MEN NOT AT WORK
Men on the Side of the Road - South Africa

It’s a familiar sight in South Africa: hundreds of men standing by the side of the road, waiting patiently to be hired for casual labour. An estimated 100,000 people per day are to be found seeking work in this way, distributed among 500 roadside waiting centres. With unemployment in the country at 45 per cent, their wait is often in vain. It’s a practice corrosive to a man’s dignity. “Men on the Side of the Road” works to improve the job prospects and quality of life of the roadside labourers. A registration system has been developed to assess the skills and abilities of individuals as they wait for work. Training courses and job placements are offered – in partnership with qualified training partners – to enhance employability. The project has also started a tool-lending scheme to enable the unemployed to set themselves up in various businesses. Some 50,000 new and recycled tools have been donated so far in response to a public campaign – tools in poor condition are repaired by the unemployed themselves. Those who remain without work are encouraged to improve conditions at the waiting sites by building roadside toilets, shelters and wells. The achievements of the project have been recognised by the United Nations, which awarded Men on the Side of the Road its AGFUND prize for 2003.

What are they doing now

Men on the Side of the Road was set up to improve the job prospects and quality of life of roadside labourers in South Africa. The project has developed a registration system to assess the skills and abilities of individuals as they wait for work. It also offers training courses and a tool-lending scheme to enable the unemployed to set themselves up in various businesses.

Since featuring in World Challenge, the project has gone from strength to strength, increasing its placement days from 16,000 in 2006 to 75,000 in 2007 and exceeding its target to deliver 120,000 days to members in 2008. This success has been achieved on a less than five percent increase in overall expenditure over the three years.

The project now finds work for some 150,000 people every year, a huge jump from 2005. Project Director Charles Maisel admits there are still major obstacles to funding. But, he says, “We have been building over the last three years a more sustainable model and hope to see the fruit of this in the next five years, such as starting a co-operative and buying a share in a bicycle taxi company.”

Men on the Side of the Road has won several international awards including the CBI Ashoka award (for the tools project), the UN AGFUND award (for innovation in development), and the Echoing Green Fellowship 2004. Maisel believes that this recognition has come more through hard work than through TV and press coverage. “Publicity doesn't always translate into funding or other support,” he notes.

For more info see http://www.employmen.co.za/