160
P. Onyango and S. Jentoft
here depend exclusively on the Lake waters for their domestic use. They use
wood and/or charcoal as their main source of energy. Both villages are void of
any healthcare facility and residents therefore have to travel for about fi ve kilometers to access such services.
Kasheno village is located in an area where residents have to climb a steep hill in
order to access various services, including healthcare, schools and even the market
for their fi sh products. They have recently improved access to some of these services
by constructing a road and building a school. The road has improved the local public
transport system, which is comprised of motorcycles that transport residents and fi sh
products. Nyakasenge village, on the other hand, is located roughly 7 km away from
the main highway that leads to Mwanza, the biggest city on the Tanzanian side of the
Lake. The village is surrounded by fl at land, typically used for rice cultivation. The
Nyakasenge beach area also serves as the primary shopping area for local residents.
Nyakasenge consists mainly of fi shers who have migrated from different
communities around the Lake. Kasheno residents, on the other hand, are permanent
settlers who claim ownership to the land where they have built their houses. The
difference can even be seen in the type of housing in the respective villages. Several
houses in Kasheno are of a more permanent construction; they are made of concrete
bricks with iron roofs. In Nyakasenge, in contrast, the houses are made of unburned
bricks with iron roofs.
Governing Poverty Alleviation
There is no single way in which the poverty problem can be addressed in communities
such as those described above. The dif fi culty of alleviating poverty here lies in locating
the poverty problem that needs to be solved. For instance, in Nyakasenge fi shers understand poverty to mean the inability to use one’s hands, legs and head to solve poverty
problems. This perception of poverty raises the question of how many people are in the
state of not being able to use these capabilities to improve their lot. Thus the poverty
problem in Nyakasenge seems to be an issue of disability or perception of what that
means exactly in that situation. How then can either of the two be addressed?
Moreover, there is no certainty that a chosen strategy will meet expectations.
In reality, it is quite challenging for those in government and actors within the
NGO community, otherwise labeled, “the poverty alleviation governors”, to be
certain that conducted efforts are likely to be effective in tackling poverty – in
the short as well as in the long run. What has been witnessed, time and again, is
that the strategies adopted for poverty alleviation have rarely succeeded. For
instance, strategies to increase individual income as a means of addressing poverty have been implemented with some level of success, but have yet to yield the
expected results. Similarly, the success of other efforts, such as micro fi nance
programs, has yet to fully materialize. Ukerewe, a town near Lake Victoria
where these initiatives have been implemented, is a case in point. Poverty has
therefore remained a challenge.
P. Onyango and S. Jentoft
here depend exclusively on the Lake waters for their domestic use. They use
wood and/or charcoal as their main source of energy. Both villages are void of
any healthcare facility and residents therefore have to travel for about fi ve kilometers to access such services.
Kasheno village is located in an area where residents have to climb a steep hill in
order to access various services, including healthcare, schools and even the market
for their fi sh products. They have recently improved access to some of these services
by constructing a road and building a school. The road has improved the local public
transport system, which is comprised of motorcycles that transport residents and fi sh
products. Nyakasenge village, on the other hand, is located roughly 7 km away from
the main highway that leads to Mwanza, the biggest city on the Tanzanian side of the
Lake. The village is surrounded by fl at land, typically used for rice cultivation. The
Nyakasenge beach area also serves as the primary shopping area for local residents.
Nyakasenge consists mainly of fi shers who have migrated from different
communities around the Lake. Kasheno residents, on the other hand, are permanent
settlers who claim ownership to the land where they have built their houses. The
difference can even be seen in the type of housing in the respective villages. Several
houses in Kasheno are of a more permanent construction; they are made of concrete
bricks with iron roofs. In Nyakasenge, in contrast, the houses are made of unburned
bricks with iron roofs.
Governing Poverty Alleviation
There is no single way in which the poverty problem can be addressed in communities
such as those described above. The dif fi culty of alleviating poverty here lies in locating
the poverty problem that needs to be solved. For instance, in Nyakasenge fi shers understand poverty to mean the inability to use one’s hands, legs and head to solve poverty
problems. This perception of poverty raises the question of how many people are in the
state of not being able to use these capabilities to improve their lot. Thus the poverty
problem in Nyakasenge seems to be an issue of disability or perception of what that
means exactly in that situation. How then can either of the two be addressed?
Moreover, there is no certainty that a chosen strategy will meet expectations.
In reality, it is quite challenging for those in government and actors within the
NGO community, otherwise labeled, “the poverty alleviation governors”, to be
certain that conducted efforts are likely to be effective in tackling poverty – in
the short as well as in the long run. What has been witnessed, time and again, is
that the strategies adopted for poverty alleviation have rarely succeeded. For
instance, strategies to increase individual income as a means of addressing poverty have been implemented with some level of success, but have yet to yield the
expected results. Similarly, the success of other efforts, such as micro fi nance
programs, has yet to fully materialize. Ukerewe, a town near Lake Victoria
where these initiatives have been implemented, is a case in point. Poverty has
therefore remained a challenge.