Means to Live: Evaluating the targeting of poverty alleviation  for poor children and their households

The Means to Live Project investigates the targeting aspect of selected poverty alleviation programmes relevant to socio-economic rights, and the consequences of this targeting for children. The government programmes examined are the Child Support Grant, the Housing Subsidy Scheme, the Free Basic Water policy, the No-Fee and School Fee Exemption policies, free primary health care and the National School Nutrition Programme.

Child-centred analysis of government’s budgets

South Africa’s comprehensive range of laws, policies and programmes to realise children’s rights need to be adequately resourced in order to reach all children in need. This project has been conducting annual child-centred analyses of government’s budgets to assess whether the state is allocating and spending adequate budgets to realise children’s rights. Ultimately, the project wants to contribute to ensuring that adequate resources are allocated for the effective delivery of services to children, and that these resources are spent in children's best interests.

Caring Schools: Schools as nodes of care and support

The 28,000 schools across South Africa have huge potential to serve as 'gateways' for a range of services for children. This multi-year action-research project undertook to understand and facilitate an expanded role for school as 'nodes of care and support' to vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty. It aimed to help schools to mobilise role-players in their schools and communities to provide a greater level of care and support for children.

Tracking progress in learning empathy and unlearning prejudice using Persona DollsRudolph N & Smith C 2011Presented at the eleventh International Conference on Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, Cape Town, 20 – 22 June 2011.