NAME OF STUDENT :

MODULE NAME : COMMUNITY WORK PROJECT

MODULE CODE : SCK4806
TASK :
NAME OF COMMUNITY : MANKWENG
SUPERVISOR :
CONTACT PERSON :
NAME OF ORGANISATION : NICRO (MANKWENG)
YEAR : 2020
COMMUNITY PROFILE OF MANKWENG AND EXTENSION
PURPOSE OF THE ENGAGEMENT
The student’s purpose of engagement was to get to know the community from an inductive
manner for the purpose of identifying the community of Mankweng’s generative themes in
terms of their experiences, challenges, hopes, fears and concerns.
Name of people interviewed:

Community profile is a research report about all the information gathered, summarised and
analysed on everything that is known and understood about the community in which the
student, community worker or the concerned person present all the information that has
been collected including maps, grid and other techniques. In a community profile the
themes, concerns or issues that have emerged through interaction have to be analysed or
should include the discussion of the analysis results and actions that might be taken as a
conclusion of the report.
Introduction
The student contacted the relevant gate keepers in the community, Marygirl Skhosana
(councellor ward 26), Mr Mothiba Jack (ward 25 councillor), and Mrs Mehlape L (community
participant). As the councellors are employed at other places and due to the Covid-19
pandemic they were uncomfortable to meet with the student face to face but were able to
do the interview telephonically. Although the student did not meet the gate keepers, took
an initiative to speak to the community developer Mrs Mehlape who did not mind talking
face to face with the student contributed to the content of the profile and other information
provided here is obtained from the student’s knowledge as she is part of the community.
CONTACT MAKING
The student went to the councillor’s place of residence as they do not have offices were
they work from, introduced herself as a student social worker from unisa and further
explained the purpose of the visit. The student was nervous as she entered the residence as
she did not know how the councillors will react. The student felt at ease (proposition 6) as
the people were very welcoming, it can be said that a safe space has been created
(proposition17).
The student took initiative to do a broad-angle scan and an awareness walk followed by a
visit to several organisations offering social services to the community like Re a kgona drop-
in centre, Hlahlaganya drop in centre. The student used empathic appreciative enquiry and
listening survey technique to interact with community members in order to understand the
community member’s most pressing issues from their perception (proposition 2), also
respecting their views and identifying generative themes, communicating their
understanding of the themes tentatively to them. The process was very frustrating as
organisations were closed the student had to interview community members telephonically
and some were not able to talk at that time, the student had to call later.
The origin historical background of the community:
The community of Mankweng also called Sovenga and also known as Turfloop began back in
the 1970 with a population of just 1000 people residing in Unit A also called Zone 1, then as
time went on the community grew bigger to where it is now comprising of Unit A, B, C, D, E,
F, G extensions, Mamotetane and Hlahlaganya. Mankweng has been classified under
Capricorn district municipality lead by Polokwane municipality. It was the home town of the
late African National Congress Youth League, Peter Mokaba. The area is also featured in the
soapie Skeem Saam on SABC 1 and also featured in the Sepedi drama Bophelo ke semphego,
where some of the players came from and live in the community.
Geographical environment
The Mankweng area is located in the central part of Limpopo province and forms part of the
Polokwane local municipality. It is located approximately 30km to the north of Polokwane
city, the provisional capital city. It accommodates +-100 000 population. The community of
Mankweng is served by five connections from Ebenezer main pipe line and supplies water to
Mankweng unit A, B, C, D, E, F, G, Ga-Makanye and Ga-Thoka. The areas receive water
supply daily. A sewage outflow from unit A, B, C, D, E, F, G and the University of Limpopo is
treated as Syferkuil sewer treatment plant and the effluent discharged into Pou. The
Turfloop nature reserve is located in the east and it include the Turfloop dam.
Physical environment
Physical environment refers to the natural and man-made features of the community such
as mountains, rivers, buildings, soil and plants. The physical context contains strengths
(resources) and gaps (challenges) that may indicate unmet needs about which an action
group may take. (Schenck et al 2017:140).
Various facilities have been established in Mankweng, including the University of Limpopo,
Mankweng hospital, Mankweng police station, regional post office, Mankweng Magistrate
court office, library, shopping centre, Paledi mall and a sport complex. There are four taxi
ranks accommodating approximately 300 operating taxis and are supplemented by other
pick-up and drop-off points.
Political environment:
Political context as explained by Schenck (2017:142) refers to how society is organised and
to its power, authority and leadership.
The community of Mankweng is located in the central part of Limpopo province and forms
part of the Polokwane Local Municipality area of jurisdiction and specifically falls within
Polokwane Local Municipality which is one of five local municipalities in the Capricorn
District. The community has two political parties which is the African National Congress
(ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). The current ruling party is the African
National Congress (ANC). The community falls under ward 26 lead by Skhosana an ANC
activist under the leading political party in the community now. Skhosana together with
public participation are responsible for all public affairs of Mankweng and service delivery
required by the community. Whenever there are concerns or issues to be discussed the
councillor uses loud hailing and posters to mobilise the community members for the
meetings which are held at unit A community hall.
Mankweng and extensions are not located on tribal land, but some of the other proclaimed
portions of settlement still fall under tribal authorities, according to the information
received from the councillor. In terms of public property management, various external
public and private services providers are responsible for delivering services and
infrastructure within the study area.
With regard to safety and security, the community is serviced by only one police station
located in Unit A. The community has community police forums which maintain law and
order. If there are disputes, for example neighbour disputes or family disputes, the people
involved go to the police forum to resolve the matter before they can take it to the police or
social workers. The police forum implemented programmes that eliminate crime. There is a
need for satellite police stations as well as resources such as police vehicles, good
communication services according to the councillor. A large cemetery is located in the core
of the residential area in Unit E. emergency services comprise of fire and rescue and medical
services.
Economic system in the community:
Economic context provide information about the economic conditions of the dynamics of
the local economy. It provides resources and social security. Economy is concerned with
income, the processes of production, distribution and consumption of goods and srvices and
the required labour, capital, energy and management.(Schenck 2017:146). The community
of Mankweng consist of professionals, non-professionals, and also the self-employed
people. These professionals include teachers, nurses, police, social workers, lawyers,
soldiers etc. the community members are employed at surrounding areas of employment
like Mankweng hospital, Paledi Mall and Polokwane. The informal economic activities in the
community are spaza shops, taverns, supermarkets, transport which help others to be
employed. The community has a distinct classes as it consists of the high, middle and lower
class.
Community facilities
From analysing the availability and distribution of community facilities in the community, it
became evident that the majority of community facilities or social services are located in
Mankweng Township. The social services include Mankweng hospital, clinics, satellite
municipality office, the department of agriculture, Eskom, a police station, traffic
department, sports complex and a community hall.

The Socio-cultural environment (religious institutions, media and communication):

According to Swanepoel & de Beer (2016:21) social environment consists of institutions
such as the primary institution of family and secondary institutions such as schools,
churches, clubs and interest groups. Culture refers to the way people live and every aspect
of life, knowledge, values, traditions, habits, custom, for example, food and dress and
models of social organisation, Schenck, Nel and Louw,(2017:147). Local culture is an asset
that distinguish people and places from others (Swanepoel & de Beer 2016).
Religion
In every unit there are various churches of various religion which are of value to the
community, for example Dutch Reformed, Lutheran, Zion Christian Church, and Roman
Catholic Church etc. most of the community members are affiliated to the Zion Christian
Church. Some community members practice cultural activities as they believe in ancestral
worship while others are non-believers, who do not believe in religious practices or cultural
practices. The difference in belief system seem to form part of who they are as individuals
(proposition 1 & 8 and as a community as a whole and highlights the difference in the
people.
Social groups
The community has social clubs to help and support each other during funerals where they
arranged themselves in blocks according to where they are situated by contributing a
certain amount of money agreed upon, chairs, tables, tent, as well as a helping hand. There
are support groups for example HIV/AIDS support groups, women’s club.
Education
General education in Mankweng is low and from the community frame of reference is that
the education system provided by the government is not of good standard as learners find it
hard to enrol with universities such as Wits, while others see no use of furthering their
studies after matric due to unemployment (proposition 11a and b).
There are three primary schools and three high schools in the area. The community
comprise of University of Limpopo situated in unit A Mankweng and the Limpopo College of
Nursing situated in Mankweng hospital. There are also colleges such Pantagon College.
Sports and Recreation
The only formal and well-resourced sport and recreational facilities in the Mankweng area
are those located in the University of Limpopo which are used mostly the students of the
university and by other community members. There is a need for sports facilities. They are
two parks which are well maintained by the municipality and a library used to host
exhibitions and school debates, activities for children and educational awareness
campaigns. There are +-3 taverns in every unit of which the community use for socialising.
Psychological environment
Experiential context refers to how people perceive and feel about their context, these
include the positive and negative feelings, the past and present realities, future hopes and
fears. It is about people’s motivation and general self-confidence (Schenck 2017:148).
The community is faced with unemployment and are reacting to unemployment in different
ways, by looking around the community streets every corner in the area there is a street
vendor owned by a young person trying to make a living of which to others, the situation is
discouraging to see educated fellows staling around the streets with no jobs.
According to Thomas who has a BA Law degree from the University of Limpopo “going to
school is just a waste of time because you end up without jobless. This explains the truancy
in the community and the use of alcohol and drugs and this was supported by Mrs Mehlape
and the ward councillor that it also contribute to high level of crime in the community
because youth due to drop-outs and truancy end up engaging in drug and substance abuse
leading to house breaking and robbery, which is experienced by the community and poses
threat to the community as they no longer feel safe in their homes or feel safe when they
come late from work in the streets in the evening. But other youths still have hope that
things will change with time, like Thabo who cuts people’s hair and has a degree in teaching
said “is better than not having a qualification because once an opportunity comes things will
change for me who has a qualification.”
IDENTIFIED STRENGTHS AND SHORTCOMINGS
SWOT analysis
A SWOT analysis can either be highly formalised or informal procedures followed that take
only hours. The process involves gathering information about community which is the sifted
and sorted. An asset may be an item of value, a quality, condition or entity, a resources or
sources of strength (adopted from Louw. 2007:62-65 of Dorfman 1998: iii). Assets may be
persons, physical structures, natural resources institutions, businesses or formal
organisations.

Strength Weakness
 Infrastructure  Unemployment
 Land  Lack of trust in the public schools
 Electricity  Apathy
 Clean water  Truancy
 Sewage  Lack of space due to vendors
 Waste management
Opportunities Threats
 Land  Unemployment
 Education  Crime
 Construction(Expanded Public  Taverns
Works Programs,EPWP)  Availability and use of alcohol and
drugs

The community venn diagram

A venn diagram is a tool picture showing a set of things sharing common quality
demonstrated by shapes crossing over each other to show which qualities the different set
have in common. This helps to form a picture of who is involved and how they relate to one
another in a community (Swanepoel & de Beer 2016:223).

GRID OF GENERATIVE THEMES

Grid of generative themes is a method used for classifying information that is helpful to
develop awareness for the community. It helps to see where the problems link together and
how other aspects affects their values. It helps the community to see problems as structures
of society which control and dominate people’s lives.
Grid of Mankweng community

Mankweng timeline
A time line records the sequence in which history played out in an organisation, community
etc. by using a timeline with big national or international events as anchors histories and
force field analysis.

Force field analysis is a procedure used to provide a framework for looking at the factors
that influence a situation to major goals that a community has.

NATURAL ASSETS BASE

Natural resources found in the area

Assets Functions
Marula trees Traditional beer and shade for livestock
Hills and mountains For protection against foods and strong
winds.
Land For building property, farming and grazing
for livestock.
Sand Building of houses.
Thorn trees( Acacia species) Provide fire wood and grazing for sheep
and goats.

Physical assets base

Assets Function
Schools: both primary and high school Education services
High education and training: Education services
 University of Limpopo
 Limpopo college of nursing
 Pentagon college
Library Educational and research purpose
Health care facilities: Health services
  Mankweng academic hospital
 Clinics
Government institutions: Provision of multi-purpose government
 department of justice(Mankweng services
magistratre court)
 department of social development
 South African Police Services
 Department of education
 Department of agriculture
Churches: Roman Catholic, Dutch For spiritual needs
Reformed, Anglican, ZCC, etc.
Crèches For early childhood development
Drop in centres Orphanage centres
Home based centres Assist in the provision of medical and
health issues affecting households
Reservoirs Storage of water
Game reserve For nature conservation
Tar road Effective and smooth transportation

COMMON MEANS OF INFORMATION

People in the community use public phones to communicate with others but most people
prefer using their own cell phones. There is one radio station in the community which is
based in the University of Limpopo known as Radio Turf or Turf FM. There is +- 7 internet
cafes currently.
TRANSPORT
Mankweng community has four taxi associations, two for Polokwane commuters and two
for local commuters. The community members use buses and taxis as a mode of transport.
There are tarred roads in most of the streets.
HEALTH AND FAMILY PROBLEMS IN MANKWENG
Health problems in mankweng include HIV/AIDS, high blood pressure, sugar diabetes and
other illness related to old age.
SOCIAL PROBLEMS

 Unemployment/ lack of job opportunities

 Alcohol and substance abuse
 High rate of crime
 High rate of teenage pregnancy
FINANCIAL ASSETS BASE
Sources of income

 Salaries
  Wages
 Social grants (old age grant, child support grant, disability grant and foster care
grant).
There are financial institutions such as banks, cash loans and post offices and numerous loan
sharks( Mashonisa).
ECONOMIC INDICATORS IN THE AREA

SME categories Number

Hair salon +-30
Funeral parlour 03
Car wash +-30
Formal categories
Retail 25
Manufacturing 0
Other categories
Agriculture 1
Number of residential units 7
Number of market stalls +-50
Entertainment
Taverns 10
Bar lounge 03

SOCIAL ASSETS

Assets Functions
Stokvels Money savings
Burial societies Burial services
Women’s clubs For dealing with issues affecting women
Cultural clubs For practicing cultural values
Sports clubs(soccer, snooker) for sports and entertainment

EVALUATION OF THE PROCESS

Generative themes
The concern of the community seem to be ignored by government as people feel that
nothing is done about their situation, so they blame government as they believe that it is
the government’s job to create jobs for its people.

Unemployment was identified as the community’s pressing issue being the generative
theme, giving rise to all other issues such as crime, drop-out, alcohol and substance abuse.
The community together with the help of NGO’s in the community, police and policing
forums have been doing campaigns about substance abuse and drug abuse for example
campaigns such as Ngaope must fall campaign. Such campaigns developed from fear and
concern of community members who saw that most youth engage in drugs especially
ngaope which leads to crime. Several NGOs have been formed to deal with crime and to
decrease the rate of youth unemployment by keeping them busy by keeping them out of
the streets by offering extra mural activities. Also taxis members and other community
members formed a group called Motsweketsweke to deal with youth using ngaope and
those who do crime in the community.
What is working well in the community?
The community’s majority population is youth who are eager (strength) to get employment
or create employment, they could be empowered (developmental approach) to unleash
their skills and potential (strength based perspective) to create jobs for themselves. They
could use resources they have like land (strength-based in relation to ecosystem approach.
What can be done differently?
The community must be developed from the grass-roots level were the community
members are listened to and understood from their internal frame of reference and be
respected as capable human beings who have potential to resolve their own issues which
are perceived and described by them to be problems.
By who: the community worker together with the community must work together to enable
community members to deal with their situation.
Where: in the community were the community members stay (Mankweng).
How: through the application of professional values, various theories and looking at the
strength-based perspective, developmental approach, ecosystem and person-centred
approach.
When: whenever the community perceives itself to have a problem that needs a solution
and is ready to take action.
Why: so that the community can be empowered and motivated for them to be self-reliant
and are able to utilize their potential in a way that they will function effectively in every
situation they come across.
SELF-REFLECTION

Planning:
Date:
Time:
Purpose:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Grobler, H, Schenck, R. & Mbedzi, P.2013. Person-centred facilitation: process, theory and
practice. 4th edition. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
• Schenck, CJ, Louw, H & Nel H. 2010. Introduction to participatory community practice.
Pretoria: Unisa Press.
• Swanepoel, H & De Beer, F. 2016. Community development: breaking the cycle of poverty. 6th
edition. Cape Town: Juta.

STUDENT SIGNATURE………………………………………… DATE………………………………….

SUPERVISORS SIGNATURE……………………………………. DATE……………………………….