The Provision of Information to Adults in Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, by Non-Governmental Organisation

Abstract

Information has been recognised äs an important factor in the development process. However, little Information is available in the published literature on how Information is or should be provided to adults in a developmental context. To gain some understanding of how Information is provided to such adults, interviewe were held with twenty-two representatives of non-governmental organisations working in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. The study, which falls within a broad qualitative methodological framework, found that Information provision was largely a participative, Interactive process in which the oral or verbal method predominated. While other methods of Information provision were used, they played, for the most part, a supportive role. Implications of the findings of the investigation for library and Information Services in a rural context are briefly discussed.Athol Leach is in the

Illegal hunting and protected areas: Tourist perceptions on wild animal poisoning in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

“…However, despite the dominance of newspapers and internet in conveying conservation information, the word of mouth was also highly rated as information medium, supporting Leach (1999) who found out that the oral method of information provision still predominates.…”

investigation into the processes used in the production of printed health messages in South Africa

“…Mediums used or considered for use included electronic media, radio, drama and road shows, as well as television and newspapers. It was interesting to note that, in general, the interpersonal approach as manifested in workshops, community mediums and demonstrations was a popular approach to combine with the printed medium, which supports the view that the oral approach is well suited to the oral tradition of some of Africa's communities (Leach, 1999;Sturgess & Neill, 1998).…”

“…Yet, in spite of the fact that "3 million adults …are completely illiterate, … 5 to 8 million are functionally illiterate … (and) tens of millions of South Africans (who) are aliterate" (Sisulu, 2004), the printed medium is often preferred in health communication campaigns (Leach, 1999;Snyman, 2001;Morris & Stillwell, 2003) in South Africa. This unjustified reliance on printed media messages in South Africans has, for example, been addressed by Carstens & Snyman (2003) and Collinge (2005) in their reports on the Beyond Awareness Campaign and the Khomanani Campaign respectively.…”

“…Effective communication processes are those that include and invite audience participation. A lack of participation or involvement of the target audience in the process used to develop health messages is often suggested as an important reason for the failure to communicate health messages effectively (Doak, Doak & Root, 1996;Leach, 1999;Coulson, 2002;Quakisa, 2003;and others).…”

Local information upload strategy in building up rural community information pages on the Internet: An approach to attending the information needs of rural Sri Lanka

“…Mchombu (1995) views information as a product that reduces uncertainty and assists in decisionmaking. According to Leach (1999), information assists in empowerment and capacity building.…”