Making an impact
by driving shared value
What it's about
First established in KwaZulu-Natal in 2015, the Abashintshi (isiZulu for 'change agents') programme includes life skills training for the youth, the Ifa Lethu programme for the elderly (protecting cultural heritage), holiday programmes for school children and Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). The latter is based on the premise that communities can drive the development process themselves by identifying and mobilising existing, but often unrecognised, assets.
2014
- Baseline research through community audit
- 587 individuals participated in research
2015
- Pilot project
- 18 Abashintshi in nine communities
- 3,558 community members reached
- Follow-up audit conducted to determine the effectiveness of social mobilisation
- 60 ABCD projects
2016
- Abashintshi project implemented on an ongoing basis
- 36 Abashintshi in 16 communities
- 13,524 community members reached
- 234 ABCD projects
2017
- 88 Abashintshi in 43 communities
- 57,497 community members reached
- 270 ABCD projects
- Data from 459 families in Abashintshi communities captured by Poverty Stoplight
2018
- 116 Abashintshi in 55 communities
- 92,988 community members reached
- 502 ABCD projects
- Data from 459 families in Abashintshi communities re-audited by Poverty Stoplight
February – October 2019
- 126 Abashintshi in 63 communities
- 40,446 community members reached
- 117 ABCD projects
- Data from 448 families in Abashintshi communities re-audited by Poverty Stoplight
Assessing the impact of the Abashintshi
The Abashintshi programme has had significant social impact across multiple dimensions and indicators, in all regions.
The Poverty Stoplight evaluation tool highlights the fact that through the ABCD training, community members are changing various dimensions such as income and employment as well as education and culture by starting new employment for themselves, while using life skills to improve their spheres of health and environment through emphasis on cleanliness and physical health and the Ifa Lethu cultural training to keep in touch with their cultural legacy.
A total of 448 families have been assessed over three years, with the chart below showing that over this time period, families are gradually moving out of poverty.
Income/earnings above the poverty line
Poverty Stoplight evaluates 50 social impact indicators including access to drinking water and quality healthcare, nutrition, personal hygiene, garbage disposal, alcohol and drugs, electricity, means of transport, schooling, capacity to budget and plan, cultural traditions and heritage, grouped into ‘buckets’ as set out below.
Income &
Employment
Health &
Environment
Housing &
Infrastructure
Education &
Culture
Organisation &
Participation
Interiority &
Motivation
Shared value impact
As people are lifted out of poverty in Sappi's surrounding communities, so community relations are improved, so there is less likely to be social tension and Sappi’s licence to trade is enhanced.