University of Nevada, Reno Encouraging Transformation In
University of Nevada, Reno Encouraging Transformation in Mfuleni: An NGO’s Influence on Health Citizenship A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology by Lynn E. Wagener Dr. Erin E. Stiles/Thesis Advisor August, 2015 Copyright by Lynn E. Wagener 2015 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE SCHOOL We recommend that the thesis prepared under our supervision by LYNN E. WAGENER Entitled Encouraging Transformation in Mfuleni: An NGO’s Influence on Health Citizenship be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Erin E. Stiles, Ph.D., Advisor Mikaela Rogozen-Soltar, Ph.D., Committee Member Greta de Jong, Ph.D., Graduate School Representative David W. Zeh, Ph.D., Dean, Graduate School August, 2015 ! i ABSTRACT Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) pride themselves in facilitating positive change within local communities across the globe. For anthropologists, they provide valuable sites for understanding community empowerment, societal change, and definitions of welfare and human rights. This ethnographic study examines how Community Care Workers at Afrika Tikkun, a child and youth development and primary health care NGO in South Africa, establish a sense of health citizenship for community members within the township of Mfuleni. By working predominantly with the primary health care employees of the NGO, observing and participating in their interactions, and conducting individual and group interviews, I explore how certain services provided by the NGO empower community members to become active participants within the community. Furthermore, this thesis reveals how health is situated in a grassroots, activist framework in order to influence democratic transformations in the “new” South Africa.
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