Langa community needs assessment study

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Reliable and valid methods of studying needs of communities are an essential toolin the development of those communities. This study looks at different ways inwhich community needs could be assessed and uses two of those methods inassessing needs of the Langa community. The findings are that for a successfulneeds assessment, the key is, to identify a method or a combination of methodsappropriate to the issues and to one's goals and resources, and implementing itwell. Queeney (1995) states that one must always choose a technique that willgive accurate results of the community being studied, and resources used shouldbe cost-effective.Langa was chosen as a case study because of its diverse socia-economicstructure. The type of housing that one occupies is indicative of the socioeconomicbackground of that person. The housing types found in Langa areshacks, hostels, public houses and private houses.The methods used in the Langa area for this study were the key informantapproach and the survey approach. The key informant approach was used withcommunity leaders in Langa while a survey was conducted with sampled dwellingunits in the area. The reason for using the two methods was to get a morecomprehensive picture of community needs in the area.Key informant approachRepresentatives of 10 of the 15 community organisations operating in the Langaarea were interviewed. Priority needs for the community differed according to theorganisation that key informants represented.Survey approachThe total number of people interviewed using the survey approach was 425. Of thetotal number respondents living shacks, approximately 40% were in full timeemployment. In public housing, it was approximately 47% of the respondents. Theprivate houses had by far the highest number of respondents in full timeemployment (73%) followed by hostels at 59%. The high number for privatehousing was not surprising considering that the occupants were mostlygovernment employees.People in shacks did not have access to basic services. However, their first prioritywas housing. This was the same as the priority in the overcrowded migrant labourhostels. In public housing the priority need was jobs. Private housing dwellersmentioned housing for shack dwellers as their first priority. The close proximity ofshack dwellers to private housing made private housing private housing dwellersaware of the conditions under which people in shacks live.RecommendationsMost of the community organisation in the Langa area existed because of a needthat was identified by the community. The priority needs cited by representatives ofthe various organisations were needed by the Langa community. In the surveyapproach housing and jobs were the main priorities. Priority needs raised by keyinformants as well as survey respondents need to be addressed urgently to ensurethe development of the Langa community.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University