor to afford food and hence often die from hunger. Another effect of destitution, which also causes death, was illness (6). The incapacitated destitute poor are often ill since they cannot afford good, or indeed any food and medical care. Effects of destitution mentioned were:

• Prostitution (15 times) • Crime (10); • Illiteracy (6); • Unstable marriages and families (6); • Poverty cycle (6); • Thefts (4); • Underdevelopment (3); • Reduced agricultural labor and hence production (3) • Witchcraft accusations (2) • Begging (2); • Property grabbing (2); and • Child abuse (2)

4.2 Community Perceptions of the Causes of Destitution Using Causal Flow Diagrammes, also often referred to as Flow Charts, the IP research team sought to find out the perceived causes of the rather very high levels of incapacitation and destitution in the sampled sites. It also found out what respondents thought were the major effects of destitution. Three such charts are reproduced below. The first Flow Chart was drawn by a group of women at Chiriwe in Luangwa district. According to the chart drunkenness, old age, inadequate employment opportunities, laziness and illiteracy were blamed for the high levels of destitution in Chiriwe while the effects of destitution were crime, hunger, prostitution, HIV/AIDS, and consequent deaths, which produce orphans. The family ties were also said to weaken as a result of destitution. A 1999 study found out that men tended to abandon their wives and return to their parental home when hunger strikes.

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Drunkenness Old Age

Illiteracy

Deaths

Laziness

Lack of Employment

Floods Crime

Hunger

Prostitution HIV/Aids

Orphans

Weekend Family

DESTITUTION

PRA Visual 5: Flow Chart on Causes and Effects of Destitution in Chiriwe – Luangwa district.

Source: Drawn by a group of women in Chiriwe, Luangwa. The research participants of peri-urban Mufulira included poor transport infrastructure, expensive farm inputs and poor health services to the list of causes of destitution identified by the Luangwa informants. The chain reactions of the negative effects of destitution came out very clearly. Thus destitution encourages prostitution, which in turn brings about HIV/AIDS; the latter is responsible for the increasing number of orphans. Destitution also promotes crime, which in turn drags people into prison. Hunger is another effect of destitution. In its turn hunger disturbs family life as it promotes prostitution, which in turn often brings about HIV/AIDS, death and orphans. Destitution was also said to encourage early marriages and child abuse. PRA Visual 6: Flow Chart on Causes and Effects of Destitution at 17 Miles, Mufulira Source: Drawn by a mixed group of research participants at 17 Miles in Mufulira district.

DESTITUTION

Lack of education

Drunkennes Illness Laziness Lack of transport

Old Age

Expensive inputs

Poor Health Services

Deaths Crime

Prison

Prostitution

HIV/AIDS

Hunger

Unstable family

Early marriages

Child abuse Orphans

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Research participants in Kawama West drew the Flow Chart reproduced below, Mufulira district. It reflects the same perceptions regarding the causes and effects of destitution like the one above. PRA Visual 7: Flow Chart on Causes and Effects of Destitution in Kawama West in

Mufulira district Source: Drawn by Kawama West research participants, 2004. In Mulumba-Shimutambala in Nchelenge district, Luapula province, the community emphasized inadequate supply of farm inputs, drunkenness, and laziness, diseases that are HIV related and unemployment as the major causes of destitution. The effects of destitution were perceived as underdevelopment of the economy, prostitution that results from poverty while deaths were seen partly as results of prostitution. It is because of increased deaths that communities had so many orphans (see PRA Visual 8). The Causal Flow Diagramme developed by eleven incapacitated poor persons of various categories, including the disabled, widows and elderly persons depicted lack of farm inputs, diseases related to HIV/AIDS, old age, illiteracy and laziness as causes of destitution. As in Mulumba-Shimutambala village discussed above, the consequences of destitution were perceived as death, which resulted in widows and orphans. Poverty as well as under development was also seen as causes of destitution. The chart is reproduced below.

DESTITUTION

Poor Health Services

Poverty No jobs No Land

No Markets

No Good Sanitation

No Education

No Roads

Death

Crime HIV/AIDS No

Business Negative Development

Illiteracy Illness

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PRA Visual 8: Flow Chart on Causes and Effects of Destitution in Mulumba Shimutambala, in Nchelenge district, Luapula province.

Source: Drawn by 7 women and 6 men at Shimutambala Village in Chelenge district,

10/03/2004. Poor health services, expensive farm inputs, illness/disease, laziness, drunkenness, lack of education and transport were perceived as some of the causes of destitution in Singonya village in Monze district. In addition to these factors, the community in Naliele village in Mongu district, included lack of land, hunger, illiteracy, inadequate market facilities and roads among the causes of destitution. The effects included HIV/AIDS resulting from prostitution, crime, illness and death.

DESTITUTION

Diseases

Lack of

farm inputs

Drunkenness Laziness

No employment

Theft Prostitution

Under Development Orphans

Death

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PRA Visual 9: Flow Chart showing Causes and Effects of Destitution in Chikwanda village in Mpika district.

Source: Drawn by Group of Incapacitated Poor: 7 men, 4 women of Chikwanda Village,

Mpika district, Northern Province.

PRA Visual 10: Flow Chart on Causes and Effects of Destitution in Singonya village, Monze district.

DESTITUTIONLack of education

DrunkennesIllness

LazinessLack of transport

Old Age

Expensive inputs

Poor Health Services

Deaths

Crime

Prison

Prostitution

HIV/AIDS

Hunger

Unstable marriage

Early marriages

Child abuse Orphans

DESTITUTION

Lack of farm inputs

Old Age Illiteracy

Laziness

Widow/ Orphans Poverty

Theft

Under- development Death

Drunkenness

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PRA Visual 11: Flow Chart Perceived Causes and Effects of Destitution in Naliele Village, Kaoma district

Annex 4 is a table, which reproduces the perceived causes and effects of destitution in each of the18 study sites.

DESTITUTION

Poor Health Services

Poverty No Land

No Markets

No Education

No Roads

Death

Crime

Poor Transportation

HIV/AIDS No Business

Illiteracy Illness

Hunger

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Chapter 5: Impact of Social Safety Nets 5.1 Types of Safety Nets The social safety nets discussed in this report are of two main types, namely, formal and informal safety nets. Formal safety nets tend to have permanent structures for helping incapacitated poor people (IPs). Informal safety nets, on the other hand, operate on an ad hoc basis depending on the need of IPs and availability of funds, labour or any other form of help. 5.1.1 Formal Safety Nets Table 5.1 shows the most frequently mentioned formal safety nets in the sampled sites. Table 5.1 Safety Nets Operating in the Sampled Communities Name of

organization Type of support as Perceived by communities

Number of times acknowledged in the 18 sampled sites

1. PWAS Food, blankets, clothing, education/school fees, social and welfare support to IPs

18

2. PAM Agricultural inputs, fertilizers, and seed, Food for Work, roads, food security and agricultural recovery

15

3. Catholic Church Blankets, soap, books, money and rent (CWL), food, school fees, accommodation and consolation

6

4. Home Based Care Drugs, food, clothing, assists chronically ill persons

5

6. Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia

Reproductive health: family planning awareness, distribution of contraceptives

5

7. World Vision Children’s education at primary level, spiritual and physical development

5

8. ZAMSIF Rehabilitation, extension and construction of education, health, water and sanitation infrastructure

2

9. Care International Food 2 10 ADRA Food, clothing, school fees 2 11 OXFAM Infrastructure 1 12 DAPP Not mentioned 1 13 Red Cross Not mentioned 1 14 CAMFED School fees and other school needs 1 15 ZECAB Fees and other school needs 1

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16 DCI (Irish Aid) Water facilities 1 17 CLUSA Micro-credit, agricultural inputs

and markets 1

18 CCF Education, food, clothing and drugs.

1

19 Keepers Zambia Foundation

Not mentioned 1

20 Doctors Without Borders

Medical care 1

Source: IPS (2004) Field data Table 5.1 shows that PWAS was the most widely recognized safety net. Its presence was acknowledged in all 18-study sites. One of the sites referred to PWAS as “ba community” meaning “Ministry of Community Development and Social Services” where the PWAS is located. It is to be noted that the 18 studies were selected precisely because of the presence and strength of their CWACs. The Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM) running the food security pack programs of MCDSS was another popularly recognized safety net in the sampled communities. It was mentioned in 15 (83.3%) of the 18 study sites. The Catholic Church was cited in 6 (33.3%) of the sites followed by Home Based Care (HBC), other churches, World Vision and Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia (PPAZ). Each of these was mentioned in five (27.8%) of the study communities. ADRA, Care International, Doctors Without Borders (Ubumi Bwesu), the Zambia Social Investment Fund (ZAMSIF) were each recognized in 2 of the study communities. The rest of the organizations were mentioned only in one of the communities. These included CAMFED, Christian Children’s Fund (CCF), and the Cooperative League of the United States of America (CLUSA), Irish Aid currently referred to as Development Cooperation Ireland (DCI), Keepers Zambia Foundation, Red Cross and ZECAB. Table 5.1 also shows the type of assistance that is given to people in the sampled communities. The bulk of the interventions consist mostly of social welfare assistance directed at meeting IP’s basic needs in the form of food, clothing, blankets, school requirements and drugs. At least two of the cited organizations, namely PAM and CLUSA, were dealing in food security through farming input provision. CLUSA also provides micro-credit to small-scale farmers. Through a project called Food for Work PAM sometimes offers work to community members who are paid in kind, mostly in form of food.

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5.1.2 Informal Safety Nets There were very few informal safety nets for the incapacitated poor in nearly all the sites that were visited. The major informal safety net was said to be the extended family. The family was included among informal safety nets in at least two communities in the Luapula and Northern Provinces. In the Kafutuma Community it was ranked number one among such safety nets. It was argued that the family is nearly always in touch with the IPs particularly in the rural areas. They provide assistance to the best of their abilities and that it is the family, which brings the plight of the IPs to the attention of organizations such as PWAS. In Iwula, Nakonde, the family was included among safety nets because of the positive role it plays when parents die in households “it is the families that look after the orphans when the parents die. This is why it is rare to find many children living on their own in a community. The family cannot just look away when children are on their own.” In another two communities (Chikwanda and Mulumba-Shimutambula), the family was not included among informal safety nets. This is because families are too poor themselves to be of any use. It was argued that the problem of poverty was too big for families to give any meaningful assistance. The findings of this study indicate that the extended family bonds are relatively stronger in the rural areas than in peri-urban situations. As already noted elsewhere (Table 2.3) the communities that had no child headed households are all rural based. The main explanation for this phenomenon was that extended families play a key role in absorbing orphans in their households. The problem, however, does exist in many peri-urban communities as can be seen from the same table 2.3 such as Liyoyelo in Mongu where 28.8 per cent of the households are child-headed, Singonya in Monze (17.0%), Mulumba-Shimutambala, Nchelenge district (11%), Kafutuma, Nchelenge district (9.1%) and Chikwanda in Mpika district (5.2%). Neighbors were also cited as an informal social safety net that usually assists in extremely difficult situations such as funerals, illness and in times of famine. In many cases, however, neighbors as a safety net were ranked low. The main reason given was that neighbors were also poor and there was a limit to what they could do for their incapacitated and poverty-stricken neighbors. In most cases, the church was also considered as an informal safety net because of the assistance it renders tends to be ad hoc. Only the Roman Catholic Church was viewed as a formal safety net in a number of communities because it has programmes and structures for targeting vulnerable and destitute persons and households. The Church assists people in times of need. 0ther informal safety net in the northern part of the country (Luapula and Northern Provinces) is what is known as “ukutumya’ or “chilimba”. Both concepts involve the idea of working together as a community under special arrangements. In “ukutumya” a person in need of human labor can invite neighbors, relatives and friends to come and work in their field. The workers would in turn be rewarded with food and beer brewed for the purpose. In “chilimba” households take turns to work in each others field without necessarily being rewarded with food or beer after the work has been done.

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These safety nets, especially ukutumya, however, tend to benefit the well-to do on a more long-term basis than the IPs. The IPs work for other people but may not have the capacity, in terms of rewards, to enable them use the labor of other households in their fields. Even among well to do, these safety nets are rarely used. Individual households tend to do their own work using family labor. 5.2 Community Perceptions of Impact and Effectiveness of Social Safety Nets The main indicators used to assess the impact and effectiveness of the social safety nets operating in the sampled area include the following: • Targeting of assistance; • Coverage of assistance; • Frequency of assistance; and • Adequacy of assistance. 5.2.1 Targeting of Assistance In most cases, both formal and informal safety nets claim to target vulnerable households and persons. In the majority of study sites, PWAS was ranked highly in terms of targeting. The most appreciated factor is that the PWAS targets all categories of incapacitated poor people and does not discriminate against any of them. Communities ranked very lowly organizations, which target only one or two categories of destitute people. Thus organizations like the Christian Children Foundation (CCF) and CAMFED target only children’s and girls’ education respectively. Similarly, organizations like HBC were highly appreciated but because they target only the chronically ill persons, they were not ranked as highly as PWAS, which target all categories of the incapacitated poor. The two Venn Diagrammes reproduced below show the above points. PWAS was given the largest circle to indicate that people appreciated it more than they did other organizations working in their midst. PAM followed in size, then World Vision and finally Ireland Aid (Development Cooperation Ireland –DCI). Churches were also mentioned verbally though they were not included on the diagramme. To indicate the interactions between PWAS and PAM the circles representing them were made to intersect. PWAS does not provide assistance in the farming sector, PAM does. World Vision was also said to work very closely with PWAS.

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PRA Visual 12: Venn Diagram on Institutions/Safety Nets assisting Iwula Community, Nakonde

List of Organizations Ranks CHURCHES 5 IRISH AID 3 PAM 2 PWAS 1 WORLD VISION 4 DRAWN BY 7 Women, 3 Men of Village Iwula CHIEF NAWAITWIKA CWAC: IWULA DISTRICT: NAKONDE PROVINCE: NORTHERN

COMMUNITY

PWAS

PAM

WORLD VISION

IRISH AID

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Visual 13, which was drawn in Kafutuma village in Nchelenge district, also shows that PWAS was ranked first. Home Based Care came second and was followed by the Church while PAM took the last place. PRA Visual 13. Venn Diagram on Institutions assisting Kafutuma Community (Zone C),

Nchelenge District, Luapula Province. List of Organizations Ranking

1. PWAS 1 2. PAM 4 3. CHURCH 3 4. HBC 2

Drawn by Community members (5 men and 5 women) of Kafutuma CWAC, Nchelenge district Some organizations were criticised for targeting only viable vulnerable households. This criterion excludes the incapacitated poor persons such as the disabled who are not viable but all the same vulnerable. This was the case with especially micro-credit organizations. Thus some formal safety nets, which provide agro inputs, were also criticised for having harsh loan recovery conditions, which tend to exclude most of the incapacitated poor people from acquiring agro-inputs. The CLUSA was specifically mentioned in this connection. The communities, on the other hand, appreciated PWAS interventions, because there were no conditions apart from the qualifiers, attached to them.

2

1

3 4

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PRA Visual 14: Venn Diagram on Institutions assisting Mulumba-Shimutambala Community, Nchelenge

List of Organization Ranking

1. PWAS 1 2. HBC 2 3. CHURCHES 4 4. UBUMI BWESU 3

DRAWN BY 7 WOMEN and 6 MEN CWAC:SHIMUTAMBALA CHIEF KAMBWALI DISTRICT: NCHELENGE PROVINCE: LUAPULA DATE 10/03/04 The main criticism on PWAS interventions pertained to criteria used when targeting assistance. It was claimed in some communities that the beneficiaries were not fully informed about the criteria used for assistance as well as the types and amounts of help going to the community. This is particularly the case when, for instance, the household of a disabled or elderly person is disqualified for assistance because they do not meet the economic qualifiers or dependency ratio. A number of CWACs have become very unpopular in some communities because they are perceived as discriminating against some people who meet the social qualifiers but not the dependency ratio. Many people do not understand the latter. For informal safety nets, targeting is ad hoc. Institutions such as the family, the neighbors and church organizations tend to act as need arises. Communities ranked such institutions low because of this characteristic.

1

2 3

4

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5.2.2 Coverage of Assistance Coverage of assistance differed from one safety net to another. Informal safety nets had very narrow/limited coverage. The family, neighbors and even church organizations tend to give assistance as need arises. Some safety nets operate only in selected provinces and coverage is based on specific criteria. PWAS has wide coverage both in the country and individual communities. Its coverage is very wide and is operating in all the provinces of Zambia. 5.2.3 Frequency of Assistance Formal safety nets operate within a fixed period. The Public Welfare Assistance Scheme, for example, is supposed to provide support quarterly. PWAS frequency of assistance is, however, based on availability of resources. According to submissions made by both CWACs and beneficiaries, assistance reaches communities only once a year. This was viewed as one of the major weaknesses of PWAS interventions. They were said to be infrequent and rather erratic. Since the incapacitated poor people, for example, have inadequate food supplies most of the year, the best would be to make deliveries at least quarterly. 5.2.4 Adequacy of Assistance The issue of adequacy was perceived as one of the major challenges facing PWAS as a social safety net. Key informants in all the sites revealed that the assistance given in the form of money and goods is not adequate and cannot cater for all the beneficiaries. Because PWAS assistance is so widespread, the help per incapacitated poor person is thin and limited and may not make any impact. For example, for the Kyafukuma ACC in the Northwester Province, only K1 million was disbursed in the first quarter of 2004 to 35 males and 57 females; this averages at K10, 870 per incapacitated poor person. In terms of adequacy, this falls far below satisfying the basic needs of the IPs. In the Western and Southern provinces, it was reported that education support or the bursary scheme assists very few incapacitated people and that the situation has brought suspicion and allegations indicating that the CWACs are biased and abuse resources. Similarly in one community, which had 37 vulnerable households in Chikwanda village of Mpika district, only six pieces of chitenge material (cloth) and one 90 kilograms bag of maize were delivered early this year. The CWAC was forced to deliver small quantities of maize in one-gallon containers to only a few IP households. Only six women out of 18 received the pieces of cloth leaving 12 without anything. This kind of situation often leads to conflicts between the CWACs and the incapacitated poor people. In a number of communities there were allegations that the CWACs were hoarding the assistance sent by Government. At one site, for example, an elderly couple refused to be interviewed and did not wish to be registered for PWAS assistance anymore arguing “Be safye mukutulemba amashina tapabali nefyo bacita natunaka nokulembesha” (translated as “They just come to register our names and go away. There is nothing they are doing for us and we don’t want anything to do with them (CWACs) any more”). At another site, the community members demanded to see the District Social Welfare Officer (DSWO) before they could talk to the IPS research team because they felt left out in terms of assistance.

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ANNEXES

Annex 1: Terms of Reference Rationale Poverty reduction strategies and programs generally try to promote the self-help capacity of poor people. However, due to demographic change and to the impact of HIV/AIDS, an increasing number of poor households and individuals in Zambia have no possibility to access this type of development programmes. These groups of very poor households generally are left out as they lack the most important asset, able-bodied labour. They are extremely poor because they are work-constrained: there is no household member fit for productive work or the dependency ratio is very high. However, these families (most of them female headed households and senior headed households) are often caring for children (orphans)4. So securing the survival of these groups is not only a humanitarian duty but also an investment into the future of the country. The proposed research activity should contribute to providing more information on the number, the profile and the coping strategies of incapacitated poor households and to creating public awareness on the problems of this marginalized group of poor people. The results should feed into ongoing efforts to improve the PRSP as the overall development framework of Zambia, in particular contribute to the elaboration of a new poverty and vulnerability assessment (PVA) supported by World Bank and to the design of a comprehensive Social Protection Strategy undertaken under the leadership of the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services. The results should as well help to advocate for a more substantial and more reliable funding of PWAS and other schemes targeting the incapacitated poor. Background The Zambia Poverty Assessment published in November 19945 outlined a typology of poor households based on the productive capacity of the respective groups. Type 1R and 1U (R and U for rural and urban) was “characterized by inherent incapacity to generate income” (page 70). However, this approach taking the capacity of poor people (and the lack of capacity) as starting point and not focussing on consumption levels has not been transferred into programmes and actions. The group of incapacitated poor in Zambia, although increasing rapidly due to the impact of HIV/AIDS (page 73) is presently not adequately addressed through PRSP-strategies and programs. Only the redesigned Public Welfare Assistance Scheme (PWAS) tries to alleviate the problems of destitute families

4 According to a survey carried out in 6 villages in Pemba area of Choma district/Southern province, female headed and elderly headed households care for 74% of all the orphans (Progress report on the PWAS administered Pilot Scheme for AIDS affected and other destitute and incapacitated households, Kalomo District, MCDSS/GTZ November 2003 5 Zambia Poverty Assessment, Volume 1: Main Report, World Bank, Human Resource Division, Washington, November 10, 1994

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and individuals. However, PWAS-funding is low and erratic; the assumption that PWAS should address 2% of the population (about 40.000 households) is based on no analysis.6 The results of some research activities, above all the PWAS-National Household Survey (NHS) undertaken by the PWAS-Management Unit show that more than 10% of households in Zambia completely lack productive capacity or have an extremely high dependency ratio.7 A pilot project on Social Cash Transfers in Southern Province/Kalomo implemented through PWAS and supported by German Development Cooperation/GTZ gives a similar picture. Objective

• Contribute to improving poverty reduction strategies, in particular through inputs into World bank’s PVA and into the Social Protection Strategy (short term objective).

• Providing data to design programs and projects targeting the group of HIV/AIDS affected incapacitated and destitute households.

Methodology The research activity should start from the information and data basis created by the above-mentioned PWAS-NHS. The NHS covers 18 districts in all 9 Provinces. The most performing PWAS-Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs) of these districts have contributed to the NHS. In order to select the research sites, the data and the filled-in Household listing sheets produced during the NHS should be analysed. On this basis and including other socio-economic aspects (agro-ecological areas, distance to cities, results of the 2000 census, etc.) research-sites (villages) in the catchments areas of 20 CWACs covered by the NHS should be identified (2 as test sites). Within these villages, the incapacitated households should be identified, using the NHS-eligibility criteria. In this framework, the information given by the NHS-involved CWACs (there are lists of households available) should be checked. The respective CWACs should be involved into the research activities at this level. Using PRA-tools, the target group of incapacitated households should be analysed. Other members of the community should be interviewed as well focussing on the relation between the community and their most destitute members (is the community providing support, which type of support; perception of destitute through community, are there elements of exclusion, stigmatisation; role of relatives; etc.)

6 For more details see: MCDSS/PWAS, Understanding the New PWAS, Lusaka, November 2003 7 The PWAS-NHS took 300 as cutting-line. This decision was based on some field research carried out during the preparation of a PWAS/GTZ Social Cash Transfer Scheme in Kalomo. However, the present research should evaluate if this assumption is well founded: One person fit for work can produce enough to cover the basic needs of a family of four (if the conditions to produce are given). However, this is not possible if the family is bigger. See MCDSS/PWAS, National Household Survey, Report on results of a survey conducted by PWAS/PMU in Cooperation with the GTZ assisted Social Safety Net Project at the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, Lusaka, November 2003

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A small data basis on the incapacitated households in the research sites should be prepared. Basic information on the identified villages should be crosschecked through other sources of information (Headmen, Health-centres, CSO-Census data). Key research questions As already mentioned above, the results of the NHS in the selected CWACs and villages should be taken into account and checked.

• Number/percentage of incapacitated households (according to NHS-criteria) in the communities

• Is the dependency ratio of 300 well founded (1 person fit for work can support a family of four, but not bigger families)

• Profile/composition of these households, including PWAS social qualifiers, dependency ratio, children/OVCs

• Detailed information on living conditions (number of meals, education and health, vulnerability to shocks – what happens in case of general food-shortage, degree of monetarisation, etc.

• Sources of livelihood, including “begging” (does this have a negative meaning?), other transfers, assets, economic activities if existing

• Although these households are poor because they lack sufficient capacity to care for themselves, are their areas where these families could be empowered through well-tailored programs?

• Role within the community, inclusion-exclusion, taking views of both sides • Day-to-day coping strategies, coping in case of shocks • Impact of Social Safety Nets (including government, NGOs, churches,

neighbours, relatives). In this framework the question of “Informal Social Safety Nets” and its capacity should be addressed, taking the view of both sides (burden for relatives and community, impact on livelihood of recipients)

• Causes of destitution, in particular the impact of HIV/AIDS: How many destitute households have been affected by HIV/AIDS (deaths of members in working age, chronically sick persons – depending on the situation “proxies” should be used).

• Etc. Organization and steps

• Analysis of NHS-results, including analysis of the filled-in household listing sheets available at PWAS-PMU and of selected documents made available by the MCDSS/GTZ Social Safety Net Project

• Selection of districts/CWACs and identification of 20 research-sites (villages) • Training of researchers including selected members of PWAS/CWACs and ACCs • Carrying out of field qualitative research-activities, using PRA-tools • Drafting of a research report including a data-base on the profile of the identified

incapacitated households • Cross-checking selected data (CSO-Census)

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• Advising the drafting of a policy paper as contribution to the PVA-Mid-Term workshop in April, 2004

Timeframe

• Literature review and draft research instruments 16 to 20 February • Training field researchers, pre-testing instruments 23 to 27 February • Fieldwork 29 February to 18 March • Data analysis, report writing 22 March to 10 April

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Annex 2: Research tools used

Annex 2.1: Tool No. 2: Form for Collecting Information a) CWACS b) Incapacitated Households PWAS is a good example of an organization specifically established to address issues and problems raised by incapacitated and destitute people. Type of Incapacitation of Household Head: Please circle as appropriate: Aged, OVC, Chronically ill, Child headed, Disabled, any other –specify Name of Province:……………….………………………. ………. Name of District……………………………………………………. Name of ACC/Area…………………………………………………. Name of CWAC: ………………………………………………….. Total number of Households (HHs) in the Community………….. Total Population in the Community……………………………… Category of Household Head: (Please circle as appropriate: FHH, CHH, (under 20), Disabled, Chronically ill, Aged, any other –specify) Name of HH Head

Sex of HH Head MALE

Sex of HH Head FEMALE

Number of HH members including HH head MALE

Number of HH members including HH head FEMALE

Number of persons fit for productive work

Village

Persons fit for productive work: + Age 16 – 64 + Not disabled or chronically sick + Having finished grade 7 and not going to school.

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Annex 2.2: Tool No. 3: Guidelines/Checklist for Case Studies Type of Incapacitation………………………………….. Name of Interviewee (Household Head)……………………………. Sex of HHH …………………………………………………………… Age of HHH …………………………………………………………… Number of HH members including HH head………………………. Age of each……………………………………………………………… Sex of each .……………………………………………………………. Number of Persons fit for work ……………………………………… Number of children going to school …………………………………. If not going to school –WHY NOT?…………………………………. Village…………………………………………………………………. District ………………………………………………………………… Date ……………………………………………………………………. Name of Interviewer ………………………………………………….. 1. Share the life-history of interviewee; e.g. when, where they were born; whether they worked before, how long, where, when 2. Current situation:

• What they do to survive/for a living • Probe on livelihoods of the Incapacitated Poor (IP) households • Problems related to livelihoods • Coping mechanisms • Institutions helping with livelihoods, including extended family, neighbors,

churches, organizations, etc. 3. (for non-poor HHs) Awareness of IPs in the community

• what they do to help IPs • are the poor included in community activities, e.g. committees? • Causes of destitution

4. Education:

• Whether children of school-going age are in school • Probe for reasons if not in school • Problems in accessing education

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• Coping strategies in education • Institutions assisting with education, including family, neighbors,

organizations -how effective are these organizations?………………… …………………………………………………………….

5. Health • Whether family members are able to access health services • Problems in accessing health services • Coping strategies in health issues • Institutions helping with health;

-how effective are they? ……………………………………….. 6. Shelter (housing)

• Accessibility of shelter • Problems faced in accessing shelter • Coping strategies in issues related to shelter, e.g. lack of shelter, calamities like

fire, etc. • Institutions helping with shelter issues.

7. Food

• Probe issues related to food • Type of food they eat • Number of meals per day • Food availability throughout the year • Organizations helping with food • Coping strategies in accessing food in times of famine • Any informal safety nets

8. Clothing

• Probe issues related to clothing • Problems • Coping mechanisms related to clothing • Institutions assisting with clothing; how effective

9. Inclusions and Exclusion/discrimination

• Role played (by IPs) in the community • Participation (of IPs) in decision-making • Participation (of IPs) in community organizations • Any feeling of being left out? • Coping mechanisms to combat exclusion

10. Any other issues of relevance emerging from the discussions 11. Ask for possible solutions to improve the situation of the IPs

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Annex 3: Some Profiles of Incapacitated heads of households l. Lloyd Mwanza, a disaster victim of Village Undi, Luangwa district, Lusaka

Province

Lloyd is a 97 year-old widower. He lives completely alone although he has a sister in the same village. He was born at Katondwe Mission in 1907. His wife died a long time ago. He went to school up to sub B only. According to him, “ I was not really interested in school, so I dropped out and engaged myself in farming, helping my parents. After sometime, I can’t remember when, I got married and went to Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia) with my wife”. While in Zimbabwe he opened up a small butchery in a market. After 10 years, Lloyd and his wife decided to come back to Zambia. He narrated his experience, “Back home we ventured into full time farming and we were doing very fine until I became paralyzed. I had a stroke and was hospitalized for sometime. When I came out of hospital, I solely depended on my wife and mother who helped me both socially and economically until I slowly recuperated and became able again. I lost both my wife and mother in quick succession. Nevertheless, I continued with farming and I was doing fine up to the late 1980s when my strength started failing me. I became weaker and weaker because of old age. Today I even feel one arm getting weaker than the rest of the body and I fear I may suffer another stroke. Lloyd does not have any child. They are all dead. He is in dire poverty. He is unable to involve himself in any productive work like farming due to his ever- increasing physical weakness. He lamented’ “the physical weakness is like a disability to me because I am unable to engage in economic activities that require physical strength. My heart wills but I cannot. I feel helpless. Niona ngati ndine wopanda nchito (I feel helpless).” He is currently relying on his sister who provides him with food most of the time. She is also just as poor he is but the only difference is that at least she is able to do some farming. She too lost her husband recently. He added, “to supplement on the food I get from her, I beg from shop owners and school teachers. Those who understand my problem are able to give but others, who are in the majority, do not. Those who give me usually give me some ngwee (money) and some rugged clothes. With the ngwees, I am able to purchase just a little maize and sometimes pumpkin leaves”. The clinic is about some one and a half days walking distance away, which to Lloyd is a hindrance. When he is ill, it takes him almost 3 days to go and come back. He has to sleep on the way at a relative’s house because he cannot manage to cover such distance in a day. Sometimes, when he has no energy to walk to and from the clinic, he just sends word to his sister to come and look after him. She often buys medicine for him, though she struggles to find money. Talking about shelter, Lloyd said, “I am in very big problems as far as shelter is concerned. My house, which my sister built for me through employing builders fell down due to lack of proper maintenance. As you can see, I am currently staying in this shade

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building, something that resembles a house because I have nowhere to go. My sister’s house is one roomed and I cannot sleep in the same room with my sister. Community members are not being helpful to me and I do not know why. When I informed the village headman about my problem, he mobilized the community members only to agree that they could help me after harvesting their crops sometime in early May. I couldn’t understand why they did not want to help me immediately. They are really not being very helpful to me. The shade I am staying in leaks heavily when it is raining, I am not even able to sleep”. Lloyd strongly believes that the community in which one lives should be the one to be in the forefront in dealing with such issues. On issues pertaining to food, he said he knows that PWAS is supposed to provide food to the vulnerable, but he did not know why the officers were not doing so anymore. He got flour and beans from PWAS only once sometime in the 90s. Also last year he received sugar, salt and soap, but he complained, “What can a person do with this once a year? I find PWAS to be very ineffective because I am not getting what I am supposed to be getting from them”. Another problem that Lloyd alluded to was the community tended to discriminate against him. Apart from his sister, nobody bothers about him, e.g., they rarely invite him to community meetings. Even when they do, some people grumble about him. He is not even included in making any decisions. To improve the situation of the incapacitated poor, Lloyd was of the view that the government should be providing such people, especially those who are physically weak due to old age, with food throughout the year. He also felt that the community should form a committee that should have the welfare of the incapacitated poor at heart. This committee should, for example, render help in situations like when they need shelter promptly. The community should also make regular monetary contributions or non-perishables so that the poor can have access to them when need arises. 2. KERRY Hahila, a double orphan head of a family of five children in Kawama West, Mufulira, Copperbelt Kerry, 22 years of age, is the head of a double-orphaned family of three girls (7 to 11 years) and two boys (18 and 22 years). Their father used to work for the Mines but passed away in 1999. In 2002, their mother also passed away. After their mother passed away, they went to live in another town with their relatives, leaving behind, on rent, the house, which their parents had bought. They later returned to Kawama West because their relatives were mistreating them. They live in the family house and other than for Kerry, the oldest child, the children are all school going, as follows; the 18 year male is in Grade 9 at a Government school, the 11 year female is doing Grade 8, the 10 year old girl Grade 4 and the youngest (7 year

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old) is in Grade 1. Kerry stopped school in 2000 at Grade 7 level, as they could not afford to raise the money for school fees and other supplies. The family of five works at other peoples farms to raise money for food. They also have a plot of land left behind by their parents. At the time of the study, the crops they planted were not ready for harvesting but they keep all the produce for home consumption. They buy school uniforms, supplies and pay school fees from the money they raise through piecework. They reported that at one time the CWAC gave them a 25kg of mealie meal, cooking oil, salt and soap. The community was aware of their incapacitation and the family participated in community activities. Education Kerry mentioned that they faced problems in raising money for school supplies, uniforms and school shoes. “The school authorities sympathize with us and allow us to pay in installments”, he said. He further mentioned that CWAC paid their school fees but the family had to raise money for examination fees. “ My brother has already paid K40,000 out of the total K70,000 required for my Examination Fees”, he mentioned. Health Kerry mentioned the family was able to raise the K1,500 required for registration at the nearby clinic. He further mentioned that they were lucky in the sense that none of them got so sick such that they were hospitalized. Shelter The family lives in an adobe walled house left by their parents. The house is roofed using iron sheets made from 210 litre used oil drums. The roof leaks during the rains and one internal wall and the outside wall, at the entrance, are cracked. So far they have not accessed any help in terms of shelter. Food Their main meals consist of nshima and vegetables. “Sometimes we eat nshima with chisense (small fish with sand in them), and we eat once a day. We face difficulties in accessing food during the December-February period”, Kerry said. He also mentioned that when food comes in from the Social welfare Scheme, they benefit. “We do not sell any of the crops we harvest as we keep them for consumption”, he said. Clothing In terms of clothing, they buy used clothes (salaula) from the money they raise from working at other peoples fields. They have not been assisted in clothing by any organization Inclusion and Exclusion/Discrimination Kerry mentioned that the family was informed about community meetings and they participated in decision-making. The family also belongs to church organizations. On the

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issue of being excluded, he mentioned that although they were not directly being excluded, people talked about them because they were poor. “When people talk about us, we educate them about our situation, as this can happen to others”, he said. Possible Solutions to improve the situation of IPs Kerry mentioned that one way of improving the lives of the incapacitated poor was for them to quarry sand at a nearby stream and sell it to building contractors. It was, however, learnt during the discussion, that the present quarrying operations were illegal. 3. Helen Mumba of Tukunkha village, Kafue district, Lusaka Province, a chronically ill woman. 54 year-old Helen lost her two husbands in her first two marriages. She then got married to third one who divorced her. She now lives alone with her children, 6 sons and 3 daughters. One of her daughters has twins. Altogether they are 12 in the household. Her health is very bad- she suffers from T.B. since last year (2003). She narrated her situation as follows: “Due to my illness, I don’t have much energy to do much work. I depend on my two older sons to do piecework for others to make ends meet. My parents are both dead and I have no relatives who can help me. I am completely alone, not even my neighbours bother about me. Icalo na cicinja.” (the world has changed- the culture of helping each other is no longer valued). Some of Helen’s children are in school. Unfortunately the older ones dropped out of school due to lack of money for fees and other requirements. She was thankful to the government for the new policy of free education. Without it none of her children would have been in school. As for accessing health services, she said, “Chanyanya area is blessed with a Rural Health Centre. So my family and I are able to benefit from the health services. Being a T.B. patient I get free medical services. The Catholic Church also has a programme called Home Basic Care (HBC) which provides drugs to chronically ill patients like me. It is more difficult for my children, but somehow my two older sons raise the fees through piecework. One of the areas of concern for Helen is to do with food availability. She said: “Because of my illness, I am always too tired to work. Even my older children fail to grow maize due to lack of fertilizer and seed. I am thankful to the HBC for providing me with food. The drugs that I take are very strong, so I need to eat well and constantly. You should see me shivering when I stay for sometime without eating. I have to eat 3 times a day while the rest of the family eats once a day. We eat nshima with vegetables. The problem is that a bag of 25 kg finishes before a week because as you can see for yourself, my family is large”.

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As for clothing, Helen said was also a problem but not as necessary as food. Things are not so bad in this aspect because the Catholic HBC provides clothes and blankets to chronically ill people from time to time. PWAS also helps needy people but Helen had not yet received anything from PWAS because she is relatively new in the area. Despite just having come to Chanyanya, Helen said she found the community very welcoming. In her own words she said, “Everyone feels they are part of the community. I am always invited when there is a meeting, but I often fail to attend due to my ill health. I get tired easily”. The worst problem for Helen is lack of shelter. She narrated: “This house you see is not mine. Some kind Tonga family said I could stay in here free of charge while they are away. When they come back. I will be in the open. I wish I was Catholic, and then people would have bothered about me and my housing problem. I am a Watch Tower unfortunately. Fr. Anthony is good and kind. I am sure he would have helped me. Even a one roomed house would have suited me since I am a single woman”.

4. Mary Chanda, a widow Mary Chanda is a 64 years old widow who lives in Chikwanda village of Mpika district in the Northern Province of Zambia. Mary’s household consists of 13 members, six females and seven males. The majority of the household members are children below the age of 20. Three of the girls are aged 3, 7 and 11 years old and the seven boys are aged between 4 and 18 years. The other three are adult females. Two of them are Mary’s divorced daughters’ the third is Mary herself, the head of the household herself. The children in Mary’s household are mainly orphans and vulnerable. Six of them are offspring of her dead children. From the description of their illness and how they died, their deaths seem to be related to HIV/AIDS. The other four children belong to the two divorced daughters who are currently living with her. All the 13 members of Mary’s household live in a one-roomed house. The house was build by one of the son-n-laws before he divorced her daughter. The house is currently in a state of disrepair and leaks profusely. The main source of livelihood for the household is piecework and a bit of farming: “I try to cultivate but this is of no use because of lack of fertilizer. We just do some piecework in people’s fields for food. I do this together with my children (the divorced daughters). When there is nowhere to do piecework, then we just stay without eating. After all we are used now.” Most of the time the household eats only once a day while the food eaten consists mainly of nshima and vegetables. Among the 10 children only four go to school. Two of the children do not go to school because of lack of clothes while the remaining four are under age. Many expressed the fear that those currently in school may have to stop going to school once they complete Grade 7. The four children are able to go to school because they are not required to pay

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fees up to Grade 7. In Grade 8 they will be required to pay fees and this is her major concern. Mary is able to access health services because they are free for those who are 65 years old and above. The main problem is finding money to pay health fees for her twelve dependants. Clothing and beddings are a big problem for the household. “We have no clothes. This little boy, for instance uses the girl’s dress that was given to him by a well wisher. This is all he has. He cannot go to school dressed in a girl’s dress. His school mates will laugh at him.” Mary also indicated that there was no proper bedding in the house. “These children have no blankets; they just use tutenge (pieces of old cloth) to cover themselves. They sleep just of the floor near the fire, especially during the cold season. Despite being very poor, Mary does not feel excluded or discriminated against by her community. “I am included in everything that requires my attention, just like this one you have come to me through these people, so I am included. 5. Gibson Musonda, a disabled (blind) old man of Tunkunkha village, Kafue district, Lusaka Province 82 yea-old Gibson is Bemba by tribe from Mpika. He decided to settle in Chanyanya area after his retirement in 1963 because of its richness in fish. When he came to Tukunkha he already had a wife and children, but after some time, his marriage ended up in divorce. He has grown up children who have settled in Mpika. They followed their mother when Gibson and his wife divorced. When Gibson just came, he made friends with two gentlemen. One was an old friend from Luanshya (Copperbelt). He said they used to do things together, including fishing and drinking after work. One of them lost his wife, while the other got divorced a long time ago. The three of them are now too old to do any productive work. He became blind 6 years ago. To make ends meet, the three of them decided to start living together because his two friends were homeless. He said: “Though my friends are equally very old, they at least can cook and help me around since they are both sighted. My friends moved in my house because I still had a reasonably strong house, which I built when I came from Luanshya. None of us is in a position to work. Sometimes neighbors give us food. Our families do nothing for us. Anyway since there is no contact with them, some of them are probably dead. Neighbors have become our relatives because even when one of falls sick, they are the ones who show concern. But of course they cannot help us on a daily basis. “Nabo balikwata abana” (they too have their own children to look after).”

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The community was said to be very accommodating. Gibson and his friends get to know about whatever is happening in the community. However, they do not have the strength to attend meetings. He said, “We cannot even attend funerals. There is a funeral just a few metres away, but none of us can manage to do anything about it”. The main problem that Gibson cited was lack of food. He said: “Our main problem is hunger. Limo limo tulekala inshiku shibili nangu shitatu nensala. Pano tuli tatulalya nangu kamo ukufuma bulya bushiku. Kulala fye fino fine mutusangile” (Sometimes we stay hungry for two or three days. Right now, we have not eaten a thing the day before. That’s why you found us just lying down).

Gibson said there were institutions that also helped out with livelihood. These are: PWAS, which was said to be very helpful in providing them with food, clothes and blankets. “Aya malangeti mwamona, twapokele nomba line” These blankets you see we received them very recently). The only complaint about PWAS was the support rendered was not constant. The Catholic Church was also cited as being very helpful in terms of provision of food and clothing. Gibson said in the area of health there was no problem because he lives very near the Rural Health Centre and he receives treatment free of charge. Even shelter, as noted earlier was not a problem. He narrated, “I built this house a long time ago. So housing is really not a problem. My two friends are the ones who had problems with housing. One of them had built a small hut, but it collapsed the year we had heavy rains. But you can see for you can see yourself that the two of them are comfortable with me. We somehow depend on each other for survival because none of us can survive individually”. 6. Lesina Mwale, aged widow with multiple orphans, village Soweto, Katete, Eastern

Province Total number of household members is 17 Age Sex 76 (HH) Female 22 Male 20 Female 15 Female 15 Male 14 Male 14 Female 14 Male 13 Male 11 Female 10 Male 9 Female 7 Female

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(Note: The ages of 4 dependants are not included in this list because the guardian did not know them.) There are two children of school going age and two persons fit for work. The dependency ratio is 10/2 x 100 = 500 “This is my home area, although some of my relatives live far away in chief Kabazo’s area. My husband died a long time ago. I have had many deaths in my family. I lost 4 sons and a daughter. I am left with no child of my own. My first-born son left 10 orphans, the other son 3, and my daughter left 3. If you count all these, the number comes to 16. Among these, 11 live in my house and the other 5, whom I have not included in this list have their own huts. Two of them are now married. We usually eat and do things together. We survive through piecework, which often involves working in other people’s fields. My grown up grandchildren also help me cultivate maize, though the only problem is lack of fertilizer. The maize doesn’t really grow well.”

“Only 2 of my grand children go to school. One is in grade 1 and the other in grade 11. Most of them have dropped out of school due to lack of money.” “We are lucky there is a clinic within the community. I don’t pay any fees at the clinic but my grand children are required to pay K1,000 which sometimes is very difficult to find since we only depend on piecework.” “When we do piecework we are either given food or money. From the money we get we buy small things like soap and salt. We eat what we grow which is usually not enough because we don’t apply fertilizer. We manage to eat only once a day usually except in rare cases when we eat twice a day. It is always nshima with vegetables and occasionally kapenta. My relatives don’t help much because they are also struggling to make ends meet and the distance really makes it impossible for them to help even in a small way. My neighbours do not help me either. PWAS gave me mealie meal, kapenta and salt last year, but that was only once.” “The house you see which has only one room was built a long time ago by my late son. I sleep with all my grand children in this house. The older ones have had to move out and build their own small huts because they started feeling awkward as they grew older.” “In this community everybody feels a sense of belonging because you get to know about issues pertaining to the community.” “Death of grown-up children, like in my case I depended on my children and now “nasauka” (I am poor) because they are all dead.” “We need help in the form of fertilizer so that we can produce our own food. Also organisations should focus on paying school fees for orphans because most of

them drop out of school due to lack of funds.”

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Annex 4: Perceived Causes and Effects of Destitution in the study communities

Province District Community Causes Effects

Chibombo Mututu • Lack of agricultural inputs• Widowhood • Being an orphan • Illness • Old age • Disability • Ignorance • Lack of education

• Chronic hunger • Asset stripping • Unstable homes • Prostitution • HIV/AIDS • Crime • Ignorance in perpetuity • Malnutrition leading to

death • Unable to attend school

Cen

tral

Kawama Kabwe • No employment • Illness • Old age • Being a widow • Illiteracy • Being an orphan

• Illness • Hunger • Inability to access education• Crime • Prostitution

Cop

perb

elt

Mufulira Kawama West

• No land or farming inputs

• No jobs • No education (not

having been to school • No Markets • Poor heath services and

sanitation • Poverty • No roads

• Illness • HIV/AIDS • Death • Orphans • Prostitution • Illiteracy • Crime • Poor water and sanitation

89

Mufulira 17 Miles • Drunkeness • Laziness • Illness • Lack of education • Lack of transport • Expensive inputs • Old age • Poor health services

• Prostitution • HIV/AIDS • Death • Orphans • Unstable families • Hunger • Early marriages • Child abuse • Crime • Prison

Chililabombwe

Kakoso • Lack of jobs • Lack of land • Lack of farming inputs • Poor infrastructure • Poor water and sanitation

• Drunkenness and noise due to late closing of bars

• Illiteracy (no money for school)

• Immorality • Crime • Prostitution • HIV/AIDS

Nchelenge

Kafutuma

• lack of money • Diseases such as TB • Laziness • Lack of farm inputs • Drunkenness

• Thefts • Prostitution • Death • Poverty • Orphans and widows

L

uapu

la

Nchelenge

Mulumba-Shimutambala

• Diseases [HIV/AIDS] • Lack of farm inputs • Drunkenness • Laziness • No employment

• Orphans • Deaths • theft • Prostitution • Underdevelopment

N

orth

ern

Mpika

Chikwanda

• Diseases HIV/AIDS related]

• Lack of farm inputs • Laziness • Old age • Illiteracy

• Widows and orphans

• Thefts • Death • Poverty

• Under development

90

Nakonde

Iwula

• Chronic illnesses

(HIV/AIDS]. • No farming inputs • Drunkenness • Laziness

• Poverty • CRIME

• Prostitution • Death • Thefts

• Underdevelopment

Kasempa Kateete • Laziness • Beer drinking • Poor harvests • Piecework (little time

spent in own farm) • Unproductive dependants • Habits of hunting and

honey collecting • Poor marketing

infrastructure • Disability and illness • Old age • Early marriages • Illiteracy and ignorance

• Crime • Prostitution • Begging and lying to obtain

sympathy (food) • Illness leading to premature

deaths-creating widows and orphans

• Practicing witchcraft • Strange diseases such as

HIV/AIDS

Nor

th W

este

rn

Solwezi Kyafukuma • Disability • Old age • Widowhood • Being an orphan • Poor harvest • Ill health

• Unending cycle of poverty • Hunger leading to deaths • Crime • Unstable marriages leading

to prostitution and HIV/AIDS

Monze Singonya Village

-laziness -illnesses -old age -draught -lack of farming inputs -lack of market -no land

-domestic violence -prostitution -less agricultural labour -diseases -orphans -HIV/AIDS

Sout

hern

Kalomo Misika Village

-lack of agricultural implements -lack of market -no cattle -no productive assets -lack of cooperatives

-orphans -death -hunger -poverty -poor school infrastructure -HIV/AIDS

91

Kaoma Naliele village

-lack of markets -drunkenness -lack of education -poor roads poor soil fertility

-prostitution -illiteracy -unstable homes -property grabbing -asset stripping -HIV/AIDS

Wes

tern

Mongu Liyoyelo Village

-lack of implements -laziness -no land -minimal assistance from government -destitution of extended families

-food insecurity -prostitution -diseases -death -hunger -less agricultural labour -HIV/AIDS -orphans & widows

Eas

tern

Katete Lundazi

Katete Boma Emusa

Death Unemployment Disabilities Lack of farm implements Drunkenness Laziness Old age Being a widow Having no education

Left with nobody to look after you, Orphans Widows Destroys the economy Weakens extended family Hunger Begging Diseases, especially HIV/AIDS Poverty crime

Lus

aka

Luangwa Kafue

Chiriwe Chanyanya

Poor farming Ignorance Old age Poor roads Poor fishing and hunting No jobs Little government assistance No jobs drunkenness laziness

Hunger Illness Death Orphans Unstable marriages Begging Thefts Unstable marriages Prostitution HIV/AIDS Death Orphans Crime Prison Hunger

Source: IPS (2004) Field data

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Annex 5: Sources of Livelihoods in the Study communities Province District Commu-

nity Sources

Chibombo Mututu Subsistence Farming

Maize S/potatoes

Vegetables

Beans

Begging Vending

(buying and selling)

Cen

tral

Piecework Mufulira Kawama

West Farming Maize Cassava Beans

S/potatoes

Trade Vegetables

Beer Brewing Fishing Mufulira 17 Miles Farming Maize Cassava S/potat

oes Cassava

Trade Beer Brewing Fishing Chililabombwe

Kakoso Farming/ Gardening

Maize Vegetables

S/potatoes

Cassava

Vending

Cop

perb

elt

Piecework Katete Katete

Boma Small scale farming

Maize Groundnuts

Beans Cassava

Piece-work Sale of farm

produce

Illicit beer brewing

Kachasu

Vending Soap Matches Sweets Candles Drama Lundazi Emusa Small scale

farming Maize Groundn

uts Beans Cassava

Piece-work Carpentry

Eas

tern

Sale of farm produce

Maize Groundnuts

Sweet potatoes

Beans

93

Illicit beer brewing

Kachasu

Moulding and selling clay pots

Begging Small scale

farming Maize Groundn

uts Beans Cassava

Piece-work Nchelenge Kafutuma

Agriculture -Small scale farming. - Livestock farming – goats.

Charcoal burning

Fishing

Piece work

Begging

Lua

pula

Nchelenge Mulumba Shimutambala

Agriculture -Small scale farming. - Livestock farming – goats, ducks and chickens.

Charcoal burning

Fishing

Piece work

Begging

Kafue Demu Small scale farming

Maize Groundnuts

Sweet potatoes

Beans

Piece-work Fishing & sale

of fish

Sale of farm produce

Maize Groundnuts

Sweet potatoes

Beans

Illicit beer brewing

Vending Begging Small scale

farming Maize Groundn

uts Sweet potatoes

Beans

Piece-work Fishing & sale

of fish

Luangwa Chiriwe Sale of farm produce

Maize Groundnuts

Sweet potatoes

Beans

Lus

aka

Illicit beer brewing

Kachasu

94

Weaving & selling of mats

Small scale farming

Maize Groundnuts

Sweet potatoes

Beans

Piece-work

Mpika

Chikwanda Agriculture -Small scale farming. - Livestock farming cattle, goats, chicken

Charcoal burning

Fishing

Piece work

Begging

N

orth

ern

Nakonde

Iweula

Agriculture -Small scale farming. - Livestock farming – cattle, goats, chickens, pigs

Charcoal burning

Fishing

Piece work

Begging

Kasempa Kateete SubsistenceFarming

Maize Cassava Beans

S/potatoes

Begging Vegetables

Piecework Vending Farm

produce Mushrooms,

Wild fruit

Honey

Beer selling Solwezi Kyafukuma Farming Maize Beans Cassava Vegetables Begging Piecework

N/W

este

rn

Vending Relief

Food Barter System

Piece work

weaving gardening

Sout

hern

Monze Singonya Site 2

Agriculture -small scale farming -livestock farming cattle & chicken

Barter System

Piece work

Beer brewing

Gardening

95

Kaoma Naliele Site 1

Agriculture -small scale farming: Crops: maize, cassava. Agriculture -small-scale farming. -livestock farming cattle & chicken

Trade -Beer brewing Barter System

gardening vegetables

Piece work

Wes

tern

Mongu Wenela Site 2

Agriculture -Small scale Farming: Crops: maize, cassava, rice, sweet potatoes

Trade: - Fishing -Beer brewing -Make shift shops -barter system

gardening vegetables

Piece work

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Annex 6: Table showing some vulnerable people’s characteristics

from case studies FHH EHH CHRONICALLY

ILL DISABLED CHH DISASTER

VICTIM 1 No. of HHs

(117) 39 30 12 23 9 4

2. Ages of HH heads Ages of < 18 19 - 60 61 - 70 71 +

- 24 11 4

- 9 6 15

- 11 1 -

- 9 8 6

9 - - -

- 4 - -

3. NO of HH Members Males Females

143 117

36 42

37 51

37 42

24 27

12 15

4. Meals per day Once a day Twice Rarer

33.3% 48.7% 18.0%

40.0% 26.7 33.3

64.3% 35.7

65.2% 34,8

44.4% 44.4 11.2

48.0% 46.5 5.5

5. Source of food Farming Begging neighbours Piecework Vending Fishing, etc

(N.B Multiple Mention) 88.5% 12.5 15.0 17.0 23.0 32.0

(multiplemention) 92.0% 7.0 9.5 21.0 13.5 25.0

67.5% 27.8 30.0 - 5.5 12.0

62.5% 30.0 32.8 - 8.0 14.0

47.5% - 26.8 63.5 56.7 34.0

95,6% 6,7 48.0 55.8 25.5 35.6

6. Education None goes Some go All go cost No clothing

21.5% 21.5 - 32.0 25.0

- 40.0% - 40.0 20.0

33.3 % 33.3 - 16.4 17.0

6.5 % 27.5 - 31.0 37.0

35.0% 12.0 - 32.0 21.0

22.5 % 44.4 - 21.0 12.1

7. Health Distance Cost Drugs No problem

30.0 % 25.0 38.0 7.0

40.0 % 15.0 27.5 17.5

46.0 % 28.0 26.0 -

36.0 % 16.0 48.0 -

46.0% 35.0 19.0 -

26.0 % 40.0 34.0

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8. Social exclusion excluded not excluded very included

- 16.7 % 83.3

45.5 % 12.5 42.0

- 16.7 % 83.3

- 33.0 % 67.0

50.0% 50.0 -

100.0 %

9. Biggest problem Farm inputs Shelter Health Education Exclusion Clothing No money No blankets

14.3 % 21.4 14.3 14.3 - 21.4 14.3 -

7.1 % 21.3 - 7.1 7.1 21.3 36.1 -

- 17.6 % 14.3 - - 14.3 28.6 25.2

9.1 % 18.2 9.1 - 9.1 21.3 33.4 -

6.7 % 13.4 6,7 20.1 13.4 28.8 4.2

10 Coping strategies Relatives assist Neighbours PWAS Churches NGOs Piecework Vending Begging

7.7 % 15.4 30.8 7.7 7.7 23.1 7.6 -

31.5 % 12.6 37.8 12.6 5.5

26.8 % 13.4 33.0 13.4 6.7 6.7

14.3 % 28.6 14.3 28.6 - 14.3 14.2

18.2% 9.1 9.1 18.2 9.1 27.2 9.1

15.0 % 47.5 - 22.5 13.0 - -

11 Institutions which help Family PWAS Churches PAM Others

- 33.3 % 25.5 12.6 28.4

- 24.9 % 41.5 8.3 25.3

- 18.2 % 54.6 - 27.2

- 21.5 % 35.6 - 42.9

22.2% 25.6 21.0 - 31.2

15.5 % 55.4 12.8 - 16.3

12 Possible solutions: supply: Farm inputs Fishing nets Food Shelter Money business

11.1 % - 42.5 12.6 18.4 15.4

33.4 % 7.3 9.8 19.4 30.1 -

24.7 % - 34.5 27.4 13.4 -

25 5 % - 35.8 24.8 13.9

10.6% - 18.5 11.5 42.0 17.4

22.4 % - 17.2 47.6 10.8 -

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Annex 7: References Central Statistical Office, Living Conditions Monitoring Survey, 1998, Lusaka. Central Statistical Office, Evolution of Poverty in Zambia, 1998, Lusaka. World Bank, Poverty Assessment for Zambia, 1994, Lusaka. World Bank, Action for Vulnerable Children: School Fee Abolition, Consequences and Coping, Washington, 2003. MCDSS/GTZ, Poor Households with Limited Self-help Capacity, Two stocktaking Studies, Lusaka, 2003. MCDSS/Public Welfare Assistance Scheme, National Household Survey, November 2003, Lusaka MCDSS/Public Welfare Assistance Scheme, Understanding the New PWAS, 2003, Lusaka Public Welfare Assistance Scheme/GTZ, The Pilot Social Cash Transfer Scheme –Kalomo, 3rd Report, November 2003, Lusaka. J. Goldberg, Fact sheet on destitution, June 2004, Lusaka GTZ, Social Security Systems in Developing countries, Transfers as a Social Policy Option for Securing the Survival of the Destitute, 1990, Eschborn. John Iliffe, The African Poor, 1987. G. Kamfwa, The National Household Survey, 2003, Lusaka. Armando Barrientos/,Peter L. Sherlock, Non-Contributory Pensions and Social Protection, Manchester/East Anglia, September 2002 James Smith, Kalanidhi Subbarao, What Role for Safety Nets in very Low Income Contries?, World Bank Institute, June 2002 ILO, Global Social Trust, 5 – Euro Project, Geneva 2002

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Annex 8: List of Tables 1.1 Research methods used 3 1.2 IPS study sites 6 2.1 Percent distribution of destitute households at community level 16 2.2 Percent distribution of categories of heads of destitute households 20 2.3 Percentage distribution of destitute HHs by social qualifiers 20 2.4 Distribution of persons by social qualifiers of HH head 22 2.5 Distribution of destitute HHs and persons by economic qualifiers 23 2.6 Distribution of destitute persons by economic qualifiers 23 3.1 Sources of livelihoods and frequency of mention 25 3.2 Involvement of IPS in agriculture and their coping strategies 27 3.3 Coping strategies on food 34 4.1 The 12 frequently cited causes of destitution 44 5.1 Safety nets operating in the sampled communities 54

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Annex 9: List of PRA visuals used 1. Food availability in Soweto, Katete Boma: IPs and non-IPs compared 43 2. Food availability at Liyolelo village, Mongu district: IPs and non-IPs compared 43 3. Seasonal Calendar on food availability in Kyafukuma, Solwezi 44 4. Seasonal availability of food at 17-Miles, Mufulira 44 5. Flow Chart on causes and effects of destitution at Chiriwe, Luangwa 60 6. Flow Chart on causes and effects of destitution at 17-Miles, Mufulira 60 7. Flow Chart on causes and effects of destitution at Kawama, Mufulira 61 8. Flow Chart on causes and effects of destitution in Mulumba-Shimutambala 62 9. Flow Chart on causes and effects of destitution in Chikwanda village 63 10 Flow Chart on causes and effects of destitution in Singonya, Monze district 63 11 Flow Chart on causes and effects of destitution in Naliele, Kaoma district 64 12 Venn diagram on institutions/safety nets in Iwula, Nakonde district 69 13 Venn diagram on institutions assisting Kfutuma community, Nchelenge 70 14 Venn diagram on institutions assisting Mulumba-Shimutambala community 71

Annex 10: List of photographs 1. A disaster victim: his house had been half-burnt 41 2. The disabled woman of Mututu, Chibombo district 47 3. Elderly woman with some of the 16 OVC she keeps 52 4. A well looked after old and chronically ill woman living in a good house in Iwula, Nakonde 54