Mpho Putu's notes

  Mpho is regional development manager for FoodBank South Africa (FBSA) in the north region. His role is to help grow the organisation’s footprint and to manage stakeholder relationships, including relationships with FBSA’s agencies. Mpho is the former director of Boundary Crossing, a non-profit organisation that promotes and supports citizen leadership. Community development is Mpho’s passion. He worked for the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) for almost nine years, first as a training coordinator for Idasa’s Community Policing Unit, then as the manager of Idasa’s Community Participation Unit, and later as manager of the Citizen Leadership Unit. He has also worked as a training and development manager for The Aids Consortium, a non-profit human rights organisation committed to openness and non-discrimination of people living with HIV/Aids. His community work includes serving as chairperson of the Labour Forum for the South African Police Service and as a board m

V ulnerability is a major obstacle to social and economic development in South Africa. Poor people are especially vulnerable as they have few resources to cope with hazards or shocks. Yet they are significantly more likely to be affected by HIV and Aids, unemployment, trade shocks, climate change, famine and conflict. Sustainable poverty reduction can only be achieved and managed effectively if vulnerability is better understood.  Hunger and poverty in South Africa is almost certain to grow both deeper and more widespread until a robust and sustained recovery takes hold, which may not happen in the next five years or more, unless something drastic is done. In the meantime, the poverty rate will tend to move in step with the unemployment rate, as it always has.  The government – and civil society to a lesser extent – is under pressure to come up with an effective response to these cascading problems. Firstly, where is the best place to allocate government, business, civil and public re

South Africa celebrated 16th years of democracy this year. Momentous changes have occurred since the end of apartheid and the democratically elections of 1994. The feelings of optimism about the promise of democracy and a new system are prevalent throughout the country but there are also deep concerns and problems. An unemployment rate of 40%, HIV/AIDS, high infant mortality rate, low life expectancy, and high levels of criminal activity continue to plague the country. The system of apartheid has left deep scars and a legacy that has created deep divisions between the wealthy and the poor, educated and educated, skilled and unskilled. Radical reforms have been undertaken in nearly every sector but it will take years to repair the damages wrought. For more than 40 years, the country's majority black population suffered under a system of racial separation that fostered white supremacy and denied blacks the right to vote, access to free basic education and freedom of movement. Under a

Mpho Putu, Director of Boundary Crossing Across South Africa - from Kliptown, Khayalitsha, Sekhukhune, Springbok, Mthatha, De Aar, , to the Kakamas - we’ve wondered why some communities are reasonably effective at making changes while others, perhaps not that different, are not. Why are some communities better able to manage their problems and others not? Most communities in South Africa - of every size and shape - face similar problems, such as high levels of poverty, unemployment, HIV and AIDS, poor service delivery, growing numbers of informal settlements and large numbers of immigrants. The only difference is that some are able to exercise a degree of control over those problems, while others become dysfunctional under the stress of their difficulties. In the middle of these difficulties, some communities come together, while others simply disintegrate. Although there are no definitive explanations about why this happens, we can make some educated guesses. Those communities that h