Browsing by Author "Milton, Nirvana"

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    The role of food aid during the COVID-19 pandemic in building community resilience to disasters : a case study from Stellenbosch, South Africa
    (2023-03) Milton, Nirvana; Waddell, Joy; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Centre for Sustainability Transition.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: The restrictions put in place by the South African government in an attempt to contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus has had negative consequences for South Africa’s food security. Civil society and lower-income communities have stepped up to fill the gap left by the government’s lack of planning for food security during the pandemic. Using pre-existing networks and relationships fostered between NGOs and communities in need, food was distributed through to food insecure individuals during the pandemic. Protracted disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic have long-lasting effects that burden communities and governments. There is a need to look at the impact of collaborative community, NGO and government partnered food aid initiatives on the urban poor and if it contributed to community resilience. It would also be helpful to look at the lessons learnt from these projects in preparation for future disasters and even for the ongoing pandemic. This research aims to assess the role of a food aid initiative in Stellenbosch, South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how it contributed to community resilience. This research sought to understand the COVID-19 lockdown impact on communities within the case study and how the communities addressed food insecurity during that time, and the role that the food aid initiative played in terms of strengthening community resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research also sought to identify key lessons from the food aid initiative in Stellenbosch to support ongoing or similar collaborative initiatives with the aim of building community resilience to future disasters, particularly protracted disasters. As this research is focused on individuals’ perceptions and experience of the food aid initiative a case study research design was employed, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with community members involved in the food aid initiative in Stellenbosch. It was found that the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic had negative socio-economic consequences for people as the national lockdown prevented citizens from going to work, businesses that could not afford to close their doors for a prolonged period of time had to shut down their businesses completely, and people lost their jobs due to these business closures. For individuals with jobs who were just able to afford to make ends meet, staying out of work or losing their jobs meant they would be in need of food assistance. The food aid initiative under study in this research was created out of this need. Now in 2022, COVID-19 national containment measures have been lifted but there are still individuals who face the lingering effects of the pandemic. NGOs were found to be trusted above the government when it comes to community development in communities in Stellenbosch. Community members trust NGOs more because they have positive reputations and pre-existing relationships with community members. This research found that resilience was seen to be built through the collaboration of private, public, non-governmental and community actors through information sharing, and by strengthening networks.