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SOCIAL CAPITAL of LIBERIAN REFUGEE WOMEN in GHANA: a MIXED METHODS STUDY by ALICE BOATENG (Under the Direction of Larry Nackerud

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SOCIAL CAPITAL of LIBERIAN REFUGEE WOMEN in GHANA: a MIXED METHODS STUDY by ALICE BOATENG (Under the Direction of Larry Nackerud SOCIAL CAPITAL OF LIBERIAN REFUGEE WOMEN IN GHANA: A MIXED METHODS STUDY by ALICE BOATENG (Under the Direction of Larry Nackerud) ABSTRACT This study examined the role and impact of types of social relationships or social capital on the well-being of Liberian refugee women, a vulnerable population, at the Buduburam camp/settlement in Ghana. The mixed methods design used was the Concurrent Triangulation Strategy (Creswell, 2003). The analysis combined quantitative data from the Integrated Questionnaire for the Measurement of Social Capital (SC-IQ) (Grootaert, Narayan, Jones & Woolcock, 2003), and qualitative evidence, from documents, one-on-one interviews, a focus group session, and photographs of the study setting. Questions that guided this research were: 1) What are the social capital resources and strategies that the refugee women use in securing and enhancing their livelihood? 2) What legal, socio-economic conditions, and collective identity constructs inform the livelihood of the Liberian refugee women? 3) What current Ghana government, UNHCR, Non-governmental, International Organizations’ practices empower versus oppress women in the camp? 4) How can the needs of the Liberian refugee women be better addressed by the stakeholders involved? The evidence presented in this study reveals that social capital is a low-level asset among the sample population. Though the women have some form of bonding social capital (relatively homogenous relations), they possess very little bridging (distant relations), and non- existent linking (connections to people in power) social capital. Bonding ties are needed to give a community identity and common purpose. Notably however, it is the extent to which people can call upon different types of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital that shapes their well-being. The Liberian refugee women studied in this study, and other refugee women, may benefit from policies and programs that seek to strengthen existing social capital, and also seek to create new social capital. Implications for social work practice are discussed. INDEX WORDS: Refugees, Liberian refugee women, Refugee camp, Social capital, Bonding, Bridging, Linking, International social work, Refugee policy SOCIAL CAPITAL OF LIBERIAN REFUGEE WOMEN IN GHANA: A MIXED METHODS STUDY by ALICE BOATENG B.A., University of Science and Technology, 1994 M.S.W., Washington University, 1999 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2006 © 2006 Alice Boateng All Rights Reserved SOCIAL CAPITAL OF LIBERIAN REFUGEE WOMEN IN GHANA: A MIXED METHODS STUDY by ALICE BOATENG Major Professor: Larry Nackerud Committee: Diane Napier Rufus Larkin Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2006 iv DEDICATION To my dear daughter, Afia, and my loving son, Kwame, for their patience and understanding as I pursued degrees abroad. AND TO The Liberian Refugee Women in Ghana, who availed themselves for this course, and whose voices speak loud and clear in this study. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!! v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many hands have pulled me along the way, to make this dissertation a reality. First, I would like to thank the Almighty God – the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent Father; the Alpha and the Omega, the Lion of Judah, the God of Love, who was on top, and in control of every situation I encountered, in course of this project, and in all my study endeavors. Fellow Worker, Faithful God, I did the human part, and you, the divine part. Ebenezer, this is how far you have brought me! Trinity God, I praise, and worship your majesty! My deepest gratitude goes to the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Larry Nackerud, Chair, your sense of humor, practical wisdom, generosity, patience, and intellectual understanding, to the course of this project, was invaluable. You saw no problem in my numerous issues, and in that way, you made life easier and more bearable for me, coupled with your late father and grandfather’s stories you shared with me. Sure, there is a limit to what any chair could do. But you did more than I could imagine. You successfully saw me through the dissertation process and the Ph.D. program as a whole. My God-given Chair and Advisor, May the Good Lord Richly Bless You! Dr. Diane Napier, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude, for the part you played in this success story: In the midst of the current problems at home in South Africa, your concern, and passion for this project overwhelmed me! I am so very grateful to you, for the thoughtful comments, guidance throughout the process, and the eagerness in seeing me through. Dr. D., you are surely an advocate for refugees and for me; I appreciate you! Dr. Rufus Larkin, you joined my dissertation committee at a very short notice. Yet you willingly accepted the task and helped to push this project forward with thoughtful comments and vi suggestions. Your encouragement, and belief in me, were additional assets. Fine scholar, I salute you! Also, I would like to acknowledge you, Dr. Kavita Pandit, for the suggestions you provided in course of this project. Thank you very much! Dr. Ed Risler, for the special interest you had in this project, and therefore taking time to guide me through the quantitative analysis section, I say thanks for the insightful comments, and support! A very special thanks is due to the management of the Buduburam Refugee camp or settlement in Ghana. Mr. John Thompson (Camp Manager), I appreciate your team and you, for giving me access to the camp, and for supporting this research on Liberian refugee women. I appreciate all the assistance and resources provided, that made my fieldwork at Buduburam a success. Additionally, I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Liberian refugee women, who willingly participated in this study, and the implementing partners in the field, who availed themselves to be interviewed for this project. God bless you all! I am also enormously grateful to my special friends: Dr. Mike A. Addo of KAMA Industries, Ghana; the brain behind my overseas studies: Mike, you and I have similar life experiences, and so you became my good friend, and my muse. I cannot enumerate all your assistance and support, here on this paper. Our people have a saying, that “Onyame bo onifuraeni a, obo ne boafo (When God creates a blind man, he equally creates his helper). It was therefore not by chance that I happened to know you. You are my inspiration, and I say Long Live KAMA! Dr. Lewis A. Boahene, it is great to have a friend like you in the U.S. Professor, I am grateful to you for the encouragement, guidance and suggestions. Thanks for being there for me all the time, and for answering all my questions. Now is the time for the brass band treat you promised. Thank you very much! To Insuk Kim, I appreciate your assistance in the SPSS data vii entry, and analysis. Edward Togbah thanks for helping with the transcription of the tapes. To the Church of Pentecost, U.S.A. Inc, Atlanta Norcross Assembly, one measure of our likeness to Christ, is our sensitivity to the problems of others. Thanks for your love and support through phone calls, prayer, and the Word of God. That went a long way to sustain me. God Richly Bless You All! To my friends in St. Louis: Jane, Natalie, Rose, Rita, Florence, and Mercy, and to you, Akua in Dallas, thanks for always being in touch through phone calls, to check on my dissertation and on me. To Rabi, I say thank you, for being there for me. I am also indebted to the University of Georgia School of Social Work, for assisting with funding for this dissertation project, and for its growing commitment to International Social Work. The school provided opportunities for me to expand my understanding of the immigrant/refugee area through teaching and research. Also, I am grateful to Kat Farlowe, the Ph.D. Program Specialist, for her invaluable secretarial support, and expert help with formatting this paper. Additionally, to my Doctoral Colleagues, I say thanks for your love and support! Finally, I wish to acknowledge my family in Ghana: My late father and my dear mother, you saw in me a great potential, and therefore decided from my infancy, that I was not going to join you on the farm, but was to go to school, and reach the highest that I could. At a time when people in our small Bomaa town held on to the belief that a woman’s place is the kitchen and the home, rearing children, you braved the odds, and pursued your vision. Your faith, hard work, resiliency, honesty, and sociability, among others, that you instilled in me, have brought me this far; making me the first woman PhD holder at Bomaa, and a college education that no-one can take from me. Papa, Mama, we have made it!! Additionally, to my Godmother, Teacher Lydia, thank you very much for helping me realize my dream. viii To my brother Dan and wife, much of the peace I had to live and study abroad, depended on you, holding the fort at home, on my behalf. Mr/Mrs. Obeng, “Onyame nhyira mo bebree!” (God Richly Bless You!). In addition, it takes good and obedient children, for a mother to reach this level. I acknowledge you, Afia. It was not by accident that you were named Patience at birth. My dear son, Kwame, you were my companion on the field, at the Buduburam camp. Thanks for all the tasks you performed to make this project a reality. To the two of you, and to Willie, my dear son-in law, I appreciate your love and support through phone calls, fascinating email messages, and prayers.
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