Empowering destitute people towards transforming communities

4.4Spiritual problems

4.4.1Spiritual poverty

Biblically, the idea of spiritual poverty is that of a characteristic which can occur among both the rich and the poor. However, when exploring possible causes for destitution, Meyers refers to the power of the spirit world, witchcraft and shamans and their “very significant contribution to making and keeping people poor” (Meyers, 1999:85). He explains this (perhaps from a slightly westernized viewpoint) in the following way: “Money is spent on charms for protection and time is lost to feast days, all in an attempt to manage these power relationships. Technical improvements are refused for fear of the reaction of ancestors or the spirit world.” (1999:86).
By default this would imply dysfunctional and broken relationships with God, each other, the community and creation. Meyers expands this point in arguing that the nature of poverty is fundamentally relational. “Poverty is the results of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, and that are not harmonious and enjoyable” (Meyers, 1999:86). “Sin is what distorts these relationships…When God is on the sidelines and written out of our story, we do not treat each other well.” He enquires,

Why does the poverty trap work as it does? Why are the poor denied access to social power? What is at the root of the web of lies and disempowerment that results? Why are there constraints to growth, with a group of people standing behind each limitation and restriction? Because of deceptive and dominating relationships, because we are unable to love God and neighbour, because of sin…Without a strong theology of sin, comprehensive explanations for poverty are hard to come by (1999:88).

4.4.2Personal sin and spiritual blindness

As Christian (1994:252) remarks, these refer to the impact of the fall and sin on individual human beings, as well as to the additional impact of deception by principalities and powers. The powerlessness of the poor is reinforced by the fear and deceit created by “the god of this world that has blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Cor. 4:4) and the “trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:26) (1994:252). In this way Christian affirms that it is not simply human beings, and the systems in which they live, that create and sustain poverty. There is a cosmic adversary which works against life (1994:252).
Maggay (1994:82) adds that “social action is a confrontation with the powers that be. We are, ultimately, not battling against flesh and blood, nor merely dismantling unjust social systems; we are confronting the powers in their social and cosmic dimensions”.

5Exploring “outside-in” issues

5.1Cultural problems

5.1.1Racism, racial discrimination and racial prejudice (Apartheid)

The racism that was integral to apartheid has not been erased in the few short years of our democracy. Racism continues to drive wedges in our society that undermine our national progress, advancement, and security (SACLA, 2003:5)
Poverty and unemployment cannot be separated from race. As Loots (1997:2) states, unemployment cannot be understood without reference to the dynamics of race and gender in South Africa. The gender distribution of unemployment indicates that the rate of unemployment is higher among women than among men. On average, 37,3% of all economically active women are unemployed in comparison with 24,6% of economically active males (Loots, 1997: 4). However, among African women the unemployment rate is as high as 46,9% (CSS, 1996:45). Concerning the racial distribution of unemployment, the highest unemployment rate occurs among Africans, where approximately 40% on average lack any formal or informal employment opportunity, while those percentages for coloureds, Asians and whites are 23,4%, 16% and 7,2% respectively (Loots, 1997: 4). These statistics demonstrate that unemployment displays definite racial and gender dimensions.
Living standards are closely correlated with race in South Africa, as illustrated in the above sections. While poverty is not confined to any one racial group in South Africa, it is concentrated among Blacks in particular. Many of the apartheid measures, including the extensive welfare system available to White people, the higher quality of education available to White students, and the formal and informal job reservations for White workers, were specifically designed to prevent poverty among the White population. Poverty among Whites is close to zero.
With Blacks comprising 77% of the population, the high incidence and severity of poverty amongst them ensures that they account for 95% of the poverty gap, with the remaining 3% largely accounting for the poverty among Coloureds, and only 1% each being shared by the Indians and Whites, respectively (Loots, 1997:5).

5.1.2Public apathy

Many researchers refer to public apathy as a contributing factor that sustains poverty and destitution (Hebden, 2007; Marsh & Vegeris, 2004; Dreze, 1997). The argument is simple: if the public were to become more involved in the fight against poverty and all its problems, this would go a long way towards the eradication of this blight on society. Alan Marsh (In Marsh & Vegeris, 2004:1), deputy director of the Policy Studies Institute, comments that society has always held a “default” attitude to poverty.
Bartle (2005:2-3) goes so far as to name apathy as one of the “big five” factors that contribute to and sustain poverty (the other four are disease, dependency, dishonesty and ignorance). He specifically discusses factors vs. causes, where a "factor" and a "cause" are not quite the same thing.  A "cause" can be defined as something that contributes to the origin of a problem such as poverty, while a "factor" can be viewed as something that contributes to its continuation after it already exists. (2005:2). He describes apathy as occurring “when people do not care, or when they feel so powerless that they do not try to change things, to right a wrong, to fix a mistake, or to improve conditions” (2005:3).
Apathy often goes hand in hand with ignorance; people simply do not know poverty or about poverty, especially in the developed world. This constitutes a form of denial, because “I don’t experience poverty or its effects, so it is not part of my world”. It also has to do with society’s attitude of superiority towards the poor, an attitude that promotes exclusion. There is a culture of categorizing people as “deserving” or “undeserving” of support.
The “War on Poverty declaration” (1998:1) signed by President Mandela and others addresses apathy when it avers that “All of society needs to be involved in the struggle for social development. The very fabric of our society, the soul of our communities, needs to be rebuilt. We need a new moral order based on ubuntu that brings compassion and humanity into our homes and neighbourhoods”.

5.1.3Gender inequality

Gender inequity contributes to the risk of people becoming destitute by hindering those with a specific gender from participating in good jobs with adequate salaries and opportunities. In South Africa (as in the rest of the world), women seem to be the victims of gender inequity.
Sexism (gender inequity) is a scourge affecting every aspect of South African life, and it not only leads to the underutilization of human potential but produces a level of violence and discrimination that tears apart the very fabric of our society (SACLA 2003:2).
Daley (2004), in an article published in the New York Times, remarks that the status of women in South Africa, the “level of sexism” as she calls it, astonished her in comparison to that in the USA. Some of South Africa's most prominent women, including Ramphela Mamphele (2005:1-2), who managed the University of Cape Town, argue that sexism is actually a bigger problem in Africa than racism.