| Summary: | Income generating projects represent one strategy adopted by the
Department of Social Development to alleviate poverty and foster sustainable
development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of
beneficiaries of income generating projects regarding these projects and
whether the income generating projects run by the Development Centres in
the Sedibeng Region, Gauteng Department of Social Development were
perceived to be making any impact and were responding to the needs of the
poor. The research design for the study could be classified as qualitativedescriptive.
A sample of 20 participants was drawn from two Development
Centres. The sampling method for the study was partly purposive and partly
availability sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and
responses obtained from the interviews were analyzed using descriptive
statistics and thematic content analysis. The main findings that emerged from
the study were that participants appeared to have a clear understanding of
the fact that income generating projects represented a government strategy to
fight poverty, create jobs and uplift the standard of living of the poor.
However, most participants were dissatisfied with the lack of clearly defined
expectations, planning and monitoring on the part of the Department of Social
Development. Despite the fact that there were challenges and limitations
encountered by beneficiaries during implementation of the projects, the
Development Centre was perceived to be an effective service delivery model
for alleviating poverty and enhancing the quality of life of beneficiaries. The
conclusion drawn was that income generating projects conducted at the two
Development Centres seemed to be achieving their aims even though there
would seem to be room for improvement in terms of knowledge and skills
imparted and participation of beneficiaries in decision-making. These findings
are discussed in terms of their implications for Development Centres, the
Department of Social Development, social work practice and future research.
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