E A Burtt The Melaphysical Foundation o f Modern Science, Doubleday, Anchor Books, Nueva York, 1954, pág 95.

Three quarters of the single mothers identified their instrumental support needs as the need for jobs and the need for money to provide for themselves and their families. A quarter of the single mothers said that they did not have any instrumental support need.

5.5.2.1 Instrumental Support Available for Single Mothers at the Microsystems level

More than two thirds of the single mothers who were interviewed relied on instrumental support from their family members. This took the form of accommodation, food, child care and other material support. A significant number of fathers provided instrumental support to single mothers. Less than one third received no instrumental support from their families as they were the ones providing this support.

Slightly more than half of the participants received instrumental support from their friends. This mostly concerned financial aid which came through mutual aid societies and through lending each other money. Less than half did not get instrumental support from their friends because they did not have the kind of relationships that allowed for the provision and acceptance of instrumental support. The majority of the participants did not get instrumental support from their neighbours. The few that had instrumental support received it in the form of financial aid by lending each other money and assisting each other with food stuff when there was a need. The reason why the majority did not receive support from their neighbours was because the single mothers did not have close relations with their neighbours, which would have allowed for provision and acceptance of instrumental support.

Slightly more than half the participants belonged to a social group while less than half did not. Two fifths of the participants got instrumental support from social groups in the form of financial aid given when a member is going through challenges such as death of a family member. Close to one fifth had not had not yet received instrumental support from their social groups, but they knew that was

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available, should they ever need it. Unlike support from family, friend and neighbours, the instrumental support provided by social groups is provided when need arises, which happens once in a while and is therefore not provided all the time.

Based on these findings it is concluded that single mothers in Old Naledi have instrumental support needs in the form of jobs and money to provide for their families. It is also concluded that most single mothers received their instrumental support from their families, followed by friends, then from neighbours. It is also concluded that social groups would be a good source of instrumental support for single mothers if all of them were to become members of these.

5.5.2.2 Recommendations

There is need to assist single mothers in their instrumental support needs, especially with jobs and financial aid.

The community leadership, social workers and other stakeholders should encourage single mothers to join social groups so that they can have access to the social support that these groups offer.

5.5.3 Informational and Appraisal Support Needs

All the single mothers indicated that they have informational and appraisal support needs. These needs were identified as the need for information about job opportunities and government initiatives aimed at empowering citizens, information on financial management, relationships and any general information that may be useful to them.

5.5.3.1 Informational and Appraisal Support Available to Single Mothers at the Microsystems Level

The majority of the single mothers said that their families provided in their informational and appraisal support needs. Different family members provided information on relationships, financial management and other useful information.

Three fifths of the single mothers said that they got informational and appraisal support regarding information on relationships; different opportunities; information on how they could improve their livelihoods; and general information in the public domain from their friends. Two fifths of the participants did not get any informational and appraisal support from friends. Unlike with emotional support, where only a quarter of the single mothers were supported, three fifths of the participants, therefore more than half, received informational and appraisal support .

The majority (more than half) of the participants did not get informational and appraisal support from their neighbours, while less than half of the participants got this support from their neighbours. The informational and appraisal support they received concerned current information and information from the public domain. The majority who did not get informational and appraisal support from their

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neighbours indicated that this was because their relationship with them did not facilitate that type of interaction.

One third of the single mothers indicated that their social groups provided informational and appraisal support. The informational and appraisal support provided was in line with the mandate of the group – youth groups provide information on youth-related matters whereas church groups provided information on church-related matters. A few who belonged to social groups had not yet received any informational or appraisal support from these groups. Close to half of the single mothers did not belong to any social group and therefore did not get this support.

From these findings it can be concluded that all the single mothers had informational and appraisal support needs which is needed for improving their welfare. The single mothers got most of their informational and appraisal support from their families and their friends and not from their neighbours. It can also be concluded that social groups are necessary for providing informational and appraisal support to single mothers regarding specific issues related to the mandates of those groups.

5.5.3.2 Recommendations

Informational and appraisal support should be provided to all single mothers on various topics depending on the needs of the mothers.

Single mothers should be encouraged to seek information from relevant bodies in order to meet their informational needs.

The community leadership, social workers and other stakeholders should encourage single mothers to join social groups in order to benefit from the support provided by these groups. The single mothers could join groups that would allow their needs to be met.

5.6 SOCIAL SUPPORT NEEDS OF SINGLE MOTHERS AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AVAILABLE AT THE MACROSYSTEMS LEVEL

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the social support available to single mothers, the study also explored the social support available to single mothers at the macrosystems level. The focus of this study was on the social support provided by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and that provided by government.