Social support as sustainability factor in food security of single-mother households in rural South Africa

Abstract

Summary

Single-mother households in rural communities are economically and psychosocially vulnerable and experience dire food insecurity. Single motherhood presents with a diminished quality of life and economic, logistical, and societal challenges, and single mothers are more likely to be under-educated, unemployed, or employed in low-income positions. Historically, single-mother households have struggled to make ends meet, and in the event of an unforeseen drop in income, these households rarely have assets to draw on to safeguard their families. Developmental social work taps into strengths within the client and their ecosystem to help them during crises. This qualitative study explored whether tapping into kinship and non-kinship social support networks enhances food security in single-mother households. This study used a once-off semi-structured interview with 16 participants living in rural Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, to collect data. Data was then processed using thematic analysis.

Findings

Underscored by the philosophy of Ubuntu, the findings reveal that South African single mothers make extensive use of social support networks to ensure food is available on their tables. Our data reveals a pattern where women use the strengths in their environments, especially their social capital to overcome food insecurity.

Application

It is recommended that social workers help single mothers establish strong organizational, kinship and non-kin support networks to reduce vulnerability to poverty in times of shocks and health crises.

Background to study

Single-mother households have relevance in the field of social work as their households are more vulnerable to poverty, economic insecurity, and psychological stress (Karunanayake et al., 2021; Ma & Sebastian, 2021). These households often struggle financially due to insufficient income, lack of financial services, and limited liquid assets (Ma & Sebastian, 2021; Martin-West, 2019). Single motherhood presents with a diminished quality of life and economic, logistical, and societal challenges, and single mothers are more likely to be under-educated, unemployed, or employed in low-income positions (Callaghan et al., 2021; Nor et al., 2020). Historically, single-mother households have struggled to make ends meet, and in the event of an unforeseen drop in income, these households rarely have assets to draw on (Richard, 2021). Such an unexpected drop in income occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most children in sub-Saharan Africa will be parented by single mothers at some time (Ntoimo & Mutanda, 2020). In South Africa, 42% of children live in single-mother households (Statistics South Africa, 2019). High levels of premarital childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa account for as many as 50% of births in women aged between 12 and 26 (Callaghan et al., 2021). Single mothers are often marginalized and overlooked while requiring specialized psychosocial and economic support (Richardson & Harrington, 2022). This is true, while they need more support than families with two parents present. Social workers are essential in determining how existing support structures can be changed to better assist these families (Martin-West, 2019). Social workers must understand how single-mother households maintain sustainability. Viewing single-mother households through the lens of developmental social work and sustainable livelihood approach can render essential data to assist social workers in better service delivery to single-mother families (Fitshane, 2020; Mmola, 2021).

This sustainable livelihood approach is grounded in the developmental social work approach, which leans toward a human rights and social justice-focused policy while utilizing available strengths in clients’ ecosystems to improve their economic and psychosocial functioning (Natarajan et al., 2022). Household sustainability refers to the household's ability to adjust to its physical, social, economic and natural environments by focusing on livelihood capital to protect the household from shocks during times of crisis (Cui et al., 2024). According to Kretzmann and McKnight (1993), household sustainability entails five assets to sustain livelihoods: Social capital, natural capital, physical capital, financial capital, and human capital. Relevant to this study, we focus on the role of social capital in household sustainability. Social capital is defined by Herrero (2018) as the advantages and resources that are provided by relationships between individuals. Good social capital entails strong, frequent interpersonal relations that promote trust, cohesion, and commitment (Herrero, 2018). The definition of social support and social capital intersect as both refer to close ties with friends, family, and neighbors (Martin-West, 2019; Pillay, 2020). From a sustainability point of view, the purpose of these close ties would be to assist the family from an emotional and instrumental angle to survive and thrive. This notion of the importance of social support and relationships in the sustainability of families reminds us of the values underpinning the indigenous philosophy of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an indigenous African philosophy highlighting the interconnectedness of all things and beings (Chigangaidze et al., 2022). It reminds Africans of our collective identity, the oneness of individuals, and the value of interpersonal relationships (Chigangaidze et al., 2022). It is rooted in the saying, “I am a person because you are, I am because I share and participate,” and “I am because of others.” It is grounded in compassion, empathy, sharing, and communitarian values with the eye on communal well-being rather than individual wellbeing. With this philosophy in mind, we investigate the role of social capital in assisting single mothers in food-insecure situations. Studies have found that kinship and non-kin social support networks can provide single mothers with both emotional and material support in the form of loans and places to stay and assist in ensuring that the basic needs of the family are met (Domínguez & Watkins, 2003; Pillay, 2020). Domínguez and Watkins (2003) highlight that healthy reciprocal social relationships are essential in sustaining low-income single-parent households. Reciprocal relationships refer to a pattern of mutual helping among community members (Törrönen, 2017). Reciprocity is based on equality and creates a sense of companionship, friendship, and solidarity among people (Törrönen, 2017). According to Törrönen (2017), reciprocal relationships positively affect a community's collective well-being and are a prerequisite for a caring democracy. Despite the clear potential of social support networks to assist single mothers in their day-to-day survival, Callaghan et al. (2021) found that most participants in their sub-Saharan study lack external support and prominent self-reliance as a mechanism to survive. Unfortunately, over-reliance on the self and a lack of external support in the life of a single mother creates mental health challenges (Youngblut et al., 2000). A lack of external social support, aggravating unemployment, and financial hardships in single-mother households contributed to family food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic (Youngblut et al., 200).

Food security is an integral part of a family's sustainability. It can be defined as a family always having adequate quantity and access to nutritious food (Giller, 2020). On the other hand, food insecurity refers to the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate, safe food (Zekeri, 2020). The causes of food insecurity are a lack of access to food, high food prices and a lack of stable employment in families (Madhavan et al., 2021). In sub-Saharan Africa, 52% of the population are moderately food insecure (Giller, 2020; Madhavan et al., 2021). Food insecurity disproportionally affects those living in rural areas (Zekeri, 2020). Studies found that children who live in food-insecure households have a lower-quality diet, reduced intake of micronutrients and an increased intake of energy-dense but nutritionally poor food to suppress hunger (Aggeli et al., 2022).

The main objective of this study was to investigate the role of social capital in the form of kin and non-kin social support in sustaining food security for single-mother households in rural South Africa. This was done by four sub-objectives which was investigating the status and management of household expenses, food security and well-being, and the impact of COVID-19 on participants.

Methodology

Context of the study

The study was conducted in Mbazwana, which is a rural village in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. The total population of Mbazwana is 7083 people, with 98.8% of the inhabitants being Black African. 93.8% of individuals in Mbazwana speak IsiZulu and the median age is 21.5 years old (Corbane et al., 2018). Although no statistics are available for Mbazawana specifically, the Province of Kwa-Zulu Natal registered 26515 pregnancies in girls between 10 and 19 in a 9-month period (Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Health, 2023). The general household survey of Statistics South Africa documents that 46.9% of households in Kwa-Zulu Natal are single female-headed households and that single female-headed households are 7% more prevalent in rural than urban areas. Another study conducted by Mqadi (2020) in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal found that most young single mothers do not receive financial support from the fathers of their children and depend on child support grants from the government to raise their children. Mqadi (2020) also notes that there is a common pattern in South Africa where fathers have very little involvement in raising their children.

The research process

Qualitative methodology was deemed appropriate to meet the objectives of this research. Marlow (2023) stated that: “qualitative methods enhance the understanding of people and the environment they live in, giving a clearer picture of what people go through and how they make meaning of their life.” In particular, the researchers applied an interpretive design to understand the support networks and coping strategies of single mothers residing in Mbazwana.

Ethical considerations

The University of Johannesburg provided ethical clearance in June 2019 to conduct this study. This article reports on one sub-set of data from the broader study, which aimed to explore the relationship between single mothers, state cash transfers and the economic well-being of these familiesduring the COVID-19 pandemic.

Selection of participants

The selection of participants followed a purposive process where 16 single mothers were selected. The researchers requested a list of single mothers who received services from a local NGO providing social work services to residents in Mbazwana. This list was provided to researchers with the permission of the clients. The list was safeguarded on a password-protected laptop at all times. After doing the initial interviews the researcher reverted to snowball sampling to find more participants. Snowball sampling is called “chain referral” until an adequate number of participants is obtained (Blanche et al., 2006). The advantage of this sampling method was that it allowed the researchers to understand and utilize the existing social networks of the women in the community (Marlow, 2023). The initial purposive sample of eight participants were referred by the social worker from the records at the NGO, who invited the women for an interview to clarify the purpose of the study and gain permission to participate. Subsequently, in line with linear snowball sampling each single mother referred one other single mother who resided in Mbazwana and was willing to participate in the study. The research team interviewed 16 single mothers. The inclusion criteria were that these mothers were heads of their households, willing to participate in the study, resided in the area for more than two years, and cared for children under 18 without a spouse or partner living with them. Two social workers were employed to conduct the interviews with the women. Both the social workers worked for a local NGO who provided services in the area under investigation. This prolonged engagement with the single mothers served to enhance the credibility of the data as the mothers had an established trust with the social workers.

Data collection process

One semi-structured interview was held with 16 single mothers. The semi-structured interview allowed the researchers to clarify the study's purpose and objectives and explore whether the women were willing to share their life stories (Marlow, 2023). Secondly, it provided the platform to engage the women in understanding their biographical profiles and experiences within the broader socio-economic and gendered framework. The semi-structured interview schedule was divided into four main themes aligned to the objectives. These sectors are household expenses, food security and well-being, and the impact of COVID-19 on the household. Questions in each area were open-ended and allowed for rich and deep exploration into the living experiences of each participant. Each life story collected during the interview provided insight into how single mothers living in an impoverished community with high levels of unemployment, crime, and poverty had a profound impact on their survival experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics covered in the interview included primary sources of support systems, challenges faced and coping strategies for survival. The use of open-ended questions allowed for probing and clarity about the single mothers’ life experiences and coping strategies.

Each interview session was one hour long. Since this study presents the findings from a small sample of 16 women, the results cannot be generalized. However, the rich descriptive details shared by the participants about their experiences enhanced the trustworthiness of the findings (Blanche et al., 2006). The researcher enhanced the study's credibility through member checking, which allowed participants to clarify their intentions, correct any possible errors, and provide additional information when necessary.

The interviews were conducted in isiZulu by both social workers, who were fluent in the local language, so there were minimal errors when transcribing the interviews into English. Furthermore, several supervision meetings were held to peer review the transcripts, enhancing the data's credibility and trustworthiness.

The data from the literature (Blanche et al., 2006) and sustainable livelihood and social development theory were thematically analyzed. Clarke and Braun's (2017) five-step framework guided the analysis. The first step comprised preliminary data exploration: the researchers transcribed the interviews using audio recordings. The second step entailed coding the data. Saldana (2014) defines a code in qualitative research as “short words or phrases that symbolically assigns a summative, salient, essence capturing evocative attributes for a portion of language-based or visuals.” The researchers referred to the transcribed interviews and then segmented and labelled the text. The third step involved the use of similar codes to develop preliminary themes. Step four included connecting the interrelating themes and aligning them to those that were either common or different. Step five focused on synthesizing the findings into three key themes, forming this article's central premise and the discussion below.

Biographical profile of participants

This section aims to convey the participants’ biographical profiles to properly contextualize the study participants. All participants were single mothers living in rural areas. These single mothers were the only adult responsible for earning an income in the household. The average amount of people living in these households was 6.3 people. The participants ranged between 21 and 80 years old, with an average of 2.6 biological children and 1.26 grandchildren in the household. In South Africa, 42% of all children live with only their mothers. Less than one-third of Black children live with both their parents, compared to 86% of Indian children and 79% of white children who live with both parents (Children Count, 2023; Statistics South Africa, 2023). In KwaZulu-Natal the percentage of children living with only their mothers was 21.9% in 2002 and rose to 24.8% in 2022 (Statistics South Africa, 2023). Children in the poorest 20% of households are least likely to live with both their parents (Children Count, 2023; Statistics South Africa, 2023). In 2019, 56% of South African children lived below the upper-bound poverty line (Children Count, 2023; Teuteberg & Benjamin, 2023). This problem is at its worst in rural areas, where 76% of children live below the upper-bound poverty line (Children Count, 2023; Teuteberg & Benjamin, 2023). The Umkhanyakude district in which Mbazwana is located has the province's highest child acute malnutrition fatality rate. One in every ten children admitted to hospital for malnutrition does not survive (Daily Maverick, 2020). When this data was collected, the upper-bound poverty line in 2022 was R1417 per person per month (US$ 77) (Statistics South Africa, 2022). Children below the poverty line live in food-insecure households. Food insecurity in children is associated with less diversity in diet, a reduced intake of nutrients and an increased intake of high-energy, nutritionally poor food items (Aggeli et al., 2002). It is recorded that in Kwa-Zulu natal 753 000 households went hungry in 2018 (Daily Maverick, 2020).

All participants were recipients of the Child Support Grant, which was R 480 / US$ 26 per child per month at the time of data collection. All participants received at least one other state social support grant from the government with some households receiving accumulative income of about R4860 (US$ 260) per month. In South Africa, 13 million children receive child support grants (SASSA, 2024). Our data reflects that 70% of this income is spent on food. This correlates with other studies that found that most of the Child Support Grant income is spent on food (Children Count, 2023; Hochfeld, 2022). While most studies highlight the Child Support Grant's positive direct and indirect effect on households and caregivers (Hochfeld, 2022), it has been found that it does not affect the risk of depression or life satisfaction for its recipients (Garman et al., 2022). Silondile et al. (2022) have found that despite its success as a poverty relief program, the Child Support Grant has little effect on the prevalence of growth stunting amongst South African children. This means that to stretch the grant money, caregivers buy cheap, high-energy, low-nutrition food to prevent hunger.

Only 43% (7) of our participants earned additional income from the grant money they received.

This income was from participation in the informal economy or income supplementation from family members or romantic partners. Income from these alternative sources ranged between R0 and R1000 per month. Only one out of our 16 participants was formally employed and made a predictable income in addition to government grants. Of the 64.3% of South African women employed, 14% participate in the informal economy and thus do not earn a predictable income (Teuteberg & Benjamin, 2023). Women employed in the informal economy were more likely to be exposed to vulnerable working conditions (Hall et al., 2023). These women are disadvantaged in accessing skills, education, resources, and professional networks (Teuteberg & Benjamin, 2023). Single mothers in informal employment will likely have to bring their children to work without proper shelter, toilets, water, or garbage collection (Teuteberg & Benjamin, 2023). In South Africa, a lack of service support and appropriate policy frameworks for the informal economy means that authorities and employers are not responsible for engaging with these issues (Horwood et al., 2021).

Participants’ education levels varied between no education and a Grade 12 qualification. Four out of our 16 participants (25%) had a grade 12 qualification, and four (25%) of our participants reported to have had no schooling. Statistics SA (2022) found that 35.7% of South African women with just a matric qualification were likely to be unemployed and that low literacy levels have a correlation to unemployment.

Discussion of the findings

Food insecurity

The thematic analysis of participants’ responses tells a story of financial struggle, food insecurity, and resilience of the individual or family in managing these challenges through various coping strategies, primarily through solid social support networks. The recurring concern about having enough food for the month is a central theme in data obtained from most participants. This is confirmed by Van der Berg et al. (2022), who state that poverty often manifests through poor nutrition and hunger. References to visiting neighbors for food, borrowing groceries, and using credit at nearby shops demonstrate a persistent issue of food scarcity and the use of social capital and innovation to achieve sustainability. In 2018, a quarter of South African households reported food insecurity or running out of money for food by mid-month (Van der Berg et al., 2022). Households affected by HIV/AIDS have been found to compromise their resilience and sustainability in a desperate need to avoid food insecurity. They do this by selling assets in exchange for food, engaging in risky sexual behavior, taking children from school and shifting to less profitable crops (Kaschula, 2011). Von Grebmer et al. (2022) in Von Grebmer et al. (2023) notes that people who are food insecure often negotiate by buying cheaper, non-nutritious food, shrinking portion sizes or skipping meals. Food insecurity hurts mental health, leading to physical, psychological, and social stress (Na et al., 2019). Piperata et al. (2020) document that mothers who live in food insecurity have a 42% higher level of psychological distress than those in food-secure households. Food insecurity creates significant mental strain, especially in mothers who must provide for their children (Piperata et al., 2020). Being food insecure also predisposes children from these households to malnutrition and stunted growth. In 2017, it was found that 27% of South African children under the age of five have stunted growth (Van der Berg et al., 2022). Almost a third of South African children who die are severely malnourished (Van der Berg et al., 2022). Malnutrition raises the likelihood for these children to develop infections and die (Van der Berg et al., 2022). Our data repeatedly confirms that mothers often stay hungry to have enough food, so the children do not go hungry. Van der Berg et al. (2022) also confirm that more than 25% of parents go hungry to shield their children against hunger.

While it was found that the Child Support Grant alleviated hunger, it did not improve the statistics on stunted growth (Van der Berg et al., 2022). This indicates that poor children are often fed bulk energy-rich carbohydrates with little nutritional value (Van der Berg et al., 2022). The reliance on food parcels also underscores the food insecurity in the household. The following are some of the experiences shared by the women:

Participant 13: “Yes, but sometimes we do not have enough food. However, my family receives food parcels from Lulisandla Kumntwana monthly and adds to my Child Support Grant money and also from my boyfriend sometimes.”

Participant 7: “Yes, it always happens that the family struggles to have enough food for the month. To manage the situation, the family asks for assistance from extended family members who are doing better in life financially, and they are always willing to assist.”

Lulisandla Kumntwanna, mentioned by Participant 13, is a Non-Governmental Organiation that provides practical, emotional, and spiritual support to orphaned and vulnerable children in Kwa-Zulu Natal. It is an example that confirms how developmental social work intervention has a clear and urgent role to play here in assisting these and other rural-living single mothers to achieve sustainability by utiliing their ecosystem's strengths. Through this study, social capital emerged as a strength, shielding participants when needed. The extent to which these single mothers lean on family and community structures to help their families in food insecurity resonates with the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which entails collaboration, care, and empathy for one another, as well as taking responsibility for one another's welfare. This is an important strength for social workers to build on and utilie in service delivery to obtain sustainability for these food-insecure families.

Financial struggles and income loss

All the women in the interviews stated that they experienced financial capital struggles, which had implications for food insecurity. The reliance on the Child Support Grant was the primary consistent income the mothers could rely on to put food on the table. Access to social protection through cash transfers from the state pushes people to seek ways to live with dignity (Koenane, 2019). The Child Support Grant seems to meet Ubuntu as the second factor contributing to these families’ stability, survival, and sustainability. At least some of the needs of these families are predictably covered by a dependable grant paid monthly. From a social work policy point of view, implementing the Child Support Grant and other grants from the government makes a difference between survival and starvation. Social workers should endeavor to make it an easy process for single mothers to apply for and receive these grants as needed. Grants represent another external factor that serves as a strength and supports families. From a developmental social work point of view, participants must receive guidance on how to utilize these grants best and promote the sustainability of families. Grant provisions make credit from local stores possible, as seen in Participant 11 below.

Participant 11 can also be quoted as depending on tuck shops for support: “Yes, there is a time when we struggle for food used up before the end of the month. We go to the nearby tuck shop, take groceries, and pay when I receive the grant at the end of the month. ”

Participant 5: “Yes, I do struggle and end up borrowing money from my neighbour, knowing that I will pay it back upon receiving my Child Support Grant.”

Tuckshops, as mentioned by Participant 11, are a frequent phenomenon in poor communities. Unfortunately, food present at these tuckshops is rarely fresh and healthy and mostly consists of refined carbohydrates, fats/oils, processed meats, and snacks (O’Halloran et al., 2021). Like Participant 5, many other participants noted getting to a point every month where they had to borrow money from neighbors and family to buy food. Participants depend on their friends, family, and neighbors to borrow money and report making credit at local shops to cope with food insecurity.

Like with Participant 11 and other participants, it is a frequent occurrence in rural areas that participants take credit from local tuck shops when they do not have money for food at the end of the month. This indicates that, typical of Ubuntu, even small businesses show communal care and responsibility for these families and that assisting one another in a time of need is not limited to family and extended family.

While the above underscores the constant financial struggle to be food secure, it also highlights the theme of social and community financial support in trying to cope with poverty and food insecurity. However, social support in fighting food insecurity and poverty continues beyond financial assistance from family, neighbors, and tuck shops. Developmental social workers should endeavor to guide clients on how to manage credit responsibly and budget their money to ensure that credit does not compromise the sustainability of families even further.

Another strategy, rooted in social capital which participants also made use of to achieve sustainability and food security, is stokvels.

To quote Participant 12: “No, I do not worry about having enough food because if the food gets used up, we borrow the money, but not every month. If it is our turn for a stokvel payout, we will cover many things in the household.”

Stokvels saving schemes

As mentioned by Participant 12, a Stokvel saving scheme is a social and financial support strategy that many participants mentioned to ensure food security, is participating in a stokvel. It is a savings and investment strategy that helps cover household expenses in times of crisis or emergency and without paying exorbitant interest rates to banks. All the members contribute to a pool of money every month and get a payout when it is their turn. It is an informal social structure between individuals who trust each other and share a mutual agreement to make monetary contributions to a common pool (Koenane, 2019). Stokvels assist individuals in saving money in a disciplined manner despite living from hand to mouth (Koenane, 2019). The concept of Stokvel is underpinned by the philosophy of Ubuntu, which highlights that unity between human beings is solidarity and strength. Stokvels can thus be understood as a typical African way of communal engagement in material well-being, promoting community above self-interest (Koenane, 2019). This cooperation and collaboration resonates with the solidarity economy and which contrasts Western economic models grounded in neoliberal competition and individualism (Koenane, 2019). Stokvels is how people interact with their communities and enable themselves to meet their psychosocial and economic needs. Just like in the lives of our participants, the literature highlights that stokvels empower women in particular (Koenane, 2019). Developmental social workers should take note of Stokvels as an important indigenous strategy that can use social interconnectedness and reciprocity to make families financially sustainable. Social workers should harness these indigenous strategies to intervene in impoverished single-mother families.

Direct assistance and borrowing from others

In line with the philosophy of Ubuntu, participants explained that they get direct assistance from neighbors, friends, and family through food provision and the borrowing of money. Families in this community seem to be willing to share their food with one another when needed.

To quote participants:

Participant 13: “Yes, I would eat sometimes at the neighbour's house, go visit, spend a few hours there till they eat, so I get dished for as well.”

Participant 12: “Yes, it usually happens to manage the situation. We ask neighbours who are extended family members to assist most of the time with stews.”

Neighborliness, as Participants 12 and 13 shared, highlights community support in times of need. This aligns with ubuntu, which underscores the values of care, compassion, sympathy, and sharing (Chigangaidze et al., 2022). Our participants do not mention feeling ashamed or hesitating to ask for help. Piperata et al. (2020) found that in maternal social networks in Nicaragua, asking for help was associated with reduced maternal distress in Food Insecure families, but due to stigmatization, seeking support outside the family was a last resort. This differs from our participants, who mention this reliance on their communities as a first resort in times of need and is a non-remarkable everyday occurrence. In South Africa, we relate human security with the principles of Ubuntu (Du Plessis, 2019). This means that communities have shared interests in each other, which stimulates cooperation, reciprocity, and integration. It can also be understood that in traditional, rural African societies, people depend on each other's goodwill and solidarity (Du Plessis, 2019). This might explain why nowhere in our data do we encounter a sense of hesitance to ask for help or fear of stigmatization for being food insecure among our participants. Our data on the critical role of social support in ensuring food security is confirmed by Kheswa et al. (2020), who explain that in rural South Africa, women join social activities in their area to build relationships to ensure there will be material assistance in times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and that this enjoys priority above earning an income. The interconnectedness of the material well-being of these rural women differs significantly from the experience in Nicaragua, where women are ashamed to ask for material assistance. Social workers should note this way of living as part of an African worldview, as sharing strengths through developmental social work intervention can make a big difference in the sustainability of impoverished communities where there is no material capital; social capital can make a very big difference in the sustainability of families.

The impact of COVID-19 on social support networks

Based on the interviews, it is evident that the situation of these single-mother households, who were already struggling with food security, became more dire due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While financially, they could not earn extra income due to lockdown regulations, they also lost family members who assisted in their struggle for food security. One participant also reported that she now takes care of more than her own children as she also had to take in her brothers’ orphaned children. Studies confirm that women suffered disproportionately more than men due to the pandemic (Ramparsad, 2020). The sectors where women tend to be employed were the most heavily affected by Covid-19. Adding to this burden, women had to attend to household chores and care for children who were out of school, limiting their movement and ability to earn an income (Chitiga et al., 2021; Ramparsad, 2020). Having children out of school and taking care of them while social distancing from typical support structures like grandparents made the lives of women tough (Ramparsad, 2020). COVID-19 increased the vulnerability of already vulnerable single-mother households on every possible level (Chitiga et al., 2021; Ramparsad, 2020). To quote some participants:

Participant 4: “The pandemic affected us negatively as we lost some of the family members due to COVID-19, which led to profound changes in the financial condition of the family.”

Participant 1: “We suffered the loss of a household member during COVID-19, our grandmother, who we were dependent on at that time as her old age pension was the only source of income the family relied on. That left a huge gap, and it took a long time for the house's situation to improve.”

Participant 8: “The situation was very tough because I used to go to town to sell. There were also times when I was forced to stay indoors for two months only to rely on my child support grant from two children.”

As seen in responses from the participants above, COVID-19 has significantly impacted the availability of social support and care, which buffered these families against dire poverty in the past. Ramparsad (2020) found that the social grant system in South Africa was the only major social protection system that women could rely on for consistent income and to ensure food security due to COVID-19. The Ubuntu-based social support system that helps these families survive was removed due to lockdown regulations. Outside of the pandemic, our participants often resorted to help from neighbors, friends, families, and tuck shops to ensure enough food was on the table. In normal circumstances, our participants reported being innovative and creative in dealing with food insecurity through their social support networks. Data, however, indicates that being cut off from their social capital and enduring the loss of some members from their support networks had a negative effect on their well-being and made it more difficult for them to provide for their families. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the social support networks which usually carry single mothers became unavailable (Radey et al., 2022). Hertz et al. (2021) confirm that the pandemic caused a reduction in the way single mothers were able to rely on their social networks for support. In response to our question about how they managed to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, little of the resilience portrayed in earlier questions was present. Instead of explaining how they survived, they elaborated on the impact of the losses they suffered, how that gave way to a continued struggle and how hard the burden of responsibility was to be a single mother. This starkly contrasts with responses from outside the pandemic, which did not reflect such a sense of hopelessness. This infers that these single mothers depend significantly on the interconnectedness of Ubuntu and the power and security of their social networks. Removal from and loss of parts of these networks had a negative impact on the sustainability of these single-mother households.

Hence, social workers need to take note of the power and impact of the provision of social capital as a protective factor for African families in times of pandemics. Social workers should endeavor to develop and extend social capital and interconnectedness in African families and help them rely on the strength of one another to achieve sustainability.

Limitations of the study

Although the study used 16 participants, which satisfies the requirement for qualitative sample size, all participants stayed in the same rural area, and care should be taken to avoid generalizing the results.

Conclusion and implication for social work field practice

The 16 single mothers in this qualitative study experienced dire financial stressors in their quest to support themselves and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our data confirms the findings by Na et al. (2019) that in sub-Saharan Africa, the philosophy of Ubuntu places social support as a common and effective buffer against food insecurity. Ubuntu proves to be a factor which contributes to mental health and economic well-being among food-insecure single-mother families. The community, local businesses, neighbors, and extended family members play a crucial role in aiding food-insecure single-mother families during times of need. Community sharing of resources, eating at neighbors’ houses, receiving food from them, and even obtaining credit from the local spaza shop demonstrates a sense of community and mutual support.

As food security decreases, the positive effect of social support on mental health also increases (Na et al., 2019). This indicates that not only does social support help with material assistance, but it can provide food-insecure families and single mothers with emotional and instrumental support to help them cope better with their challenging situation (Piperata et al., 2020). Social support was found to be a protective factor against depression in food-insecure households in Uganda (Tsai et al., 2012). Social support was also found to reduce the impact of post-natal depression in food-insecure single-mother households in South Africa (Tsai et al., 2016). Empirical evidence in this study confirms that material and social support might come from close friends, family, neighbors, or even wider organizational networks like local Non-Governmental Organizations (Piperata et al., 2020). These relationships converge to become the social capital a single mother can use to shield her family against food insecurity.

Our participants live in rural areas where Ubuntu and a traditional lifestyle are more prevalent than modern urban areas. The findings of this study corroborate that of Kheswa et al. (2020), who put forth that Indigenous knowledge and experience, human capital, social capital, and natural resources are used as buffers to protect women and their children from vulnerability in rural South Africa. Our data also echoes the pattern in which women use the strengths in their environments, especially their social capital, to overcome adversity. Ubuntu highlights our human ability to accomplish things that we can only do if we do it with other people (Koenane, 2019). In situations where food insecurity is crippling, the women in this study echo that survival is indeed possible if they can rely on their social capital and make use of social support networks to help them to carry the weight of single motherhood.

In our investigation around COVID-19, it can be seen that when single mothers lose parts of their social support networks or get separated from them, it decreases the sustainability of their families and has dire emotional consequences on them.

As part of social development intervention, it is recommended that social workers help vulnerable groups like single mothers how to identify opportunities and join, maintain, and participate in social support networks to cope with the adversities that arise along with single motherhood. Social workers should take note of the power and impact of the provision of social capital as a protective factor for African families. Social workers should endeavor to extend social capital and interconnectedness in families to help them rely on the strength of one another to achieve sustainability. From a social work policy point of view, implementing the Child Support Grant and other grants from the government makes the difference between survival and starvation for communities like Mbazana. Social workers should endeavor to make it an easy process for single mothers to apply for and access grants as needed. Grants represent an external factor that serves as a strength and supports families.

From a developmental social work point of view, participants must receive guidance on utilizing these grants in their best interest and promote the sustainability of their families. Developmental social workers should endeavor to guide clients on how to manage credit responsibly and budget their money to ensure that credit does not compromise the sustainability of families.