Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Determination of the Socioeconomic Impact
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of socioeconomic contributions
derived from ARISE restoration projects and to examine the lessons learned.
Method
To evaluate the impact of job creation on the employees of the ARISE project, a sur-
vey using a semistructured questionnaire was conducted among ARISE employees in
four villages at four of the restoration sites. These villages (Hlomela, Ndindani, Ma-
payeni, and Vuhehli) employed 84 of the 323 ARISE employees in the greater Giyani
area. Forty-nine of the 84 (58 percent) were randomly selected to participate in the
survey. While all possible measures were taken to ensure the reliability of the re-
sponse, the following are some real constraints faced during the interviews: (1) illiter-
acy of many of the respondents, which created problems when estimating amounts of
any sort; (2) respondents influencing one another; (3) unwillingness to answer sensi-
tive questions; (4) a prevailing perception that it is honorable to provide socially ac-
cepted answers or the answers the respondent thinks the enumerator wants to hear;
and (5) problems with interpretation. In cases of uncertainty about the reliability or
interpretation of the data, the person who had compiled the information was asked for
clarification and the questions were rephrased until an understanding was reached.
Most of the survey was conducted during February 2007 when numerous visits to
the homes of the employees were made to improve the understanding of the system
and the interpretation of responses to the questionnaire. Based on these interviews,
observations, and interviewee responses, a list of lessons learned was compiled.
Results
The ARISE employees were asked questions about how the program was functioning
and how the program could be improved. Responses from these two categories are
provided in the following section.
DIRECT IMPACTS ON THE ARISE EMPLOYEES
To gain an understanding as to the socioeconomic impact of ARISE, respondents
were asked to reflect on how their lives changed as a result of ARISE. Some of the
most frequently mentioned problems highlighted by the respondents before they
joined ARISE were as follows (because many respondents mentioned two or more
problems, the numbers do not add up to 100 percent):
• Forty-nine percent mentioned some kind of social problem, such as feeling
lonely and having a lack of confidence.
• Forty-seven percent mentioned a shortage of some kind of resource, such as a
lack of money, food, and the ability to support themselves.
