Journal of the Madras School of Social Work (JMSSW)

Editorial

Raja Samuel S — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Greetings from MSSW,
We are delighted to bring out another issue of the MSSW Journal with an eclectic collection of contemporary empirical articles covering issues related to children, youth, women, livelihoods and urban studies. The first article examines child poverty in Uganda. It is an excellent desk review of causes of poverty impacting on children. The next article focuses on health seeking behavior of adolescent girls living in deprived neighborhoods. It is heartening to note that most respondents had moderate to high levels of health seeking behavior. The third paper is on an immediately relevant issue in urban areas -water. Based on a survey with 200 respondents, the study confirms what we knew already in terms of availability of water. Interestingly the study found that Governance framework and legal framework were good predictors of public participation.

A good paper an entrepreneurial challenges among youth is included in this issue with a specific focus on TAHDCO beneficiaries. A set of excellent recommendations to improve the scheme is presented in this paper. The next paper describes a field action project of the MCC Social Work Department with persons from Irula tribal Community. The needs of the community are highlighted well in this paper.

A paper on self-help groups and employment generation is included in this issue, which presents a study of how financial assistance to SHGs are utilized. The author concludes that such financial assistance have failed to make any
impressive results. This is followed up by a paper on Rural Women Empowerment determinants. The author has deployed advanced statistical tools to isolate enablers of empowerment. This issue of the journal concludes with a conceptual paper on Rural- Urban migration in India, which would serve as good reading material for students of social work and allied disciplines.

We do hope that these articles would be intellectually stimulating for readers and trigger better research and knowledge generation. We do urge readers to submit conceptual / empirical papers to be published in this journal.

Dr.S.Raja Samuel,
Chief Editor, JMSSW,
Principal,
Madras School of Social Work,
Chennai - 600 008.

Child Poverty and Deprivation in Uganda

Adebayo Tajudeen Sanni — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The need and purpose of this paper is to examine child poverty and deprivation in Uganda. Child poverty has been a concern of a majority of researchers and stakeholders around the world, especially in Uganda. In Uganda, the situation analysis currently is nothing to write home about. There are challenges associated with child poverty and deprivation, such as basic health care; adequate nutrition, water and sanitation; and nurturing and stimulation within a caring, safe and clean environment. Concerned citizens, therefore, have been questioning the problem of child poverty from different perspectives. why child poverty? Is it acceptable to blame poor children for their own predicament? Have their parents been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight? What about their governments? Have they pursued policies that actually harm the successful development of child protection? Such causes of poverty
and inequality are no doubt real. The research starts by looking at the background with empirical evidence. A desk review methodology was used to unravel the circumstances surrounding child poverty and deprivation. The causes of child poverty, the existing policy to combat it, and strategies to resolve the problem are discussed, and the paper concluded.

Factors Influencing The Health-seeking Behaviour of Adolescent Girls in Chennai Slums

Saraswathi Nandhini R, Sathyamurthi K — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Adolescent girls are a key asset of our country. Investments in adolescents will have an immediate, direct and positive impact on India's health goals and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. This paper explores the health-seeking behaviour of unmarried adolescent girls residing in the underprivileged belt of urban spaces, and analyses the factors that influence such behaviours. Health-seeking behaviour is a sequence of remedial actions that
individuals undertake to rectify perceived ill health. It is a positive behaviour which helps the persons to improve their health continuum from negative health to positive health. Given that a significant proportion of the slum dwellers face social burdens and health problems far worse than their non-slum and rural counterparts, and thirty percent of the adolescent girls' population (RAY, Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, 20 July 2015) of Chennai reside in slums, 330 unmarried adolescent girls from 33 slums were selected using Probability Proportional to the Size Linear Systematic Sampling design. In this paper, a social work model for promoting health-seeking behaviour for adolescent girls has been suggested, based on the factors influencing such behaviour.

Water Problems and Public Participation in Chennai City: An Empirical Study

Sivapragasam P, Kavitha Balaraman — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Water is one of the world's most precious resources. Access to quality and potable water access underpins socio-economic improvement, justice, welfare and sustainable development, however it is estimated that half of the world's population will face acute water shortage by 2030, more so in developing countries like India. Cities like Chennai in India are prone to water-related problems. Water-related issues continue to pound Chennai in the last two decades; it seems that the authorities have failed people in the efficient management and governance of water sources and administration. While authorities can do much, the role of people in the utilization and management of water resources is also crucial. The attitude of people about water resources, its utilization, and their participation level in the conservation and protection of water resources are critical for efficient use of environmental resource. People's perceptions and their attitudes are outcomes of the circumstances of their lives and their sensitivity to the critical issue of water use.

This study therefore attempted to understand people perception and attitude towards water problems in Chennai city by administering an interview schedule. In all, 200 respondents were identified through the stratified sampling method. The respondents included key informants, social workers and professionals working in environment and sustainability, and the general public. Poor catchment of rain water during monsoons, unabated ground water exploitation, loss of water bodies in the name of development infrastructures, contamination of water bodies due to discharge of untreated industrial waste, improper solid waste management, indifference on the part of the government and its officials to water concerns and, above all, public apathy towards water in particular and the environment in general have all contributed to Chennai' city's mounting water problems. The findings and its implications are discussed.

CMWSSB, legal provision, potable water, public participation, water
rights, water scarcity, water pollution

Entrepreneurial Challenges Among Youth: with Special Reference to Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram Districts, Tamil Nadu

Miriam Samuel, Sudharsan S — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

India is rated as the world's 12 th largest economy. The economic liberalization in 1991 revolutionized business in India, and let the Indian economy grow to become one of the world's best. It also brought forth a host of entrepreneurs who generated millions of jobs. According to a UN Report (2014), the world's largest youth population with 356 million (10 to 24 years old) is in India. The 2011 Census Report indicates that around 41% of the population of India is below the age of 20, 50% is in the 20-59 age groups, and the remaining 9 % above the age of 60. At the same time, only 32% of the country's youth (15-24 years) population is employed (World Development Indicator, World Bank Data 2014), which is far below the 41% global average. On the other hand, according to the NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization, 2016), figures at every level of education indicate that the unemployment rate is higher among the 15 to 29-year-old age group, as compared to the broader population as a whole. The annual population growth rate of India is 1.2% (World Bank data, 2015), and a report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), released in April 2016, showed that India will face a serious challenge of finding jobs for a growing population over the next 35 years. The Indian economy requires strong growth, empowered by youth, and this can be done by channelizing their creative skills and energy toward successful business ventures. In Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation Limited (TAHDCO) scheme was incorporated in 1974 under the Companies Act of 1956.

The objective of the scheme was to improve the socio-economic status of SCs/STs in Tamil Nadu. TAHDCO introduced a schemein every district, especially meant for marginalized people from a low socio- economic background, to enhance entrepreneurship. This scheme offers financial assistance with subsidies to support entrepreneurship, in addition to training programmes that help start and sustain small businesses. The Self-Employment Programme for Youth (SEPY)
under the TAHDCO scheme focuses on youth in the age group 18- 35. To have a lasting impact, the promotion of youth entrepreneurship is to be approached comprehensively, emphasizing sectors with job creation potential and integrating the three components of sustainable enterprises social, economic and environmental.

Livelihood Programs for the Irulartribe: An Initiative Led by the Department of Social Work, Madras Christian College

Prince Solomon — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Irular was once a self-sufficient agricultural tribe. Natural disasters and becoming involved in bonded labour changed all that, and for generations they were mired in this lifestyle. Eventually, the local Indian government and the International Justice Mission (IJM) rescued them from bonded labour and they were relocated on plots of land safe from such dangers. Since then, Madras Christian College and its Social Work students have got involved with a range of intervention programs and lifestyle training to help re-establish the Irular to someday becoming self-sufficient once again. This has been done through livelihood training and the provision of clean water, building homes, and training to reignite interest in their own culture and discovering new ways to bring in an income. These interventions have improved the capacity of the Irular people in several ways including in the agricultural, educational, and economic spheres.

Self-help Groups and Employment Generation among Urban Poor Households: ACase Study in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Gajendran V, Yuvaraj S — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of Self-Help Groups (SHG) is to alleviate poverty through self-employment generation by providing financial support to the members of SHGs. The formation of SHGs is promoted by the state, financial institutions and NGOs, and the financial support offered by financial institutions is successfully channeled to every SHG member. However, the ground reality shows a different picture, where self- employment generation through SHGs with the help of loans from financial institutions was not impressive among the urban poor. This paper identifies two reasons for the failure: 1) Structural constraints of the market 2) Diverting money for other uses. On the one hand, money channeled through SHGs was used to reduce familial financial burdens rather than in investments to generate self-employment. On the other hand, SHG members were unable to invest money to create self- employment, given the structural constraints of the market. Consequently, to avoid the risk of investing money, SHG members preferred to use it to cover family expenses and so lessen their financial burdens.

A Study on Rural Women's Empowerment Determinants Using Interpretive Structural Modeling

Paulrajan Rajkumar — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Gender equality and social status can be improved with the empowerment of women, and this holds good for rural women as well. The primary objective of this study is to attempt to examine the determinants of empowerment of rural women's empowerment, analyse the leadership and governing criteria, and establish the hierarchical relationship structure between them. A relationship between the determinants is to be built to understand priorities, and to ascertain the driving force and power of the enablers in terms of dependence. The Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) technique, which is a well-established methodology, is used to identify relationships among specific items and defines problems or issues. It is observed from the results of the test that the ability to make small purchases, buy and sell cattle, and secure an education is characteristic of independent enablers. Linkage enablers include economic /monetary security, interacting effectively in the public sphere, and participating in non-family groups. Determinants such as the decision- making power in the household, involvement in major decisions, house repairs, social learning and mobility including visiting banks, bazaars in the locality, hospitals, and relatives/friends' places - are categorised as ddependent enablers, while autonomous enablers have no determinants.

Rural-Urban Migration in India: Types, Challenges and Opportunities

Praveen Naik Bellampalli, Roopesh Kaushik — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Rural-urban migration is a way of life to many of the rural poor; it has rarely been studied at a macro level despite its high prevalence inIndia. Drawing from the recently available Indian National Sample Survey (2007-08, 64 Round), this paper aims to study this concern in terms of the factors influencing rural-urban migration, types, challenges and consequences of migration in India. Rural-urban migration plays a significant role in the present-day context. The current study examines the comparative status of migrants in urban India, and seasonal and long-term migration in different streams. It also ascertains how the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005) can impact rural migration in rural India. The study is based on secondary data collected from various published sources and government records. This study can help in an understanding the present status of rural-urban migration in Indian society. The study can assist in the development of rural-urban migration at grass-root level.