TY - JOUR AU - Strydom, C AU - Tlhojane, ME PY - 2014/06/20 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - POVERTY IN A RURAL AREA: THE ROLE OF THE SOCIAL WORKER JF - Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk JA - SWMW VL - 44 IS - 1 SE - Articles DO - 10.15270/44-1-254 UR - https://socialwork.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/254 SP - AB - There are many ways of looking at poverty. When poverty is measured in absolute terms, it<br />refers to the financial means necessary for people to survive from day to day. The most basic<br />measures of poverty in South Africa are the Minimum Living Level (MLL) and the Household<br />Subsistence Level (HSL). They measure the amount of money necessary to provide a<br />household (of six people) with the very basic necessities, including food, clothing, energy,<br />washing, rent and transport to stay alive (Greeff, 2004:7). The Household Effective Level<br />(HEL), which is the HSL plus 50%, makes provision for some important items not covered by<br />the HSL, namely tax, medical expenses, replacement of household equipment, education,<br />recreation, personal care, pension and burial contributions. In 1999, for South Africa, that<br />would have amounted to R800,00 per month (Greeff, 2004:7). ER -